Roland FC-300 vs. Behringer MIDI Foot Controller FCB1010

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I’m in the market for a switch and expression pedal combo, mostly because I keep kicking my pedals and switches all over the place under the keyboard, and it is getting a little ridiculous how my feet are starting to evolve to have opposable big toes so I can put them all back again!

Has anyone here compared these two? They are astronomically different in price for what appears to be the same functions. Or have any better suggestions?

The other side of my brain wants me to just buy separate expression pedals for each controller (for a total of 4 - already have a Korg one for the Wavestation, but it doesn’t work right with other synths, having a 50k pot. Most want 10k. See this thread showing various expression pedal potentiometer values.) …and then build a tray to fit with Velcro strips to place under each keyboard station (3). Or do both. I am conflicted, obviously.

Anyway, mainly wondering if the Roland FC300 is really $300 better than the Behringer FCB1010. :slight_smile:

Terry

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Hey Terry,
With the UNO chip, the Behringer is a serious item. Well made.
Definitely not a budget construction.
http://www.voes.be/fcb1010/index.htm

If you get the chip, make sure you specify the version with smooth CCs on the pedals. The original behringer software is very crude at the bottom of the pedal travel. The regular UNO emulates this - but there is an UNO version that ‘corrects’ this nonsense and supplies a nice smooth CC output from bottom to top.

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Thanks, Ade - I had heard of that UNO chip but was not sure where to get it from (or even remembered what it was called!) I’ll definitely be adding that if I buy the Behringer, which is starting to seem likely.

Terry

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lol… soon you’ll be able to put another keyboard down there.

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Hi Terry,
four years ago, I’ve purchased and installed UNO on my Behringer FCB1010, it works perfectly, here’s the official website for all info and purchase: http://www.fcb1010.eu/

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Thanks, Mistheria! I’ll likely go this route. The Roland FC-300 now seems exorbitantly priced.

Terry

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See that Ossan was able to work directly with the Kemper people to get two way communication:

"Thanks to the good cooperation with the Kemper R&D team, we were able to implement optimal interoperability between FCB1010 and Profiler through this dedicated firmware chip.

This would be such a great boon to users of Cantabile too. @brad I’m wondering if there’s anyway to hitch a ride on the coat tails of the Kemper version of UNO to get two way comms for a selection of bindings in Cantabile?

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Hi @Ade,

Not sure - I’d need to look into it but slammed for time right now. Certainly I’d like to provide better support for two way integrations like this.

Brad

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If all you’re looking for is a few foot-switches and an expression pedal, I’d recommend the Logidy UMI3: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YL81RW/

It has USB MIDI, 3 foot-switches, and an expression pedal input: $80.

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Thanks - that’s definitely a strong contender now. But add the cost of the expression pedal (like a Moog, very likely) and it comes very close to the Behringer.

Decisions Decisions! I’ll probably end up getting three Moog pedals - one for each controller lacking one!

Terry

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Hi, a bit late to the debate here (been so busy lately). Many years ago I needed a foot pedal, looked at all of them on the market and went with the FC300. Mostly because it was the only one I could tell from the PDF manuals available that it could do what I wanted.

So after 8 years of ownership, I am still mightily impressed with it. The programming flexibility is second to non, and it is built like a tank - I’ve never had a single issue with it. I also expanded it with additional controller pedals and foot switches for even more foot control.

I cannot say if it is better than other pedals, but my experience with it has been 100% positive, so well worth taking a close look at it.

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