Future Impact v3 and now V4

[Al Krow]

Thanks for sharing that Q - enjoyed it a lot. Congrats on the FI patch. Jamie Stillman's comment on compression definitely brought a smile and the Korg Miku is just MAD!! I want one 😁

[Quatschmacher]

Just uploaded some Lyle Mays flute lead patches:

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/downloads/lyle-mays-obprophet-flutes-lead/

[Quatschmacher]

I’ve just updated my Flashlight patch. This will be useful for anyone who doesn’t have an expression pedal (or who does but wants the LFO depth to be at zero when the patch loads). Use the one with the suffix “no auto LFO”.

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/downloads/flashlight/

[Quatschmacher]

BIG NEWS! Brilliant new firmware update. Here is @Andras Szalay's announcement:

Dear friends,

It was one and a half years ago that the most important update of the Future Impact, Version 3.00 was released. During this time we discussed and evaluated a lot of new ideas. Now, it is time to announce the second most important update, Version 3.50.

We have a huge work behind us. Over the last few months an extremely talented international team helped me, and the FI v3.50 is the result of our joint effort.

Let us all recognize and applaud the members of the team:

- Peter Kenney (UK): Product design, writing the User Guide , editor testing, sound design.

- Gabor Lippenyi (Hungary): Product design, sound design, studio recordings, creating the video demo.

- Zsolt Rammer (Hungary): PC and MAC Editor coding, graphics, sound design.

- Gabor Gerenyi (Hungary): Product design, marketing.

You can find all product details at MIDI products by pandaMidi. Let me cite here just a few of the most important features:

- instead of the available delay time of 140 msec in models up to now, the 3.50 software allows a generous 600 msec. This gives new dimensions to your music.

- delay time can be adjusted with tap tempo.

- delay time can be synchronized to MIDI clock.

- LFO4 can be synchronized to MIDI clock.

- using a sustain pedal allows you to keep the synth sound sustained, while you can play along with the bass/guitar.

- programs are compatible with the 3.0x programs (*.pr3). You can load your old *.pr3 programs into the editor, add long delay and MIDI sync features to it, and then save them in the same format.

- 10 new programs in the default set replace programs 60 to 69 with sounds that let you exploit the new features.

Watch the video demo showing the 10 amazing new sounds. Also you will find on our web page the FI 3.50 software upgrade with the bank of the new sounds and all documentation, naturally ALL FREE OF CHARGE!

Finally, I would like to thank everyone on this forum for your help, comments, critiques, suggestions and requests. These all contributed to giving you a better product. Enjoy!

Andras Szalay

 

[Owen]

using a sustain pedal allows you to keep the synth sound sustained, while you can play along with the bass/guitar.

H

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P

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D

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[Quatschmacher]

While I'm at it, here's a video of how to upgrade an FI (it's for v3.04 but the process is exactly the same):

 

 

Here's a video of the reset you should perform after upgrading to v3 for the first time:

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

I've posted a few new patches that exploit the new features on the database site.

[Quatschmacher]

I’ve finally got around to sorting a YouTube channel, which so far I’ve just used to host FI update videos. I’ll hopefully get more interesting stuff up in due course. Please consider subscribing. Thanks. 

https://youtube.com/channel/UCvK64kuJfvk5xQb3w6QSAFA

[Barsky]

Hi, new here, and this may have been answered already on this thread, but having some issues getting the Editor going on my MacBook. Have had the Future Impact I for a few years. Have just been settled on patches 03 and 06, cause they're kind of great. Would love to get into it though and really tweak it. I downloaded FIEditor but can't seem to get it going on my MacBook using Big Sur. I know there can be issues with Admin restrictions being lifted. I think I've tried to do this right, but maybe I'm missing something. Any tips on this? 

[Paul Sale]

Hi, new here too. I owned the old Deep Impact for years, but when I heard the FI patches I didn't hesitate to replace it. Learning the Editor and synthesis in general wasn't easy and I often I find the patch I'm looking for in Panda database. I would like to share my patches of some covers, but in this time I'm frustrated to find a satisfactory sound for "Stayin Alive", originally played with guitar and a Synth added ... well has anyone experimented this? Thanks

Edited March 24, 2021 by Paul Sale

[PurpleBert]

'FI not present or communication error occured'

 

Ive updated my Future impact several times. . now I can't anymore.

I can't even load sounds. My UM-One mk2 isnt working anymore. 

It shows its connected, i can hit the keyboard in the editor and it shows midi out signal on the UM one.  Ive tried 3 different usb to thunderbolt adapters on my Mac, all show usb light and all show midi out light when i hit the keyboard in the FI editor. Im running Catalina on my Mac. 

Ive tried uninstalling and reinstalling the um-one mk2 driver. Nothing. 

Every single time i try anything it says "FI not present or communication error" 

What do i do? 

 

[Quatschmacher]

On 03/04/2021 at 00:32, PurpleBert said:

'FI not present or communication error occured'

 

Ive updated my Future impact several times. . now I can't anymore.

I can't even load sounds. My UM-One mk2 isnt working anymore. 

It shows its connected, i can hit the keyboard in the editor and it shows midi out signal on the UM one.  Ive tried 3 different usb to thunderbolt adapters on my Mac, all show usb light and all show midi out light when i hit the keyboard in the FI editor. Im running Catalina on my Mac. 

Ive tried uninstalling and reinstalling the um-one mk2 driver. Nothing. 

Every single time i try anything it says "FI not present or communication error" 

What do i do? 

 

What FI firmware?

What Editor version?

What MIDI channel is your FI set to receive on?

Have you downloaded the latest UM-One Mk2 driver from the Roland website?

Have you got the in and out cables plugged into the correct ports?

Are you putting the FI into update mode when attempting the update?

[Quatschmacher]

On the FI Facebook group, there’s been some contention that the FI is unable to compete with a keyboard synth such as a Moog. In view of this, here’s a little game you can play. Two clips, one is a Moog Subsequent 37, the other is the FI. Please submit your guess in a comment and give a reason for your answer if you can.
 

Clip A:sub37 fi comp 1a.mp3

Clip B:sub37 fi comp 1b.mp3

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[gorandelac]

Oh, that's a hard one, but I'll have to go that FI is 1a... and that's because 1a sounds to me like FI and I kind of like that low end sound more...

But for sure, this is guessing, not knowing

[knicknack]

I’d have to agree, but it’s less about the sound and more about what you can and can’t play with strings and frets!

[Quatschmacher]

9 minutes ago, knicknack said:

I’d have to agree, but it’s less about the sound and more about what you can and can’t play with strings and frets!

These were all played from a keyboard. 

[knicknack]

Oh really! That’s interesting... in that case I have no idea!

[Quatschmacher]

OK,

it’s been a week. The answer is…🥁

Clip A is the Future Impact.

Clip B is the Moog Subsequent 37.

[gorandelac]

Wow I was right.... but it was a close call.....

[Quatschmacher]

I’ve uploaded the patch from the comparison. I’ve also shared this one:

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/A65n9UhQrzCWaL1f7

[Quatschmacher]

Just leaving this here. You’ll see why…

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[Owen]

Fair play, it's a cracking number. 

[Quatschmacher]

3 hours ago, owen said:

Fair play, it's a cracking number. 

Not the reason. This is...

Edited June 16, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

Copied from @Andras Szalay's Talkbass post:

Dear Friends,

over the past several months we have been hard at work on some fantastic new features for the Future Impact. While there is not much more to do on the FI itself due to lack of further processor resources (although future surprises can still happen), Zsolt Rammer and Peter Kenney made a wonderful work on extending the Editor with amazing new features, and update the documentation. We are proud to present these to you now in v3.60. The features are all contained within a new subsection of the Editor Suite:

The Manager
This powerful new tool has been created in order to simplify patch management on the FI, which is something that FI users have been requesting for a very long time. It is designed to be easy to use and utilizes an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
With the Manager you can now quickly and easily do the following actions, all directly within the Editor Suite:

● Display and rearrange the patches currently stored on your pedal;
● Add or remove individual patches;
● Rename patches and change their category;
● Create copies of patches;
● Browse, audition and edit patches stored on your computer;
● Browse, audition and download patches uploaded to the FI Online Program Database;
● Upload your own patches to the online database.

One small feature has been added to the Editor: it is now possible to set the MIDI channel that the onscreen keyboard outputs on. This means it can still trigger notes when the FI’s MIDI channel is set to something other than ALL or 1.

As part of this release, a lot of work has also been put into overhauling the FI’s user manual; as a result, the document is now even clearer and easier to use. The main changes are as follows:

● There is a new section devoted to the new Manager function and the section on the Editor has now been restructured to incorporate this;
● Duplicated and unnecessary technical information has been removed;
● Some parameter descriptions have been rewritten as the previous versions were too unclear - some of these were as a result of user feedback;
● The order of certain sections has been rearranged;
● The quick-start guide has been rewritten to include useful information that was previously located in the main manual;
● There are now dedicated sections covering firmware updates, the instrument modes and resetting parameters;
● All the MIDI functions have been grouped together and discussed in a dedicated section;
● The screenshots of the Flexi pop-up windows and alternative Editor skin have been moved out of the appendix and now appear in the relevant sections of the main text;
● The FAQ section has been updated with further questions we have received;
● The table of contents now has links to items that were previously more difficult to locate.

We hope that you’ll find the new features useful and fun to use. Please do read the manual in order to learn how to get the best out of them.

Andras Szalay

Edited June 16, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

Here's the new manual layout: