Akai Deep Impact...is it really that good?

[Harper]

I see these going for over $500.00 bucks. Is it that great or are folks paying that much just because the guy from Muse uses one?

[Monkey]

I owned one for a while a few years back. It was good, but I honestly only found a couple of settings that really worked for me. Those settings sounded good and tracked well, but I didn't use it enough to justify keeping it. I ended up selling it at a profit, and have not regretted it.

IMO, a nice pedal, but not worth $500.

[jufros]

A friend of mine has one. It's pretty incredible and the tracking is definitely right on. I think that if you're going digital today though, there are some MUCH better options in that price range. I'd recommend a used Muse Receptor for that money. There's a Deep Impact plug in you can download for it that will give you those sounds. Plus, you can have about a billion other ones too and be able to store presets on the hard drive.

[dannybuoy]

Is that plugin a VST or is it just for the Muse Receptor?

[Lindsay]

Originally Posted by Harper

I see these going for over $500.00 bucks. Is it that great or are folks paying that much just because the guy from Muse uses one?

It's THAT good. I have a number of synth pedals and the DI is the only one that has consistently retained its position on my board.

The DI sounds hi-fi and BIG through the FOH, it copies a number of well known bass-synth sounds very well, it's programmable (so you don't have to adjust knobs and sliders on the fly), it has a manageable number of adjustable parameters that are easy to understand and it can be powered easily.

On the down side, it's quite big so it takes up a fair bit of pedalboard real estate and it can get a little glitchy (if the power goes on and off a few times, for instance).

Generally speaking, I rate it as a got-to pedal for electronica, hip-hop, whatever. I use it either on its own or in parallel with octave/fuzz (+/- filter).

It's a working bassist's go-to synth pedal, not an experimental tweaker's pedal.

I rate it over the EHX BMS because of its programmability and I rate it over the Chunk OS because I find (i.e. IMO) the sounds more usable (slurpy rather than aggressive) and I find it MUCH easier to program. If Chuck released a software interface and a boatload more pre-sets I might change my mind though.

The MarkBass synth pedal is the new contender to keep an eye on - who knows, it may be a giant killer.

[kaputsport]

I think so. I use mine a lot. I think if you are able to tweek your tones just right, and are that kind of player, then it is a great pedal for you. Some say it sounds 80's, some think it is very progressive is tweeked right.

I use it for a lot of things, from copping Lady Gaga tones, to Muse... And it does both equally well...

Plus, can you really go on living, knowing that you don't own one? It is a box of Awesome... Nike said it best... Just Do It.

[Famous Shamus]

These are that good my man....but I didn't get it because the bassist in Muse has one.

Although I have used it on Muse songs, I get the most use with a cover band that does all sorts of funky, disco, dance stuff...everything from Donna Summer to 3Oh!3 and it gets the job done. No keyboard player neccessary. It tracks really well, and has a myriad of settings. If you can pick one up and can justify using it, I'd go for it. Great tool to have in you bass arsenal.

[bassbrad]

Like the folks have said it's that good and I'm glad i got mine when i did. I don't do the bass synth thing as much as i once did, but it's a keeper for sure.

[Jazz Ad]

It's the best at what it does. I wouldn't have paid 500 for it (got mine for 180 a long time ago) but I'm not half ready to let it go. Filters are sick and it matches these 80s tones perfectly. Tracking is very impressive with passive and active basses and it's super easy to program.

[pdubya]

hmm....i traded mine for a line6 filter modeller
good but u cant play very dynamically with them

www.myspace.com/dubthemagicdragon

[dirtgroove]

The Akai Deep Impact is the best at what it does. The tracking is outstanding. The Korg G5 was almost on a par but was bigger and the bypass is shockingly poor. Plenty of people appear to be happy to part with US $500 or more for one in good nick, so it would appear to be worth it. I don't see them all that often on Evilbay so if you get the chance, buy one- it shouldn't be hard to sell again if it's not your thing.