Bass pedals - Roland PK-25 vs PK-7

[zarquon]

Hi

I am thinking of adding bass footpedals to my Nord Stage 2 to get an introduction into organ playing. (Of course, I will only be able to play with one keyboard manual since the MIDI jack will be taken up by the foot pedals.)

I thought I would ask the organists in the forum what the difference between pedals like the Roland PK-25 and the Roland PK-9 and PK-7a would be, and whether there is an advantage of one over the other. The Roland Pk-25 has more keys, of course, and is closer to the Nord Pedal Keys in terms of design. The Roland PK-9 and 7a have fewer keys. Is there any significant difference in terms of playability and technique?

Finally, do you know whethere these bass pedalboards work seamlessly with the Nord Stage via a MIDI cable? I presume they would need their own external power. Great if anyone should share experience using these pedals with Nord.

Pedals are listed here on the Roland website:
www.rolandus.com/products/category/468

Thanks!

[cgiles]

I use the PK7a with both the C1 and C2d and it works seamlessly with both. Prior to that I used a PK5 but found that (13 pedals) too limiting. Prior to that, the full pedalboard of my old B3 and C3 and CV. If I like and keep the the KeyB Duo Mk111 I hope to be getting in the next week or so, I will likely get the KeyB 25 pedal pedalboard.

If you are a trained organist and use proper heel/toe technique, you will likely want a 25 pedal pedalboard, although several good organist (Alan McPike comes to mind) do very well with smaller boards. I play in the traditional Jimmy Smith/Joey D/Tony Monaco style and therefore play a lot of left hand bass but I have a long-standing habit of duplicating my hand bass with the pedals so that i can operate the drawbars and/or other controls without losing the bass line. It soon becomes second nature, especially if you started that way. A lot of jazz players just tap the pedal (usually the 'A' pedal) to put an attact on the (hand-played) bass note. That, plus proper use of the expression pedal and a 'stacatto' way of playing the left-hand bass line, works pretty well. Like everything else, practice makes perfect. BTW, I play pedals-only on slow tunes. Again, your needs will depend on the type/style of organ (music) you play.

chas

[rippinux]

The PK_7 is excellent ! They are my 3rd set of pedals. I had a 1 octave & 2-octave . the long pedals of the pk 25 are great, but very awkward to transport, because in addition to the pedals themselves, you have to also transport a large enough bench to scan the the 40 to 42 inch width of the pedals. The PK7 has more than just the puny 1 octave set, but are short enough to use a much smaller bench . the pk7 looks great with the Nord, & is much more impressive looking than a 1 octave pedalboard . I had a road case built that can easily accomodate the 35" width of the PK7a. This pedalboard is built like a tank . as long as you routinely dust them, the contacts will stay clean. They weigh 34 lb.s, & have excellent electronics.

[rippinux]

By all means, get a pedalbord. Like cgiles said above, having those pedals is the anchor to organ continuity : changing programs, pulling drawbars (or draw buttons ) & if have a drum machine for solo gigs , you can also punch in breaks with crash cymbal,bass drum with 2 fingers of your left hand, && punching the bass note on the pedalboard. It takes lots of practise, but boy,,,,,,,is it EVER worth it . I've made 5 cd's with that kind of set-up, along with a small Korg micro station on an upper tier. I mount the drum machine & extra keyboard over a custom-made, 5/8" sheet of plexiglass. With a wide enough onstage z=stand, you've got the WHOLE BAND for a solo or duo gig .
One thing to keep in mind, though, if you are going to add a pedalboard : the notes have to be precise & LONG enough to support what goes on upstairs. If the bass line ( especially when doing the whole bass on pedals ) is lacking, even the most virtuosic thing upstairs will be meaningless. THE BASS LINE IS THE FOUNDATION FOR SELF-CONTAINED organ playing : especially when playing Jazz,funk, Brazilian, etc.

[flmc59]

Hear hear.
Every thing else is essentially just comp for the bass. (me bassplayer? Ok you got me)

[zarquon]

Rippinux - do you have links to some of your music? Would be interested to hear!

[Mooser]

Woah! the price of the PK-25 is almost the same as the price of the NS2-88.
Is that insane or what?

[Mooser]

MIDI bass pedals are very expensive!

[rippinux]

Hi, zarquon ! The only online links i have are on Amazon . I have 4 cd's listed there for ROBERT NUCKELS. I'm sorry i have no mp3; i'm not much of a computer technician. One of these days i will enlist the help of a gizmo whizz to get me set up for that, then i'll have more of a market for my stuff. It's pretty weird at times. I'm multi-tasking like crazy during the 2 tracks i record each song, kicking the bass, running changes, punching crash cymbal, & playing all those manuals, etc. It's mostly a mixture of jazz,funk,swing, brazilian, vocals,synths, etc. I'm working on my 5th one right now : it is different : it is a musical & narrative opus based on Patrick Dixon's esoteric essay : AMERICA : THE CENTRAL MOTIF . My wife heard part of the playback upstairs when she was trying to play her high Taylor guitar > She ran downstairs & threatened to have me committed if she heard anymore of this strange 'production'
My other 4 cd's are a LITTLE bit less intense . someday, i'll somehow get them posted online. right now, I'm looking for employment........