Future Impact v3 and now V4

[Quatschmacher]

42 minutes ago, ped said:

 

Thanks, I have just engaged Legacy mode, I think it'll be really useful!

Enjoy it while it lasts. 😆

[Quatschmacher]

Dusted off my FI last night and uploaded a couple of new patches to the cloud for your delectation. 

[Quatschmacher]

14 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Dusted off my FI last night and uploaded a couple of new patches to the cloud for your delectation. 

They do however sound way better when triggered from a MIDI keyboard. 

[Owen]

1. Can you remind me where these patches live?

 

2. I have a Disaster Area Midibaby 3 which I am about to plumb in to get programme up/down and my coveted sustain feature. I am aware I have been muttering about this for years. I am ashamed. However, as I wondered around the web I ran into the Harley Benton FXL8 Pro which has a midi out facility. Could I persuade this to take over from the MB3? Obv I would use it for switching pedals in and out as well. https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_fxl8_pro.htm#bewertung

 

TIA

[Owen]

Ignore my 2nd question. I have a set up which works. I will not be fixing it. 

[Quatschmacher]

11 hours ago, Owen said:

 

1. Can you remind me where these patches live?

 

Via the “global” directory in the editor or directly via the auraplug website (link in the second post on this thread).

Edited December 29, 2023 by Quatschmacher

[Owen]

Thanks. I knew the link was here somewhere. I had gone back about 8 pages and gave up. 

[Owen]

On 27/04/2023 at 17:19, MrTea said:

Thanks all. I'll have a play around with the MIDI dictionary and see what I can come up with. If I get something useful I'll try and export and share here. I've primarily picked this up for both the FI and to trigger samples off the 1010 Blackbox. The editor does seem pretty simple so hopefully it should be quick and easy to get up and running. 

Did the magic happen for you? I fancy picking up a Morningstar MC6 so as to get use out of the expression pedal stuff.  But am painfully aware that I get snowblind very quickly indeed when it comes to dealing with things which are not astonishingly obvious. The amount of kit I have bought, looked at and sold before learning it, is embarrassing.

 

I am aware that it would be doubling aspects of my Midimouse 3 but I could shift that if the MC6 is idiot proof. And I mean really idiot proof.

[Owen]

I am fully aware that I am contradicting myself within 3 posts here. But where else am I actually going to be able to discuss this? Strangely, my wife is not interested.

[SumOne]

£208 with free shipping from DV247 seems a good deal.

 

I'm in two minds to get one (again) but mostly to use with a keyboard - the alternative is getting a £49 software download that I can only use with my Akai MPC Keys (Minimoog model D emulation, and here it is in action) I dunno, FI  is £159 extra but can be used with Bass (although the 'note-on' trigger annoys me, I guess I do a lot of octave jumps when playing synth basslines) and can be used with other keyboards and sold second hand, whereas the Mini D software is just for Akia MPC stuff and can't be re-sold. 🤔

[Quatschmacher]

49 minutes ago, SumOne said:

£208 with free shipping from DV247 seems a good deal.

 

I'm in two minds to get one (again) but mostly to use with a keyboard - the alternative is getting a £49 software download that I can only use with my Akai MPC Keys (Minimoog model D emulation, and here it is in action) I dunno, FI  is £159 extra but can be used with Bass (although the 'note-on' trigger annoys me, I guess I do a lot of octave jumps when playing synth basslines) and can be used with other keyboards and sold second hand, whereas the Mini D software is just for Akia MPC stuff and can't be re-sold. 🤔

Or buy my Behringer Model D. 😉

[Quatschmacher]

I thought of a new trick that I think has improved my Mu-Tron patches even more. @ped I think you might be interested. 

[iamtheelvy]

Has anyone fitted footswitch toppers to their Future Impact? I’ve got mine set back on the board, and these would help with avoiding knocking other switches on the way over…

 

I’ve got some of the coloured Mooer toppers, but they are too small to fit on.

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, iamtheelvy said:

Has anyone fitted footswitch toppers to their Future Impact? I’ve got mine set back on the board, and these would help with avoiding knocking other switches on the way over…

 

I’ve got some of the coloured Mooer toppers, but they are too small to fit on.

No, but I think the footswitch size is prett y common. Isn’t there a company called barefoot or something that does toppers. 
 

Alternatively, time for MIDI control!

[Woodinblack]

Found it really irritating - got a load of footswitch toppers, and it turns out there isn't just one size, and most of the things I wanted were the other size!

[iamtheelvy]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

No, but I think the footswitch size is prett y common. Isn’t there a company called barefoot or something that does toppers. 
 

Alternatively, time for MIDI control!

Checked out the Barefoot toppers. Pricey, but I've had a good run recently over in the marketplace forum, so can probably splash out!

[lidl e]

4 hours ago, iamtheelvy said:

Has anyone fitted footswitch toppers to their Future Impact? I’ve got mine set back on the board, and these would help with avoiding knocking other switches on the way over…

 

I’ve got some of the coloured Mooer toppers, but they are too small to fit on.

Do your toppers have a black plastic insert?

 

If so, put the insert on first and then the topper on top of that. 

 

I coildnt get mkne to fit, but that worked.

 

I did also just buy some of those barefoot buttons and they are pricey!

[iamtheelvy]

25 minutes ago, lidl e said:

Do your toppers have a black plastic insert?

 

If so, put the insert on first and then the topper on top of that. 

 

I coildnt get mkne to fit, but that worked.

 

I did also just buy some of those barefoot buttons and they are pricey!

No, not adjustable at all. I’ll have a look into the options though. Only need two, so not too bad.

[Quatschmacher]

On 03/02/2024 at 21:31, Quatschmacher said:

I thought of a new trick that I think has improved my Mu-Tron patches even more. @ped I think you might be interested. 

Here they are:

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/downloads/qm-you-quack-me-up/

[Quatschmacher]

The FI can be a really useful practice tool: at certain settings I can play my bass quietly without triggering the synth. It’s a cool game to play to see if I can play at consistently low dynamic range so as not to trigger it. Kind of like dodging a motion sensor. 

Edited February 14 by Quatschmacher

[lidl e]

17 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

The FI can be a really useful pre active tool: at certain settings I can play my bass quietly without trigger the synth. It’s a cool game to play to see if I can play  at consistently low dynamic range to not trigger it. Kind of like dodging a motion sensor. 

I do that with my DOD fx25 

[Quatschmacher]

Who says FI doesn’t sound like a “proper synth”?

 

[Quatschmacher]

Well, here’s the exciting news I can finally talk about:

 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/future-impact-now-available-was-deep-impact-reissue-interested.1115025/page-389#post-28252259

 

I’ll copy the text into a post. Just wondering whether I should start a new dedicated thread. 

[Quatschmacher]

Quoted post:

 

Dear Friends,

I am happy to announce the most important step in the history of Future Impact, the FI4, with very significant changes in both hardware and software. While the production of FI3 has come to an end with all devices sold out, the new FI4 will be available at end of March. It comes with an optional cable set to connect to 1V/octave CV-Gate synthesizers, to benefit from the simultaneous sounds of the FI4’s virtual analog sounds and real analog synthesizers. We had to stop development of the FI3 software more than two years ago, as the processor had no more memory available for further enhancements. The new hardware and software structure of FI4 will allow the implementation of new synthesis models, effects and many more features, that we are already working on. Here is a preliminary leaflet about the advantages of FI4 at its release.

I would like to thank you all for the support and wholehearted enthusiasm during all the years of the existence of FI, and hope you will be just as enthusiastic in the future with FI4.

In particular, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Peter Kenney, who provided irreplaceable help to the whole community by writing manuals, testing new features, creating sounds, and helping all of you with his advice.


The Evolution of the Future Impact 

The Future Impact is the subject of one of those heartwarming stories of the internet as a force for good. It began life back in late 2014 when an enthusiastic member of the Talkbass forum tracked down Andras Szalay to ask him if he’d be able to reissue the discontinued Deep Impact, which he had designed for Akai. However, Andras had much more ambitious plans: the Future Impact was conceived of not as a reissue, but as an entirely new and vastly-improved pedal. The project garnered tremendous support from forum members who funded the first batch of 100 pedals in late 2015. From there, the FI’s popularity and reputation grew; ever more people clamoured to own one, including notable players such as Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Doug Wimbish (Living Colour, The Rolling Stones) and Bootsy Collins. Thanks to the generous input of members of the online bass-playing community, the FI continued to go from strength to strength. 

With each successive update, we gradually added more and more features and refinements. With the v3.60 update of June 2021, we had to admit that we had finally squeezed every last drop of juice out of the pedal: we had completely exhausted the available code space. 

In order to continue developing our ideas further, we have thus had to move to new hardware and implement a new firmware structure. While the FI4 can load patches from all the previous versions of the FI, unfortunately v3 users cannot run the V4 firmware or V4 patches on their device. However, the good news is that our new platform gives us the breathing space to develop well into the future. We already have big plans, so stay tuned! 

New Features for V4 

● CV/Gate output - Simultaneously play a 1V/octave analog synth using the pedal; 
● Detented Parameter dial with extended range - More variations on each sound; 
● Sturdier knobs - The potentiometer shafts are now made from solid metal; 
● Long Release - Audio-triggered sounds now use the full release time of the ADSR; 
● Oscillator sync - VCO2 can sync to VCO1 for more harmonically complex sounds; 
● Improved audio fidelity - Via an ultra-low-noise CoDec and noise-reduction coding; 
● Overwrite programs - On-pedal edits can be saved to patch data before uploading; 
● Superior pitch tracking - Greatly reduced latency and increased sensitivity to input instrument dynamics. Pitch detection can now be set to prioritize speed or accuracy; 
● Octave transposition - Two new MIDI CCs to transpose the pitch by ±2 octaves; 
● 63 new Flexi curves - Create a split point between any two adjacent semitones; 
● Robust firmware update process - Now any MIDI interface can be used; 
● Alternative quick access to Global Menu - Enter/exit menu without power cycling; 
● Better Global Menu layout - Items are repositioned and more meaningfully labelled; 
● Fresh Editor look - An updated color scheme with a clearer and more logical layout; 
● Onscreen Mod Wheel - Send out MIDI CCs or Aftertouch directly from the Editor; 
● midiBeam 4Control integration - MIDI signals from expression pedals and switches are automatically passed to the FI4 when connected to the Editor.

Andras Szalay

 

[Quatschmacher]