Dear Friends,
I am happy to announce the most important step in the history of Future Impact, the FI4, with very significant changes in both hardware and software. While the production of FI3 has come to an end with all devices sold out, the new FI4 will be available at end of March. It comes with an optional cable set to connect to 1V/octave CV-Gate synthesizers, to benefit from the simultaneous sounds of the FI4’s virtual analog sounds and real analog synthesizers. We had to stop development of the FI3 software more than two years ago, as the processor had no more memory available for further enhancements. The new hardware and software structure of FI4 will allow the implementation of new synthesis models, effects and many more features, that we are already working on. Here is a preliminary leaflet about the advantages of FI4 at its release.
I would like to thank you all for the support and wholehearted enthusiasm during all the years of the existence of FI, and hope you will be just as enthusiastic in the future with FI4.
In particular, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Peter Kenney, who provided irreplaceable help to the whole community by writing manuals, testing new features, creating sounds, and helping all of you with his advice.
The Evolution of the Future Impact
The Future Impact is the subject of one of those heartwarming stories of the internet as a force for good. It began life back in late 2014 when an enthusiastic member of the Talkbass forum tracked down Andras Szalay to ask him if he’d be able to reissue the discontinued Deep Impact, which he had designed for Akai. However, Andras had much more ambitious plans: the Future Impact was conceived of not as a reissue, but as an entirely new and vastly-improved pedal. The project garnered tremendous support from forum members who funded the first batch of 100 pedals in late 2015. From there, the FI’s popularity and reputation grew; ever more people clamoured to own one, including notable players such as Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Doug Wimbish (Living Colour, The Rolling Stones) and Bootsy Collins. Thanks to the generous input of members of the online bass-playing community, the FI continued to go from strength to strength.
With each successive update, we gradually added more and more features and refinements. With the v3.60 update of June 2021, we had to admit that we had finally squeezed every last drop of juice out of the pedal: we had completely exhausted the available code space.
In order to continue developing our ideas further, we have thus had to move to new hardware and implement a new firmware structure. While the FI4 can load patches from all the previous versions of the FI, unfortunately v3 users cannot run the V4 firmware or V4 patches on their device. However, the good news is that our new platform gives us the breathing space to develop well into the future. We already have big plans, so stay tuned!
New Features for V4
● CV/Gate output - Simultaneously play a 1V/octave analog synth using the pedal;
● Detented Parameter dial with extended range - More variations on each sound;
● Sturdier knobs - The potentiometer shafts are now made from solid metal;
● Long Release - Audio-triggered sounds now use the full release time of the ADSR;
● Oscillator sync - VCO2 can sync to VCO1 for more harmonically complex sounds;
● Improved audio fidelity - Via an ultra-low-noise CoDec and noise-reduction coding;
● Overwrite programs - On-pedal edits can be saved to patch data before uploading;
● Superior pitch tracking - Greatly reduced latency and increased sensitivity to input instrument dynamics. Pitch detection can now be set to prioritize speed or accuracy;
● Octave transposition - Two new MIDI CCs to transpose the pitch by ±2 octaves;
● 63 new Flexi curves - Create a split point between any two adjacent semitones;
● Robust firmware update process - Now any MIDI interface can be used;
● Alternative quick access to Global Menu - Enter/exit menu without power cycling;
● Better Global Menu layout - Items are repositioned and more meaningfully labelled;
● Fresh Editor look - An updated color scheme with a clearer and more logical layout;
● Onscreen Mod Wheel - Send out MIDI CCs or Aftertouch directly from the Editor;
● midiBeam 4Control integration - MIDI signals from expression pedals and switches are automatically passed to the FI4 when connected to the Editor.
Andras Szalay
