Future Impact - What's Up With This Pedal??

[lotusland9663]

The Future Impact pedal recently came on the market as the new version of the classic Deep Impact Bass Synth pedal by Akai.

I don't think I've ever seen a new product go from latest and greatest to the classifieds so quickly (there must be half a dozen or more sold).

Anybody know why?
Can any previous owners give some insight as to why you give up on this product so quickly?

 

[Adamixoye]

(1) What you are describing happens with every pedal, good or bad
(2) It's expensive and has low availability, so it will have a lot of resell value for those who need quick money
(3) A pedal like this was bound to have people who did not realize the pedal would not fit their needs, or that they wouldn't want to edit patches via computer, etc.

None of this is to say that the pedal is perfect, but FWIW I am a current and satisfied owner.

 

[jwr]

I'm sure part of it has to do with the construction of the pedal as well. Some were not as pleased as other with the way it looks.

 

[bass.bert]

IMHO it's the most comprehensive synth pedal out there at the moment...

Although it has the original DI sounds + 90 others available without editing, the real fun is to create some individual stuff. The editor is working but still under developement, there's no official user database for sharing patches yet and it requires a good midi interface. Maybe that's too much struggle for some people.

 

[Adamixoye]

The construction/build quality is, IMO, not as bad as many have made it out to be, though I certainly concede it leaves something to be desired. In either case, I would doubt that it's a major reason anyone has flipped it; a few of the biggest detractors I know of with regard to build quality have held on to theirs because they like the sounds.

IMHO it's the most comprehensive synth pedal out there at the moment...

Although it has the original DI sounds + 90 others available without editing, the real fun is to create some individual stuff. The editor is working but still under developement, there's no official user database for sharing patches yet and it requires a good midi interface. Maybe that's too much struggle for some people.

I agree with all of this, except there is a pretty good unofficial user database for patch sharing.
Future Impact Patch sharing thread

 

[kevteop]

I was a bit disappointed with the knobs but I'm keeping mine, it sounds excellent.

 

[ole Jason]

It's the best bass synth pedal money can buy. I just think a lot of people like the idea of a synth pedal more than they actually use it in the context of a band or recording and that's why you see them being sold.

 

[Oneud]

I have one and the sounds are excellent. I also haven't noticed any problems with the build quality or the knobs, but I was part of the 3rd shipment, so those problems might have been resolved by then. It's also possible that I just got lucky, or that I just don't notice any of the problems other people seem to. But either way, I am very happy with the Future Impact.

I think ole Jason has a good point, that a lot of the people selling it might just like the idea of a synth, but don't have any practical use for it.

 

[Feral Feline]

I have zero practical use for it, but it made me grin my head off first time I played through it. I'll keep it in hopes I one day will have a practical use , and one for the FI too.

Lotsa newly released pedals pop in the GASsifieds; pay attention and you'll see the FI is not unique to New-Pedal-Flipping.

 

[Bastijnv]

I love mine. I'll probably never grow tired of the sound quality and endless possibilities. First batch, but I don't see any other than first world problems with the construction. It's sturdy and will last, and the builder has been very helpfull towards users with cosmetic and construction questions. And yes, it will enlarge the second hand market, I've sold two other synths which became obsolete.

 

[Mosfed]

I think @Adamixoye (even through his fanboy tendencies) is pretty spot on.

High visibility, easy to flip, expensive and wait list mean that the market is pretty hot.

I have one and I have kept it. My take:

Positive:

_ impressive tracking and sounds
_ the deep impact presets are pretty spot on
_ cuts through the mix very well. Better than most filters I own
_ incredibly flexible - you can make it do whatever you want.

Negatives:

_ crummy build quality. The knobs move on their own if there is a slight breeze. I can't tell you how many times I step on it and some knob got moved and it blows my head off. I can't believe people don't bitch about it more. This is not how a $450 pedal should feel. The sticker on top is also super cheap and kinda lame. Mine is peeling up and while I have some extras I just don't care enough.
_ expensive - I don't care what people say. This is my second most expensive new pedal ever. And it doesn't feel like it. The H9 is the most expensive I own and it feels like a million bucks in comparison.
_ the presets other than the deep impact ones are pretty lame and very rarely useable. In addition, the organization sucks. There is no rhyme nor reason to it.
_ Meh on the computer connection. Should be much much easier. The need for an extra midi adapter is pretty lame.
_ probably much larger than it should be
_ I hate pedals I need to connect to a computer in order to get the best out of them

I gigged one for most of the winter and I miss it when I don't have it. But it doesn't mean it's anything close to perfect. And rather than kissing the builder's ass so they keep doing the same, I can't understand why people are so forgiving about a very expensive, quite cool but also quite flawed pedal.

Looking forward to version 4 or something.

 

[jwr]

I'll say this, it definitely had me looking for an older model version! LOL!!

I sold mine within a week of owning it. While I did like it and thought it was fun, I was not happy about the way it looked and pretty much all of what Mosfed said. The size I could deal with, but the other things drove me nuts.

That being said, I still think the builder is cool for taking the time to re-release it. I'd be happy to buy another from if there were some improvements and it was through a dealer. No offense to them at all, I just don't want to mess with the extra charges and such.

 

[ChubbyJerk]

It's the best bass synth pedal money can buy.

This goes along with what Mosfed said. Most of the negatives about it are far far far better on the SY 300.

My personal preference goes to the SY300, but that's just opinion. Sounds were, in my opinion, very similar. Features on the SY300 blow the FI away though. Big screen where you can see all the preset info. I mean, even just seeing the preset name is a huge step up from the FI, where you just get numbers. The entire editor can be accessed from the unit itself. Extra footswitches right on the pedal. The blender feature is excellent for trying out new sounds. It can work as a USB recording interface. The list goes on.

 

[nshuman]

I sold mine within a week of owning it.

For the benefit of the class, you should probably make a list of all the pedals you have flipped within a week of purchasing them....

 

[Adamixoye]

This goes along with what Mosfed said. Most of the negatives about it are far far far better on the SY 300.

My personal preference goes to the SY300, but that's just opinion. Sounds were, in my opinion, very similar. Features on the SY300 blow the FI away though. Big screen where you can see all the preset info. I mean, even just seeing the preset name is a huge step up from the FI, where you just get numbers. The entire editor can be accessed from the unit itself. Extra footswitches right on the pedal. The blender feature is excellent for trying out new sounds. It can work as a USB recording interface. The list goes on.

I agree the features on the SY-300 are much more in-depth than the FI. I mean, the sequencer, the FX section, the routing, MIDI control, etc.---it's not even close. However, I'm not usually a "mojo" or "fatness" guy, but I do agree with some people that I find the FI to be a little more bass-oriented and "fat" than the SY-300. Some of the SY-300 patches just sound thin and ambient in a way that it just fine for guitar but leaves something to be desired on bass. Those are the stock patches. I've uploaded some user ones and made my own and they do better, but there always seems to be this "airiness" to the SY-300 that I can't quite dial out. I assume this is because the SY-300 does things through waveform shaping whereas the FI actually does pitch-detection synthesis (apologies if my terminology is sloppy here).

I mean, my solution was to keep both, so take that all with a grain of salt.

 

[ChubbyJerk]

I never owned the FI. Maybe if I had, I would have said, "oh yeah, that's what the SY300 is missing." But I was quite satisfied with the sounds. I had the SY300 and I watched a lot of demos of the FI, and I think, especially in the mix, it would be hard to tell the difference. But I've never heard a side-by-side comparison, so I could be wrong.

I ended up selling the SY300 because it was hard to justify the big price tag for something I had little practical use for. I miss it, and if I saw a good deal on a used one I'd probably pick one up again, but they're just so darn expensive.

 

[J Posega]

I'll be interested when they've got the next version, or the version after that, that's got a decent user interface on the pedal, good build quality, and a reasonable price. At the moment, I can't fathom why the FI costs how much it does IMHO.

 

[gastric]

I can't fathom why the FI costs how much it does IMHO

Super tiny, small builder making tiny batches that are then shipped from Budapest. They've sold and shipped a mere 200 thus far at a price of $350 USD (plus shipping + fees) which is a mere $70,000 USD total. I have no idea what their their costs and time and effort amounts to, but there's at least two people working on it, so make some assumptions. Personally I'm not sure how they're making any profit on these, they're certainly not getting rich. Honestly, they're not any less expensive than many pedals on the market like Darkglass BK7 which is just a comparatively simple do-one-thing drive/dirt box.

 

[gtech]

If I could choose between a Deep Impact and a Future Impact for the same price, what should I get?

 

[Adamixoye]

If I could choose between a Deep Impact and a Future Impact for the same price, what should I get?

I've never played through the original DI but the first nine presets in the FI are meant to emulate it, and the clips I've heard sound spot on. After that, the FI is just ridiculously deep. For the same price I would definitely get the FI, but that leads to the question of where you are finding an original Deep Impact for $400!