softstep report #1

[Zoe Keating <info@zoekeating.com>]

think I'll report as I go, since otherwise I'll never get around to it!


I downloaded the software, plugged in the pedal (comes with a nice  
long USB cable in case you need to be far away from your computer),  
launched the software and the pedal lit up with its friendly blue  
leds. (reminds me of the dashboard of a mini cooper)It goes without  
saying that the pedal is small, lightweight and cute. Its not TOO  
small though. The numbered buttons are the same size as the one on the  
FCB1010. The navigation arrows are small and I have to look at my  
toes, but I think I'll get the hang of it.

I'm a bit impatient with manuals, so I decided to poke around the  
software interface first. I didn't get very far, and had to go and  
read the manual ;-)
I was stumped at first by all the modes, figuring out what was  
clickable, trying to read the tiny fonts, and understanding the naming  
terminology. However, after almost 2 hours of blundering around I  
managed to grasp the rudiments of the interface and modify some of the  
presets. Now I'm mapping these to run to the basics of my set. (I'm  
told documentation of the presets is coming, so this will be a quicker  
process).

As I started to realize the depth of what the SoftStep does, all the  
interface modes begin to make sense. Every single thing is  
customizable, from what kind of footwork the buttons respond to, to  
how the lights behave (do you want a green light when you press?), to  
how you want to page through your banks. I'm not even scratching the  
surface of this pedal yet. So I'd rather have a complex, nested  
interface where I can control any and everything, to an out-of-the-box  
pedal that is not customizable at all.

So far I've got one "scene" (or what I would call a bank) that sends  
Program Changes on Channel3 to MIDIPipe and one that sends notes to  
Ableton on Channel1. Each scene is accessed by going left or right  
with the navigation arrows. When I'm in my program change scene, the  
navigation up and down arrows increase or decrease in increments of  
10, just like you'd expect.  Now I have to make another scene of notes  
for Ableton, and two scenes for SooperLooper and do some more  
experiments with how I want the pedals to respond to my edwardian  
boots and how the red and green lights should behave.

That's it for now.

Happy times!!

Zoe