Keith McMillen 12 Step

"The 12 Step is a great way to send note data to my DAW without taking my hands off my main controller. The biggest and most pleasant part for me was how accurate the velocity sensitivity feels. You can get some really nuanced performances out of this thing, more than I ever expected from a foot controller"

Keith McMillen Instruments 12 Step is a MIDI controller for your feet; designed for straightforward musical performance. It can be connected via USB to Mac and Windows computers directly out of the box, and used to play scales on virtual instruments without any configuration. The Keith McMillen Instruments 12 Step is a plug-and-play device with all compatible computers; meaning you won't have to load software drivers in order to use with. Each of the backlit keys on the 12 Step features velocity sensitivity, poly aftertouch and pitch bend, plus, you can assign each key to play up to five notes simultaneously. This gives you the ability to give a nuanced and emotive performance even while sporting footwear. Because the 12 Step was designed to be stepped on, it's armored with tough carbon fiber construction. The chosen materials and design make the compact 12 Step surprisingly lightweight. The rear of the 12 Step features a 1/8" Expression Pedal input, so you can use the Expression Pedal of your choice. A short, right-angle 1/8" to 1/4" adapter cable is included for connecting standard Expression Pedals. This jack can also be used to send Control Voltage from the 12 Step. A protective travel sleeve and an A-to-B USB cable are also included (the 12 Step is conveniently bus powered from the connected USB port). Each key on the 12 Step has a corresponding LED light beside it. The lights give you visual feedback on the state of each key. A centrally located "Select" key makes it possible to change the octave of the scale, switch presets and carry out other foot-controllable tasks. There are 59 factory presets, like chromatic scale, poly (which lets you trigger two keys at once) and drum set (which assigns the keys for a more intuitive drum-playing layout). There are numerous chord and scale presets as well. You can also program your own presets with the included software editor (again, Mac and Windows compatible). You can create up to 128 presets. The 12 Step Editor is available as a download from the manufacturer's website.