Simulate sustain pedal

[HikaruGunner]

Hi

I'm trying to play a piano vst on Cantabile and it works fine, but I don't have a sustain pedal and would like to know if there is a option to "simulate" a pedal that is always pressed.

Thanks

[Aloysius]

Sustain Pedal is MIDI controller 64 AFAIK!

[HikaruGunner]

sorry what is midi controller 64?

[Aloysius]

sorry what is midi controller 64?

Sustain!

All you're really doing with a sustain pedal is turning controller number 64, on and off! Like a light switch! If you want to simlate a sustain pedal, then you wish to be able to turn MIDI controller 64 on and off by another means (assuming it's MIDI we're discussing).

[HikaruGunner]

Yes I have a midi keyboard, how do I turn on and off that MIDI controller 64?

[Aloysius]

Yes I have a midi keyboard, how do I turn on and off that MIDI controller 64?

If it's a VST that you would like to control. Then hopfully, you have a way of mapping a button on your keyboard (controller) to the parameter (C64).

You may need to consult with your manuals at this point, or tell us what equipment you are using. DAW? Keyboard? Instrument to be controlled?

EDIT: You have Cantabile listed. OK! A quick search tells me;

The best way to perform live
Play VSTs, trigger media clips, instantly switch between songs, integrate with your existing hardware, control it all via MIDI and simply perform better.

From the text above I would guess that this is possible but I have zero experience with this application! You SHOULD however have enough material to be getting on with. Perhaps another KvRer will be able to get into more detail!

[HikaruGunner]

I got it! I enabled it on the x-y thing, on the lower left. I can enable the sustain pedal whenever I want.

Thanks a bunch

[infectedpimple]

if your keyboard has a port to plug a sustain pedal into, you could always make a do-it-yourself midi foot-pedal, if you can't afford one or just don't feel like buying one. They're not very difficult to cobble together out of things you probably have on hand and might be a bit more ideal than surrendering the use of a hand while playing to turn the sustain on and off. I made one using two blocks of wood, a few spring-loaded clothespins to act as my spring device, a couple of paperclips, some speaker-wire, a 1/4in mono audio cable, and a bunch of duct tape. mine acts as a footswitch (press it once, the switch goes on, press it again the switch goes off) but with a little more work you could make one that behaves like a sustain pedal (pedal down = sustain on, pedal up = sustain off). just do a search for something like "DIY Midi pedal" or something like that if you're interested, you should find plenty of ideas, and it's a pretty fun way to spend a couple hours on lazy afternoon.

[Aloysius]

I got it! I enabled it on the x-y thing, on the lower left. I can enable the sustain pedal whenever I want.

Thanks a bunch

Excellent! Once you know EXACTLY what you're looking for, that's usually half the battle. Have fun!

[HikaruGunner]

Ok so I bought a sustain pedal for my midi keyboard. It works fine on the midi keyboard itself, but when I'm trying to play it on Cantabile, it doesn't work. Someone know if it's possible for it to work, and where to activate that option?

Thanks once again

[bradr]

If the sustain pedal works on your keyboard it should work with Cantabile without any special settings. One quick check to do would be to watch Cantabile's MIDI-in activity indicator - it should flash red each whenever you press/release the pedal.

If not, the keyboard isn't sending the appropriate events and you need to check your hardware setup.

If it does flash then you could check:

1. Does the plugin support sustain pedal? (try playing notes on the on-screen keyboard while holding shift - the shift key acts like sustain pedal when keyboard has focus or is captured).

2. Perhaps the keyboard is sending the sustain on a different MIDI controller - this would be odd but possible - again check the settings on your keyboard.

I hope this helps, please post back if you need further help.

[HikaruGunner]

When I press the sustain pedal on cantabile the midi light doesn't flash, but the other keys work fine. It works with the sound of the keyboard itself tough, so the pedal is not defective.

[bradr]

If you're pressing the pedal and the Cantabile's MIDI activity light isn't lighting up then the keyboard isn't sending MIDI for the pedal and is therefore outside the scope of being a problem with Cantabile.

Check the manual or support forums for the keyboard itself.

[HikaruGunner]

I said the pedal works fine with the keyboard itself, it doesn't work with the sound that comes off the computer (Cantabile).

[Sasu Honka]

It is like Brad said. If the midi receive light does not flash, that means that no midi is coming in. If no midi for the sustain pedal comes in to the computer, how could Cantabile be aware of the sustain pedal?

Which keyboard do you have? Brand and model? You have to find something like "send sustain - enabled" from the midi transmit menu of the keyboard.