# PLUS Pedal ~ opinions?



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

PLUS Pedal - The World's First Sustain Pedal for All Melodic Instruments

This thing turns me on. Seriously want one.

Any experience herein?


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Mooh said:


> PLUS Pedal - The World's First Sustain Pedal for All Melodic Instruments
> 
> This thing turns me on. Seriously want one.
> 
> Any experience herein?


I was following the development pretty closely but lost interest after a while. Big thread on TGP with all kinds of info. I still wouldn't mind trying one and probably will when the deal lines up. Home town pedal for me, kinda cool just for that reason.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I grew up in pianoland and still often instinctively reach for the absent sustain pedal with my right foot like I still often instinctively reach for the absent clutch with my left foot. The videos on the site are intriguing, and address my ambient music ideas better than sustainers, delays, and looping.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

What does it do that the digitech freqout doesn't?


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It's not a feedback simulator. Basically, it samples the input in a way that allows you to keep looping a note that makes it sounds like it's sustaining.


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Budda said:


> What does it do that the digitech freqout doesn't?


The Freqout would sustain a single note if you wanted to, but just one note and it wasn’t forever. And the the end of the note wasn’t always predictable and not usually very smooth. 

This seems more like the EHX Freeze, but I believe that sampled only a very small bit, while the Plus Pedal seems to sample a little longer and smoother. I believe there is also control for the attack and release, which would be nice. It also has an effects loop that I saw in a demo once that used tremolo... seemed pretty cool. 

Never tried one, but would love to.


----------



## Guest (Jun 25, 2018)

Gamechanger Audio Plus Sustain Pedal

$453 CAD...


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

That's pretty serious money for me, which is why I'm cautious and asking around.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I saw a big display ofthem at NAMM today. If I can find some time over the next 2 days, I'll try it out and give you a report.


----------



## Guest (Jun 29, 2018)

Mooh said:


> *That's pretty serious money for me*, which is why I'm cautious and asking around.


For most.


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

mhammer said:


> I saw a big display ofthem at NAMM today. If I can find some time over the next 2 days, I'll try it out and give you a report.


Let us know if they have a Canadian dealer anywhere too.


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I just noticed last night I have an effect called Hold on a Boss multi-effects pedal. That says it can only do one note at a time.

I’ll have to fool around with it.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Mooh said:


> That's pretty serious money for me, which is why I'm cautious and asking around.


Rent the freqout from l&m and see if that scratches your itch. If not, look into this one more.


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

https://guitarscanada.com/index.php?threads/gamechanger-plus-pedal-brand-new.222166/


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Hammerhands said:


> I just noticed last night I have an effect called Hold on a Boss multi-effects pedal. That says it can only do one note at a time.
> 
> I’ll have to fool around with it.


That doesn't work very well at all.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

The hold works fine...?


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

So, I didn't try it, but I watched and listened while someone else tried one out. It's very similar in concept to the EHX Freeze, but has more control over the fade-in and fade-out. The foot-pedal has a VERY nice feel to it; just like the sustain pedal on a good piano. Pricey, yes, but a very usable effect...for those who already have a sense of how it would be used.


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Does it have a latching mode where the foot pedal works more as an on/off switch, or do you have to have your foot on it the entire time you want it to sustain?


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

troyhead said:


> Does it have a latching mode where the foot pedal works more as an on/off switch, or do you have to have your foot on it the entire time you want it to sustain?


That aspect I did not see. The impression I got was that it was _intended_ to be a non-latched switch, rather than something like a looper or delay with infinite repeat. You play a note or chord, make it linger as long as you need it to and play with it or simply use it as a sound with unnaturally long sustain. The use of a piano-like level switch is not merely cosmetic. The intent was to mimic how the same pedal is used with grand pianos; notes overlapping notes with instant elimination of sustain when you lift your foot off. Where it exceeds the EHX Freeze is in having variable rise and fall times. Fall time can be set to zero, such that it behaves like a piano sustain pedal.

To my way of thinking, there are many virtues to having non-latching momentary switching. Of late I have taken to installing what I like to call "punch-in" switches in my delays, that let you introduce new content into the delay path, and omit any new content by simply lifting your foot up. This is more amenable to note-wise and riff-wise application of delay, and less disruptive to playing that having to step twice for effect/bypass. Personally, I think all ring-modulator pedals should come with that. I don't know many people who would leave a ring-modulator on for more than a few bars, if that long.

The developers (gamechanger) are currently based in and marketing from the UK, but areeither from Ukraine or Russia, and also make the high voltage Plasma Pedal.


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

mhammer said:


> The impression I got was that it was _intended_ to be a non-latched switch, rather than something like a looper or delay with infinite repeat. You play a note or chord, make it linger as long as you need it to and play with it or simply use it as a sound with unnaturally long sustain.


I agree and definitely think that makes the *most* sense. But it is nice to have the option to to both. For example, on the Strymon BigSky you can hold the footswitch for infinite reverb, but I have found it useful to use a MIDI controller to basically do the same thing with a latching footswitch, which it is very useful. Some drones sound great through very long sections of the song, and it can be difficult to stand with most of my weight on one foot for that long. 



mhammer said:


> To my way of thinking, there are many virtues to having non-latching momentary switching. Of late I have taken to installing what I like to call "punch-in" switches in my delays, that let you introduce new content into the delay path, and omit any new content by simply lifting your foot up.


That sounds really cool. It would be neat if you could control "punching in" with an LFO or expression too.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

troyhead said:


> That sounds really cool. It would be neat if you could control "punching in" with an LFO or expression too.


In theory, it's possible. If one has an LFO with variable duty cycle (I.e., a square wave that allows adjustment of "on" and "off" time), and the expression pedal input allows for active mixing of the effect, then an LFO could be set to bring the effect in and out on a cyclical basis. Not all effect pedals permit that, however.

As I went from booth to booth, talking with the various boutique pedal makers, I tried to put a bug in their ear to install a mini phone jack to permit remote switching, without _requiring _it, as I had demonstrated in a Youtube video about remote-switching Boss pedals. Generally, folks said they liked the idea and some had considered it on their own. The stumbling block is that there is no standard, and nobody makes a switching unit for such a function. I made one for myself, but none of the "name" manufacturers seem to have one available that anticipates what I suggested.


----------



## jayjacque (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm a risk taker, so I ordered one, figuring if I couldn't learn it to work live I'd sell on Reverb. I used to have a Freeze that I modded by using a sustain pedal into the input. It worked and could sound nice, but not enough control and so could be too loud and/or harsh sometimes. Got high hopes for this one, mainly for an ambient pad and be able to add notes at same time. For other risk takers, here's a good way to go: Rogue Guitar Shop has them and often has discount sales. Can't remember if it was 10% or 15% that I got off, but also was free shipping to Canada.


----------



## Guest (Jul 23, 2018)

Rogue has a terrible reputation... https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/rogue-guitar-shop-not-answering.1782971/


----------



## RockStarAccountant (Oct 17, 2017)

mhammer said:


> That aspect I did not see. The impression I got was that it was _intended_ to be a non-latched switch, rather than something like a looper or delay with infinite repeat.


I can comment on this. I have a Plus pedal and it can be configured for both a momentary sustain or infinite sustain and everything in between. This is accomplished by tweaking the “tail” knob. If you set it to infinite, then a tap on the pedal starts the sustain. It goes on forever until you tap the pedal a second time to stop the sustain.


----------



## RockStarAccountant (Oct 17, 2017)

Mooh said:


> PLUS Pedal - The World's First Sustain Pedal for All Melodic Instruments
> 
> This thing turns me on. Seriously want one.
> 
> Any experience herein?


It is an awesome pedal. It is very well thought out and versatile. Pricey for sure. I ordered mine direct from the manufacturer in Latvia (?!). There is now a Canadian dealer as Electric Mojo is now carrying them in Quebec.


----------



## RockStarAccountant (Oct 17, 2017)

This is my board and I’ll explain how I use the Plus. You can see it on the right side of the board. Next to its is a small blue modulation multi effect which I run into the pedals loop. Works great for adding movement to the sound. Another great feature is that the plus can do dual output - one for the dry and one for the wet signal. I use it because I want the sound for the Plus to go through different fx than my dry signal. Overdrive didn’t work great with the Plus imho. So I run the dry out into the rest of my board, and then I bring the two signals back together using the Boss LS-2 using the a+b mix mode at the end and send the output to my amp. It works awesome and lets me put pad sounding effects underneath my main guitar tone. One click on the LS2 lets me play just the Plus without the guitar tone coming through at all for pad only type sounds. I can have my right foot on the plus and click the LS2 with my heel to bring the guitar tone back in anytime. It’s a great setup.

Edit: sorry pic of my board didn’t work, but you can still get the idea of how I use this.


----------

