Home › Forums › Review Your EHX Gear › Next Step Expression Pedal – What is the point?

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  • December 17, 2012 at 7:23 am #82746
    Crowyote
    Participant

    First Time Poster!

    Hi Everybody.

    I’m a long time EHX user. I’ve most notably owned a Big Muff (no longer) and a Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazarai (my favorite looper). I’ve used the analog Memory Man as the standard to judge many other analog delays by too.

    I use a lot of pedals that require expression, most notably a series of MoogerFoogers.

    I don’t want to seem biased, but these have long been the stalwarts of my rig. EHX has always served a special and irreplaceable spot in my heart.

    I became very excited when I heard that EHX had developed an Expression Pedal that is less susceptible to damage due to a lack of moving parts. I’ve had many Moog EP-1s break down and blow pots, etc. on me, and the boosted resale value on my MP-201 Moog Multi-Pedal was too good to pass up when it was discontinued.

    I made an offer at one of the authorized dealers for a Next Step Expression Pedal and they accepted my bid for a brand new one.

    When I received it, I subjected it to my eagle-eyed QC and found it to have many scratches on it. I contacted the company immediately and they told me that it was straight from the manufacturer and they would replace it if necessary.

    I told them I would test it first and get back to them.

    FInally, I got around to testing it.

    I’ve gotta say that it is very functional as an expression pedal. I was able to harness a broad spectrum of tones from all the pedals I tried it with. It’s very user friendly and a cool design overall.

    However, there is one thing that kills it for me. It is impossible to hold a sweet spot in any particular pedal’s expression range without holding your foot on the pedal in that particular spot. The only way would be to bypass and select the “bypass setting.” That’s too time consuming and kills spontaneity in action for me.

    On any other (well-maintained) expression pedal, you can just leave the pedal “hanging” in one particular spot and attend to something else in the meantime.

    I suppose that the only way to make this possible would be to have “moving parts,” ha.

    I guess I’m just gonna back to the tried and true.

    December 17, 2012 at 1:58 pm #118541
    Mr.Grim
    Member

    i agree with your argument on behalf of all the new EH treadle pedals, i think there great pedals but you cant hold a fixed position.

    i have an idea that maybe EH can implement in future production of them.

    well i assume it uses sum type of accelerometer, like a smart phone, to measure movement.

    EH needs to add another axis to that system, so that when your at the position you want to hold, you can slightly tilt the pedal to the left or right and it would lock on to that sound, and resume normal function when again.

    or maybe make the pedal pressure sensitive, so you can give it a little more force down, and it will hold sound position.

    December 17, 2012 at 10:47 pm #118547
    julian
    Moderator

    Seems there could a be a DIY solution here. Mount the pedal to a rigging that will let you rock it and hold it in place maybe? That’d also make it be mountable on a pedal board.

    April 27, 2013 at 2:50 pm #118967
    Withnail21
    Member

    Chasing it around the floor isn’t much fun either. Bloody thing slides all over the place.

    March 25, 2014 at 5:26 pm #119802
    thinwire
    Member

    I like the ideas here! I have just purchased the new HOG2 which comes with the new Exp Pedal. It’s a real downer that you can’t just hold a position on the pedal. Surely for the volume version that’s a must?!

    Like you guys said… Either another axis on the accelerometer or pressure sensor or a cradle that has some small amount of friction to it that allows smooth movement but enough to hold the weight of the pedal when you take your foot off. Also agreed, the pedal wanders off all the time. Very irritating.

    On the up side, the pedal is very accurate and sensitive to me. And if you do have to hold it one position it’s easier to do so than the old m-audio exp pedal, which i found i tended to knock it as i took my foot off.

    Please consider some of these ideas EHX!!

    April 2, 2014 at 1:09 pm #119836
    G-R-O-C-K
    Member

    Agreed … NEXT STEP….is a failure… EHX make a lot of cool stuff that i love BUT howcome knowone said “Hold on… this is not going to work!”

    June 3, 2014 at 6:15 pm #120018
    Folkstone57
    Member

    I agree that not being able to “park” the pedal is a serious flaw with these pedals. I don’t agree at all that the Next Step series is a failure. That’s an all or nothing approach that just doesn’t apply. You can, of course, calibrate the pedal to “park” in a spot with a little planning ahead but that doesn’t help if you’re playing live & your leg is turning into a giant cramp……………

    March 2, 2022 at 12:07 am #187188
    ChewsUse
    Participant

    I cant make a post – but I am looking for a manual to this pedal the Next Step expression. I’m sure I can find it in a couple second with a duckduckgo search but hey I registered and here I am. is there a part of the ehx website I am overlooking or do they not provide legacy documentation????

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