Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

> I've used this feature since Day 1. I have 4 alternates for every 
> sound and use the FS1/FS2 footpedals for the Patch Select feature.
> Paul

I've been using the Dual footpedal for a long time too.  Personally, I
keep sustain on the right, but use the left for patch select.

I just remembered that the second dual footpedal I got came with two
plugs, designed for some other system.  I simply chopped the ends off,
and soldered one footswitch to the tip, the other to the ring, and the
remaining wires to the sleve of a 1/4 inch stereo plug.

I'm quite sure that the left pedal would be the one to go to the tip.

If you or someone you know is at all handy at soldering, it's not hard
to do.  Just pay attention to good strain relief for the cable, so it
lasts longer.  

My original ensoniq dual foot pedal (not the one I had to chop up
myself) developed a cable problem within 6 inches of the connector.  I
chopped the bad part off and put a right-angle stereo connector on it,
figuring the strain of the cable weight did it in the first time.
That one's held up since.

The original footpedal also had a design flaw; inside it, the metal
pedal pushed on a "pin" sticking out of a plastic lever that actually
moved the switch contacts.  But the lever bottomed out before the
pedal did, and eventually the pressure from the pedal trying to move
further broke the pin off -- fortunately, the pin didn't fall out and
I was able to glue it back on.  After re-gluing this a couple of
times, I looked at what was actually happening, discovered the
bottoming out problem, and took a piece of sandpaper to the plastic
lever, removing the part that hit before the pedal did.  No problems
in this area since I did that, either.

BTW, I originally purchased the dual footpedal just because it does a
better job of staying in one place than the original footswitch did.
For that reason alone, I highly recommend it.  

--> Steve