Future Impact v3 and now V4

[ped]

Only just got round to buying one of these. Looking forward to trying it and checking out some patches posted here (eventually)

[stewblack]

55 minutes ago, ped said:

Only just got round to buying one of these. Looking forward to trying it and checking out some patches posted here (eventually)

Welcome aboard! It's an amazing piece of kit. Just ease yourself into the software. Unless you're already conversant with the language of synthesisers it can be a bit of a head Turner. The manual is well worth a read for some quick start tips. 

But sign up to the online site for a bunch of patches which are good to go out of the box 

 

[Quatschmacher]

3 hours ago, ped said:

Only just got round to buying one of these. Looking forward to trying it and checking out some patches posted here (eventually)

Better late than never. Did you buy a new one?

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

But sign up to the online site for a bunch of patches which are good to go out of the box 

I’ve collated all the individual v3 patches I’ve posted into a folder that can be downloaded in one go. Sort via last modified date and it will be near the top. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[ped]

20 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Better late than never. Did you buy a new one?

No a used one on here (updated)

[prowla]

Be very careful to watch for compatibility with other kit if you're looking to use its MIDI capabilities.

I had to spend nearly as much again to get something to change program numbers.

[ped]

Ah no I have a pretty strict no to MIDI policy in this house 

[Quatschmacher]

24 minutes ago, prowla said:

e very careful to watch for compatibility with other kit if you're looking to use its MIDI capabilities.

That makes it sound more severe than it was. Basically users need to make sure to use a switcher which doesn’t apply an offset - i.e. use one which sends 0-127 when it says so rather than one which displays 1-128 while sending 0-127.

[Quatschmacher]

36 minutes ago, ped said:

Ah no I have a pretty strict no to MIDI policy in this house 

You’re missing out. At very least, you’ll get loads of mileage out of an expression pedal plugged in to it to control the modulation. Many of my shared patches morph between two sounds via a pedal or have LFO speed assigned to it. 

[prowla]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

That makes it sound more severe than it was. Basically users need to make sure to use a switcher which doesn’t apply an offset - i.e. use one which sends 0-127 when it says so rather than one which displays 1-128 while sending 0-127.

It was just a word of warning - make sure the kit speaks the same language.

On the 0-127 vs 1-128 matter; I don't quite know how the latter convention came into being, but ho-hum. However, a further confusion is that the FI's programs start at 1, so you can't have program 0 on it; this means that on the FI you count in the range 0-127 starting at 1 and if you use a switch which displays 1-128, you have to press 2 to get 1 and (on the original switch I had) to get 5 you have to step up to the next bank of 5 to and then go to 1 there so it displays 6. It didn't take long to realise that wasn't going to be viable!

I asked both manufacturers if they had a fix to the issue, but neither wanted to know.

Hence my warning about checking compatibility.

Edited August 9, 2020 by prowla

[prowla]

I bought a Morningstar MC6 instead, but its form-factor meant I had to sacrifice a pedal on my pedalboard and it is quite chunky (ie. tall) compared to other FX pedals.

However, on the plus side, the Morningstar is a much more powerful unit than the one I first tried and can be used to control multiple MIDI devices simultaneously. With it, you can assign (and label) buttons for songs/passages, rather than the specific MIDI codes, so it gives a much more meaningful interface once configured.

All I've done to start with is program it to do the functions I wanted from the original unit (Program +/-1, +/-5, Bank Select), but I am sure I'll shift to the meaningful song/passage selection model instead (or as well) at some point.

However, I spent the chunk of time I was going to use for programming the FI to fixing that technology problem instead, so I haven't got 'round to doing anything on the FI in the meanwhile.

(I did toy with implementing my own Arduino or Raspberry Pi based MIDI switcher, but that would have then turned into the be-all and end-all, rather than making sounds.)

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, ped said:

Ah no I have a pretty strict no to MIDI policy in this house 

I lost my midi cherry to this pedal. You can't really manage without a little bit of it. 

[Quatschmacher]

36 minutes ago, prowla said:

I asked both manufacturers if they had a fix to the issue, but neither wanted to know.

As was already mentioned, in the FI there is nothing to fix as such - if one sends PC 1 to the FI it shows 1 in the display. (Though the FI doesn’t make use of it, there are plenty of devices which make use of PC 0, often as a live-panel mode.)

Even when using the 0-127 scale, certain controllers, such as the MC6, can be programmed with an upper and lower limit so it’s possible to have the PC scroll function correspond exactly to the 1-99 region the FI covers.

Have you downloaded the latest beta firmware of the MC6? They have added the optional offset to switch between 0-127 and 1-128 formats. 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

As was already mentioned, in the FI there is nothing to fix as such - if one sends PC 1 to the FI it shows 1 in the display. (Though the FI doesn’t make use of it, there are plenty of devices which make use of PC 0, often as a live-panel mode.)

Even when using the 0-127 scale, certain controllers, such as the MC6, can be programmed with an upper and lower limit so it’s possible to have the PC scroll function correspond exactly to the 1-99 region the FI covers.

Have you downloaded the latest beta firmware of the MC6? They have added the optional offset to switch between 0-127 and 1-128 formats. 

As I said, not accepting there is an issue. 
Somebody else’s problem. 
Nothing.
However, your post there is at least a recognition that the two formats are valid. 
As mentioned, I have the Morningstar working, so I’m good with that. 

[ped]

It's here and I've given it a quick whirl, seems great so far although as it will sit on my desk rather than on the floor it can be tricky achieving a double press on the program button.

And due to where it will 'live' in my studio/office is it OK to leave plugged in for long periods as the display is always on or should I unplug the power supply in between use?

I have some fave patches at a quick glance which I'm looking forward to playing with:

23

41

72

86

89

91

As with lots of synth pedals I'm not sure how much I'll use the 'crystal' type sounds but already I love the squelch of the envelope filter - for a while I've been searching for one that squelches when pushed rather than whistles. 

[Quatschmacher]

2 minutes ago, ped said:

It's here and I've given it a quick whirl, seems great so far although as it will sit on my desk rather than on the floor it can be tricky achieving a double press on the program button.

And due to where it will 'live' in my studio/office is it OK to leave plugged in for long periods as the display is always on or should I unplug the power supply in between use?

I have some fave patches at a quick glance which I'm looking forward to playing with:

23

41

72

86

89

91

As with lots of synth pedals I'm not sure how much I'll use the 'crystal' type sounds but already I love the squelch of the envelope filter - for a while I've been searching for one that squelches when pushed rather than whistles. 

Four of those patches are ones I made, glad to hear you like them.

I’ve made some really nice envelope filter patches and some really nice basses which are all available in the cloud. 

[Quatschmacher]

5 minutes ago, ped said:

it can be tricky achieving a double press on the program button.

And that’s one reason to get a MIDI switcher! 

You can simultaneously press and turn the encoder to quickly navigate up or down to any patch.

[Quatschmacher]

11 minutes ago, ped said:

I love the squelch of the envelope filter

Try this one:

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/downloads/micro-tron-iv/

[ped]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

Try this one:

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/downloads/micro-tron-iv/

Sounds great - I haven't looked at how to use the computer software or importing patches yet (I'll need an interface of some sort I believe) but don't worry I'll get there!

[ped]

[stewblack]

14 minutes ago, ped said:

What the...?......? 

[prowla]

We have lift-off!

[ped]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

And that’s one reason to get a MIDI switcher! 

You can simultaneously press and turn the encoder to quickly navigate up or down to any patch.

😂 you've worn me down already, I'm bidding on a Roland interface. I'll probably 'drive' the pedal from the software more than anything so that should be pretty cool. Also found it here for £34 in case anyone else is looking

[prowla]

47 minutes ago, ped said:

😂 you've worn me down already, I'm bidding on a Roland interface. I'll probably 'drive' the pedal from the software more than anything so that should be pretty cool. Also found it here for £34 in case anyone else is looking

That'll allow you to upload/download patches and apply firmware updates.

Also control it from DAW software.

[ped]

Just now, prowla said:

That'll allow you to upload/download patches and apply firmware updates.

Also control it from DAW software.

Excellent. I do the same with the VB99 although it has a USB interface. Although I often forget to use the software control as the physical controls are so tactile and useful.