🎹Types of Sustain Pedals - What Is It? & What Does It Do?🎹

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#Sustain #Damper #Pedal
Hello, and welcome to another video from Merriam Pianos. In this video we’re going to look at the different types of digital piano sustain pedals; an absolutely essential accessory when considering a digital piano. A digital piano sustain pedal mimics the right pedal on an acoustic piano, which when pressed down, allows any notes that were played to continue ringing for a period of time even after the keys are no longer pressed.
Now, the main thing here to keep in mind is that all sustain pedals are not created equal, so in this video we’ll look at the different types out there.
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Types of Sustain Pedals:
Basic On/Off Pedal
The most basic type of sustain pedal is the basic on/off switch pedal. These are essentially just a little square piece of plastic that skates all over the floor when pressed, and not reliable from a durability standpoint. They’re very inexpensive, as low as around $10 or so, and while they leave a lot to be desired, they’ll do the trick in a pitch. These are typically what come standard on digital pianos in the $500-$700 range. Perfectly fine for beginners, but not a long term solution for gigging musicians.
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Damper Pedal:
The housing on these is much more robust. The pedal itself is usually made from metal, and the spring mechanism inside is designed to mimic the resistance you’ll find in a real piano. These provide a much more authentic musical experience and are generally much more durable. These generally retail for $30-50 or so, and were the standard for semi-professional and professional models until about 5 years ago, which brings us to;
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Damper Pedal with Half Pedal Function:
These are a step up from a standard damper pedal in that they offer the ability to simulate half pedaling, like on an acoustic piano. Half pedaling involves controlling the nuancing on pedaling depending on how hard the pedal is pressed. Most major manufacturers offer these standard on their semi-professional and professional models, generally found in the $1,000 price point and up.
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Floating Triple Pedal Units:
From there we move on to the various types of triple pedal units available on the market. These tend to be manufacturer specific and model specific and feature a soft pedal, sostenuto pedal and damper pedal, like on a grand piano. These typically are not cross compatible, so keep that in mind.
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Conclusions:
We hope this video cleared up the differences in different types of sustain pedals, and please feel free to contact us with any questions!
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[@Zoco101]

Most of the Yamahas have half-pedalling functionality, but the supplied pedal is often just the switch type. Mine has a full-size robust pedal, but it's still just a switch. I think there is a reason. Few portable pedals will stay still enough on the floor for you to benefit from half-pedalling. I bought one with that functionality, but I was dissatisfied so I returned it. Finally, I bought the furniture stand and matching 3-pedal unit, just for home studio use. Now I have 3 useful pedals that stay still, but for gigs I just have a glorified switch. The KZbin reviewer Pianoman Chuck has some interesting observations too, particularly about which shoes reduce pedal slip. Supposedly, our shoes are the real culprits. I often use a small car floor mat. It helps. In an emergency you can jam the pedal into a corner of an X stand, but it results in a bad piano playing posture, and twisting your leg like that is very unkind to your knees. Speaking about posture guys, if your back often hurts while playing, try raising your seat. One of the advantages of many portable piano stands is adjustable height. I'm no giant, but I have my gear set up just a bit higher than the typical piano height. The stool just happens to be a little tall anyway. Saves my back. It also makes me a little more prominent on stage. And thanks Stuart, for consistently saying "acoustic piano" (for the wooden ones) throughout the video, and for not saying "real piano". You're a hero!

[@rjs11189]

Just picked up my first real piano--thanks so much for your videos! They've been so helpful for me!

[@MerriamPianos]

Wonderful! We wish you all the best with your new purchase, let us know how things progress with it :)

[@gursualtunkaya]

@@MerriamPianos My Roland RP701 doesn't sustain notes long enough. The RP501R didn't have that problem. I would really appreciate any suggestions 🙏

[@lucasvieira1805]

THANK YOU, best piano channel, is the first time I hear about half pedal

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! Thanks for the kind words and for tuning in! We appreciate it. :)

[@aldousorwell8030]

Great Info, thank you!

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching! :)

[@amirprog]

What solution would you recommend to keep yamaha fc4a sustain pedal stay in place?

[@artyomhvans]

Broke my small square Casio SP3 (as you rightly pointed out), hence watching your video to go for a more serious one. Thanks!

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! Getting a grand piano style digital sustain pedal is definitely a worthwhile upgrade! :)

[@dinl2034]

I'm very confused with this "Progressive Damper Action" from those Roland digital pianos, is that the same as half pedal support in other digital pianos like Kawai's or is that more advanced than just half pedal support? (like "Progressive Damper Action" can fully mimic acoustic piano sustain pedal?)

[@jeanlee5095]

Do you have any information on a sustain pedal for the handicapped person who does not have the ability to use a foot pedal? I read about a switch that can be attached to a headband allowing the movement of the head to activate the switch but been unable to find any details. I'm in the U.S.

[@theprior46]

Very good informative video. Can you tell me if there is any sustain pedal made as a Knee bar control that can be operated by moving one's knee sideways to move a lever that does simple sustain like the floor mounted foot pedal but that can be clamped under the keyframe bed to allow pedalling for someone with an amputation? I've not had much luck looking around for one to fit a Casio digital piano.

[@MerriamPianos]

Thanks for the kind words and for tuning in! I have not personally seen a knee bar control like that before, but I am sure it is possible to design and construct one. However, my suspicions would be that this would have to be a custom-made device, especially if the need is to fit a specific piano model. Thanks again and best of luck with your search! I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you and your piano. :)

[@theprior46]

@@MerriamPianos Thank you very much that rather confirms my suspicions but it's not the end of the world to work around it with a "jury rig" as they say in the sailing world. Probably a light weight thick plastic right angled plate taken from something being scrapped and then sticky backed velcro (oops sorry Velcro® I should say Hook and Loop fastener adhesive strip to attach the square floor sustain pedal normally stuck to the floor with duck tape to stop it sliding around. That could be stuck on the vertical surface which could be wooden or plastic and the only tricky bit is sticking the plate to the piano keybed underside without drilling into the bottom of the piano which could drill right through a circuit board! Not a good idea. thanks for you comments

[@TaylorTaylorMusic]

This is super helpful. Thanks!

[@JoeLinux2000]

I have my flip switch pedal velcroed to a heavy steel plate with silicone rubber feet on the bottom. It's OK but not perfect. It still creeps on carpet, but very slowly. I would like partial pedaling. I'm not sure if Pianoteq or Casio supports it.

[@Zoco101]

Internet Privacy: See my comment on half pedalling and the options. IMO it requires a very secure pedal. Clever of you to use that steel plate though. Yamaha should make a portable three-pedal unit that can clip onto the back of its renowned portable sub woofer.

[@bishoprandymorris]

My pedal does not work,. I have a CTK-401 with a ammoon model pedal.

[@Zoco101]

@@bishoprandymorris Does it work in reverse? I mean is it stuck on sustain till you press it down? That would be a polarity issue. Normally, you should connect a pedal before you switch on the instrument. If you've already done that correctly, try connecting it after you switch on. And there are ways of permanently switching polarity too.

[@Jerez448]

Me recomendarías el pedal Medeli P80A??

[@gotellthem2099]

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