# New Universal Expression Pedal by Source Audio



## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

I am going to buy this versatile expression pedal as soon as it comes out. I've been thinking of home-brewing something like this for a while now. Looks like I can bypass the whole troubleshooting phase entirely! 

For me, what is even better than the 3 simultaneous expression pedal outputs is the 6 different LFO waveforms it can place on those outputs. I use LFO driven parameters a lot more than expression pedals. With this, I can turn any expression pedal controlled parameter into an LFO controlled parameter.

My only hope is that it can sync the LFO to an external midi clock via the midi port. That will help a lot in recording. Failing that, perhaps there is the possibility of a tap tempo?

Anyone else as intrigued as I am?

[video=youtube;IURBLnAQW70]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IURBLnAQW70[/video]


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Every bit as intrigued (though we'll see what the wallet has to say about that).

I had been jonesing for a Hot Hand 3 a while back and wrote to the tech folks there about what the unit could and couldn't do. Turned out that the HH3 outputs three controls, one of which is simply a variable 10k resistance (which will work expression inputs on Line 6 stuff and probably some other makes), and the other two of which are 3V (maybe 3.3V) outputs to work their own pedals.

I gather that letters like mine and those of other people must have got them thinking about producing a more flexible control device (not that they missed the boat with the HH3!).


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

Anyone know how long in general it takes before we see things in stores that were announced at NAMM?


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2015)

The LFO waveforms are a really cool idea. That could really open up some expression-controlled effects. A square wave in to a wah sounds mighty cool if you like weird choppy noises!

So do the LFOs only work as CV output or MIDI out? Or does it do something funky with differential resistance to let you have LFO waveforms that'll work with effects that expect a potentiometer for variable control?

I also couldn't tell how it was hooked up to the fuzz from that video?


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

I think it will output the LFO as a CV or a variable resistance. Otherwise it's not very universal. I really want to get my hands on the manual so I can answer questions like these.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

mister.zed said:


> Anyone know how long in general it takes before we see things in stores that were announced at NAMM?


Some are released to stores before NAMM and some right around the time NAMM takes place and some others at the later date but usually within the year. There is no telling ahead of the announcement when any product will be available.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

True. Some stuff is shown at NAMM, simply to boost the profile of an already or recently-released product. Some stuff is commercially debuted at NAMM, and some stuff is shown in prototype form, scheduled for release some time later.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2015)

Does anyone know how it varies resistance? Does it have a motor attached to a pot? Or a bunch of fixed resistors and a step motor? Something else? For differential signaling, the way most expression pedals are set up, that seems really tricky but hella cool if they figured it out.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

My guess is a digital pot. It would seem from the description that they simply adapted the Hot Hand 3, such that, instead of the usual tilt/movement sensing that the HH3 uses to control the variable resistance and pair of 3.3V control voltages, it uses the treadle and an LFO of some sort, most likely a microcontroller not dissimilar from the Molten Voltage units.

I have an analogue unit that I made decades ago, from an Elektor project ( http://hammer.ampage.org/files/SEWAR.PDF ) that provides a whole assortment of control-voltage outputs, as well as an LFO-controlled HF clock for driving delay chips. Etched and stuffed the board, but never made the time to wire it up or install it in a box.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

So glad to see this. I wanted to get an expression pedal for the WMD Geiger Counter and EQD Disaster Transport Sr. I just picked up and this could be the move. Worth waiting to try I think.


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

That's cool. The WMD Geiger Counter is also the main reason I want this universal expression pedal. 

By the way, I emailed Source Audio with some questions and got this response:

We expect the REFLEX to be out by spring time and we expect it to be $219
street price. 
Here are the top 5 question and answer for the Reflex:

1: Do the LFO's respond to MIDI clock? Are there BPM settings for patches?
1. Yes, they will respond to MIDI clock. Currently LFO rates are set in
Hertz and not BPM.

2: Can you freely assign the LFO's to any/all CV/control outputs and
MIDI per patch?
2. Yes! Seven outputs (3 virtual digital, 3 expression, 1 sensor out) all
independently configurable for each patch.

3: How many MIDI channels can the expression pedal operate on per
patch, or can you change the MIDI channel and CC per patch?
3. There are 3 virtual digital outputs, these are the same MIDI signals
for the MIDI DIN output and also over USB-MIDI. Each can have its own
CC/MIDI Channel. And each can be totally different per patch.

4: What are the LFO shapes and parameters?
4. LFO shapes are: Sine, Saw, Square, Triange, Random Sample & Hold, User-
users can download their own shapes. Of course, there are two non-LFO
modes where the output is either Linear or Audio Taper.

5: Can the gas pedal alter more than the LFO's speed? Is depth available?
5. The pedal operates only speed currently in LFO mode. In non-LFO, it
will output the current value of the treadle position. Could be updated
in the future to control Depth. This would probably only be accessible
through the software editor.


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## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

I should add, those were not the questions I asked, but they were the questions that got answered! But he did give me the price, which was the one question I did not expect an answer to.


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2015)

That's way cooler on the features than I thought it'd be.


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