Moog Music Forum

Hi,

The Expression Pedal on my MP-201 is not working, if Im lucky it will even scroll a cent.
The first one I bought didn't work so I returned it and I now the replacement I got has the same problem.

I tried both the pedals on the Moog ring modulator as describe on the quick start guide and nothing.
I read the whole instruction manual from start to finish and poured over countless forum discussions, nothing.
I also emailed Perry at Moog and followed his instructions on both email replies and still nothing.

Emais from Perry...

It's possible your footpedal needs to be calibrated or your voltage
range is set too low. To calibrate the footpedal, hit both buttons at
the same time and scroll to Utilities. In Utilities, scroll to
Calibrate Footpd, select enter and Yes, and then sweep the footpedal all
the way up and down its range of motion. When done, press Enter to exit.

There is also a feature on each preset to specify the CV range of the
footpedal. Under the Edit menu, there should be a setting for Heel
Value and Toe Value. Heel Value should be set to 0 and Toe Value should
be set to 4095.

Tried both and nothing

2nd email

The footpedal works by way of an infrared LED that bounces light off of a metal plate attached to the pedal and then detects the brightness and time of the reflection. If this metal plate has come loose and is not moving along with the footpedal, it would makes sense that you would only be getting a fraction of the total travel. To access the plate:
*Remove the 6 screws (3 on each side) that hold the bottom plate on
*Carefully remove the bottom plate and note its orientation on the chassis
*Observe the inside edge of the footpedal pivot. Attached should be a small rectangular plate that covers a small circuit board. This plates is held on by a hex screw (Approx. 3/32" or 2.5 mm hex key needed). If the plate appears loose, carefully tighten it so that it is 1/8" or just over 3 mm from the surface of the circuit board when the pedal is in the toe position. It should look parallel to the board when in this position. Be very careful not to damage any components on the board (especially the black LED at U2).
*While you have the unit open, you can also adjust the footpedal tension if you like. The tension is controlled by way of the two black hex screws on either side of the pivot. Be sure to tighten or loosen both screws equally, so as not to torque the pedal.
*Replace the bottom plate and secure with the 6 screws

You will need to recalibrate the footpedal again once you have made adjustments. Do this in the Utilities menu as I mentioned before.

It all looked fine inside

Im thinking I must be doing something wrong, but what?
Ive tried both balanced & unbalanced leads also different power supplies.

I got to say I pretty over it now, Im thinking of just asking for my money back, yet Im willing to give it another go.
Any suggestions?

So I got a reply from Moog



Hi Mat. There must be something awry with the setup. The chances of two MP-201s failing in the same way for you seems very small. I'm not sure if the power supply could cause a failure of this sort, but it may be the case (you are using a 220v supply, correct?). I would double-check all of your settings. Make sure that the 201 is on a setting that scales the CV Out channels from 0-5v, that you are using a TS cable out of the correct CV, that the other end of the cable is plugged into the correct CV In on the pedal, and that it is passing a signal. My guess is that there is just a small setting or hookup that is incorrect. It's hard to say for sure what the issue is without seeing it myself, but hopefully a little trial and error will clear it up. Sorry I can't offer anything more specific. If your still having trouble after checking these things, I would definitely recommend getting in touch with Audio Chocolate. They have an excellent service department and may be able to get you set up. Good luck!

My reply

I rang Audio Chocolate today and was told I would be charged a serve fee because I did not buy it through them, obviously.

So Im going take the unit back to the store and ask for my money back.

I own a two, 2 moog theremins one signed by Bob Moog, a Mini moog voyager, Mooger foogers Delay & Ring Mod.
I love my Moog equipment its fat & works well but Im sorry this unit is a piece of crap. My Behringer FCV100
kicks the MP-201 ass. Sure it doesn't have all the cool features, but does what the MP-201 cant, it works when you
pull it out of the box.

Disappointed : (

It does seem odd 2 of the same issue!

I'm sure you have it all right, but I made one oversight when I 1st got mine so worth asking it again... You are using a TS (Mono) Jack - Jack yeah? Almost every expression pedal in the world uses TRS (Stereo) so I jumped straight to the TRS leads when I opened mine - Doh.

Shep