A Triple-Pedal Quandry

[AlenK]

I'm posting this in the DP General Discussion forum rather than in the PX-560 forum because Casio's triple-pedal units are designed for many different Casio DP models.

  
I have a PX-560 on a CP-67BK stand. Loving it, and IMO the 560 looks quite nice on the stand. They are both high-quality products. My next step (literally) will be to get a triple-pedal unit. Easy, right? I just buy an SP-33 and install it. 

However, I have a few concerns. The SP-33 is a dark gray color, not black, so it doesn't quite match the stand (but hey, a very minor issue). The pedals are short, apparently coming in at about 2.5 inches long and reportedly causing some difficulties for people wearing shoes. That's more troubling. And there are a number of reports that the pedals feel flimsy and "plasticky." I haven't seen any reports of pedals actually breaking so the latter complaints are just about about how they "feel," which may also be partly caused by their short length. 

How do owners here of the SP-33 feel about it? Is it comfortable to use and has it stood up well with time?

Ergonomically, I might prefer a mechanically unattached, but otherwise solid, triple-pedal unit like the M-Audio SP-Triple or the Studiologic VFP-3-10. But those products are only of limited use with the PX-560. With either I could connect only two of the pedals to the 560's 1/4-inch pedal input jacks and I could well need a splitter cable to do even that. And I wouldn't get half-pedaling. 

It may be possible to modify such a triple-pedal unit. One such modification is described here. The pdf describes how the author connected three single-pedal units, one of them modified electronically to output an additional half-pedal signal, to a PX-120's bottom connector, which is designed to connect to an SP-32 (predecessor to the SP-33). However, it is unclear if half-damper functionality would work correctly on a PX-560. The SP-32 is intended for models such as the PX-X20 and PX-X30 (where the second "X" is 1 or 3) as well as other models of similar vintage and is apparently incompatible with the more recent PX-X50 and PX-X60 models, which reportedly require the SP-33. 

One of the reasons for that may be revealed in this thread here on the Casio Music Forums, in which we learn that the SP-33's damper pedal passes a reference voltage coming out of the DP's bottom connector through a potentiometer, thus feeding back a continuously changing voltage. Hence, it allows continuous variation of damper position, not just three states (off, half and full). That's a great feature and I don't know of a stand-alone triple-pedal unit that works in the same way (and hence might be a better starting point for a modification). 

Of course, connecting anything not made by Casio to the bottom pedal input (unlike the 1/4-inch pedal inputs on the back panel) could void the warranty. I don't know. This is no minor concern because I understand you get a three-year warranty if you register your purchase with Casio. That's pretty good and a sign that Casio stands behind their quality. So I'm not advocating doing such a modification. But I do find it an intriguing possibility for those who are comfortable working with electronics (in this case it's pretty simple stuff).
 

[Joe Muscara]

I don't own an SP-33 but I've seen them being knocked around attached to models like the CGP-700 at various stores, not attached to the stand for some reason, and they seem to be doing fine.

[sslyutov]

I have SP-33.

gray color - it shouldn't be an issue, you can paint it any color you want

The pedals  do look short. Initially I was suspicious that it will be inconvenient to use them.

 

I do use sustain and sostenuto a lot. The soft pedal barely even touched.

The major concern could be that the pedals are too close.  I would make a model SP-22 with only two pedals

sustain and sostenuto with more distance apart

 

The pedals are not flimsy at all.

Make sure that the bar holding the pedals firmly lays on the floor (it shouldn't be floating).

Also I have fixed the bar against the stand in two spots, It was not a problem since I have built my own stand(factory one is a flimsy for me  ).

 

There is a a progressive damping (half-damping).

This is one of the reason why I did not buy third party unit.

I am not sure that other brands can be used without appropriate calibration.

 

It will be inconvenient to use them in shoes (if you use more then one pedal).

However this is a home model. Slippers work Ok .:)

My triple pedal unit works for a year - so far so good. 

 

One customization for SP-33 I have in mind is to flip positions of soft and sostenuto pedals - so that sostenuto will be most left pedal, soft a central one and sustain stays at the right side.