Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

[Barticus]

New multi fx unit announced by Darkglass this morning.

Anagram Bass Multi-Effects Unit

Powered by a state-of-the-art hexacore processor and 32-bit/48kHz audio processing Studio and stage-grade I/O connectivity USB Audio, MIDI and Bluetooth capabilities Ultra-low latency, pristine clarity, and studio-grade sound Comes loaded with a curated collection of distinct preamps, 50+...

www.darkglass.com

And properly demo’d with a Purple Spector!!

 

[pigloaf]

Sold out on Sweetwater already - I got the last one here in NZ. Looks like Darkglass did their homework - selling like hotcakes!

 

[Parzival]

....and there was much rejoicing


This is one aspect that Line 6 really gets right. Clear descriptions of the processing blocks including a citation or at least a suggestion of the device that inspired it or was licensed for it. I'd really like to see this from Darkglass. Many are obvious, but some could use clarification. Sublime versus Sublemon for instance.

Did Line6 have this on Day 1 of the Helix though? I’m sure there will be much more detail on the effects blocks in the near future, whether that be from Darkglass or from users.

 

[silky smoove]

Did Line6 have this on Day 1 of the Helix though? I’m sure there will be much more detail on the effects blocks in the near future, whether that be from Darkglass or from users.

It’s a fair point. I’m not sure when they implemented that. To me, Darkglass should have implemented it on day one given that likely their biggest competitor in the space is already doing it.

 

[kevk]

Perhaps our friend @IvanBassist can shed some light on this. Ivan, were you able to mute the output with the tuner on your recent Anagram gig?

I just asked the question re tuner muting on the MusicMan Stingray page over on Facebook (random image popped of a guy who had one and was raving about it with his darkray).

He confirmed that you can turn the muting on/off on the tuner screen.

Looks like we’re in luck!

To clarify my concern, I was told by SW that the tuner is actually always on (even without accessing)…when you hold down the tuner stomp button and access the tuner screen, you can t-h-e-n press the mute button on the screen. That seems awkward, in that you’d have to reach down and mute the pedal via touch screen (vs automatically muting when you “stomp access” the tuner)… iirc, the Infinity auto-muted via stomp button, so was surprised to hear this from SW today. : )

 

[silky smoove]

To clarify my concern, I was told by SW that the tuner is actually always on (even without accessing)…when you hold down the tuner stomp button and access the tuner screen, you can t-h-e-n press the mute button on the screen. That seems awkward, in that you’d have to reach down and mute the pedal via touch screen (vs automatically muting when you “stomp access” the tuner)… iirc, the Infinity auto-muted via stomp button, so was surprised to hear this from SW today. : )

At the risk of repeating myself from earlier, THIS would be a huge oversight by Darkglass. If tuning mute is achieved via the screen and not the footswitch, then they definitely weren’t thinking of a working musician. In most situations I’m in, any chances to tune happen very quickly and are over just as fast. If I have to kneel down, mute, tune, unmute, then stand back up, I will probably miss the following downbeat. Hopefully a footswitch option is available.

 

[BrianVengeance]

This would be a pretty trivial software fix if that’s the case.

 

[silky smoove]

This would be a pretty trivial software fix if that’s the case.

Agreed. Hopefully it’s not necessary, but if it is the fix should be simple… I say as someone with no coding expertise

 

[BrianVengeance]

Agreed. Hopefully it’s not necessary, but if it is the fix should be simple… I say as someone with no coding expertise

Lol, probably a one line change for the default behavior. If they're feeling frisky they can probably make it configurable while they're in there with just a few more.

 

[OldManNewBass]

I’m assuming this could be powered by a Cioks, using 4 outlets (and 3-8800 Y cables)…set to 9v or 12v?

Or, CIOKS D7 & CRUX combo...?

 

[direktor]

The cortex looks like a DG device, not the other way around. Because back then it was designed by the guys working at DG.

Fair. DG was def first. Maybe NDSP subs out hardware design and some fab to DG.

Looking close at the details on the Anagram, there’s too many things that are spot on the same. CNC bevel pass AFTER anodizing on the shell, same stomp led bezels, same mainboard / daughterboard layout internally. It goes on and on.

The neural capturing in the Anagram has nothing to do with what's used in the Cortex. In the Anagram, they simply implemented existing open source software.

Yes. It looks like a lot of the DSP work is not NDSPs.

DG and NDSP aren't even under the same parent company anymore, so I wouldn't hold my breath for things to be ported from one to the other.

I wouldn’t either, especially anything that could be considered a competitive advantage.

But I also expect that many of the NDSP people still goes out for beers with DG people.

I know of one “arrangement” in my day job business where a very large German company couldn’t develop a subsystem on their own. They tried and failed in the marketplace. A former employee had split off years earlier and started a company making the subsystem. The bigger company then hired the old employees company to develop a competitor to the smaller companies product…but do it different. That was 17 years ago. To this day ARRI pays royalties and licensing to cMotion for every ARRI lens control system sold, cMotion pays ARRI for use of the technology they developed on ARRIs R&D dime. cMotion makes both cMotion and ARRI equipment in their facility in Wein. They all party together at the trade shows.

 

[IvanBassist]

At the risk of repeating myself from earlier, THIS would be a huge oversight by Darkglass. If tuning mute is achieved via the screen and not the footswitch, then they definitely weren’t thinking of a working musician. In most situations I’m in, any chances to tune happen very quickly and are over just as fast. If I have to kneel down, mute, tune, unmute, then stand back up, I will probably miss the following downbeat. Hopefully a footswitch option is available.

When you press-hold the tuner footswitch, which is the left-most switch, you enter into tuning/tap tempo mode and the signal flow is automatically muted.

The middle footswitch works to mute/unmute the signal while you’re on that screen. No need to reach down to touch the screen

 

[Chrishi87]

To clarify my concern, I was told by SW that the tuner is actually always on (even without accessing)…when you hold down the tuner stomp button and access the tuner screen, you can t-h-e-n press the mute button on the screen. That seems awkward, in that you’d have to reach down and mute the pedal via touch screen (vs automatically muting when you “stomp access” the tuner)… iirc, the Infinity auto-muted via stomp button, so was surprised to hear this from SW today. : )

As if you have to reach down to tap the tempo or close the tuner
Your SW (whatever this is) is not a wise guy.

Picture from the Nate Navarro Anagram Demo, thx Nate.

 

[Chrishi87]

Darkglass was always very reserverd with manuals. There were always questions left by users.
I wish there was a better manual for the infinity or hyper luminal, although these units don´t have THAT much options like the QC.

 

[kevk]

When you press-hold the tuner footswitch, which is the left-most switch, you enter into tuning/tap tempo mode and the signal flow is automatically muted.

The middle footswitch works to mute/unmute the signal while you’re on that screen. No need to reach down to touch the screen

Awesome, Ivan! Thanks for correcting the info I received…mute function makes more logical sense. : )

 

[silky smoove]

From the demos I’ve watched it doesn’t appear that the compressors offer gain reduction meters. Is that right? I always felt like this was a shortcoming for the HX Stomp and assumed it was due to the limited screen functionality of an older device. The Anagram has input and output meters, so it seems feasible to include a gain reduction meter while in the compressor editing view… unless one does exist and I’ve just missed it.

 

[maarten9273]

Gigged this setup during some fly-dates. Can recommend

Just wondering, did you add the Capo as a backup? I will receive my Anagram today and was planning to use it as a stand alone gig unit, keeping my Capo on my larger analogue pedalboard

 

[IvanBassist]

Just wondering, did you add the Capo as a backup? I will receive my Anagram today and was planning to use it as a stand alone gig unit, keeping my Capo on my larger analogue pedalboard

Yes, it was a backup, but only because I didn’t know how the pedal was going to react by being powered through 3 outlets of the Cioks DC7 instead of its dedicated power supply.

All went well though.

 

[Ratterbass_]

Leo Gibson has uploaded a latency test. Numbers look good, but I'd take them with a (very large) grain of salt he also claims his measuring setup to have zero latency by itself, which is obviously not possible. Except if his audio interface is secretly a TARDIS and sends its output back in time.

There are contradicitng numbers in the comment section of his video. But even with a flawed measurement (possibly with worse reports than actually true) the numbers look perfectly fine so I wouldn't worry about that aspect too much.

 

[DamirDart]

Yes, it was a backup, but only because I didn’t know how the pedal was going to react by being powered through 3 outlets of the Cioks DC7 instead of its dedicated power supply.

All went well though.

Hi @IvanBassist, I ordered my unit yesterday. However, I am wondering if this was a wise decision, since I am not sure if I need an additional MIDI device for switching presets. I plan to use Anagram in the Scene mode for different tones within song sections and then switch to the next preset for the next song.

How did you manage that? Thank you!