Walrus Audio's Canvas Expression pedal drops the pot for a contactless magnetic sensor
The $299 expression pedal reads its position with a magnetic sensor instead of a potentiometer or gears, and carries Expression, MIDI, USB-C and CV outputs plus a web editor for tapers and assignments.
Aug 29, 2026
Credit: Walrus Audio (via source)
Expression pedals are usually the first thing on a board to wear out: the pot goes scratchy, the string or gear slips, the taper drifts. Walrus Audio's Canvas Expression, announced 18 August, sidesteps that by reading treadle position with a contactless precision magnetic sensor, so nothing in the mechanism physically rubs against anything else.
It builds on the Canvas Volume pedal from earlier in the year and shares that enclosure, here in a warm grey. Outputs cover Expression, MIDI, USB-C and CV, so one treadle can drive pedals, modelers, synths or a computer rig. A browser-based editor handles taper shapes, output wiring, MIDI CC and program-change assignments, CV range and switch behavior, which is aimed at the compatibility headaches that come with running expression control across gear from different makers.
It is $299.99, and Walrus said it started shipping straight away.
Why it matters
A single expression pedal that talks to almost any device and isn't built around a wear part is a practical fix for a long-standing pedalboard annoyance, though the price sits well above a basic passive expression pedal.
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