Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

[Jonathan49]

I wanted to ask you, of all the NAMs you've tested, which are the most convincing? Thank you.
I tested Jules' Monique, for example, and I don't really see anything more in it.

 

[silky smoove]

Shiftline HD Bass IR pack, 500ms EVM IR, blend to 40-50%… this ended my search for bass IRs across all platforms.

 

[BrianVengeance]

I feel like the DynIR cabs are pretty good but still don’t quite get the breakup right. OwnHammer IRs are also pretty good. Will check out the Shiftline.

Also have a QC mini coming and I’m interested to see how the V2 captures work out.

 

[Rockgeezer]

As mentioned by some here, the Shiftline group of IRs is very good. My go to cab is:

12_Ampeg_SVT-810E_Olympic_MkIIIS_edition2

Also, am using the Artist cab in the Anagram of the Nolly Blend. I have both at 50/50 balance and am very satisfied with the results.

 

[warptheory]

This is maybe a hot take, but I’ll offer it anyway:

The Anagram has one critical function that the HX Stomp does not currently offer. That is, the ability to sound really good. The HX sounds just okay at best, and honestly quite bad for certain tasks. I spent years convincing myself that it sounded good. As soon as I got rid of it and went to two boards (one analog, one Anagram), I realized how much I’d been lying to myself. Since then the Anagram has even unseated my previous analog board built around a Caveman BP-1C. Yes, the Anagram is missing some functions that the Helix platforms can do. For my money, I’m happy to gamble on Darkglass closing those gaps while already managing to sound great, unlike their Line 6 counterpart.

I second this. The HX is definitely superior in it's utility, but I always found myself doing weird things, like looping modulation so that it only affected the high frequencies and not the lows, or doing the same for drives, it worked, but was cumbersome. The Anagram on the other hand, I turned on a Chorus block, and was blown away at how good it sounded without tweaking.

Not going to win any awards, still like the flexibility on the IE Polytope better, but live, no one is going to notice. I do wish the modulation blocks had blends and volume, since modulation inherently has perceived volume loss, I did like that about the HX how I could boost the level by 2-3 db's on any block, but that's a minor issue that I'm sure will be addressed over time.

 

[Chrishi87]

Shiftline HD Bass IR pack, 500ms EVM IR, blend to 40-50%… this ended my search for bass IRs across all platforms.

Wow. That's a good one. I shouldn´t stick my known things and try others. Will make a shootout between this and the Mesa215 from the HD Pack.

 

[VerdaLum0]

It's unusual that cabinets and amplifiers are located in the same folder. To access a cabinet, you need to scroll through all the amplifiers. Despite the large icons, the names of the factory models are not obvious. It would be great to add the ability to select by name, similar to how it is done for artist cabinets and User IR cabinets.

 

[pfschim]

Just got my Nano board and have been laying out the Anagram, Chocolate MIDI controller, battery and MXR Synth. I did wire it up, but I still need to work out the exact wiring/routing. I have been using the Anagram with the battery right on the floor at some gigs, which worked ok, so other than being able to add the MXR, I'm wondering what benefit the Nano gives me ... other than just keeping the Anagram off the floor.

 

[pfschim]

Shiftline HD Bass IR pack, 500ms EVM IR, blend to 40-50%… this ended my search for bass IRs across all platforms.

in my continuing effort to setup my Anagram, I was interested in your praise for the Shiftline HD IR pack.
Do you mean the EVM 12" cab IR ? .... must be, because I did not see any other EV cabs in the Pack description.

 

[silky smoove]

in my continuing effort to setup my Anagram, I was interested in your praise for the Shiftline HD IR pack.
Do you mean the EVM 12" cab IR ? .... must be, because I did not see any other EV cabs in the Pack description.

It’s the only EV in the pack, so presumably. From there just pick your preferred sample length and decide between the A, B, C and X versions. I’m currently using the 500ms C version, but there’s a charm to the B version that I might go back. I always blend to around 40-50%.

 

[AnthonyBe]

I was also in favour of the Shift Line Bass IR Pack when I was using a BOSS ME-90B. I think it was the Ampeg IR I was using (not sure if it was the exact same one @Rockgeezer mentioned earlier) and it definitely added some life and character to the somewhat sterile ME-90B sound.

Just FYI, they provide a set of free IRs you can download. It's a subset of the full Bass HD IR Pack and only 20ms and 125ms IRs (paid version also includes 250ms and 500ms IRs) but still 24bit 48kHz format.
The pack is available for direct download here - https://shiftline-shared.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/basshdirpack/Shift_Line_Bass_HD_IR_Pack_FREE.zip

 

[VerdaLum0]

Another great advantage of this package is that IRs of the same quality are initially balanced, so they can be mixed without phase distortion. The manufacturer does not recommend using normalization, which can disrupt this balance.

 

[Barticus]

I was also in favour of the Shift Line Bass IR Pack when I was using a BOSS ME-90B. I think it was the Ampeg IR I was using (not sure if it was the exact same one @Rockgeezer mentioned earlier) and it definitely added some life and character to the somewhat sterile ME-90B sound.

Just FYI, they provide a set of free IRs you can download. It's a subset of the full Bass HD IR Pack and only 20ms and 125ms IRs (paid version also includes 250ms and 500ms IRs) but still 24bit 48kHz format.
The pack is available for direct download here - https://shiftline-shared.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/basshdirpack/Shift_Line_Bass_HD_IR_Pack_FREE.zip

A whopping 10 bucks?

 

[AnthonyBe]

A whopping 10 bucks?
View attachment 7466217

Yeah, I think it's pretty good value

BUT, like so many things, whether people like these IRs or not is entirely subjective, as is what people determine to be 'good value'. So, the great news is that people can try some of them out for free, and even if you only feel 1 or 2 are usable, it is still a pretty small investment to get the full pack; especially when compared to the price of your Anagram!

 

[YossarianST]

got it finally on Saturday and i am so excited folks! I will write a review in a few weeks when i got hold of it properly.
Just a couple of quick first impressions:
1.) craftsmanship, design and form factor - top notch!
2.) ease of use is really something special. I never used processors or similar equipment so tbh i was a bit intimidated and worried it will be too much for me. But it is very easy to dial in something quickly - it has very intuitive ui and workflow. I understand it can be very complicated when doing more complex setups. Baby steps. Let’s see what happens next

 

[Chrishi87]

A whopping 10 bucks?

Best 10$ i spent in my musical career. The IRs are incredible

 

[pfschim]

Haven't heard much from the Anagram team for a bit. There was Ivan's trip to Darkglass/Anagram headquarters, some talk of a new B15 model and possibly an upgrade to the Gentle/Noble model based on Ivans personal unit, but I have not heard anything from them for a while now.

I know there was quite a bit of upgrading/improvements going on from the time of release thru the release of the last OS version and the new compressor block, but it seems like the Anagram team have gone to ground lately.

 

[AnthonyBe]

It's funny how just over a month since last release and we start getting 'Anagram update withdrawal'
BTW, not judging, I'm the same!
Darkglass have set our expectations unrealistically high with their frenetic release schedule of 2025!
That said, I think they are trying to wean us off that cadence and down to something more sustainable.
It was 43 days between v1.12 (20 Jan) and v1.13 (3 Mar).
It is now 38 days since v1.13...

I'm giving them an extra week grace period as we just had Easter which is a few days of public holiday in Finland so some of the team may be taking time off.
Ivan is back in Helsinki next week so make of that what you will.

 

[Dennis Layman]

Haven't heard much from the Anagram team for a bit. There was Ivan's trip to Darkglass/Anagram headquarters, some talk of a new B15 model and possibly an upgrade to the Gentle/Noble model based on Ivans personal unit, but I have not heard anything from them for a while now.

I know there was quite a bit of upgrading/improvements going on from the time of release thru the release of the last OS version and the new compressor block, but it seems like the Anagram team have gone to ground lately.

I wish we would get a good envelope. Waiting to try the Proton still octave and envelope had to go Analog. That and the future impact.

 

[silky smoove]

I wish we would get a good envelope.

I’ve managed to get the Gravitron to sound usable. I wouldn’t say it sounds good, but it works well enough for classic Mutron type sounds. I’m still waiting for Darkglass to add a switch to their filters that allows for down sweeps. This would get us an easy to implement interim synth building solution in a way that the up sweeps don’t quite nail.