At the risk of starting something actually useful . . .

What do you control with your feet?
I use a dedicated damper (sustain) pedal connected to its own input.
I use the Korg EC5 foot controller.
Usually it is set up as follows:
A - Vocal Harmonizer on/off
B - Text Down
C - Text Up
D - Intro 1 (to use as an additional break/fill)
E - Break/fill

For some songs, I change it up a bit, sometimes using three of the switches for variation changes.
Occasionally, for special applications, I will set Songbook Next, Variation Up and Down, or Mic presets. Not often for these.
In addition to these, I have one additional programmable footswitch, which I generally leave on multipad start/stop. I'm thinking of assigned a lead sound change to that, probably through a Performance change. Experimenting today.
Oh and when I anticipate using the Chord Sequencer, I have a setup saved for that on the FC5, using the B and C.
I thought it might be interesting to exchange ideas, since there really is no right or wrong, or mine is better than yours involved!

Hey Don,
Mostly just where I go. Couldn't resist.

Deane

I don't use any pedals at all on stage only when I am recording.

Vocal harmony on/off
Sustain/effects on/off

Everything else I just hit a button on the keyboard.

Gary

Oh Goodness! Something finally useful! Thank you Don for breaking the pattern...I almost started wanting a Tyros5.

Pedals...for me, usually only two.

Right foot...Yamaha FC-7 Volume pedal....set to control only R1, R2, R3 sounds. That way I can vary the right hand volume without affecting the rest of the band...er...I mean, the accompaniment. I find the right foot better for volume pedal due to many years on B-3 and Electone.

Left foot...trained to use sustain. Set to affect only R1,R2,R3, sounds.

Everything else controlled by pressing panel buttons, moving wheels and sliders, and occasionally adjusting master volume knob.

I'm still in the stone age compared to some, as I actually use music BOOKS! So no need of a pedal to turn pages, as I make sure song is no more than two pages wide.

OPT-that means off pedal topic.

The Test:

A friend of mine at a gig (accidentally) dropped his electronic music pad thingy on the concrete floor...it did not work afterwards.

I took one of my music binders, and (purposely) dropped it on the floor right next to where his fell...it worked afterwards.

Winner? Music binder.

My friend did not appreciate the contest at all. He said the floor under my music binder was likely made of softer concrete.

I let him look over my shoulder and read my book for the rest of the gig.

Sometimes the old ways are better.

Ian

I have quite a it of redundancy for my lyrics. In the first place, I probably do a thousand songs from memory.
Then I have all Lyric/Chord charts loaded onto the PA3X, and also on a USB thumb drive.
I also have them all on the laptop, plus they are posted in a file I can access via internet if it ever became essential. I could do this via phone if the necessity ever arose.
In addition, I have tons of PDF files on the laptop, showing melody lines, words and chords. I have used maybe two of them in the past five years or so.
When I quit using books, I was toting around a home-made wooden bookcase with 10 loose-leaf binders, and half a dozen fake books. It probably weighed more than any single piece of gear I have now!
DonM

I have four ring binders with the tunes that are difficult to play without music, or at least referring to it occasionally while playing, more of a crutch than anything. If I have the music in front of me, i could probably play through without looking...but if it ain't there...trouble. Using ring binders allows me to easily change out or add to the contents.

They weigh a total of 10 lbs., and I have them in a soft case with a handle...basically an old small keyboard gig bag.

They are also shockproof (see above test).

The rest of my repertoire is in my memory, and most tunes are very basic every day chord changes...must be at least several hundred tunes. I also don't sing, Don, so I don't need to remember lyrics, although sometimes i'll leave them in the sheet music so I can phrase the passage better.

I have a list of most the tunes I play by ear (or by memory, if you prefer) inside each binder cover.

Lately I've been playing quite a bit from the big Broadway musicals, and doing a lot of reading...but, I'm not gigging presently so it's more for fun and keeping my chops up.

Ian

Love your sense of humor !!!!! this brought out a hearty laugh

All I use is a FC 4 sustain ped I push the rest that is all I need the less at my feet the better

Ron, I use a Roland DP-?, the one with the rubber base that folds out so you can rest your heel on it. Very well made, as the one I use is easily 15 years old. I have another one forv a spare, and never had to use it...works perfect in Tyros4 and probably Tyros5 as well. You never have to chase it around the floor, or duct tape it down.

Ian

I'm actually using Yamaha FC7 for sustain. Plus an FC5 (I think) for the other programmable input.
DonM

I can't believe it!!!! I'm a real pro at last!!!!!!! I use the Sustain pedal and the EC5 just like my buddy DonM, I use the middle switch to start and stop the Acc. I use another one for the #1 fill. I use another for the stop mode that let's you hit a chord for a beat like doing, You made (bomp bomp) me cry (bomp bomp) when you said (bomp bomp) goodbye, "Ain't That A Shame

I think that is a good idea I always chasing it drives me crazy

One for sustain, one for VH on/off ...

Regarding the earlier reply from Don M. Whether I intend to sing or not, I find that having the words of a song in front of me, especially a song that has not been played for a while, absolutely essential for recalling a half forgotten tune. Simply by seeing the words of a song that I used to know well, I find that I can recall the tune much more easily. In some cases, I simply cannot instantly recall old or obscure songs in their entirety (or at all) without seeing the words.

Exactly!
DonM

I use two sustain pedals (I often find myself wanting to use sustain on only one side of a split then the other quite often) an FC-7 seven switch pedal, usually set up to Variations 1-4 (using auto-fill to call the correct fill), Performance up/down and Leslie Fast/Slow, then an EV-5 expression pedal.

However, I am finding more and more I would like to control with the FC-7 (you can now trigger the audio loops with the FC-7 instead of tying up 7 notes at the top of the keyboard, yay!) and Roland only provide the one global map. I have been trying to get Roland to allow the FC-7 assignments to be remembered in the Performance, NOT one global one... If you are a Roland user, contact Roland and add your voice to this, please.

Coming from an organ background in my youth, I don't find having so much at my feet any problem at all... after all, back in the organ days, I had at LEAST 13 'switches' at my feet and a swell pedal, and I was expected to play basslines with them! Triggering a variation change or choosing which side of the split I want to sustain is hardly anywhere near as complicated.

But in user demo after demo, I hear flubs as we have to stop playing, dash over and hit a button, and rush back to the keyboard hopefully in time for the next change. Play something with a ton of changes (and often, the busiest chord density comes at section boundaries, the EXACT time you usually find yourself needing to ask for fills, or OTS changes, etc.) and you may find yourself short-changing the music to ensure you hit the button.

Personally, I'd rather do the button pushing with my feet, so I don't HAVE to make that choice... Do I keep playing, or do I hit that button? Can't do both with only two hands!