The Best Sheet Music Page Turning Pedals on the Market and Their Differences
Alternatives to Coda's STOMP Foot Pedal
Are you looking for a bluetooth foot pedal? If you are then you’ve come to the right place.
It’s helpful to know what options you have for any item. Especially when it comes to electronics and technology. A wildcard Google search can be a bit of a mess. And you’ll likely get a lot of articles or pedals that just aren’t relevant to your needs.
Let’s be up front. Coda Music Technologies makes the STOMP Page Turner. I truly believe that STOMP is the best choice for musicians looking to:
- Transition to paperless/digital sheet music
- Control charts, set lists, and lyric sheets
- Change slides in PowerPoint or ProPresenter
- Trigger loops and backing tracks
- Start and Stop click tracks
All hands-free.
With that said, it’s nice to compare options and see what’s best for you.
To make sure you get the right pedal for your needs, I’ve compiled a list of the 4 most popular Bluetooth pages turners that aren’t STOMP.
Mugig Page Turner Pedal
Let me pull back the manufacturing curtain a little. The Mugig Pedal is an example of what’s called a “white label” product. Built by a manufacturing company, they take existing tech and build inexpensive units. Sometimes they were the contract manufacturer for another company, and sometimes they just copy something that’s popular. It can sound shady...and sometimes it is, but most of the time it’s just how things roll in the manufacturing world.
Have you ever searched for something on Amazon, and got a flood of inexpensive brands you’ve never heard of in the search results, many of them looking identical to each other? They were most likely these white label products.
This is not to diminish the potential quality! I do this for various items around the house with good success. I’m never blown away, but it’s a sacrifice for an inexpensive version of something I don’t want to pay a lot for.
The issue with this specific one is you also get what you pay for. And in this case, it’s not that much. The quality is questionable. As is the design.
You’ll get basic functions, but that’s it. It’s a decent entry point to Bluetooth page turners, but you’ll likely outgrow it quickly and if you ever need support or warranty help, you’ll be dealing with a company in China whose expertise is contract manufacturing...not customer service.
What you get: An inexpensive pedal that can perform the basic left/right, up/down page turning commands.
What you'll miss: Reliability, longevity, and customer support.
Donner
Similar to the Mugig pedal, this design is based off existing designs. If you think it looks familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen it before labeled as another brand.
Functionally, that means it performs a variety of the tasks you need: Left/Right, Up/Down, Enter/Space. It has a built-in rechargeable battery with a good life. The range is also pretty good.
Being molded plastic, expect a shorter life out of this. Switches, jacks, and components may fail. And since this is a product and not a brand, you’ll get limited customer service when they do. One advantage of this pedal over some of the others is the ability to the activate virtual keyboard when taking notes on your tablet. I consider that a crucial feature that many of the other options are missing.
What you get: A mid-range price and a midrange pedal. Basic but common functions, virtual keyboard access, a good battery life.
What you'll miss: Durability, quality service and support, space on your pedal board.
Page Flip Firefly
At $109 this is the highest priced pedal on the list. It has the same basic functions as the previous pedals. The switches are relatively noiseless, and it has a USB out if you don’t want to use the onboard Bluetooth or if your device doesn’t have Bluetooth. If you're looking for something that can use USB instead of Bluetooth to control your device, then the Firefly is likely your best choice.
The Firefly takes two AA batteries or can be powered with an AC adapter.
The shape and build (molded plastic) will likely offer you a similar lifespan as the previous two. This will probably be fine if you carry it in its own bag or a backpack.
But if you’re heading out on the road or carry a lot of gear, you might want to pass and get something more durable.
The Firefly has virtual keyboard access, however you have to press the CM (current mode) button on the pedal with your finger...rather than having quick access with your foot. It may not be a big deal for you, but can become cumbersome if you take notes very often, and I feel it kind of defeats the purpose of "hands-free".
I will say, Page Flip is a much more reputable company than the previous two. Their products are made in China but the company itself is based out of New York and they’ve been building page turners since 2008.
One feature that this pedal has that’s different than its competitors is the ability to reprogram key commands. You have to download their reprogramming software, but in theory you can then change mode 1 to “R” for recording in a DAW, and mode 2 to various numbers...or whatever you like. Most DAW’s have this ability within themselves, but I like that Page Flip gives you the flexibility if needed.
What you get: A reliable pedal, USB connectivity, a reputable company.
What you'll miss: Rechargeable battery, the space on your pedalboard due to its awkward shape, truly hands-free virtual keyboard access.
Airturn BT200S-2
Airturn is another reputable US brand. And their BT200S-2 is the only page turner on the list that seems to have guitarists in mind. The small footprint is ideal for pedalboards.
The housing is plastic, though the product images make it look metal. It’s lightweight and compact. The plastic seems to be more durable than the rest of the plastic pedals on the list. It has a rechargeable lithium battery with a good life.
The switches are a little noisy and on the lower end quality-wise. They're also a little too close together for my taste. It takes intentional concentration to make sure you’re hitting the right switch.
It has virtual keyboard access, but similar to the Firefly, you have to press a button on the pedal with you hand. That removes the hands-free element. Since this is supposed to make things hands-free, that’s a little confusing.
There are multiple (more than any of the other’s) modes available. The process for changing modes is more complicated than other models; you must press and hold the mode button, then count the amount of times the LED flashes. The number of LED flashes will indicate which mode you’re in, but you may need to refer to the manual when changing modes to determine which mode sends which commands because that is not clear when looking at the pedal.
What you get: An all-around pretty good Bluetooth app controller, a reputable US company with good customer service.
What you'll miss: Easy (and hands-free) virtual keyboard access, durability, a metal enclosure, simple mode changes, ability to charge your tablet, replaceable batteries.
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All that said. If you're looking for the most durable and reliable app controller, we believe that's STOMP. You can decide for yourself.
If you need help figuring out the best app to use with your Bluetooth® Page Turner.
Check out these articles:
Top 5 Paperless Sheet Music & Chord Chart Apps for Android
Top 5 Paperless Sheet Music & Chord Chart Apps for iOS
