Members juri Posted June 23, 2013 Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 Just donated to the OWL project on kickstarter. It's an open source pedal platform. I really like the idea behind this, you can basically write your own algorithms for this pedal, share it with others, etc.... http://hoxtonowl.com/ http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marser/owl-programmable-effects-pedal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members starmansam Posted June 23, 2013 Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 thats really cool. both the open source bit and giving the little guy a shot at dsp programming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DiscoFreq Posted June 23, 2013 Members Share Posted June 23, 2013 I bought one too (on the first day already, I was waiting for the Kickstarter since I discovered the site). It's nice that it's possible to program in easy languages, that's the reason I never bought the Line 6 Tonecore development kit (some people warned me it was not easy and I probably wouldn't have time to learn it). I hope they reach the next "stretch goals" too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sad Darwin Posted March 3, 2014 Members Share Posted March 3, 2014 Four knobs, no visual feedback. I feel like the core idea is great, but the execution, aesthetics, etc. could use improvement. I'd love for someone to just design something like Reaktor or the nord modular into a box for guitarists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted March 3, 2014 Members Share Posted March 3, 2014 ^^--, yeah, it would be an improvement even to only add markings on the knobs, at whatever interval it can reliably use the increments as a switch when needed. I also wouldn't call C++ programming or any language at that level of DSP programming "easy", and an online patch library isn't programming at all. It would be more interesting to most, or me anyway, to see something with a block-level drag-and-drop programming function. Even that would perhaps be more just a multi-effect with extremely flexible routing, though. I'm thinking of some of the modular synth based softsynths you can get, where you grab modules like oscillators and filters and draw lines to wire 'em up. With enough modules including some deep-parameter ones and maybe some setup where you can contract a programmer to tweak modules for you, this could be very powerful. Even programmers would probably appreciate a more natural top-level modularity. Certainly thinking in analog, it would great if once you wired up a distortion stage, you could then copy and paste it a few times, grab a tonestack and other goodies from a library and be doing something 10x as complex in 5 minutes, without getting 10 times as many bad connections as a breadboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BHz_econo Posted July 16, 2014 Members Share Posted July 16, 2014 Whatever happened with this????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Good question. Were the units actually shipped out? How well do they work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members juri Posted July 20, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Here's my initial review: The pedals were shipped out and I still have mine. They work pretty well but the amount of patches and the quality of the patches has been a little underwhelming. The OWL Project consists of 3 modules source code wise, all available on GitHub. 1) OwlSim OWL VST pluginUsed to develop your patches, load it into a DAW to test. 2) OwlNestUsed to control the settings (via USB) on your OWL Pedal. This allows you to select the patch from the list of patches loaded on your OWL as well as load a new version of the FirmWare. 3) OwlWare and OwlBootThis is the firmware (bin file) that is uploaded onto the OWL pedal. Features:The pedal itself is stereo and you can run 2 patches on it. You can switch between the two patches by clicking the LED on the pedal. Patches can be run in series, parallel or one at a time. There's also an expression input available. I had a little issue uploading it from my windows machine but they posted some driver instructions so I got that to work. Limitations:Some of the patches were too heavy for the CPU resulting in some distorted sounds, the pedal is true bypass but when engaged it's completely digital (no analog dry through path). The power requirements are 500ma which I think it too much for a pedal on a pedal board with a Pedal Power. Conclusion:If you want to mess around coding patches and using them in a pedal format this is a great way to start for sure. Downloading the VST allows you to try out what is out there for free if you are ever interested in seeing what current state is of the patches available for the OWL pedal. Latest Revision - Rev004The last revision is a big improvement, it has 56 patches now and some of the patches come from other open source projects like Faust/Guitarix.http://faust.grame.fr/index.php/related-projects/guitarix Future:Rebel Technology (the makers of the OWL Pedal) is releasing a modular version (euro rack) of the OWL as well as integration with Faust and Tannhäuser PureData to allow you to develop patches without writing any code. Demo Videos:http://hoxtonowl.com/2014/07/demo-videos/ Price:You can pre-order for £249 ($425.45)They have a sell/buy section in their forum if you are ever interested in getting one at a lower price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Sounds sucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.