Future Impact now available!! WAS: deep impact reissue!!! interested?

[cosmicevan]

I love the idea of taking the Future Impact out of the loops of an ES and turning it on and/off via MIDI. Very clever and I will be looking into that as I have 3 boxes currently competing for the last of my 8 slots on the ES-8.

 

[Chace90]

Think of it as a bank selector for individual MIDI pedals rather than the ES-5.

So the ES 5 does really well with manually selecting on/off the 5 loops or with selecting presets of your choice of effects loops & whatever MIDI effects pedals (and their chosen setting). So if you know there's a song that will use Fuzz-Envelope-Chorus and MIDI-Delay, you can have that patch as a preset.

...but if you want to ratchet through a handful of Future Impact patches to find one you like on the spur of the moment the ES isn't as friendly about that. So the DMC is better to work with.

Gotcha. I wouldn't personally say the ES-5 is bad for doing that, you'd just have to dedicate a preset on there that only sends MIDI messages to the FI and does nothing else. Agree though that's not ideal. I believe the design philosophy with the ES-5/8 is more oriented to programming lots of presets (per song, per sound, etc) and not "improvising" with your MIDI pedals. Which really means just making sure you have everything pre-programmed ahead of time. Does that even make sense? haha

 

[Chace90]

I love the idea of taking the Future Impact out of the loops of an ES and turning it on and/off via MIDI. Very clever and I will be looking into that as I have 3 boxes currently competing for the last of my 8 slots on the ES-8.

This is exactly what I do. I'm not using an ES-5/8, but I send a patch change and an on/off command to the FI as needed. No loop necessary, just remember that you have to be deliberate about where it goes in your chain.

Another thought, if you have multiple MIDI pedals, is to put them in one effects loop together. I would bet they can all receive an on/off command. So even though you might have 2+ in one loop, you can still toggle them as necessary. Then, at least, you'd be able to move them around the rest of the effects loop chain. Which is one of the major selling points for the ES-5/8 IMO.

 

[BurningSkies]

Gotcha. I wouldn't personally say the ES-5 is bad for doing that, you'd just have to dedicate a preset on there that only sends MIDI messages to the FI and does nothing else. Agree though that's not ideal. I believe the design philosophy with the ES-5/8 is more oriented to programming lots of presets (per song, per sound, etc) and not "improvising" with your MIDI pedals. Which really means just making sure you have everything pre-programmed ahead of time. Does that even make sense? haha

Yeah, that's sort of what it seems like. But I also don't just use my board at shows (though there's room for sound improv there too) but also during band rehearsal, writing sessions and at home. So having an easy way to ratchet through FI or Strymon or other sounds to try and find a working tone is just a decent thing in terms of usability.

 

[BurningSkies]

I dunno...it all sounds duplicative to me. When I first got the idea that I was going to use MIDI to control the FI, I looked at disaster area stuff since it is small...but when I ultimately decided on an ES-8 it was because the ES-8 does everything the disaster area stuff does and then some. I haven't looked deep into the MIDI implementation for the Future Impact, but I gotta think that there is a PC or CC for move up/down a patch. There is a way to directly access your patches so it was a no brainer for me since I use the future impact very deliberately and like to go to specific sounds. I found that clicking through was too error prone (hitting the bank selector instead of patch selector and it is way easy to click passed what you are looking for) so I am making the move to direct patches...and from there you can toggle stuff on or off to taste and easily switch between modes.

I mean, isn't that the point of the Boss ES-5 or 8? One foot stomp that results in several changes so you can switch from a dope FI patch with the MF101 engaged for a sweep to FI and MF101 off but octave and chromatron on with a volume adjustment at the same time with a single foot switch stomp. This upgrade is all about reducing the clicks down to 1...and with the storage space, I can create more patches and combos than I can even dream up.

I think that the DMC idea is unnecessary. I haven't used one so I can't speak to the efficacy of the scroll wheel, but it sounds like trouble, particularly in a live situation for over or under scrolling.

The ES-8 is too large (deeper) physically for what I need. I couldn't fit it on my board in a 3rd row. Also, I don't need stereo loops. I can still have full patches set up on the ES-5 for both MIDI pedals and effects loops and will...but I think II'll also have the ability to scroll up or down through patches more easily on the fly with the DMC unit.

 

[JimboP]

I honestly use effects sparingly

With a board like that? You must be a master of self control

I love the idea of taking the Future Impact out of the loops of an ES and turning it on and/off via MIDI. Very clever and I will be looking into that as I have 3 boxes currently competing for the last of my 8 slots on the ES-8.

This is what I'm planning with the FI and the Meris

 

[BurningSkies]

With a board like that? You must be a master of self control

This is what I'm planning with the FI and the Meris

I don't consider the compressor or limiter to be an 'effect' but for instance if you look at the top row, the divaricator is a crossover pedal/loop that has fuzz/swept envelope/timeline in it. So there's one song that I hit the divaricator and it gets fuzz-into-envelope for the verse parts (chorus parts all clean):


While another song (that I use chorus throughout to 'wet it up'... has a bridge/breakdown that uses the Fuzz/swept-envelope but has a volume swell tacked on to the front of it, and then has Timeline doing a fifth/oct. delay on the back of it (forward to about 2:20 to hear it come in):


These are studio and they're all a bit more intense in the live arena. So those are just two songs, but that covers 6 pedals alone... to give a working example. I've taken to using a super subtle little bit of reverb (Nimbus SE) on songs that are sparse and that's been really lovely. I have one song in the set with more of a pop-funk sensibility that has the Joshwah throughout. So yeah they get used, but it's not crazy effects madness throughout. Many people don't realize I'm using them, and sometimes the wider stuff people think is done by keyboards.

 

[BurningSkies]

This is exactly what I do. I'm not using an ES-5/8, but I send a patch change and an on/off command to the FI as needed. No loop necessary, just remember that you have to be deliberate about where it goes in your chain.

Another thought, if you have multiple MIDI pedals, is to put them in one effects loop together. I would bet they can all receive an on/off command. So even though you might have 2+ in one loop, you can still toggle them as necessary. Then, at least, you'd be able to move them around the rest of the effects loop chain. Which is one of the major selling points for the ES-5/8 IMO.

Two of my MIDI pedals are definitely effects driven while the FI is a synth. So the Synth is up in front of the ES in my setup...which is compessors -- clean envelope -- synths (Mantic & FI) -- ES Loops -- Timeline (delay) -- reverbs (Nimbus then Atmosphere). So it still follows the common effects protocol for layout. I thought about looping the TL & Atmos. but decided it was unnecessary. I may end up using additional loops in the ES-5 for the Joshwah or whatever (the Matryroshka may come back as a third synth).

 

[maisbass]

When I started to look at loop solutions, I was looking for something that would give me a solid option to go between programmed loop patches and manual 'pick the loops' use. It ended up by being a bonus that the ES also could do MIDI patch recalls as part of that. It also means your MIDI pedals don't need to reside 'in the loops' as long as you've chosen their placement before or after with care.

But I was also interested in something that would make scrolling through patches easier than the FI's native control set. Easy enough to ratchet up, but the 'hit the button twice to go down' never really functions for me as I think it was intended, so I end up using the bank scroll to come all the way around again to get to a lower patch number if needed. The ES-5 doesn't really do this easily. I don't want to have to scroll and adjust and reconfigure on the fly...I just want a set of buttons that chooses a unit and allows up/down and another set that picks effects loop/MIDI presets...

The DMC has the ability to scroll way easier (one button up, one down), then also has a 'patch mode' as well if you want. It also has plenty of 'assignable flexibility' depending on what you chose. It'll nest to the left of the ES-5 and act as an expansion of basic abilities.



Yeah, I've taken my iPad on a gig before, for a FOH mix. It made it approximately 1 set before having a cracked screen. I do have a smaller pad I use for IEM mixes in a ruggedized case but have no desire for one for my effects setup. I honestly use effects sparingly but often layer a number of things together and right now am not using the FI for any extended stretches in the set...so this will be an easier way forward. Also, during rehearsal, writing and practice it will give me a chance to scroll easily through sounds or effects on the fly to 'try things out'. There are a few 'open ended' parts in the set...interstitial moments between songs, a few things in songs where I can use a variety of things...and this will let me pick and choose as well.

Understood. We all have to take the right tools for our gigs.

I make several patch changes throughout the night, and sometimes many in just one tune. My iPad is vital for this because it is changing virtual synths, commanding the ES5, midi pedals, etc.

And to make these changes within one tune I’m just using an irig blue turn pedal and basically send a turn page command to my ipad and it sends all the necessary midi info. I’m also sending midi from one ipad to another as well for synth changes. While all this is going on and besides playing bass, I also play my Korg R3 synth and singing. So there really isn’t time for experimentation and thinking. Everything needs to be well planned out and I only want to press one button to make it all happen. If I think about it I’m done lol.

It’s been a great solution for me and thankfully I’ve never cracked a screen in all the years I’ve used them.

You are definitely in a much different gig than I am so I can understand the need for a quick scroll and select for improv.

Aren’t we all spoiled with all of the options we have today? I remember decades ago having a cheat sheet template for my boss pedals and would have to manually make changes for each tune lol. And forget about re-ordering pedals on the fly. True bypass?? The only bypass that existed was needing a bypass after drinking a bottle of Chivas LOL !

 

[Wallower]

@BurningSkies , thanks to @GisserD 's housings, I've just recently eeked an FI onto what was previously only my midi extension board. To your question re the DMC, I'm having good results so far with the midi chain: DMC-3XL -> FI -> H9 -> H9. Granted my midi needs are minimal. I primarily use Eventide's iPad app via bluetooth to scroll the H9s, so I'm dedicating the DMC to: (1) scroll/activate presets on the FI; (2) send tap tempos to the H9s; (3) function as aux switches for the H9s; (4) send the expression pedals to the H9s; (5) the side roller decreases FI output in a pinch; and (6) the USB port interfaces the FI to my computer for software editing.

I chose the DMC largely for the small size, as portability is key for me (and it all connects to my main board with just a midi cable, 1/4" cable, and Stymon/Ojai expansion power cable). My only word of caution is that, while the DMC has much more functionality than I'm using, I'm already skipping screens enough between midi clock, FI scrolling, and H9 cc control. Given the layout and the fact that your foot obscures the screen when you hit the top button, I wouldn't want to use it for much more than that.

 

[BurningSkies]

@BurningSkies , thanks to @GisserD 's housings, I've just recently eeked an FI onto what was previously only my midi extension board. To your question re the DMC, I'm having good results so far with the midi chain: DMC-3XL -> FI -> H9 -> H9. Granted my midi needs are minimal. I primarily use Eventide's iPad app via bluetooth to scroll the H9s, so I'm dedicating the DMC to: (1) scroll/activate presets on the FI; (2) send tap tempos to the H9s; (3) function as aux switches for the H9s; (4) send the expression pedals to the H9s; (5) the side roller decreases FI output in a pinch; and (6) the USB port interfaces the FI to my computer for software editing.

I chose the DMC largely for the small size, as portability is key for me (and it all connects to my main board with just a midi cable, 1/4" cable, and Stymon/Ojai expansion power cable). My only word of caution is that, while the DMC has much more functionality than I'm using, I'm already skipping screens enough between midi clock, FI scrolling, and H9 cc control. Given the layout and the fact that your foot obscures the screen when you hit the top button, I wouldn't want to use it for much more than that.

View attachment 3383228

Yeah, I'm not trying to dis the feature set of the Future Impact hardware, implementation, etc. but the smaller sized case did allow me to move the unit up and away on my pedalboard and while it's counter-intuitive it did free up some space (even with the additional controller). From the moment I first used the FI, I knew I wouldn't get along with the push once up, push twice down setup.

Just the same, I'll really plan on using the ES-5 for all the patches I have pre-planned across my board for specific songs across all three midi pedals and my 'standard' effects'. The DMC is really relegated to being able to on-the fly ratchet up and down patches/banks...and possibly some additional expression use.

 

[Wallower]

The DMC is really relegated to being able to on-the fly ratchet up and down patches/banks...and possibly some additional expression use.

Being able to hold up/down switches on DMC to scroll continuously through FI patches is particularly nice. Having to hold the top DMC button for a sec to toggle FI on/off is a minor niggle, tho worth the space savings for me.

 

[cosmicevan]

The ES-8 is too large (deeper) physically for what I need. I couldn't fit it on my board in a 3rd row. Also, I don't need stereo loops. I can still have full patches set up on the ES-5 for both MIDI pedals and effects loops and will...but I think II'll also have the ability to scroll up or down through patches more easily on the fly with the DMC unit.

Right. I was just saying that the ES-5 can do it too. Everything that the DMC does (less the scroll wheel), can be accomplished with the ES-5...or am I wrong?

 

[cosmicevan]

View attachment 3383228

That little synth extentsion board with the tiny future impact re-house is dope! the black color is also really nice looking. Well done!

 

[BurningSkies]

Right. I was just saying that the ES-5 can do it too. Everything that the DMC does (less the scroll wheel), can be accomplished with the ES-5...or am I wrong?

It can, but the ease of use in doing it isn't quite effective. The less mode-tapping and toggling the better.

 

[cosmicevan]

It can, but the ease of use in doing it isn't quite effective. The less mode-tapping and toggling the better.

Cool. I thought you maybe knew something I did not about the ES units. I totally get preference of achieving your goal in a certain way as the driver behind your setup.

 

[BurningSkies]

Cool. I thought you maybe knew something I did not about the ES units. I totally get preference of achieving your goal in a certain way as the driver behind your setup.

I've found that on stage I have a hard time switching in to tech-programming mindset and if I have to do too much menu diving it's a fail. If I have to remember to 'hold down button A for 5 seconds then use right arrow clicker to access setting menu 3 to enter scrolling mode' it's a deal killer...probably because I might be able to get there, but I'll forget by the end of the song how to get back to where I need to be. Not that I know that its that tough, but looking at the switches on the face of the ES tells me there's more to it than just one or two button moves.

 

[maisbass]

It can, but the ease of use in doing it isn't quite effective. The less mode-tapping and toggling the better.

Perhaps in your case it works for you by having the additional piece and your needs are different for sure. I'm not sure if a scrolling function could be programmed on the ES5. I've never had a need to.

But for others on the forum that haven't used an ES5, there is no comparison at all. You really need to dive in to see everything it offers. The ES5 is a monster of a pedal and has endless capabilities...

-Re-ordering loops
-expression pedal inputs
-multiple midi cc commands in one preset to multiple midi channels
- ability to create parallel loops (HUGE for me, no need for a blend)
-trails continue when switching presets
- built in mixer function on a preset so you can adjust output volume of the preset (cut or boost)
- powered off your 9v iso power (true tone, voodoo labs, etc)
-manual mode and patch mode
-Great computer software editor and the onboard pedal gui is simple to operate too. I do most of my programming right on the pedal
and the list goes on...

It is a beast of a pedal for sure.

 

[maisbass]

I've found that on stage I have a hard time switching in to tech-programming mindset and if I have to do too much menu diving it's a fail. If I have to remember to 'hold down button A for 5 seconds then use right arrow clicker to access setting menu 3 to enter scrolling mode' it's a deal killer...probably because I might be able to get there, but I'll forget by the end of the song how to get back to where I need to be. Not that I know that its that tough, but looking at the switches on the face of the ES tells me there's more to it than just one or two button moves.

I'm confused here. Multiple moves are not needed to operate an ES5 normally. Perhaps only for the scrolling feature you're suggesting.. As I stated, I'm not sure because I've never needed to do this.

Btw you can do a really intuitive scrolling feature for the FI with an iPad. @Adamixoye does this. And the best part is you will have the names of the patches instead of just a patch number.

 

[BurningSkies]

I'm confused here. Multiple moves are not needed to operate an ES5 normally. Perhaps only for the scrolling feature you're suggesting.. As I stated, I'm not sure because I've never needed to do this.

Btw you can do a really intuitive scrolling feature for the FI with an iPad. @Adamixoye does this. And the best part is you will have the names of the patches instead of just a patch number.

I think I mentioned. I'm not just using saved patches. I need to scroll through stuff on occasion.