Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

[ShaunNecro]

I haven't seen anything that says this feature is coming, but maybe I've just missed it. Does anyone know if power over midi cable is something that will be implemented in the anagram, or if it is capable of it? Being able to power a midi selector with the unit could be a super valuable function.

 

[Barticus]

I haven't seen anything that says this feature is coming, but maybe I've just missed it. Does anyone know if power over midi cable is something that will be implemented in the anagram, or if it is capable of it? Being able to power a midi selector with the unit could be a super valuable function.

Don’t know about power over midi, but the midi FS gets power over USB-C which is pretty cool.

 

[Bass1447]

I just got mine about 10 days ago. Been Quad Cortex for about 2 years. Looking forward to hooking it up. Just waiting for the studio to be finished.

 

[BrianVengeance]

I am so eager to try this out. Mine is supposed to arrive mid-may.

I am curious though- how many of you that have already gigged with it have felt the 3 footswitches aren't enough? @Barticus - Did you just buy the DG intelligent switch, the 5 button DG midi switch, or something else to control it? I have no idea if I'm gonna need extra switches or not.

Yet to gig with it, but I have a MC6 Pro coming this week to help make up for the switch deficit compared to my bigger board with the HX Effects.

I could probably get it down to 3 switches in a pinch, but would end up with a few copies of a general purpose chain with variations of “clean, dirty, some effect(s)”. Also prefer to have individually addressable pedals and then pepper in snapshots / scenes to simplify any tap dancing.

 

[Barticus]

Yet to gig with it, but I have a MC6 Pro coming this week to help make up for the switch deficit compared to my bigger board with the HX Effects.

I could probably get it down to 3 switches in a pinch, but would end up with a few copies of a general purpose chain with variations of “clean, dirty, some effect(s)”. Also prefer to have individually addressable pedals and then pepper in snapshots / scenes to simplify any tap dancing.

I had an MC6 with my original Stomp and managing the programming got old for me. So hopefully I can live with 3 switches for a while.

 

[Djadja]

I have one of their power supplies and so far it has worked fine. I haven't loaded up a super intensive preset tho, so its possible its not quite enough when I start throwing multiple pitch shifters and paths at it.

Are you just using a single 9V, 1.5A cable for it?

 

[BrianVengeance]

I had an MC6 with my original Stomp and managing the programming got old for me. So hopefully I can live with 3 switches for a while.

Lol, yeah… that’s the rub. Gotta manage the complexity somewhere or accept the limitation. The annoying thing about MIDI is that its biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. >.<

 

[gustobassman]

I gig with a Stomp XL and use 2-4 buttons per patch. So I can likely get away with the 3 buttons, but decided to add the DG midi foot switch to my order since I got a significant discount on both.

I figured I’ll try with just the 3 and if I need more or outgrow it then I’ll config the extra foot switch.

Yet to gig with it, but I have a MC6 Pro coming this week to help make up for the switch deficit compared to my bigger board with the HX Effects.

I could probably get it down to 3 switches in a pinch, but would end up with a few copies of a general purpose chain with variations of “clean, dirty, some effect(s)”. Also prefer to have individually addressable pedals and then pepper in snapshots / scenes to simplify any tap dancing.

Ok, gotcha. Thanks for the replies, guys! This will be my first multi, but I do use a few SA pedals that I make "scenes" with and scroll individual pedal presets using a DMC Micro.. that's the only real midi experience I have. Would a Micro work for the Anagram? I know how to use that.

Was hoping at some point this could be used like my guitarist uses his Fractal. Our entire set is mapped out in Logic, he's connected by midi and doesn't even touch his pedals anymore. The effects kick in with the midi clock mapped to the set. I'm jealous... lol

 

[BrianVengeance]

Ok, gotcha. Thanks for the replies, guys! This will be my first multi, but I do use a few SA pedals that I make "scenes" with and scroll individual pedal presets using a DMC Micro.. that's the only real midi experience I have. Would a Micro work for the Anagram? I know how to use that.

For now the MIDI implementation is currently limited to program changes, so you would be limited to those with your DMC Micro. Future firmware updates will introduce a more robust MIDI implementation.

Was hoping at some point this could be used like my guitarist uses his Fractal. Our entire set is mapped out in Logic, he's connected by midi and doesn't even touch his pedals anymore. The effects kick in with the midi clock mapped to the set. I'm jealous... lol

This would be possible with the addition of something like the CME WIDI Jack.

 

[Cruizer8]

Are you just using a single 9V, 1.5A cable for it?

Yep, just a single cable

 

[Barticus]

Which midid footswitch did you get?

I just went with the Darkglass pedal, it plugs in and is powered by the USB-C port. I got it for a steep discount so figured I’d start there.

 

[SteveC]

I also have the DC& and I'm considering the Crux. Connected to the 24V port, it beefs up the juice to 9V DC / 2700 mA or 12V DC /2000 mA

CIOKS CRUX - High-Current Power Supply with Isolated Outputs

Power your demanding pedals with the CIOKS CRUX, featuring isolated outputs and high-current capability. Danish-made quality with a 5-year warranty, built to last since 1991. Ideal for advanced pedalboards.

cioks.com

But... I really hope the Anagram will eliminate the need of other pedals and the DC7 (lol)

If I ever got one that would be my hope as well. Plug it in and done.

 

[Fixed]

I just went with the Darkglass pedal, I got it for a steep discount so figured I’d start there.

Hi all. I'm strongly considering getting the Anagram, but regarding the Midi controller, given that there are 3 presets per bank, and 3 scenes per preset...

The point of more footswitches would be to avoid double pressing options like moving up/down banks and presets (and that would use four footswitches), right??

Other uses?? At the moment I think there is only enabled moving up/down presets.

 

[Chace90]

I haven't seen anything that says this feature is coming, but maybe I've just missed it. Does anyone know if power over midi cable is something that will be implemented in the anagram, or if it is capable of it? Being able to power a midi selector with the unit could be a super valuable function.

I'm not sure if you mean power to or from the Anagram, but given that the Anagram's MIDI implementation is 1/8" TRS, I don't believe power over MIDI is likely. Only 5-pin DIN is set up to carry power without some hackery.

 

[ShaunNecro]

I'm not sure if you mean power to or from the Anagram, but given that the Anagram's MIDI implementation is 1/8" TRS, I don't believe power over MIDI is likely. Only 5-pin DIN is set up to carry power without some hackery.

Duh! You're completely right. I completely spaced on that detail, lol.

 

[SteveC]

I'm not sure if you mean power to or from the Anagram, but given that the Anagram's MIDI implementation is 1/8" TRS, I don't believe power over MIDI is likely. Only 5-pin DIN is set up to carry power without some hackery.

This would seem to be the one "weak link in the Anagram? Other devices seem to have " normal" MIDI connections. I don't use MIDI, but I can see where if you're linked to other people/devices and changing patches automatically that MIDI might be a consideration. Is the 3.5 MIDI (I dint; even know you could do that) a negative?

I like the "all-in-oneness" of it, the small size, a tuner without sacrificing a foot switch, and the XLR out (both of which my Stomp doesn't have) but I'm not sure I gain much by going from my Stomp to the Anagram.

 

[Chace90]

This would seem to be the one "weak link in the Anagram? Other devices seem to have " normal" MIDI connections. I don't use MIDI, but I can see where if you're linked to other people/devices and changing patches automatically that MIDI might be a consideration. Is the 3.5 MIDI (I dint; even know you could do that) a negative?

I like the "all-in-oneness" of it, the small size, a tuner without sacrificing a foot switch, and the XLR out (both of which my Stomp doesn't have) but I'm not sure I gain much by going from my Stomp to the Anagram.

It's all relative to your use case of course. On TalkBass anyway, it seems people are a bit split on which type of MIDI connector one prefers. On my current board I use both 5-pin and 1/8" TRS. As long as the devices communicate, I can't say that I really care what the hardware interface is. I'd probably choose 1/8" if I had to pick one, if only because the cables take up a bit less space. If one's setup is prone to having cables bumped frequently, 5-pin is definitely more hardy. For what it's worth, in the effects pedal world, very few devices seem to actually require the extra 2 pins on 5-pin, but the PIN layout is always the same (I think). But in the 1/8" TRS MIDI world, different manufactures have different standards. It's a surprisingly dense subject!

I don't have an Anagram, so I can't compare it to the Stomp. I do some MIDI switching on my Stomp that the Anagram can't yet do, so I probably wouldn't try to switch over until they build out the MIDI control a bit more. Still unclear how soon that is coming, but hopefully soon!

 

[BrianVengeance]

This would seem to be the one "weak link in the Anagram? Other devices seem to have " normal" MIDI connections. I don't use MIDI, but I can see where if you're linked to other people/devices and changing patches automatically that MIDI might be a consideration. Is the 3.5 MIDI (I dint; even know you could do that) a negative?

There is a practical reality that overrides any sort of meaningful religion around MIDI connector types (IMO, YMMV, etc) - use what is available. Most boards have power supplies that can provides the necessary power should a MIDI hub or other device need it, and there are no practical issues with using WIDI devices to go wireless with either connection type. 3.5mm MIDI connectors can present a wriggle depending on if they are Type A (MIDI standard, used on the Anagram) or Type B (pre-standard, used on ADAM, Photon, Infinity), but it isn't anywhere near fatal.

 

[silky smoove]

Am I right in my understanding that footswitch A can control a stomp/scene AND also serve as the tuner on/off via press and hold? In other words, you don't need to sacrifice a footswitch to have easy access to the tuner... right?

 

[_Some Dude]

With the trend being towards compact, Nano sized pedalboards, I'm not sure that fullsize MIDI would be an advantage.

I could look at it the other way - since you're already sending a fullsize XLR or two to FOH and possibly a 1/4" to a stage amp, what's another MIDI cable sticking out the back? But, then you'd need to expand the size of the rear panel to make space for two more DIN connectors.

I donno. This seems like a non-issue to me.