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

[Quatschmacher]

And the MC6 will unlock loads of potential in the FI.

 

[a1bassman]

Yeah, I didn’t write the manual for nothing! :-D

So what was the solution?

The solution was simply if at first you don't succeed try ,try, again. This is in regards to updating the firmware to 3.6.
If you attempt to update the firmware and it doesn't succeed, try again. It may be that the USB/MIDI cord you are using(this was my case) struggles to transfer the big data dump that is the 3.6 update. Many manufacturers skip the quality control and poor quality products will sabotage you everytime. So, it may require several attempts before success. For me it took three sessions of several attempts And because the manual had covered this, and I was experiencing this, I felt confident it would eventually take. That helped me to persevere. Finally, I got the Update complete. When it was successful it was about a 25 second dump. I was very happy. I'm up and running ever since. To be clear the problem was in updating the pedal using an inferior USB/MIDI cord. The solution was try again until successful. Oh, no, the solution was read the manual.
I'm so impressed by this pedal and have learned so much. Tutorials about synthesized creations used to go over my head, but over time I have begun to get a grip. And the language starts to make sense. I have learned that the editing management interface is very genuine in recreating a synthesizer platform. It is long hand, not shorthand. Long division, not short. Be prepared to let go of your social life and embrace the dork within, I love dorks To anyone who finds this daunting, like anything, there is a learning curve. You really have to immerse yourself in the information and research. I found 99% of my tutorials and education on YouTube. I find 100% of my cat videos there for sure. Over time it will happen for you as it did for me. Now I don't watch half the amount of cat videos but my collection of synthesized FX for bass has been bountiful. Anything worth doing is worth doing right

Sincerely,
Mark
Music is a language, let's talk.

 

[Nicolher]

Hi @Quatschmacher
Edit:
I discovered that when I push the Input Level knob, the effect is working, but if I release it, no more sound !
I suppose that there is a bad contact on the knob or the contact on the electronic board ?

Edit 2 : The potentiometer is damaged (wiggling)

Previously posted:
Since a couple of weeks, my FI is acting silently when ON is engaged, and Bypass normal sound when OFF mode is selected.
In short, I don't have access the FI sounds anymore
I tried firmware update and it worked without problems (I did the upgrade last year and it was working fine)
The pedal doesn't show anymore in the editor but I don't know if it's related (I had to force the firmware by powering with 2 footswitches engaged)

Thanks for any help you could give me as I'm in a rush for a gig next week (of course)...
Cheers from Belgium

 

[Quatschmacher]

Hi @Quatschmacher
Edit:
I discovered that when I push the Input Level knob, the effect is working, but if I release it, no more sound !
I suppose that there is a bad contact on the knob or the contact on the electronic board ?

Edit 2 : The potentiometer is damaged (wiggling)

Previously posted:
Since a couple of weeks, my FI is acting silently when ON is engaged, and Bypass normal sound when OFF mode is selected.
In short, I don't have access the FI sounds anymore
I tried firmware update and it worked without problems (I did the upgrade last year and it was working fine)
The pedal doesn't show anymore in the editor but I don't know if it's related (I had to force the firmware by powering with 2 footswitches engaged)

Thanks for any help you could give me as I'm in a rush for a gig next week (of course)...
Cheers from Belgium

There’s not much help I can offer, I’m afraid, as it sounds like your pedal may have suffered some physical damage (perhaps getting stepped on at a gig?) You could contact Panda directly to organise getting a repair done.

It might be that a nut around the potentiometer needs tightening so it may be worth opening the unit up and seeing if there’s anything obvious.

They do have a sale on right now so you could buy a second unit in the meantime (always good to have a backup) and it may turn up in time.

As for the pedal not showing in the editor, that’s an issue with your interface as it is the interface which will appear in the MIDI list in the editor, not the pedal.

 

[Andras Szalay]

Hi,

clearly the potentiometer is damaged. Contact us directly, we can solve the problem.

Andras Szalay

Hi @Quatschmacher
Edit:
I discovered that when I push the Input Level knob, the effect is working, but if I release it, no more sound !
I suppose that there is a bad contact on the knob or the contact on the electronic board ?

Edit 2 : The potentiometer is damaged (wiggling)

 

[Nicolher]

Thank you @Quatschmacher and @Andras Szalay
I managed to do the gig with some duck tape on the pot for a quick and easy solution
The sale is tempting but times are not easy right now, I will contact you after holidays for a repair
Have nice holidays merry Christmas and all !
see you in 2023 ;-)

 

[Feral Feline]

I don't remember what I paid for my FI, I was on the ground-floor and on Adamixoye's list...
but I might have to get a back-up during one of the occasional sales. Maybe rehouse the new one and keep the original as back-up...

 

[Bassheart365]

Help! I can't establish a Midi connection between my FI v. 3 and my Macbook Air M2, running Ventura 13.1 (I'm using an apple usb-c to usb-a dongle since the MBA does not have USB-A.) I'm using a Roland Um One mk2 midi-usb cable and the ver. 3.6 FI Editor.

 

[Quatschmacher]

Help! I can't establish a Midi connection between my FI v. 3 and my Macbook Air M2, running Ventura 13.1 (I'm using an apple usb-c to usb-a dongle since the MBA does not have USB-A.) I'm using a Roland Um One mk2 midi-usb cable and the ver. 3.6 FI Editor.

Make sure you’ve downloaded and installed the correct UM-one driver from the Roland website.

Go to midimonitor.com and check you can see the UM-One as an input and output. (Make sure the editor is closed when you do this, and make sure to plug the UM-one in before launching your browser (I’d use chrome as I think Safari doesn’t support MIDI).

If the connections are present, close the browser and launch the FI editor. Go to the MIDI>preferences menu and select the UM-one as the “FI input device” and “output device”.

If, when clicking on a slider in the editor, you do not see two horizontal lines on the FI display, you’ve likely got the input and output cables plugged into the wrong ports. Read the arrows and writing on the UM-one plus’s carefully - they tell you exactly where to plug stuff in but people still often plug them in the wrong way around.

 

[Charlie Tuna]

Make sure you’ve downloaded and installed the correct UM-one driver from the Roland website.

Go to midimonitor.com and check you can see the UM-One as an input and output. (Make sure the editor is closed when you do this, and make sure to plug the UM-one in before launching your browser (I’d use chrome as I think Safari doesn’t support MIDI).

If the connections are present, close the browser and launch the FI editor. Go to the MIDI>preferences menu and select the UM-one as the “FI input device” and “output device”.

If when clicking on a slider in the editor, you do not see two horizontal lines on the FI display, you’ve likely got the input and output cables plugged into n the wrong ports. Read the arrows and writing on the UM-one plus’s carefully - they tell you exactly where to plug stuff in but people still often plug them in the wrong way around.

In addition to the great advice above, make sure on the UM-One you have the little toggle towards Comp and not Tab!

 

[Bassheart365]

@Quatschmacher and @Charlie

Thanks guys.

The UM-ONE mk2 would not even power on with the Macbook Air MK2, so I abandoned that laptop. Tried my windows 10 laptop and it powered on the UM-ONE cable adapter but Editor still not connecting to my FI.

- Midi OUT of UM-ONE to Midi IN of FI, Midi IN of UM-ONE to Midi OUT of FI, Check
- Windows 10 driver selected and installed from Roland support, Check
- UM-ONE Midi cable set to "Computer", Check
- Midi preferences on FI Editor shows "UM-ONE 0" and "UM-ONE" as Midi Input and Midi Output devices, respectively
- midimonitor.com shows "Microsoft Corporation UM-ONE" as Midi output and input devices (why not the Roland drivers?)

I've got no horizontal lines on the FI display, the IN and Out lights on UM-ONE cable do not light up and FI still not connecting to the FI Editor.

NOTE: I still have the older version of the Editor (2.20) installed on my computer.

Should I try another Midi-USB interface?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gsnorgathon]

Do the version numbers match on the firmware on board the FI and the editor?

Have you tried swapping the MIDI in and out plugs? I'm always forgetting if the in needs to connect to in or out, and vice versa.

 

[Quatschmacher]

@Quatschmacher and @Charlie

Thanks guys.

The UM-ONE mk2 would not even power on with the Macbook Air MK2, so I abandoned that laptop. Tried my windows 10 laptop and it powered on the UM-ONE cable adapter but Editor still not connecting to my FI.

- Midi OUT of UM-ONE to Midi IN of FI, Midi IN of UM-ONE to Midi OUT of FI, Check
- Windows 10 driver selected and installed from Roland support, Check
- UM-ONE Midi cable set to "Computer", Check
- Midi preferences on FI Editor shows "UM-ONE 0" and "UM-ONE" as Midi Input and Midi Output devices, respectively
- midimonitor.com shows "Microsoft Corporation UM-ONE" as Midi output and input devices (why not the Roland drivers?)

I've got no horizontal lines on the FI display, the IN and Out lights on UM-ONE cable do not light up and FI still not connecting to the FI Editor.

NOTE: I still have the older version of the Editor (2.20) installed on my computer.

Should I try another Midi-USB interface?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Quatschmacher]

@Quatschmacher and @Charlie

Thanks guys.

The UM-ONE mk2 would not even power on with the Macbook Air MK2, so I abandoned that laptop. Tried my windows 10 laptop and it powered on the UM-ONE cable adapter but Editor still not connecting to my FI.

- Midi OUT of UM-ONE to Midi IN of FI, Midi IN of UM-ONE to Midi OUT of FI, Check
- Windows 10 driver selected and installed from Roland support, Check
- UM-ONE Midi cable set to "Computer", Check
- Midi preferences on FI Editor shows "UM-ONE 0" and "UM-ONE" as Midi Input and Midi Output devices, respectively
- midimonitor.com shows "Microsoft Corporation UM-ONE" as Midi output and input devices (why not the Roland drivers?)

I've got no horizontal lines on the FI display, the IN and Out lights on UM-ONE cable do not light up and FI still not connecting to the FI Editor.

NOTE: I still have the older version of the Editor (2.20) installed on my computer.

Should I try another Midi-USB interface?

Thanks in advance.

Firmware version of editor used should match the number shown when you power the pedal on.

Download the latest editor (3.60) from the Panda site. You can update firmware via the web updater tool shown on panda site. You’ll need to follow ALL instructions because, after the firmware has been loaded you MUST allow the updater tool to overwrite the entire 99 patches with the v3.5 ones, otherwise the pedal will not work properly. (The v3 file format is slightly different so the memory needs to be flushed.)

Anyway, first things first, let’s get the connection established.

Download and install the correct UM-One driver from the Roland site before you plug it in.

Swap the cables around. You may have them the wrong way around. They are actually labelled “CONNECT TO MIDI IN” and “CONNECT TO MIDI OUT”. This is telling which ports to plug into on the FI. There are even arrows to make it obvious: the 5-pin plug with the arrow pointing towards the tip goes to the FI MIDI IN. The 5-pin plug with the arrow pointing away from the tip goes in the FI MIDI OUT.

 

[Andras Szalay]

Dear Friends,

In the last time there were very few posts here. No wonder, there was not much news to discuss. Now, by the end of this year there comes the most important news since the original release: the hardware will be redesigned. This is necessary, since the manufacturer of the audio codec chip (the chip that converts audio to digital and back) stopped production of this chip, the current hardware cannot be produced anymore. So, I will have to redesign the circuit. Redesign and production of the new series must be ready before the limited stock that we have from the current design will be sold out. This makes it possible to make some changes based on the experience that we collected. We always appreciated very much ideas and suggestions that we got from visitors of this forum. Gabor reported me several times that potential customers asked for the possibility of 1Volt/Octave CV and Gate output. True, in the last years modular analog synthesizers have a great revival. You can drive them from keyboards or different sources, but not from bass or guitar. I was thinking about this. With relatively low additional costs it would be possible to include this feature optionally in the new FI. “Optionally” means that the circuit board would be designed for the additional CV/Gate possibility, and the necessary components for this option would not be assembled for the majority, but a smaller portion of the production would have this feature for some extra price. While the box was not designed with this option in mind, the following layout would be possible: CV and Gate would be connected to the two empty pins of the MIDI OUT socket, and we provide a Y jumper cable from the DIN plug to two mini TRS sockets to connect to a modular synthesizer. What do you think about this? Any ideas?

Andras Szalay

 

[mactac]

There are 3 things in my mind that would make this pedal an absolute game changer:

1. Come up with some sort of way to fix the "phased" sound of up-octaves. They always sound hollow - there *must* be some way to do this, no? I realize it's because of how the octave works, but this is huge to be. I've never heard an octave up that doesn't sound like an octaver. I can think of a few things that could help.

2. Some sort of VCA, even if it's just to add a bit of slower attack - (this could actually help #1). This would open up a whole world of swell-in stuff.

3. This is the big one: Some sort of amp modeler that takes the output of octave-ups, applies a bit of guitar amp modeling (something better than just the distortion... it needs some attack massaging) , and outputs it to the main out or a second output. This would perform the same thing as the UNIBASS, but much better if the guitar modeling is up to par.

 

[mactac]

I also forgot to mention - super important for #3 is having a dry signal mix. If we want to replicate bass with guitar in unison, the bass signal needs to get through uneffected.

 

[Quatschmacher]

I also forgot to mention - super important for #3 is having a dry signal mix. If we want to replicate bass with guitar in unison, the bass signal needs to get through uneffected.

Isn’t that already possible in the editor using the INSTR slider in the main mixer? Not all presets have dry signal in them but it can be easily added to all presets using the editor.

 

[Quatschmacher]

Some sort of VCA, even if it's just to add a bit of slower attack - (this could actually help #1). This would open up a whole world of swell-in stuff.

There’s already a VCA with its own envelope accessible in the editor. You can even direct an envelope to the dry input signal of your bass if you want swell applied to that.

 

[Quatschmacher]

Dear Friends,

In the last time there were very few posts here. No wonder, there was not much news to discuss. Now, by the end of this year there comes the most important news since the original release: the hardware will be redesigned. This is necessary, since the manufacturer of the audio codec chip (the chip that converts audio to digital and back) stopped production of this chip, the current hardware cannot be produced anymore. So, I will have to redesign the circuit. Redesign and production of the new series must be ready before the limited stock that we have from the current design will be sold out. This makes it possible to make some changes based on the experience that we collected. We always appreciated very much ideas and suggestions that we got from visitors of this forum. Gabor reported me several times that potential customers asked for the possibility of 1Volt/Octave CV and Gate output. True, in the last years modular analog synthesizers have a great revival. You can drive them from keyboards or different sources, but not from bass or guitar. I was thinking about this. With relatively low additional costs it would be possible to include this feature optionally in the new FI. “Optionally” means that the circuit board would be designed for the additional CV/Gate possibility, and the necessary components for this option would not be assembled for the majority, but a smaller portion of the production would have this feature for some extra price. While the box was not designed with this option in mind, the following layout would be possible: CV and Gate would be connected to the two empty pins of the MIDI OUT socket, and we provide a Y jumper cable from the DIN plug to two mini TRS sockets to connect to a modular synthesizer. What do you think about this? Any ideas?

Andras Szalay

Biggest improvement from a circuit point of view would be to add a class-compliant USB port (C or mini-B) to remove the need for an interface for updates and connection to the editor.

As for CV, if there is a way to direct the envelopes to the CV port so that they could be used to control the expression/CV input of an analogue filter pedal, this would be a HUGE improvement that would create something I’ve been asking pedal manufacturers to make for ages.

This would also strengthen the case for having amp envelope be made a Flexi mod source.


Would there be any scope to add more hardware knobs or more options to the existing parameter dial? (Could be done by having more “notches” on the dial, or by combing the dial with one or more button that switch what options the dial controls. Having top-level access to, say, the individual envelope stages would be most welcome for users that don’t use the editor.

There are quite a few fleshed-out ideas that I’ve already shared in our communal Trello board and via emails for improvements on the software side (such as my ideas for having access to all 128 values for the on-pedal parameter knob, increased oscillator resolution, etc) so would be good to revisit those.

Would phantom power on the MIDI port also be a possibility?

Any scope to have an on-pedal expression port? Perhaps integrating what you did with the 4Control into the pedal housing (could solve the USB thing too, but would need to be possible to do all updates without recourse to any external interface).

An OLED screen update showing patch names wouldn’t be a bad thing either.