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Roller versus swell pedal

Building organ consoles for use with Hauptwerk, adding MIDI to existing consoles, obtaining parts, ...
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vpo-organist

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Roller versus swell pedal

PostSat Nov 27, 2021 4:58 am

Hello folks,

my swell pedal no longer reliably sends the midi signals, i.e. I move the sill and no midi signal arrives.

Now I'm thinking if basically a digital roller as a replacement for a swell pedal makes sense. I could set the start values by program and have no problem with resetting to an initial state. The roller gives a forward or backward signal, which I evaluate and pass on to the sampler. So far my consideration.

Now I haven't played an organ with a roller for about 25 years and I don't have a feeling for whether this could be a workable solution. What do you think? Is a roller as controllable with the foot as a swell pedal?
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larason2

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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostSat Nov 27, 2021 9:18 am

I’ve been using John Kinkennon’s idea for making a swell pedal controller for Arduino and it works great. It usually mounts to the floor of the organ and the existing hardware on the back of the pedal, so that is one solution. I can give you more details and even the code if you’re interested.

That being said, many people are fond of the so called “rollschweller,” and they are very popular in Germany, so you may very well find you like it.
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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostSat Nov 27, 2021 9:36 am

Oh yes, I am very interested.
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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostSun Nov 28, 2021 9:11 pm

Ok, I will write up the details and let you know.
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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostThu Dec 09, 2021 3:11 pm

Alright, I wrote up the details on my Arduino Hub page. It may not be the easiest way to go about it, but I can attest to that it works great and is silent. The code will work on an Arduino mega, but if you have another Arduino lying around, I can put together a simpler custom code for you.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/La ... ans-f3756c

Before looking into that, maybe you can get one of John Kinkennon's 3D printed expression brackets, which will save you a lot of work fabricating the bracket!

J.Kinkennon’s 3D printed design:
http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=19081&p=143428&hilit=expression+pedal&sid=c43d32971eb7aa68169a912325805700#p143428

I do really like the PFTE/teflon block though, it makes the action smooth as butter. An idea from the late, great Ed Nupnau.

Here are the links to the materials I used:

Acrylic Sheet: (Home Depot Duraplex 1X08105A)
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/duraplex-high-impact-acrylic-sheet-093-inch-x-8-inch-x-10-inch/1000126492

Teflon Block: (Like Robot shop HDPE sheet (Carbide DE RB-Crb-53))
https://www.robotshop.com/ca/en/hdpe-sheet-3-5-15-3pk.html

Potentiometer: (Mouser 688-RS45111A6A08)
https://www.mouser.ca/api/CrossDomain/SetContext?qs=bBn1FhEllS9U0dDp%2f71pOEXTZX2%252BiCsSBGXuOD2pQwmeR6ucLsrv2ZN6OA86%2fk4bqMWLairNKel3FcUeSJWDSxJNgh4liRMvGvQEb2rIbbeKjIyS9mazMAl6VIGNmyb12em9zG0l8FPTlVhwGoWWWvBx%2f2fdgGlJglcyzJ3aCzPzdbBgDWHT9ZHQi2mZuZv%2faquESfyv11U%3d&syncDomain=ca&async=False

Furniture Hinge: (Home Depot Everbilt 859-53)
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/everbilt-1-in-zinc-plated-narrow-hinge-fixed-pin-2pk/1000773730

Furniture brace: (Home Depot Everbilt 859-723)
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/everbilt-3-4-inch-zinc-furniture-brace-4-pack-/1000773657

Eye bolt: (1/2 of Home Depot Everbilt 858-039)
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/everbilt-9-3-8-in-eye-eye-turnbuckle-in-zinc-1pc/1000769945
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vpo-organist

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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostSat Dec 11, 2021 4:47 pm

Many thanks, larason2! Great!

The homedepot-Links results in "Access Denied".
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Re: Roller versus swell pedal

PostSat Dec 11, 2021 4:59 pm

My pleasure! That’s strange about the links, they work perfectly for me. They must work only in Canada!

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