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Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

My suggestion would be fully configurability. It is basically an idea of realising single stomps via Midi. No complex binding.

The current CC messages would stay the same of course. But the remaining messages or the ones that are not booked yet could be fully up to the user.
Users would be able to choose from possibly way more options than there are midi messages. (Maybe it could even go through different midi channels and then you can pretty much assign every parameter.)

-You could assign each block in a chain to a midi message.
-you could have specific blocks assigned to a specific message (e.g. Alpha Omicron on off always on CC 127 or, even more granular, bite on off always on 126).

I think I'll work out an overview later that makes it a bit more understandable.

Yeah, I get that would be the ideal scenario for direct, granular control of any parameter. And if you can do that, you can obviously control a wider range of things on the Anagram. I'm pointing out that while the approach you're describing gives more user-customization options, it's not necessarily more efficient in terms of setup - especially if most people are using it for more basic functions like toggling blocks on/off, boosting/cutting drive, etc. In the scenario you're describing, I still have to hook my MC6 Pro up to my computer, assign Channels/CC commands to any given parameter or function, then assign that to a footswitch/action in the MIDI controller for each preset. With the current setup, I can just assign the quick knobs and switches to corresponding footswitches/commands in the MIDI controller and do most of my tweaking, setup, and binding directly on the anagram. I also see this being beneficial if you're at a rehearsal, gig, session, etc. and you want to tweak things without having your laptop present.
 
Since it's a snow day here in NC, I just ended up moving the Anagram from the mono lite+ to a metro board so I could fit the midi footswitch and Lehle expression

Ended up putting the future impact on for some synth fun, and the trusty Cali 76 for old times sake.

Good stuff so far! Waiting on a right angle USB c so I can make that hookup a bit cleaner, and planning to see if the new jad freer Luce fits under the board when it gets here this week.

IMG_9080.jpeg
 
Yeah, I get that would be the ideal scenario for direct, granular control of any parameter. And if you can do that, you can obviously control a wider range of things on the Anagram. I'm pointing out that while the approach you're describing gives more user-customization options, it's not necessarily more efficient in terms of setup - especially if most people are using it for more basic functions like toggling blocks on/off, boosting/cutting drive, etc. In the scenario you're describing, I still have to hook my MC6 Pro up to my computer, assign Channels/CC commands to any given parameter or function, then assign that to a footswitch/action in the MIDI controller for each preset. With the current setup, I can just assign the quick knobs and switches to corresponding footswitches/commands in the MIDI controller and do most of my tweaking, setup, and binding directly on the anagram. I also see this being beneficial if you're at a rehearsal, gig, session, etc. and you want to tweak things without having your laptop present.
Sure, I find the binding options great and important as well and I don't want them to go away.
And it is less efficient, I agree, and if there are other ideas for midi implementation that make anagram even more independent from a pc, fair enough, I am excited about what may come.
Until then I'll keep pondering over it.
 
Speaking of bindings, I haven't figured out the macros thing yet for the midi footswitches

When I go to the binding view, it seems like I can only bind one thing to a knob (and therefore footswitch, since I have all 5 set as controlling a knob bind) and not multiple via a macro. Maybe I'm just missing where that is in the menus and manual?

Also, is it not possible to have the LEDs on the footswitch reflect the on/off state instead of the last switch you hit? That's not ideal, really, but I guess it's somewhat doable if you keep it in binding + scene view and keep an eye on things that way.

Last thing, I've noticed that turning things on/off while in a scene seems to basically save that as the new state of the scene. It'd be nice if you could optionally be in a scene, turn things on/off via bindings, go to a new scene, then back to the original scene and have it be in its default state vs what you had previously turned on/off outside of that... That'd make treating binding + scene mode w a footswitch more like having access to more scenes, which in the end I think would be the way to go if that could be added at some point.
 
Speaking of bindings, I haven't figured out the macros thing yet for the midi footswitches

When I go to the binding view, it seems like I can only bind one thing to a knob (and therefore footswitch, since I have all 5 set as controlling a knob bind) and not multiple via a macro. Maybe I'm just missing where that is in the menus and manual?

Also, is it not possible to have the LEDs on the footswitch reflect the on/off state instead of the last switch you hit? That's not ideal, really, but I guess it's somewhat doable if you keep it in binding + scene view and keep an eye on things that way.

Last thing, I've noticed that turning things on/off while in a scene seems to basically save that as the new state of the scene. It'd be nice if you could optionally be in a scene, turn things on/off via bindings, go to a new scene, then back to the original scene and have it be in its default state vs what you had previously turned on/off outside of that... That'd make treating binding + scene mode w a footswitch more like having access to more scenes, which in the end I think would be the way to go if that could be added at some point.
The macros and scene default state are both addressed in the manual.
 
When I go to the binding view, it seems like I can only bind one thing to a knob (and therefore footswitch, since I have all 5 set as controlling a knob bind) and not multiple via a macro. Maybe I'm just missing where that is in the menus and manual?
In the binding screen, you should see a plus icon to add multiple bindings to a footswitch or quick-knob. Here's a vid.
 
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Ah ha! Thanks, I'll give it another go, must've missed that bit on macros in the manual before

Didn't see where it covered the part I mentioned about the behavior of bindings and going between scenes, but will poke around more :)
 
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Since it's a snow day here in NC, I just ended up moving the Anagram from the mono lite+ to a metro board so I could fit the midi footswitch and Lehle expression

Ended up putting the future impact on for some synth fun, and the trusty Cali 76 for old times sake.

Good stuff so far! Waiting on a right angle USB c so I can make that hookup a bit cleaner, and planning to see if the new jad freer Luce fits under the board when it gets here this week.

View attachment 7417633
I got one of these, it comes it lots of different angles and long enough for most boards, works well with my MC6 Pro

 
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This may have been discussed already, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to ask, since this is something that will likely keep growing and there may be new updates:
  • Is there any website or community where pedal databases are available to load more effects into the Anagram?
  • Does anyone know if there is any preset available that renames the factory effects in the Anagram to the pedals they are inspired by?
Thanks
 
Is there any website or community where pedal databases are available to load more effects into the Anagram?
You can download tons of free NAM captures from Tone3000. There are no 'third party' blocks that you can download and use like the blocks released by darkglass (yet) - i.e. blocks that have all of onboard controls/features of an actual pedal or amp.
Does anyone know if there is any preset available that renames the factory effects in the Anagram to the pedals they are inspired by?
Don't believe so.
 
Speaking of updates dropping on a “regular basis”, DG and NDSP just have different release cadences.

While DG is dropping small updates frequently (~2 weeks), they tend to be small. A few new devices and some bug fixes, OR a platform update.

When NDSP drops their updates every 2-3 months, they tend to be far larger. Numerous additional devices, platform changes, many bug fixes, etc.

In the end, it equals out to about the same.

However, where the biggest difference lies with us bass players is that nearly all of the updates in the Anagram are bass focused while the QC has had almost zero bass-specific updates since launch 4+ years ago (with a couple exceptions including the Parallax plugin). Seriously, look at the QC’s device list and which version the bass amps/cabs were released. Almost all v1.0.0. I know it’s just business, supply and demand, but it still comes across as insulting.

Just wanted to keep things in perspective.

Out of curiosity I checked Neural DSP's effect list just to see what bass specific models they have and it came out to:
Amps: 13 total (all 1.0 release)
Cabs: 8 total (3 added since 1.0 release)
Drives: 5 total (1 added since 1.0)
2 other bass specific pedal/plugins (bass wah and Parallax).

Of course one can use the many other pedals as well (I certainly did when I had a QC), but they just don't put out much for bass and I'm not really surprised. I remember Ian Allison talking about his Helix Stomp and he asked Line 6 what percentage of their customers used it for bass and it was 2-3%. I'm guessing Neural DSP's customer base for bass specifically is probably somewhere around there so it make sense to focus on guitar. I really wish they would make more bass stuff though. I loved the QC, but it really needed more bass models for my use case so I sold it. Maybe the Anagram's success will push them to add more.
 
Out of curiosity I checked Neural DSP's effect list just to see what bass specific models they have and it came out to:
Amps: 13 total (all 1.0 release)
Cabs: 8 total (3 added since 1.0 release)
Drives: 5 total (1 added since 1.0)
2 other bass specific pedal/plugins (bass wah and Parallax).

Of course one can use the many other pedals as well (I certainly did when I had a QC), but they just don't put out much for bass and I'm not really surprised. I remember Ian Allison talking about his Helix Stomp and he asked Line 6 what percentage of their customers used it for bass and it was 2-3%. I'm guessing Neural DSP's customer base for bass specifically is probably somewhere around there so it make sense to focus on guitar. I really wish they would make more bass stuff though. I loved the QC, but it really needed more bass models for my use case so I sold it. Maybe the Anagram's success will push them to add more.
Yeah, but it’s even worse than the numbers show.

If you account for variations of the same amp, there are only 6 distinct bass amps!

And of the 8 cabs, only 4 manufacturers are represented: Ampeg (4), Darkglass (2), Fender (1), and Marshall (1). Marshall?

What bassist uses Marshall for bass? I have never once heard a single bass player in 30+ years in the scene mention any interest in the Marshall Super Bass amp or 412 cab. They’re technically made for guitar because at the time bass-dedicated amps/cabs did not exist. Certainly never seen one used in the wild.

A bassist did not choose those amps and cabs. 😆
 
I ordered an Anagram on Friday and I’m guessing with the weather it may be a week before it shows up. I’m hoping I can condense my pedalboard. This kinda “all-in-one” unit is somewhat new to me so I’ll probably be asking some questions soon.
My main question is will the Anagram be able to replace the following pedals:

Envelope Filter
Flanger
Chorus
Octaver
Bass Synth
Boost
Tuner

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
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