Good question Donny. I'm sure there are still some bass-kickers around, but probably not as many as there used to be due to things likes arranger keyboards with automatic bass and death.

When I do a solo gig it is with an 88 note weighted key digital piano and a Studio Logic MP117 bass pedal unit. No auto anything; and it is a pleasure to play that way and the audience always enjoys the music. On the other hand I have started doing some senior type gigs lately and have used an arranger for a couple of gigs so far and that is fun as well. But there is something to be said for having a live piano and bass player as opposed to a synthetically produced full band.

As for the various brands of bass pedals; all they need to do is transmit on a MIDI channel and nothing more. These units that have all sorts of controls are kind of unnecessary if you are plugging them into an arranger keyboard or digital piano for the purpose of playing bass parts. The sound selection, transposition, sustain, or whatever is set-up and controlled from the keyboard, right?

Hammond makes the absolute sturdiest set of 20 note bass pedals, the XPK-200, that I have ever seen. They are built like a tank, and unfortunately weight about as much. The Roland's are also built well and are as expensive as the Hammond. Both the Roland and Hammond have fairly short pedals so any chance of heel/toe is gone. Which brings me to the Studio Logic. The MP113 and MP177 are encased in plastic instead of metal like the Hammond so they are much lighter. MUCH lighter. But unless you plan on standing on top of the case or otherwise mistreating them, that just doesn't matter. And something that is very cool is the MP117 is velocity sensitive. You may not think that is important but I have found it very nice to give a bit of an accent to an upright bass sound here and there. Also, the MP117 uses real wood for the pedal caps instead of plastic which is a nice touch and the pedals are a bit longer so you can play heel-toe if you wish.

I use bass pedals because I dread doing left-hand bass. It is so confining not to be able to comp with my left hand. This goes for when I am doing my solo piano/bass gigs and well as when I am doing an organ gig with my Hammond.

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Wm. David McMahan
LearnMyKeyboard
JazzItUp Band

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 05-19-2009).] (Added comments)

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 05-19-2009).]