Future Impact v3 and now V4

[toneknob]

6 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Read the FAQ section at the end of the manual or the section on updating (link in second post). You can update using the Chrome updater (again, link in the second post).

That interface may or may not work (I don’t think it’s one of the tested and confirmed ones).

Thanks, I'm trying the Chrome updater. I've got as far as this, any idea what I should do now? I've got the pedal powered up and connected to the Quad Capture box by two MIDI leads.

Edited November 21, 2019 by toneknob

[Quatschmacher]

3 hours ago, toneknob said:

Thanks, I'm trying the Chrome updater. I've got as far as this, any idea what I should do now? I've got the pedal powered up and connected to the Quad Capture box by two MIDI leads.

Did you start the browser before or after connecting the interface?

Is there a little keyboard symbol at the right of the address bar?

When working correctly, you ought to see your interface listed in both boxes on the screen. 

[toneknob]

9 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Did you start the browser before or after connecting the interface?

Is there a little keyboard symbol at the right of the address bar?

When working correctly, you ought to see your interface listed in both boxes on the screen. 

Thanks - After, the interface is already connected to my PC and powers up at PC startup time. Does the power-on time of the pedal (compared to browser start-up) make any difference?

I'll have to check for the keyboard symbol next time, will advise accordingly.

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, toneknob said:

Thanks - After, the interface is already connected to my PC and powers up at PC startup time. Does the power-on time of the pedal (compared to browser start-up) make any difference?

I'll have to check for the keyboard symbol next time, will advise accordingly.

 

 

Not sure. Make sure everything’s powered on and connected before launching the browser. You might need to go into the chrome settings to enable midi. 

[Quatschmacher]

Guys, I’ve smashed it!

I’ve got one bank of the Morningstar MC6 MKII to give II-V-I progressions in both major and minor variations, with both up-down and down-up root movement, built off both the 3rd and off the 7th of the chords. The internal voice leading is all correct so that if you assign different wave shapes to the four oscillators you will get nice chromatic movement within a single voice. I’ve even managed to add variations on the I chords.

It’s set up on two pages. Button A toggles between pages. Each page has a row dedicated to the major and minor progressions. Page 1 is built off 3rds, page 2 off 7ths. 

This bank covers the 4-note close voicings. I’m off to do the open variations.

Very rough phone teaser video. Though I’m playing the pedal with my hand as I didn’t have a long enough usb lead to put it on the floor.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FpZapY5lS3Il5_1TRTLJZd15t97FmqJc/view?usp=drivesdk

[GisserD]

genius!

 

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, GisserD said:

genius!

 

Thanks. I’m feeling pretty chuffed with it. It’s better than I imagined it could be. I’ll have finished the open version later today as it’s literally the same but with one voice bumped up an octave. It’s a shame there isn’t another toggle command I could use to have this in the same bank. There is a global toggle but it toggles whole presets rather than individual messages within those presets, otherwise that may have been a simple way to do it.

... found a way! There is a bank engage function and I have a spare button! I can use it to flip between the two banks!

Edited November 22, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

It’s finished!

[Quatschmacher]

Here's a very rough clip of what it can do. It'll take a bit of practice to make the changes smoother (and I was playing barefoot in the cold). I've got a few ideas of things I could add to it.

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[SICbass]

Well done that man.

[GisserD]

So this means I can sack the keys player?

Then hire a new bass player because I'll be playing chords

[Quatschmacher]

Teaser...

 

[SICbass]

Alright, I‘m going to be the one to say it. Tell me you were clothed when you recorded that 😳

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, SICbass said:

Alright, I‘m going to be the one to say it. Tell me you were clothed when you recorded that 😳

Ill and wearing a dressing gown. Hopefully my modesty was preserved. 

[toneknob]

22 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Not sure. Make sure everything’s powered on and connected before launching the browser. You might need to go into the chrome settings to enable midi. 

All sorted - starting the browser after connecting and powering up the pedal did the trick. Thanks! (can Roland Quad Capture be added to the list of tested interfaces now?)

btw - confirmed regarding the keyboard symbol by the address bar when I go to the update page (which I guess is academic now that the update is complete)

Edited November 23, 2019 by toneknob

[toneknob]

Ok, so now I'm updated, I'm having a fiddle with the editor. I've loaded a preset, and when I "play" the editor with the on-screen keyboard I don't hear anything.

In the MIDI|Preferences dialog I've got FI Input Device and Output Device both set to "Quad Capture", Keyboard Input Device set to "off".

When I set the Output Device to my normal Microsoft setting, I get a sound but it's a default piano sound.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, toneknob said:

Ok, so now I'm updated, I'm having a fiddle with the editor. I've loaded a preset, and when I "play" the editor with the on-screen keyboard I don't hear anything.

In the MIDI|Preferences dialog I've got FI Input Device and Output Device both set to "Quad Capture", Keyboard Input Device set to "off".

When I set the Output Device to my normal Microsoft setting, I get a sound but it's a default piano sound.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

 

 

What happens if you play your bass into it while it’s hooked up?

Make sure the pedal isn’t bypassed. That is, press the on/off switch.

The audio output of the pedal also obviously needs to be plugged in to an amplifier and switched on.

If you want it to play out of you computer speakers or headphones then you’ll need to take the audio output from the FI and send it to an input of your interface, making sure you listening to the input rather than the playback signal.

Also, if a patch has no synth portion, then the keyboard will have nothing to trigger.

Edited November 23, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[GisserD]

Its a fairly common misconception that the editor is a plugin. It's not. 

It just changing parameters on the pedal. Therefore the pedal needs to be hooked up to an amp/headphones to hear anything.

 

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, GisserD said:

Its a fairly common misconception that the editor is a plugin. It's not. 

It just changing parameters on the pedal. Therefore the pedal needs to be hooked up to an amp/headphones to hear anything.

 

Exactly. I am also guilty of some head-scratching in this department when I first got the pedal last year (probably the anniversary soon if not already). Luckily now there’s a clear manual to explain everything. 😉

[Quatschmacher]

A nice bonus to the way I’ve set up my MC6 to control chords is that muting the second oscillator (or removing the flexi routing in a patch altogether) means that the “correct” 3-note rootless voicings can be played too (instead of the 4-note ones) and the spare note can be used to play the root in an octave of your choosing. In fact, I might see if I can add a function which let's you change the octave of the spare note from the MC6. I think I can also see a case for MIDI control numbers for each oscillator’s master volume.

I’m also going to add a function which clears the chord voicings and sets the pitches back to unison so that single-line and chordal functions can be toggled within a patch. It’ll basically function similar to a paraphonic synth where all oscillators play the same single note until multiple keys are pressed, in which case the oscillators divide among the keys pressed. I modified one of my factory patches last night to do this and it sounds great. I want to tweak it slightly further to make use of the spare flexi and then I’ll share it. Sounds really good going into a Phaser in my Lunar.

That also got me thinking about taking advantage of the split mode and running my dry bass alongside the phased synth signal. I can definitely see a pedal loop switcher in my future.

Seriously guys, get a MIDI controller, the possibilities are astounding.

If anyone goes down the route of an MC6 then I’ll share my work (though please consider becoming a patron of mine on Patreon and pledging a small amount for the many hours I’ve put into this).

Edited November 23, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[MacDaddy]

On 21/11/2019 at 11:50, Quatschmacher said:

It’s pretty easy to do though. Read the FAQs in the manual. I wrote one about reordering patches.

Do you know if there will be a software update that will sort this?

It seems a bit bizzare that a pedal of this quality (and price) needs a computer and the extra expense of buying more equipment, to be able to do what the cheapest of multi FX pedals seem to do as standard.

 

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

Do you know if there will be a software update that will sort this?

It seems a bit bizzare that a pedal of this quality (and price) needs a computer and the extra expense of buying more equipment, to be able to do what the cheapest of multi FX pedals seem to do as standard.

 

Nothing bizarre or problematic about it at all (and would not even be possible in an update). Plenty of other pedals of this complexity and price are exactly the same. Look at all the Source Audio stuff (particularly the C4)  - patch reordering can only be done via the desktop editor. Like the FI, plenty can be done as a stand-alone pedal and in the case of the FI it’s one of the better ones as you have access to 99 editable sounds without any external gear.

I’d strongly suggest getting a small MIDI controller capable of sending out MIDI PC (or just use a tablet/phone) and you can jump to any patch you desire. 

The editor is a tiny stand-alone program and patch reordering is simple. Rename the patches with the number of the slot you want it to go to (this part can be done without even opening the editor - just rename the files in your computer’s directory like you would any other files) you then only need to open the editor and hit “write all” and the patches will be written to the new locations. No extra expense involved - I know people who are very low-tech who just borrowed a PC for an hour to do this.

[Owen]

Sorry, I think I asked this before, but I cannot remember the answer - or the answer was V3 will have magic in it. If I got a pedal to transmit the correct cc doobrie (as you can tell, I have no idea what that means) can I make the FI sustain, because I presume I could if I was triggering it with a keyboard.

If this is possible, would it be possible to make a Helix FX throw out this info?

I am not jumping FI ship, but considering a Boss SY1 as well to use as a "sustain" pedal. I am not thinking of making moving sonic soundscapes happen, I would just like to make a long note on my bass last for a LOT longer. Kind of like organ pedals.  I have no desire to play over the note. I am a bassist. I look after the bottom end. I have other people for the other stuff.

TIA.

[Quatschmacher]

36 minutes ago, owen said:

Sorry, I think I asked this before, but I cannot remember the answer - or the answer was V3 will have magic in it. If I got a pedal to transmit the correct cc doobrie (as you can tell, I have no idea what that means) can I make the FI sustain, because I presume I could if I was triggering it with a keyboard.

If this is possible, would it be possible to make a Helix FX throw out this info?

I am not jumping FI ship, but considering a Boss SY1 as well to use as a "sustain" pedal. I am not thinking of making moving sonic soundscapes happen, I would just like to make a long note on my bass last for a LOT longer. Kind of like organ pedals.  I have no desire to play over the note. I am a bassist. I look after the bottom end. I have other people for the other stuff.

TIA.

Sustain is planned for a future update.

[Quatschmacher]

Here's something to show off my new chord-switching with the MC6: