What foot controllers are you guys using to go to next song, next/back section/part?
I got a M-VAVE MIDI Chocolate unit and that worked, but on about the third week where we didn’t practice for a fortnight, it forgot the settings and I don’t want to have the drama of setting up in a hurry and having to try to reprogram the foot switch.
I will always recommend the Roland FC300 in Patch mode. Have had mine since 2008 and it is built like a tank, and never forgotten anything.
Roland still make and sell then, which is an amazing production run in this day and age.
Mine is so important to me that I also brought a spare.
Of course it might be overkill for what you are looking to do.
I’ve got a Behringer FCB1010 but, it’s just too big and heavy
I use softstep. Perfect tool for me…
Wow $760, that’s a little too expensive
Art X-11 Midi Footpedal. All it does is output program changes.
Depending on needs I use a controller combination, or one of:
Stream Deck Pedal - three foot controls. If you want simple, this is it. No need for four switches, since forward from the the last State jumps into the next Song.
Morningstar MC8 - 8 switches, for Cantabile control and looping.
Stream Deck - my most used and favourite controller, as it integrates perfectly in two-way communication with Cantabile. The ability to see Song/State names on the controller, and add cue lights, talk mic controls, panic button, view switching… So much control. Not a foot controller, but does much, much more.
MIDI Designer Pro on iPad. I created a custom Layout that handles everything in Cantabile, and my custom Cantabile mixer rack.
Line 6 Helix - overkill in many ways, but a powerhouse of control and options.
I can see them for £364, or $463. Still a bit pricey given what you can get an FC300 for.
I use the first version… Not too much…
FC 300 for me and also assigned some keys on my Korg N264 to perform the same functions for ease of access. I did NOT notice this problem before the latest update however.
Boss FS-5U. Super reliable, never known it to double-tap (unless my foot was shaky!), used on tour and rehearsals for 10 years now and never failed. And I just use Cantabile to define sequences of song parts, so only need a single “Next” footswitch.
If I step too far, that usually means I should stop playing as it’ll be on the wrong sound, so then I use my hand to hit a Streamdeck button to step back.
Hi Neil,
I bought the black FS-5L latching model for a device that called for a latched footswitch to control when recording.
I’ve tried using it as a momentary pedal, but results are a mixed bag. I used to wonder why momentary pedals were in much wider use but now I get that sending a tap is more flexible.
Doug
I also have the FS-5U and it’s been great.
The Stream Deck Pedal looks cool, I might get that
Line 6 FBV Express mk2
Forgot to say, I also use a MIDI Expression iO, which is an interface for plugging in standard footswitches and expression pedals.
I typically use my red buttons on my keyboards to go to the next section - easier for me to hit in the heat of battle than trying to find a foot pedal:
When there are parts in my songs that keep me so busy that I have both hands stuck on the keyboard, I typically create a binding in those specific songs that uses the left pedal in my piano pedal pair (just a cheap Fatar VFP 2 hooked up to my main keyboard) for “next state”.
Wow Neil, the MIDI Expression iO looks like the way to go, thanks so much.
PS; This sort of thing should be listed in a page of “useful stuff”
@Torsten I see you’ve got octave markers on your keyboards - I thought it might just be me who did that! 
I still use my programmable Cherry numpad for this purpose. It sits between the main computer and the backup machine and operates on both so that they always are in sync. If one fails I can switch to the backup computer very fast.
Tasks:
Seemless switching between between song states works fine this way.
Visual feedback is the computer screen that I can use as touchscreen too.
