Count To Five

[Seance]

very cool stop motion animation/demos forwarded to me by the creator.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUNNRgxdIf8[/youtube]

Great stuff!

[sca__tterbrain]

I'm probably missing something, but is it possible to disable the expression pedal without having to manually disconnect it?

[hotfat]

I don't think so. I suppose you might hack a switch in there ...

[sca__tterbrain]

So if i want, let's say, in a live context, play a song where i control a parameter with the exp pedal, and then a song where i want to manually adjust all the parameters i have to physically unplug the exp pedal, right?

[hotfat]

Right, the way the stock pedal is.

I don't know if adding a switch and having to mess with that instead of simply pulling the expression pedal plug out when required would answer your needs … Don't hold me responsible for any ill effects or damage but here you go.

I pulled one of my CT5s apart and found that it appears to detect the presence of an expression pedal by whether or not +3.3vdc, that is supplied to the expression jack’s “Ring”, is applied to a pin called “EXP_D”. The expression jack has “normally closed” switching contacts that provide this connection when there is no plug in the jack. When you plug an expression pedal in, the switch contacts open and the EXP_D pin no longer gets the +3.3vdc. This indicates the presence of a pedal.

On a Rev “L” CT5 it looks like you might be able to hack a switch in by:

- On the Switch/LED/Exp board, cutting the trace that goes between the expression jack “Ring” connection and the 14-pin connector pin marked “EXP_R”.
- Then use a SPDT switch to take EXP_R to either the expression jack “Ring” or the 14-pin connector pin marked “EXP_D”.
- It’s pretty crowded in there but it looks like there’s enough room to mount the switch on the side next to the expression pedal jack.

The caveats that I can see are:

- This still leaves the expression jack’s “Tip” connection attached to the CT5 and this would typically be the “wiper” of the expression pedal’s potentiometer. This means that the Tip would be at arbitrary resistance levels depending on where the pedal is set. This may or may not be an issue. You’d have to try it, or … Scott?
- You’d have to make sure that the switch is in the correct position when the Expression Pedal is NOT plugged in. It doesn’t look like this is a critical issue …

[multi_s]

ya that will work fine. the data on the expression channel is ignored when EXP_D is held high.

[hotfat]

Scott,
Shouldn't that be - "... data on the expression channel is ignored when EXP_D is HIGH"?
-Tim

[multi_s]

hi

yes it should have said when high it is ignored.

s

[baremountain]

It seems trivial to mention but if you're not into DIYing stuff *and* you don't wanna unplug your expression jack, you could always park your expression pedal at whatever value you want the control in question to be set at for the song. Depending on which mode you're in, there should be at least one knob (Mode 1 Time or Dir, Mode 2 Dir or Rand, any Dir on Mode 3) that's easy to set at your preferred value with the expression pedal, unless you're in mode 3 without a quantize setting.

[SecretMachine]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me how I can update the firmware on the CT5 if I am using a Mac?

Many thanks,

[Zzzach]

Hi. I’m new to the forum

I love my 2017 Count to Five to bits, but have a potentially dumb question...

I’ve tried to create a single tap fifth/octave delay in mode 1, but even with feedback at minimum I get a second repeat. Is this normal? For what it’s worth, I only hear the double repeat when DIR 1 is set above normal speed (in both forward and reverse directions).

Thanks!

[hotfat]

Zzzach,

The phenomenon you mention was explained by Scott previously in this forum. Edited quotes below (I hope this is kosher):

...
2) In Mode 1 with the feedback knob all the way to the left (0%) it gives 1 repeat when in forward unison setting of the dir 1 knob. But when using other settings like the octave up it gives two repeats instead of one when the feedback knob is all the way to left. Why is that?

...
2) The signal is fedback from the read to the write head. 0% feedback means that nothing from the read head is fedback to the write head. That does not necessarily imply any particular number of repeats should be heard. For example, at different speeds (DIR 1 setting) the read head may encounter a certain memory space several times inbetween writes to that space, since the write head is always moving at a fixed speed. It is also entirely possible certain memory spaces are not encountered at all inbetween writes, and no repeats of portions the audio are heard at all.

[Zzzach]

Thanks hotfat!
I guess I’ll use a pitch shifter in the effects loop of my other delay for this purpose. That will leave the CT5 free to do weirder stuff anyway.

[hotfat]

SecretMachine,

There are some suggestions for Linux/Mac firmware uploads in the "comments" section close to the bottom of the page:
http://mtlasm.blogspot.com/p/count.html
I don't have a Mac so I can't speak to success or failure ...

[ogguitar]

Made a vid with some CT5 settings I use on my band's upcoming album. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fURx3kg7vk[/youtube]