Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

[gtirard]

Yes, I really love the vision - and you can really feel their sincerity.
The future is bright, this is only the beginning!

aAspecial focus on the question "can Anagram evolve to become a more generalist (guitar friendly) pedal?

Marcos from Darkglass has the right answer IMO:

• The Anagram will stay targeted for bass player, and Darkglass will continue to update and expand the Anagram for bass player.
• But if other companies/partners want to develop guitar content for Anagram and sell them through a future market place, he'll be welcoming that.

 

[BrianVengeance]

Great interview, my biggest takeaways... (which are generally worth much less than the market price for sodium, but if I'm holding a squeaky toy the dog pays rapt attention and I feel validated)

Anagram as a standalone NAM capture device.
Making this capability more broadly available for the average thumper is a solid move. It is available on the QC, but benefits from being a class leading feature in the bass vertical, and Marco addresses the strategy of positioning. Meaning... not only will we will be drowning in RAT captures before we know it, they'll sound great on guitar too! (Which I also do genuinely mean and celebrate).

Marketplace
Content curation is King. Tone3000 is great, but still is a bit of a faff to use. Take the premise, give it "App Store" features that enables community curation and a platform for third parties to monetize their products, and boom... Steve Jobs is your uncle. If Darkglass were a publicly traded company, this is the point where I would buy stock.

FRFR for Bass (For Real, For Real)
They're already making amps and cabinets, the Exponent and Anagram exist, and this isn't really A Thing (TM) yet for bass. Spin the wheel on differing combinations of 10, 12, or 15 inch enclosures and this is a bit of a no brainer. Marketed correctly, this probably sees a pretty reasonable conversion rate from Anagram sales.

This level of engagement is great to see from Darkglass, and it is awesome to see how open they've been with engaging the community.

 

[mam1862]

I will check that out tomorrow. Thank you.

If I’m understanding correctly- In the preset manager screen, tap the screen on the “factory” or “user” setting to toggle.

Thank you. That worked.

 

[Barticus]

Thanks for sharing, I’m a bigger fan for having watched this video and getting an understanding of their history and strategy/vision.

Also still happy (as an actual owner, now) that from the beginning they are focused on bass and not diluting by attempting to be a “guitar pedal” too… I know some here in this thread really want it to be a guitar pedal too, I however, am still glad that it is not.

 

[gtirard]

Thanks for sharing, I’m a bigger fan for having watched this video and getting an understanding of their history and strategy/vision.

Also still happy (as an actual owner, now) that from the beginning they are focused on bass and not diluting by attempting to be a “guitar pedal” too… I know some here in this thread really want it to be a guitar pedal too, I however, am still glad that it is not.

Yeah, but it’s even better, sort of « best of both worlds »: if other companies want to create guitar content for Anagram, guitarists will be happy but it won’t harm our bassists experience (nothing will chance if you don’t upload this extra content). And Darkglass will stay focussed on bassists content only. Everybody happy.

 

[Barticus]

Yeah, but it’s even better, sort of « best of both worlds »: if other companies want to create guitar content for Anagram, guitarists will be happy but it won’t harm our bassists experience (nothing will chance if you don’t upload this extra content). And Darkglass will stay focussed on bassists content only. Everybody happy.

Having owned and used Line 6 gear from the pod through the HX line for bass, it’s always been a distraction nonetheless. I realize not a big deal for you, since you’re not invested in the Anagram anyway.

I’ll keep my Stomp XL for guitar and my Anagram will be super clean as bass only, that works for me

 

[gtirard]

I realize not a big deal for you, since you’re not invested in the Anagram anyway.

I haven’t bought it… yet. But I admit it’s quite the perfect bass pedal already, and they’re going to continue to improve it for a long time just like Helix did for the stomp, so I might eventually buy it one day.

 

[projectapollo]

Anagram as a standalone NAM capture device.
Making this capability more broadly available for the average thumper is a solid move. It is available on the QC, but benefits from being a class leading feature in the bass vertical, and Marco addresses the strategy of positioning. Meaning... not only will we will be drowning in RAT captures before we know it, they'll sound great on guitar too! (Which I also do genuinely mean and celebrate).

Marketplace
Content curation is King. Tone3000 is great, but still is a bit of a faff to use. Take the premise, give it "App Store" features that enables community curation and a platform for third parties to monetize their products, and boom... Steve Jobs is your uncle. If Darkglass were a publicly traded company, this is the point where I would buy stock.

Looking at Tone3000, I agree with you. It could get populated with all sorts of improper and poorly documented captures. Trying them out one by one turns it into fiddle-ware. Almost worse than picking through all the HX models. If they develop a curated library with decent explanations, then the NAM thing will be super useful. Having some commercial partners to sell properly tested and reviewed captures would be well worth it, as well.

Having a capture function built into the Anagram would be really nice. I tried to get a beginner explanation for how to capture and the responses were already filled with jargon and acronyms I don't yet understand.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Looking at Tone3000, I agree with you. It could get populated with all sorts of improper and poorly documented captures. Trying them out one by one turns it into fiddle-ware. Almost worse than picking through all the HX models. If they develop a curated library with decent explanations, then the NAM thing will be super useful. Having some commercial partners to sell properly tested and reviewed captures would be well worth it, as well.

Having a capture function built into the Anagram would be really nice. I tried to get a beginner explanation for how to capture and the responses were already filled with jargon and acronyms I don't yet understand.

With tone3000 the easiest way to get a capture is to record yourself playing something through the source that you’re trying to capture and with the things you wish to capture it with (DI, mics, mic pres, cabinets, pedal chains you enjoy etc) as well as a clean DI and load them both up. I’ve made some great captures that way and it’s dirt simple to just record myself practicing through the two sources

 

[projectapollo]

With tone3000 the easiest way to get a capture is to record yourself playing something through the source that you’re trying to capture and with the things you wish to capture it with (DI, mics, mic pres, cabinets, pedal chains you enjoy etc) as well as a clean DI and load them both up. I’ve made some great captures that way and it’s dirt simple to just record myself practicing through the two sources

I don't know how to record myself. I'm starting from scratch. I have a Mac and a Boss LS-2 that can split my signal, one for the effect, one for clean. After that, I don't know what I need to get recorded.

 

[Murph_Orpheus]

I don't know how to record myself. I'm starting from scratch. I have a Mac and a Boss LS-2 that can split my signal, one for the effect, one for clean. After that, I don't know what I need to get recorded.

The Anagram will have interface capabilities in a future update so you will be able to record yourself through it into your Mac. It can be daunting diving into the recording world, but a little browsing for some starter videos on YouTube will get you going in the right direction and there's a heap of great info on here too, if you were interested in going that route of course.

 

[Barticus]

The Anagram will have interface capabilities in a future update so you will be able to record yourself through it into your Mac. It can be daunting diving into the recording world, but a little browsing for some starter videos on YouTube will get you going in the right direction and there's a heap of great info on here too, if you were interested in going that route of course.

Or just watch the video Ivan posted on his process… search for it on this thread (not the club thread).

 

[chiphaleonbass]

I don't know how to record myself. I'm starting from scratch. I have a Mac and a Boss LS-2 that can split my signal, one for the effect, one for clean. After that, I don't know what I need to get recorded.

An interface would be the place to start, signal splitter helps so you can have the effect and the clean direct into the preamps of something as simple as a 2 channel focusrite/ssl/UA etc etc… interface. You’d then need a DAW just to track everything into and then bounce the clean and affected tracks. Tone3000 walks you through where to upload them and does the rest

 

[Chrishi87]

I am THAT guy who already complains about the Tone300ß community. It´s awesome that the Website gets daily updates with new things. But when "captures" are only labeled "1" or "eq forro" - that sucks hard.

 

[chanson]

Does anyone know what the stock NAM's are?

 

[Chrishi87]

TubeScreamer, Wooly Mammoth and.. I don´t know what the NAM are called.

There are also some Darkglass ones in the Utility section.

Tip. If you don´t need a blend, but an EQ for a Pedal NAM, just upload it as an Amp, and not as a Pedal. So you have the EQ section available.

 

[gtirard]

I am THAT guy who already complains about the Tone300ß community. It´s awesome that the Website gets daily updates with new things. But when "captures" are only labeled "1" or "eq forro" - that sucks hard.

Yes, quality and curation is going to be a big issue on Tone3000, as the number of models grows.
I think they should:

• Publish some sort of naming conventions and other good practice
• Add a voting system on the website or something equivalent, in order to facilitate the search for good models

 

[gtirard]

Yes, quality and curation is going to be a big issue on Tone3000, as the number of models grows.
I think they should:

• Publish some sort of naming conventions and other good practice
• Add a voting system on the website or something equivalent, in order to facilitate the search for good models

I’ve shared my comments with Tone3000 support, here’s the answer:

You're absolutely right. This is a big problem, and we're on it. We're working on it from a few angles:

• Requiring users to meet specific criteria (real gear photo, quality description, tagging, etc.) before publishing publicly
• Requiring users to indicate whether their capture is analog, software (plugin), or both, and enabling search filters based on this data
• Allowing users to provide feedback (upvotes, ratings, comments, etc.)

Feel free to share your ideas. We're always looking to improve!

TONE3000 Support
tone3000.com

 

[Mojo34]

Is it easy to create a NAM from your own equipment, wihout being a recording guru? I have an SWR Basic 350 that sounds awesome with a 4x10 Hugh&Ketner cab. If I could put THAT sound in a box, I'd really have to consider doing it.

 

[projectapollo]

Here is a third party Helix model library curation. This details all the models in the HX devices and I find it very helpful to understand the HX blocks. I'm hoping Darkglass or someone does something similar for the Anagram blocks and the best select NAM captures.

Line 6 Helix Models | Helix Help

This is the most comprehensive list of models and blocks that you can find for every amp, cab, distortion, modulation, pitch, and other effects found on the Line 6 Helix, Helix Rack, Helix LT, HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL, HX Effects, and Helix Native.

helixhelp.com