Jump to content

Blank canvas effects pedal?


smathis

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Hello, I looked around to see of there were any threads to answer my question but I couldn't find any. Sorry if I am starting a thread that's already been discussed.

 

Anyway, is there a stompbox that is 100% customizable? Like one that doesn't have any effects preloaded into it, and you can send presets to it via computer software? I'm aware of multi-effects pedals and such that interact with software, but they have a lot of bells and whistles that I will probably never use. I'm looking for just a bare-bones, fully customizable system. Is that a thing somewhere?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well, you're five years too late. :( Digitech release a "virtual" DSP effect pedal , the iStomp, that could be programmed. They included some effects, and I think there was even an SDK (software development kit) released but from what I read you had to really know C and be familiar with DSP programming.

 

It wasn't successful in the market and was discontinued. I'm sure you could get one on eBay.

 

http://digitech.com/en-US/news/harman%E2%80%99s-digitech-introduces-the-istomp-the-world%E2%80%99s-first-effects-pedal-that-can-be-programmed-with-any-sound

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

i didn't/don't have any apple products necessary to use the iStomp, and dodged a bullet there in hindsight.

i was excited about the line6 tonecore project but hesitated due to the lack of information/examples and pedal form factor. dodged another bullet. while there was some developer interest and a few FX implemented,

I can't remember a single 3rd party product commercialized. Ouch.

 

i understand why hardware companies don't want their products to be improved, repurposed, and/or reprogrammed by end users, they're in the business of selling hardware, but could you imagine computers that only ran the software they were sold with. that seems to be the current situation with digital audio. (as opposed to having to get our your soldering iron to mod analog [microsurfacemount is fast closing that window, & detroit locks out the home mechanic])

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

application, budget, technical aptitude, level of existing knowledge/experience, learning curve(how fast do you need to get up to speed), versatility(how deep do want/need to go editing parameters), and operating effort(do you need to be able to modify on the fly without shooting yourself in the foot, or can you run with the presets you brung).

 

under application, what kind of music and use case, your current rig and how you use it...

 

options range from the ridiculously inexpensive $50 zoom G1on to $1000+ state of the art pro gear, and there's a good chance that what ever you buy will get one upped at the next NAMM show if not the next issue of guitar player. so expect it. the good news is, at this point, there aren't too many fx that actually suck. all the major manufactures are mass producing ground breaking gear and the klone market is making unobtainium a thing of the past

 

/walloftext

 

ps. it doesn't have to be as complicated as i might have made it sound, if your willing to accept the trade offs for simplicity

 

next up: Malekko Sneak Attack - an example of how not to design a pedal UI

and it doesn't come with a manual

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
next up: Malekko Sneak Attack - an example of how not to design a pedal UI

and it doesn't come with a manual

 

I Googled that thing, I would never use that.

 

I'm an intermediate player, and I want something simple with a variety of effects. They don't have to be studio quality, as the majority of the time I am playing at home with a headphone jack after the kids go to sleep. I'm also a cheapskate, so if I can get something for under 100 bucks I probably will. Any experience with the Digitech Element?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

yeah, i just unboxed a Sneak Attack and spent five minutes trying to get it to pass sound... any sound.

i've never encountered a pedal that didn't make some kind of noise with all knobs at noon, much less none while turning every knob one after the other. it really needs an indepth explanation of how the controls interact, and i'm sure it's sales suffers because of it

 

no experience with the element, but digitech has been making RPs for a decade. they couldn't do that if their customers weren't satisfied. from the youtube video, it looks like it does most of what my old genesis 3 does with even better amp models and i love my genesis 3. amp models, multiple fx, headphone out, i'd say go for it, and better to have the elementXP for expression control and not want it than want it and not have it. just expect a moderate learning curve to dive beyond the presets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

there was the openstomp project. fully open source hardware and software programmable fx pedal. hmm i guess, it started at the wrong time at the wrong place, initial price was around $350, which was a lot and it never really took off.

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/OpenStomp_Open_Source_Meet_the_Guitar_World

 

now with all this raspi and arduino stuff there is much cheaper hardware available with much more computing power

 

writing great fx plugins is also an art and time consuming so i guess only some geeks are really into it :)

 

 

there was jut an auction on ebay for an openstomp which jut went for $60

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Members

This seems to be slightly different to what you're after but might interest you anyway. It's not a multi-fx, it's a pedal that had a single function, but that function can be altered using computer software. It's similar to the TC Electronic Toneprint except that you can actually replace the base pedal as well, essentially making it a blank canvas like you mentioned. I honestly don't know that much about it, just heard about it online one day, but it's a pretty interesting crossover.

 

P.S. Just read back over the thread and Neunaber was briefly mentioned, but here's the actual pedal that's interesting. Still worth checking out as a point of interest, personally it doesn't seem wholly practical.

 

https://neunaber.net/collections/expanse-collection/products/expanse?variant=30007586893

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
This seems to be slightly different to what you're after but might interest you anyway. It's not a multi-fx, it's a pedal that had a single function, but that function can be altered using computer software. It's similar to the TC Electronic Toneprint except that you can actually replace the base pedal as well, essentially making it a blank canvas like you mentioned. I honestly don't know that much about it, just heard about it online one day, but it's a pretty interesting crossover.

 

P.S. Just read back over the thread and Neunaber was briefly mentioned, but here's the actual pedal that's interesting. Still worth checking out as a point of interest, personally it doesn't seem wholly practical.

 

https://neunaber.net/collections/expanse-collection/products/expanse?variant=30007586893

 

I really like this. Thanks for mentioning it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • Members

i just stumbled upon this today:

https://hackaday.com/2017/09/12/pedal-pi-simple-programmable-guitar-pedal/

 

its also a project from the same people who did the arduino project posted some posts above

https://www.electrosmash.com/pedal-pi

 

its raspi based, is low-fi and uses only a 12bit ADC.

its a cool project for those who want to experiment with such stuff, but it also shows computing power is not so great and cheap to handle 24bit or more. if it should be hi-fi you need special hardware which costs much more than a rasberry-pi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

next up: Malekko Sneak Attack - an example of how not to design a pedal UI

and it doesn't come with a manual

 

 

It seems pretty straightforward to me. :idk: But then again, I understand the basics of what an ADSR is and how they work.

 

I've never tried a Sneak Attack, but I can tell you what the controls are designed to do just by looking at it.

 

 

malekko_sneak_attack_product_1.jpg

 

 

https://malekkoheavyindustry.com/sne...and-lil-buddy/

 

The A and D stand for "Attack" and "Decay" - there are knobs for each (top row) that sets the shape of the attack / release envelope curves - how fast and how much they ramp up / down over time. Directly below are knobs that determine how long each stage (attack and release) lasts - that way, you can have a slow attack that ramps up linearly or that does so logarithmically (or inverse log, etc.), and a completely different curve and time setting for the decay stage.

 

Threshold sets the sensitivity and level point where the AD envelope is triggered. Adjust that to suit your playing and how hard you pick. I suspect that the Man Trig setting over-rides the sensitivity and allows the use of an external manual trigger, when one is connected to the trigger jack. You might be able to trigger via external CV too. :idk: The LFO mode turns the pedal into a tremolo, with user-adjustable attack and decay envelope curves.

 

Level is probably an output level control, which would allow you to compensate for decreased perceived volume in some settings due to lessened attack transients, etc.

 

For a guitarist some of this could be new and somewhat confusing, but it's basic synth and audio engineering 101. The guys at Malekko are both guitarists and synth fans, so maybe that clouded the design of the labeling a bit, and I agree there should be a manual, but I really don't think the user interface or labeling on that pedal are all that horrible. YMMV.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

 

It seems pretty straightforward to me. :idk: But then again, I understand the basics of what an ADSR is and how they work.

 

I've never tried a Sneak Attack, .... but I really don't think the user interface or labeling on that pedal are all that horrible. YMMV.

 

the controls aren't that much different than the adsr in my philosopher king.

the problem turned out to be how they implemented/overlaid the 'auto threshold' knob.

 

first time i plugged it in, i set all the controls at noon and got no audio. nothing.

then i turned each knob full sweep, returning it to noon before moving to the next. still nothing.

i couldn't find the manual, until i realized the button didn't show up unless java script was enabled, but even with the manual i couldn't get any sound. i was becoming convinced it was broke and not looking forward to having to rma it.

 

after rummaging around on the malekko site i found this in the 'faq'

 

"Sneak Attack suddenly has low volume, volume drop, no volume or “just stopped working”.

The output level setting is actually saved when you are in LFO or MANUAL TRIGGER modes (so if you had the pedal in MANUAL TRIGGER MODE and your LEVEL knob was turned down, then you switched to LFO mode, the level will still be low).

You can simply reset your levels by turning the AUTO THRESHOLD knob to MANUAL TRIGGER and readjusting the LEVEL knob. Sweep the LEVEL knob right, left, right. The pedal’s volume will now be set louder than the input, and you can adjust to taste."

 

apparently, i received the pedal in the "just stopped working" mode and didn't stumble on the "magic knob settings" to fix it.

 

That Really Should Be In The Manual. In The Box

 

I spent a couple more days trying to grok it before sending it back.

there are some great sounds in it (beyond the adsr in the pigtronix, which is why i bought it), but it's a pita compared to the pigtronix, and i've never encountered a pedal as easy to shoot yourself in the foot with...

ok maybe i exaggerated, no sound out of a sneak attack is better than kicking a knob on mic'd fuzz factory

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...