SamIAm

That UBASS is gorgeous! I had one in black (But the fire took it!) S'manth x

LOL!!! Poor @stewblack, (I do love him!) Open Source (IMHO) means that whilst I might start the project, anyone can enhance it ... I'm fairly techie but have limited bass/audio experience, but there are many out there who do ... and they can add to the result! Also, as it is not being built for profit (But just for love and perhaps the delight of seeing some folks actually using it!) it will be in the price point of more than some of the incredibly sexy units that are available (I'm looking at you Neural!) I see the range of F/X falling into a number of camps: Those that are available already as various plugins for other F/X units or DAWs or even perhaps in other commercial units, some are free, some are paid for, some that currently run only on Windoze or MacOs. Those that some users write themselves, these can range from ... ahem ... heavyweight C++ or some such code to GUI based plugins developed using tools like Juce, Elementary, Pure Data, etc. There are a lot of users who just want to select the F/X ... probably need some sort of shared F/X site for this, with rankings etc ... not a huge issue! Some users will want to emulate the sounds of existing F/X and a IR/DSP sampling approach will work here. "Unamed MFX" will be able to do all of this (bit it will take time!) S'manth x

Stew, your points are insightful and well made. 8 Switches is doable, some might want more or less, in two rows or a single row ... my unit (I must come up with a name for it!) will allow that. Assignable in any way - for sure, the Mod Dwarf I played with seemed to have hit this nail on the head, you could 'almost' assign anything to do anything ... the only limit I noted was that I'd like to be able to have a switch/midi command/button on your bass (Oh yes, this is possible!) change one or two or multiple settings. Another example is an expression pedal that could morph from one configuration to another (Volume up, wah down, fuzz from nowt to extreme ... all with one control pedal). Parallel processing - For sure! My Stomp seems to support two paths, the Mod dwarf seems to support as many as you want (But it has some limitations that I find too constraining). I'm aiming for a mullti-core "beating heart" of the unit, to allow for DSP upon DSP ... and the beauty of this open source approach is that in a year (or three) when something more capable is available, just upgrade it (Rather than the ... hey you can buy a whole new device for £££) DI - Like it! F/X - Not being a musical prodigy (nor a maths genius) I intend to rely on the plugins that are out there, but when you support (As I intend to) all the popular formats, there are literally thousands! To be fair, a subset of these are aimed as bass and a smaller subset at decent, but ... I really like the approach taken by Quad Cortex Neural Capture and the Impulse Response approach, where you can capture the essence of something and model it. There is tech that will do this that is not costly (For example the Corel ... a fairly cheap add on that can detect faces, cats, cars ... it surely can figure out some analogue pedal characteristics) Small - it's a tradeoff ... to small means no room for display and switches, too big and you need a Mac trick to carry it about! And this will vary from one player to another, but a solution will be found! Lag - Totally agree! The lag in switching "pedalboards" on the Dwarf was unacceptable to me, the Stomp not so much. Basically my perspective is if I have to wait for a device to do what I ask it is a fail! Rugged - Oh yes! Resilient to drops, slips, trips, dropped pints, drummers (lol) ... IMHO this means a touchscreen display is out ... too fragile. Simple UI - The most important point I feel, it could be capable of running the entire NASA space program ... but if it is not easy to configure in advance and even more so use when gigging ... it will be like a lead balloon! S'manth x

Good shout, both of those units have some nice features. Added to list! S'manth x

Great point. The positioning of footswitches can make a huge difference. Too close together - fail! Too many - it weighs a ton! Too few - not enough control when gigging. I've built a multi-switch control unit before, Trampa, which was based on an open source project called Pedalino Mini. It is an amazing design, with the ability to add as many/few switches and seems to support almost every type of third party expression pedal out there! If you scroll down the readme page you can see it's capabilities as well as a number of "I built one of these" photos from various users, which I found fascinating! It has many pros but also some cons from my perspective (no easy USB MIDI, limited display capabilities, only configurable from a web interface) but I will be adapting a lot of similar features into my yet to be named MFX unit. S'manth x

Added to list. edit Check out this rather cool video (In fact he has a lot of cool videos!) The Neural DSP Quad Cortex comes in at a not so cool ballpark of £1,600, but the idea of "capturing" a sound (A bit like IRs do) is not unique and there are ... more cost effect ways of implementing this tech approach ... definitely a feature for the list!!! S'manth x

Luke, your POV is spot on. I've played with Zooms, Mod devices, Line 6 units (Sadly none of the high end stuff, tho happy to if someone would loan me one! lol) They all fall short (IMHO) I feel a "dream mfx pedal" would: Not be be costly. I aim to use easily available H/W and open source the software. I'm doing this for love not dosh! Let's spend out money on our basses etc! Seamless to gig with (Multi footswitches to either switch in/out settings, snapshots, presets/layouts) ... but able to integrate with state of the art midi/ble/osc systems for those that want to, and the ability to configure via computer in advance of a gig ... best of both worlds I hope! As intuitive to use as a pedalboard made up of pyysical pedals, who the heck wants to have a degree in computer science to use it!? Twist that know to get what you want, press that button to store it ... LISS! Robust (I feel that touchscreen is too vulnerable to the sort of things that happen at gigs, like pints of beer being dropped, feet being misplaced, etec, etc). Protected screens and twisty/pressy knobs ... I'm not sure it would survive a Hummer ... but you never know! lol Aimed at bass players ... most (if not all) of the MFX units do not really cater for us bass folks, we are an afterthought! Ability to use as many of the existing F/X plugins as possible. I mean VST/LV2/Etc ... I am thinking to use Carla as the plugin host and it seems to deal with a wide range of plugins. But ... these are my views and I really want to garner what the community would like to see to help shape things ... the brainstorming phase! WHY am I doing this ... I love the bass and a great bmfx unit would be fab! Mod devices is very a nice system, but it is impossible to setup new layouts without a computer and in my experience it has some nasty audio glitches, plus it only supports LV2 plugins Line6 ... not aimed at us bass players and a rather closed proprietary system. I cannot speak to the other high end stuff. here So my plan is to garner a set of desirements from the gang here on BC and look to incorporating them in the "MultiS'manth" (Better name to be determined!). I aim to use OSS plugin hosts (I am handy with IT but not a rocket scientist!) but I expect this will cover most of what we BCer would find valuable. To be fair, this is not a short term project (And any takers for getting involved would be very very welcome) but I think it will be a great thing for us! S'manth x

As an ICU nurse, I can spot arrhythmia at 100 paces, tweak vent settings to near perfection and ease the terrible burden that my patients and their loved one's are under when they need the care in our unit. BUT!!! My memory for names is abysmal! Would all of you who I connected with today please drop me a PM so I can reach out!? S'manth xxx

It turns out (As I learned at the South West Bass Bash) that this bass is perhaps best kept in it's original state. So fret-less-ness will not be in it's future! I am so grateful to be able to learn from those who know more than me! S'manth x

Just back home after doing over 650km in the last 36h ... why!?!? To attend the Big Fat South West Bass Bash. It was my very first bass bash, in fact it was (As far as I am aware) the first time I'd been in close proximity to more than a couple of musicians who play bass ever! And every millimetre of the drive was more than worth it! Are you tired S'manth: Totally Exhausted! Was it worth the epic journey: Without a shadow of a doubt! It was delightful to meet so many folks I've only "known" here on BC and in person they are just as lovely (Maybe even 117% more lovely)! Such a a vast array of instruments, cabs, amps, and other goodies ... the GAS was strong but I was able to resist (Well mostly lol). I cannot rain down adequate superlatives on all that went on (Post drive brain drain) but ... if you can go next time S'manth xxx

I thought that was so delightful too! S'manth x

Oooooo ... I'm a confirmed lover of short scales, and have managed to salvage an EMG Geezer Butler passive P pickup from my fire that sounded amazing in my first bass, a Greg Bennett Corsair MC-1 short scale (Which the fire ate!) S'manth xx

Another option @whizzzy ... I anticipate having access to a semi-industrial CNC in the next month or so (We've one at my makerspace that we are in the process of upgrading) and I will be using it extensively in the production of Phoenix. I'd be happy to draw up a design and craft one for you, if you supplied the raw material (And possibly the cost of a suitable router bit if I don't already have one that would work) and covered postage. I could do it in aluminium or brass, but sadly have no means to give it a black coating. S'manth x

So here was the staging pile and now in Ruby (my back hurts! Lol) my sister helped me sort a Travelodge in Taunton so I’m driving down now, I’ll be able to arrive at the bash at the start 😊 S’manth x

I cannot wait to see some of the short scales that are listed as coming along! Im also bringing some stuff to sell or trade (if that is allowed?) And if anyone has any spare Velcro for pedalboards I’d be happy to bung you a few quid as I need a some. Ditto for a gig bag for a four string bass, 14 inch wide lower bout and 46 inches from tip to top. S’manth x

It will be great to see you again too! Everything I can fit it in Ruby … which is a lot! Three different basses, each with a different signal chain and a different cab. I suspect some is gear folks may not have tried before so it’ll be nice to let them have a go. All but the TC you donated are battery powered. Im also going to bring the parts I’ve got for Phoenix as I am hoping to get some advice about her build and setup. S’manth x

Most of my gear uses things like this 😊 tho in a pinch I can always try this 🤣 It I will bring the sockets and reel I have 😊 S’manth x

I blame my irregular nursing shifts for my body clock being all over the place! (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) So I’ve an extra day to plan and pack and can arrive a bit earlier. when does it run from/to? S’manth x

Having read this thread, despite the awful puns and the distance I’m decided it sounds too good to miss and so I’m going to come along, so many folks I’m looking forward to meeting and learning from. So … shower and then loading up Ruby (my red mini) … hopefully arrive before noon (when does it run till?). S’manth xxx

Been there with a UBASS, it’s intonation is a mare and it needs retuning every other minute and this with thunder gut strings!

Appears simple enough (Tongue firmly in cheek) S;manth x

Perhaps even more sophisticated! S'manth x

Mod devices built a good system, I hope to build an exceptional system! (Of course I might be deluded, but I do have the requisite skills) S'manth xx

That looks amazing ... thank you for sharing! I'd planned to use a Rock PI SE, partly as it is more powerful than a Pi 4b but mostly because it is available for a not insane price. I am fortunate to have access to a maker-space with CNC and lasercutter so I could achieve something in the same space. But a very generous BCer @Frank Blank has allowed me to obtain his HX Stomp XL on terms I can afford. And so my multi-fx pedal needs are sorted! As such I am putting this project on hold so I can focus on Phoenix, my next bass build. S'manth x

Might be worth contacting this fellow S'manth x