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Darkglass Anagram Multi FX Announced

#1,881
silky smoove said:
I don’t believe the OEM PSU is actually the issue. I have two different OEM PSUs, a OneSpot, and an Omelink, and all of them exhibit the same grounding noise issue. Comparatively, powering Anagram with a Cioks, Sol, Hi5 Mod, or 4 Expander all yield totally silent results. While the OEM is an issue, it appears that all PSUs, at least for me, are an issue if they’re the wall wart variety.
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IMO, not all outlets are the same. The power supply can work fine in one building and be noisy in another. It can also work fine on certain circuits in the house but have noise on others.

Hard to pin this on the mfg, imo. Some places need better isolation than others. My old house was 100yrs old and a royal pain. My current house is only 50yrs old and much better but I still dont like some of the circuits. The living room is dead silent so that’s where I prefer and the garage the noisiest so I avoid . lol.
 
#1,882
gerry81611 said:
Thank you! Would it work if I left everything wired up but manually turned the amp on after the master power switch and turned the amp off before the master power switch?
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Leaving everything wired up is fine. :thumbsup: Just make sure that everything else is switched on / plugged in before you turn on the main power amp and increase its volume. A general rule of thumb is switch the power amp ON last and OFF first.
 
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#1,883
meisi said:
IMO, not all outlets are the same. The power supply can work fine in one building and be noisy in another. It can also work fine on certain circuits in the house but have noise on others.
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This occurs on every outlet using every wall wart PSU in my example. At gigs, in my electrically silent recording studio, at one of my group’s rehearsal space, in my house… everywhere. The outlet is not a variable, nor is the specific wall wart PSU. By all measurable metrics, in my case the only common denominators are the Anagram itself, and wall wart PSUs.
 
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#1,884
FWIW, I didn’t have any noise with the stock power supply nor do I running off a battery by usb. This is the smallest “pedalboard” I’ve ever had - its actually a $12 riser from rockboard, some adhesive feet, and a $30 10,000 mAh usb battery that seems to power the Anagram fine for hours. Once I trust it and don’t want to stare at the percentage remaining anymore I’ll tuck it fully under the board.

IMG_0238.jpeg
 
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#1,886
johnbegone said:
Just wanted to share that I had a bit of a breakthrough with my Anagram today. I've been testing various methods of capturing my own pedals via NAM with mixed success. Sometimes I'd get good results, but it took a lot of experimentation gain staging along the way. I had the most success using the IK Multimedia AXE I/O One since it's built (partially) for reamping. But today I used the USB interface of the Anagram to do the capture instead (sending the signal to it via the virtual input) for the NAM test tones and then capturing the result on a totally clean preset using ONLY the effects loop block. The results were incredible. 1:1 copies, finally. I'm shocked how well NAM captured my gated fuzzes as well (TAFM, Oxide, Mastotron). I've been a long time user of Kemper and Tonex and never had success capturing gated fuzz. I'm so happy. If anyone is looking for more a tutorial, I could do a dedicated post.
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I've been trying to do this without success... What combination of input/output channels did you use for the dry/wet tracks? I've tried many combinations and so far, nothing...
 
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#1,887
I still maintain the supplied wall wart is the issue. Here in the UK, we use a 3-pin plug - live, neutral and earth/ground. Adaptors like this have a "floating ground" with a plastic earth pin for mechanical stability. Perfectly safe for devices like this, as the adaptor is class II double insulated. But it can be noisy and susceptible to 50Hz hum without an earth. A properly earthed PSU (such as Cioks, Sol, etc) would mitigate this issue, which is why I think the supplied PSU is not suitable.

EDIT: FWIW, I've ordered a Mooer GE300 3A adaptor with a 3-pin cloverleaf IEC that should solve the problem. I'll keep you all posted
 
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#1,888
Maramos43 said:
I've been trying to do this without success... What combination of input/output channels did you use for the dry/wet tracks? I've tried many combinations and so far, nothing...
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So I'm using Ableton and my NAM test signal is on a track going out on the Anagram output 9 - that's the virtual input back into the Anagram. Then I'm recording simultaneously on input 1 on a second channel. That recorded channel then is exported in mono and becomes my track. One thing to know if you're using Ableton is that it doesn't like devices that have an odd number of inputs or outputs (so the Anagram is not ideal). So to make output 9 work I actually had to create a Aggregate audio device in MacOS combining the Anagram with my built in input/ouput from my Mac Studio. Bit of a weird hack. If you're using Ableton let me know I can give you further advice but hopefully this helps.

Also, check out the captures I've made of my pedals so far: johnbegone's NAM profiles & IR's · TONE3000
I'm interested to see if other people think they work well on their Anagram. The only pedal I haven't captured yet is my Oxide.
 
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#1,890
silky smoove said:
I agree and would add that it's not just the OEM PSU that's the issue as I've tested multiple other third-party options, and they all behave identically.
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Exactly. I bet they are all 2-pin adaptors in disguise as a 3-pin! I tried my 2A Mooer one the other day before I realised what was going on and had the same result. USB adaptors, even such as my iPad one with a metal earth pin are usually no better - according to ChatGPT, they do connect earth to the shield of the USB cable, but not necessarily to the device’s chassis in a strong enough way to resolve instrument grounding issues.
 
#1,891
johnbegone said:
Also, check out the captures I've made of my pedals so far: johnbegone's NAM profiles & IR's · TONE3000
I'm interested to see if other people think they work well on their Anagram. The only pedal I haven't captured yet is my Oxide.
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I downloaded a 3 Leaf Doom 2 nam pack from there a couple of days ago that must have been yours. I've been after "that" low-gain tone ever since I watched Ian Martin Alison's synth recipe video. The Bronze Master model in my Helix got close, but this is bang on. Perfect for my Dua Lipa preset!
 
#1,892
Just to prove a point to myself, I’ve had a quick play around tonight, and it’s definitely a grounding issue caused by the supplied PSU not having a ground.

With my MacBook and anagram plugged into the same power strip and connected via USB and the mains hum is present.

If I add my helix to the same power strip and connect it via USB to the MacBook the noise disappears, even with the Helix turned off. The Anagram is finding a route to ground through the USB connections. I tested again with my little Blackstar practice amp which is also usb equipped as its PSU is also properly grounded and that that also kills the hum.

I think it will be fine with the supplied PSU when using xlr connectors to a mixer or amp, as xlr carries a ground signal. But hopefully, the new PSU I've ordered will cure this issue once and for all.
 
#1,893
ga_edwards said:
I think it will be fine with the supplied PSU when using xlr connectors to a mixer or amp, as xlr carries a ground signal.
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That was not my experience when using the OEM PSU while connected to FOH and IEMs via XLR output 1. The ground hum was just as present as it was when using with an amp via 1/4” output 3 and no XLR.
 
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#1,896
jjo161 said:
Has anyone tried this divice for powering the anagram or does anyone have an opinion on it?
www.thomann.co.uk

Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-Li05 PowerBank

Power Bank Rechargeable multi-outlet power supply for effect pedals, Integrated lithium battery power supply, Included AC/DC power supply unit for mains connection and charging, Battery capacity 36Wh (7. 2V5000mAh), Charging time: approx. 2 hours,...
www.thomann.co.uk www.thomann.co.uk
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It looks like it should work. But the battery might not last a full gig, depending on how long your gigs are. Around 2 hours of use at best.
 
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#1,897
johnbegone said:
The results were incredible. 1:1 copies, finally. I'm shocked how well NAM captured my gated fuzzes as well (TAFM, Oxide, Mastotron). I've been a long time user of Kemper and Tonex and never had success capturing gated fuzz. I'm so happy.
Click to expand...
johnbegone said:
Also, check out the captures I've made of my pedals so far: johnbegone's NAM profiles & IR's · TONE3000
I'm interested to see if other people think they work well on their Anagram. The only pedal I haven't captured yet is my Oxide.
Click to expand...
You mention the results are like 1:1 copies. But I notice a lot of the nam profiles I've tried via the Anagram (not just yours - I'm not picking holes in your work, as I'm very grateful) are substantially louder than the stock blocks. Is this normal behaviour in your experience?

For example, I love your ZVEX Mastotron TIRO setting, it's perfect for that song (and one I was concerned about recreating from my Helix), but I'm having to turn the output in the nam block down as far as it can, and add a gain block to reduce it even further!
 
#1,898
johnbegone said:
So I'm using Ableton and my NAM test signal is on a track going out on the Anagram output 9 - that's the virtual input back into the Anagram. Then I'm recording simultaneously on input 1 on a second channel. That recorded channel then is exported in mono and becomes my track. One thing to know if you're using Ableton is that it doesn't like devices that have an odd number of inputs or outputs (so the Anagram is not ideal). So to make output 9 work I actually had to create a Aggregate audio device in MacOS combining the Anagram with my built in input/ouput from my Mac Studio. Bit of a weird hack. If you're using Ableton let me know I can give you further advice but hopefully this helps.

Also, check out the captures I've made of my pedals so far: johnbegone's NAM profiles & IR's · TONE3000
I'm interested to see if other people think they work well on their Anagram. The only pedal I haven't captured yet is my Oxide.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot! I was changing input/output combinations while recording and apparently Logic does not change them dynamically but only when the recording stops.
 
#1,899
ga_edwards said:
You mention the results are like 1:1 copies. But I notice a lot of the nam profiles I've tried via the Anagram (not just yours - I'm not picking holes in your work, as I'm very grateful) are substantially louder than the stock blocks. Is this normal behaviour in your experience?

For example, I love your ZVEX Mastotron TIRO setting, it's perfect for that song (and one I was concerned about recreating from my Helix), but I'm having to turn the output in the nam block down as far as it can, and add a gain block to reduce it even further!
Click to expand...
Yes, so I've noted that in the text description of the capture packs that are impacted - but that Mastotron one I noted that I'm turning down the "Output" paramater of the NAM Pedal block to -10 to match the original capture volume. So in the Anagram my chain has a NAM Pedal block and the FX loop block next to eachother so I can toggle back and forth with the same signal chain. Sometimes the captures come out at unity, not needing to be turned down, but most of the time I'm finding the -10 on the output helps a lot and maintains the same tone (don't change the Input paramter). That's interesting that you're saying you have to turn it down all the way PLUS the gain block to turn down even more. That may just be a preference of how loud I run my pedals in comparison to the rest of my chain. I basically max my output before clipping, so that could be part of it. Thanks for that feedback though!
 

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