![reason 4 sustain pedal inverted reason 4 sustain pedal inverted](https://www.learntoplaymusic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pedal-socket-011.jpg)
![reason 4 sustain pedal inverted reason 4 sustain pedal inverted](https://images.tcdn.com.br/img/img_prod/414764/376_1_20180125113141.jpg)
I was able to 'dial' out a lot of fizz and smooth things out on a patch that was otherwise proving a bit too fiddly. I've spent a bit of time today tweaking sounds as a I play, and it's made tone-shaping far, far quicker. If you don't use PEM, give it a try! It's a HUGE time saver. This has finally opened up the true usefulness of Pedal Edit Mode to me a feature I was really looking forward to when I first read about the Helix. I don't need to worry about anything happening when entering PEM until I actually move the pedal itself. One big issue I had with the FV/EVs (which I thought was a fault of the Helix) was that the values in Pedal Edit Mode would jump and 'flutter' as soon as I entered. I've now got 4 - 3 for the Helix and 1 spare (which may get used for my BOSS GP-10). OK, the EX-P isn't going to win any prizes for sturdiness, but at roughly 1/6th the price of a new FV-500 (and about a 10th of a Mission pedal!), it's quite easy to justify having a couple of brand new spares. They're smooth, and the taper seems good. The range is fantastic! It's got exactly the right amount of tolerance at either end to make auto-engage a joy to use, and pitch effects work brilliantly with no fear of missing 100%. The EX-P was 99% plug and play, with only the polarity needing switched in the global settings and flicking the EX-P's switch to 'Other'. I'm a bit short on cash at the moment, so I decided to take a chance on the M Audio EX-P and bought 2 for £14 each. I put up with it for volume but, due to the size/weight of the FVs and the range of the EV, I decided to sell them and look for something else. I had a spare EV-5, too, but it was the opposite - I couldn't reliably get to 100% as there seemed to be no spare range at the toe down position. I understand the idea behind the 'dead zones' on the FVs, but they were a bit much for me - a waste of range (even with spacers fitted). I had nothing but problems from the start, though. I wanted something rugged for realtime control of both the Helix and Ableton Live. When I got my Helix Rack & Control last year, I decided to treat it to some new expression pedals, so I bought 2 FV-500Ls and an FV-500H.
![reason 4 sustain pedal inverted reason 4 sustain pedal inverted](https://www.transcriptiongear.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/a/dac-fp113_1.jpg)
All of them have their quirks, but they usually get the job done after a bit of set up. In all that time I've been through many, many different expression pedals. So I've been using guitar/amp modellers for nearly 20 years now - right back to the Roland VG-8 in 1998.