Digitally Controlled Expression - Get Expressive!

Stefan Fast of YouTube channel ThePedalZone goes on a trip to the creative playground that is expression. Modern technology is taking it to the next level…

- Stefan Fast

The joy of manipulating your tone hands-free in real-time was once reserved for treadle-based effects such as the wah and Whammy, or expensive rack-based effects. The world of pedals has come such a long way over the recent years, however, that it’s more or less become the norm – rather than the rare unicorn-like exception it once was – for a pedal to have some sort of expressive capabilities either via ‘expression control’ or ‘control voltage’. So, let’s take a look at some of the different expression devices out there and how I like to use them. But first, I’ll quickly break down the differences between Expression and Control Voltage…

1. EXPRESSION VS CONTROL VOLTAGE

You’ve probably encountered expression control before, but maybe the world of the control voltage (aka CV) is new to you. Both are methods that allow you to control parameters on your pedals, but where all pedals with expressive capabilities can handle expression, not all can handle CV. The easiest way to clarify the difference between the two is to see the expression as a passive control method and CV as an active control method.