CT-X5000 sustain pedal

[Cassioplaya]

My second issue with the ct-x5000 is the sustain pedal.

 

I have a sustain pedal, made by GEM. It has a "mono" jack which is the same as the pedals which can be seen in CT-X5000 "bundles" which also include a stand and seat.

 

I plug it in to "pedal 1" and the keyboard becomes sustained when played, but without me touching the pedal. Pedal 2 input has no effect, I believe, because this is for an assignable pedal. I have tried all combinations of on/off in the pedal settings section but cannot get the pedal to work as a sustain pedal.

 

The manual recommends that "You can connect a CASIO sustain pedal ("Separately Available Accessories", page EN-3) to the 54 Pedal 1 jack. This would be the mono-style jack as per the bundled pedals. I go to page EN-3 which directs me to http://world.casio.com where I search for "CT-X5000 pedal".

 

Sorry, your search did not return any results. Try different keywords.

 

https://www.casio.co.uk/ > Your search did not match any documents.

 

https://music.casio.co.uk/ctx5000 shows me the SP-3 pedal and the SP20 pedal both of which have mono jacks.

 

However, the manual has a picture of a "stereo" jack required for both pedal 1 and pedal 2 inputs.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Derek

 

[Chandler Holloway]

You do want a sustain/footswitch pedal with a mono jack, that drawing in the manual is referring to an expression pedal (which is stereo).

 

The problem with your GEM pedal is that the polarity is the opposite of what your CT-X5000 is expecting. That's why the CT-X thinks you're pressing the pedal when you're not, and that you've released the pedal when you're pressing it. Some Casios do have the ability to sense the polarity of the pedal when they first power on, but the CT-X series does not have this feature.

 

Pedal jack polarity is basically a coin flip and differs wildly from brand to brand. That's why a lot of third party sustain pedals have a polarity switch that allows them to swap between the two types at will, meaning they should always work regardless of the type of keyboard they're paired up with. You could check the bottom or sides of your GEM pedal to see if it has a switch, but if it doesn't, you're out of luck. If you have a soldering iron and you're not afraid to open things up, you might be able modify your current pedal to reverse the polarity, but there's no guarantee that this will work and I can't offer you much advice there.

 

The SP-3 and SP-20 are both of the correct polarity and will work with your CT-X just fine. You could also get an M-Audio SP-2, which has a polarity switch. This could be better for you in the long run, in case you add another keyboard from a different manufacturer to your collection later on. If your new keyboard is expecting a different pedal polarity, the switch will have you covered either way.

[Cassioplaya]

18 hours ago, Chandler Holloway said:

You do want a sustain/footswitch pedal with a mono jack, that drawing in the manual is referring to an expression pedal (which is stereo).

 

The problem with your GEM pedal is that the polarity is the opposite of what your CT-X5000 is expecting. That's why the CT-X thinks you're pressing the pedal when you're not, and that you've released the pedal when you're pressing it. Some Casios do have the ability to sense the polarity of the pedal when they first power on, but the CT-X series does not have this feature.

 

Pedal jack polarity is basically a coin flip and differs wildly from brand to brand. That's why a lot of third party sustain pedals have a polarity switch that allows them to swap between the two types at will, meaning they should always work regardless of the type of keyboard they're paired up with. You could check the bottom or sides of your GEM pedal to see if it has a switch, but if it doesn't, you're out of luck. If you have a soldering iron and you're not afraid to open things up, you might be able modify your current pedal to reverse the polarity, but there's no guarantee that this will work and I can't offer you much advice there.

 

The SP-3 and SP-20 are both of the correct polarity and will work with your CT-X just fine. You could also get an M-Audio SP-2, which has a polarity switch. This could be better for you in the long run, in case you add another keyboard from a different manufacturer to your collection later on. If your new keyboard is expecting a different pedal polarity, the switch will have you covered either way.

 

Dear Chandler,

 

Thanks for clarifying that.

 

I'm off to dismantle the pedal ☺

 

best wishes

 

Derek

 

[Cassioplaya]

19 hours ago, Chandler Holloway said:

You do want a sustain/footswitch pedal with a mono jack, that drawing in the manual is referring to an expression pedal (which is stereo).

 

The problem with your GEM pedal is that the polarity is the opposite of what your CT-X5000 is expecting. That's why the CT-X thinks you're pressing the pedal when you're not, and that you've released the pedal when you're pressing it. Some Casios do have the ability to sense the polarity of the pedal when they first power on, but the CT-X series does not have this feature.

 

Pedal jack polarity is basically a coin flip and differs wildly from brand to brand. That's why a lot of third party sustain pedals have a polarity switch that allows them to swap between the two types at will, meaning they should always work regardless of the type of keyboard they're paired up with. You could check the bottom or sides of your GEM pedal to see if it has a switch, but if it doesn't, you're out of luck. If you have a soldering iron and you're not afraid to open things up, you might be able modify your current pedal to reverse the polarity, but there's no guarantee that this will work and I can't offer you much advice there.

 

The SP-3 and SP-20 are both of the correct polarity and will work with your CT-X just fine. You could also get an M-Audio SP-2, which has a polarity switch. This could be better for you in the long run, in case you add another keyboard from a different manufacturer to your collection later on. If your new keyboard is expecting a different pedal polarity, the switch will have you covered either way.

Hi, Chandler.

 

I've reversed the wires and the pedal acted in reverse - sustain is pedal up. I checked the keyboard settings then returned to re-reverse the wires.

 

Nope. Same result. I'll have to purchase another pedal.

 

Thanks for your input. It stopped me from wasting unnecessary time in trying to figure out what I was doing.

 

best wishes

 

Derek

ps, my soldering iron blew up 8 years ago and I couldn't justify buying another (so much stuff) so I used a metal vice, a blow-lamp and an old screwdriver.

 

[Jokeyman123]

A blowtorch? Whew! and vices? I have no vices....I'm as pure as the driven snow!...Curly Howard. also used a blowtorch to good effect. I hope this isn't what the Casio repair tech guys use..... i tried this wore-switching on a sustain pedal and it also didn't work-because some switches when pressed, close the circuit, others open the circuit it has to do with the design of the switch-why switching wires won't work. I use the kind of pedals Chandler mentioned-with a switch that must be wired internally to make the switch appear open or closed regardless of whether your foot is down or not. I also use the Casio single pedals, work fine. 

[Cassioplaya]

1 hour ago, Jokeyman123 said:

A blowtorch? Whew! and vices? I have no vices....I'm as pure as the driven snow!...Curly Howard. also used a blowtorch to good effect. I hope this isn't what the Casio repair tech guys use..... i tried this wore-switching on a sustain pedal and it also didn't work-because some switches when pressed, close the circuit, others open the circuit it has to do with the design of the switch-why switching wires won't work. I use the kind of pedals Chandler mentioned-with a switch that must be wired internally to make the switch appear open or closed regardless of whether your foot is down or not. I also use the Casio single pedals, work fine. 

 

'Needs must as the devil drives' as they say in ye olde communities in the times before soldering irons ☺

 

Thanks for the advice about the pedal

 

best wishes

 

Derek

[Joe Muscara]

I didn't want to say something about it to appear to dispute Chander's expertise, but the fact is that the commonly used term "polarity" for sustain pedals is incorrect. As Jokeyman says, it's really whether the switch is normally open or normally closed. There are some manufacturers who make pedals that have a switch so if one position doesn't work for your keyboard, you can switch to the other one and that should do it.

[Cassioplaya]

39 minutes ago, Joe Muscara said:

I didn't want to say something about it to appear to dispute Chandler's expertise, but the fact is that the commonly used term "polarity" for sustain pedals is incorrect. As Jokeyman says, it's really whether the switch is normally open or normally closed. There are some manufacturers who make pedals that have a switch so if one position doesn't work for your keyboard, you can switch to the other one and that should do it.

Thanks, Joe.

 

I appreciate your contribution. As a layman, I understand both descriptions. I believe that Chandler was making the explanation easier for me ☺.

 

I believe that he and Brad should collaborate on "CT-X5000 for Dummies" and I could write the foreword.

 

I ordered an M-Audio SP-2 in order that I don't feel the need to re-solder anything with my camp-fire techniques. I'll let the pedal make up its mind.

 

best wishes

 

Derek