Meris? Blade Runnery? Ottobit, Polymoon & Enzo!!

[ritz]

Brains are funny, mine included. I was literally drawing diagrams trying to figure out ramp/sweep.

On topic, I'm looking forward to the actual manual for the Ottobit

[whoismarykelly]

Ill second all the complaints about the lack of a manual. I saw the mention of a quick start guide and figured it would at least have some sample settings or a little info about how the pedal works. The quick start manual tells you pretty much nothing. It points out all the knobs and basically says "this knob does what the label below it says. Also its this step in the sequencer" But it doesn't talk about how to set up a sequence or give any explanation of the stutter function. I would at least rather have half a dozen sample settings with a sentence about what they sound like than the blurry underexposed montage of arcade machines on the back.

Anyone have an idea how the hold function works? You're supposed to be able to hold onto what is in the stutter buffer but when I try to hold the tap switch for that function nothing happens. Or sometimes after I've held the switch for a second or two all of a sudden it will be holding a stutter. Seems like you have to catch a stutter happening for it to latch but they're extremely short little segments when the pedal stutters.

[ritz]

If you read through the thread at TGP there is some good info that's not up on the website, and definitely stuff that's not obvious right out of the box without a manual. Merris peeps are there answering questions, so... have at it?

[UglyCasanova]

You guys would love Ezhi&Aka pedals.

[Chankgeez]

In former Soviet Union manual read you.

[whoismarykelly]

I just think if you go to the effort to print up a quick start guide it should actually give you a start. The available pitches for each step in a sequence aren't explained. Other functions in the knob range for setting a sequence aren't explained. It seems like maybe there is a skip section of the knob range?

Weird pedals are fine but when half the functionality of a pedal is hidden by design, you should at least explain what is hidden when people buy the pedal. Not sell them a box for them to stumble around with until you get to writing the manual later on.

[manymanyhaha]

sodomized by soviets

[UglyCasanova]

it doesn't talk about how to set up a sequence or give any explanation of the stutter function. [...] I just think if you go to the effort to print up a quick start guide it should actually give you a start. The available pitches for each step in a sequence aren't explained. Other functions in the knob range for setting a sequence aren't explained. It seems like maybe there is a skip section of the knob range?

I watched the Pedals and Effects demo when it came out and I still remember how this works, so maybe just watch that or use your ears?

I'm not saying that not having a proper manual is a good thing (although it can be), but it would literally take you 5 minutes to figure this stuff out on your own.

[Jwar]

I'm kind of in the same boat as Whoismarykelly with manuals. I love having one right then and there because I will use it. I used to not use it and just flip shit. Over the last year though, I've really tried to dive in. I've used it extensively on my H9, Nemesis, DD500...etc. Basically any digital pedal I feel like I need it. I hate watching demos and using that as a way of figuring shit out, but I'm not sure why? I am however thankful that Juan did that because it literally tells you right there how to do shit. So I won't have to wait.

I bet they released this a tad prematurely just to make customers happy and were in the midst of writing the manual, which is understandable. So I'm not sweating it. Next week I'll have both in hand and be ready to destroy the universe!!!!!

My boner still fo sho.

[whoismarykelly]

it doesn't talk about how to set up a sequence or give any explanation of the stutter function. [...] I just think if you go to the effort to print up a quick start guide it should actually give you a start. The available pitches for each step in a sequence aren't explained. Other functions in the knob range for setting a sequence aren't explained. It seems like maybe there is a skip section of the knob range?

I watched the Pedals and Effects demo when it came out and I still remember how this works, so maybe just watch that or use your ears?

I'm not saying that not having a proper manual is a good thing (although it can be), but it would literally take you 5 minutes to figure this stuff out on your own.

Having spent much more than 5 minutes with the pedal I can tell you there are many unexplained things that are tough to figure out when a manual could explain them in one sentence. Companies should provide documentation. They shouldn't provide explanation through a 3rd party video where you have to sit through 30 minutes of content to maybe get an answer to your question.

[Jwar]

Yea Pedal and Effects has way too much talking. I always fast forward. lol

[Jwar]

it doesn't talk about how to set up a sequence or give any explanation of the stutter function. [...] I just think if you go to the effort to print up a quick start guide it should actually give you a start. The available pitches for each step in a sequence aren't explained. Other functions in the knob range for setting a sequence aren't explained. It seems like maybe there is a skip section of the knob range?

I watched the Pedals and Effects demo when it came out and I still remember how this works, so maybe just watch that or use your ears?

I'm not saying that not having a proper manual is a good thing (although it can be), but it would literally take you 5 minutes to figure this stuff out on your own.

Having spent much more than 5 minutes with the pedal I can tell you there are many unexplained things that are tough to figure out when a manual could explain them in one sentence. Companies should provide documentation. They shouldn't provide explanation through a 3rd party video where you have to sit through 30 minutes of content to maybe get an answer to your question.

Your disappointment is bumming me out dude.

So is it really that hard? Have you contacted them and told them how you feel? I bet they'd be responsive and perhaps offer a solution.

[elevenstrings]

As jwar said, they probably rushed to get the pedals out. And it's not like they aren't going to have a manual, they just haven't finished it yet.

Both the Meris Mercury7 and the P&E Ottobit video explained some of the functions in regards to the Expression pedal and setting up the sequencer, so I haven't had any problems without a full manual. I'm loving the pedal so far and I'm not frustrated at all.

PSA ON THE STUTTER:
If anyone wants to get the Ottobit Jr. strictly for the Stutter to replace a Raptio or Revolver or something, they may be disappointed. The Stutter is tempo-based and has kind of a "Marco. Polo." feel to it. It's not instantaneous. It reacts to the first note you play based on the tempo. The cool thing about it is that it's predictable so you can build riffs around it and repeat them predictably. You can infinitely stutter, but it will be on the "Polo" and it won't happen when you hit the switch, rather the next stutter. My raptio/Mandala/Revolver aren't going anywhere so this doesn't bother me, but this a very different kind of stutter than those. In that regard, I really like it. But if I was trying to replace a DD-5 with it, I wouldn't.

Also this thing really goes bonkers with an expression pedal - probably the coolest pedal I've ever owned as far expression control - from toe to heel you can simultaneously sweep the filter, add bitcrushing, turn the sequencer on, change the tempo subdivisions, add stutter and change the note patterns of the sequencer.

[whoismarykelly]

it doesn't talk about how to set up a sequence or give any explanation of the stutter function. [...] I just think if you go to the effort to print up a quick start guide it should actually give you a start. The available pitches for each step in a sequence aren't explained. Other functions in the knob range for setting a sequence aren't explained. It seems like maybe there is a skip section of the knob range?

I watched the Pedals and Effects demo when it came out and I still remember how this works, so maybe just watch that or use your ears?

I'm not saying that not having a proper manual is a good thing (although it can be), but it would literally take you 5 minutes to figure this stuff out on your own.

Having spent much more than 5 minutes with the pedal I can tell you there are many unexplained things that are tough to figure out when a manual could explain them in one sentence. Companies should provide documentation. They shouldn't provide explanation through a 3rd party video where you have to sit through 30 minutes of content to maybe get an answer to your question.

Your disappointment is bumming me out dude.

So is it really that hard? Have you contacted them and told them how you feel? I bet they'd be responsive and perhaps offer a solution.

Its a cool pedal but it falls into the category of pedals where you have to conform to the way it works rather than using the pedal in a dynamic way whenever you want. I consider stuff like the Raptio and Revolver to be way more dynamic and usable without really planning. Also note that my main interest in this pedal was the stutter function. Pitch arpeggios are things I would just play in most cases rather than have the pedal play them for me.

You have to set up the Ottobit to do what you want and then if you want to do something different you have to set it up differently. There are so many steps on each control that this isn't a 30 second process. For example, here are the divisions of the stutter knob as just posted in response to my question on TGP:

Each range (full speed, double speed, half speed) has 7 different selections. Each of these selections sets the stutter length and how may times the stutter repeats. Also min (on the stutter knob) gets you stutter off and max gets you stutter random. So 23 positions in total, here they are:

Stutter Knob sections:
Stutter Off
Full Speed, Stutter Once
Full Speed, Stutter Twice
Full Speed, Stutter Three Times
Full Speed, Stutter Four Times
Full Speed, Stutter Six Times
Full Speed, Stutter Eight Times
Full Speed, Stutter Sixteen Times
Double Speed, Stutter Once
Double Speed, Stutter Twice
Double Speed, Stutter Three Times
Double Speed, Stutter Four Times
Double Speed, Stutter Six Times
Double Speed, Stutter Eight Times
Double Speed, Stutter Sixteen Times
Half Speed, Stutter Once
Half Speed, Stutter Twice
Half Speed, Stutter Three Times
Half Speed, Stutter Four Times
Half Speed, Stutter Six Times
Half Speed, Stutter Eight Times
Half Speed, Stutter Sixteen Times
Random (combination of all of the above, plus the reverse of all the above)

All of that is unexplained in the quick start guide which means when I was thinking that the divisions on the knob were just the 5 options printed on the pedal (off, full speed, double speed, half speed, random) and making settings based on just those 5 sectors, I wasn't getting the same thing consistently because in any given sector that just under 90 degrees of knob sweep (on a tiny knob for this much function btw) there are 7 divisions. They have this information on hand so I dont know why it wasn't put in the quick start. This is the kind of necessary info you aren't going to just figure out on your own in 5 minutes with the pedal.

My main qualm with the pedal is that the stutter is primarily auto stutter in a pretty rigid structure. It may be constantly filling the buffer for the stutter function but if you hold the switch to try and freeze the next thing you play, which is apparently how it works, you dont get anything until the full next cycle. So its not really stutter on demand like I was hoping. It works a little better if the tap speed is set really fast.

Im playing with this thing all day to get a better handle on it. I might just have to continue posting every possible question to get a de facto manual out of them now rather than waiting.

Edit - people used to bitch about rack gear as having too many menus and liking the simplicity of pedals. This morning I was thinking that I would vastly prefer menus for setting this pedal up rather than making a minute turn on a knob and then waiting and trying to count how many times something was happening or counting the steps from unison to find where the intervals I wanted on the pitch sequencing were. This pedal is all the complexity of a piece of deep rack gear but with blinders on so its tough to tell what is really happening.

Edit 2 - there may also be a minimum amount of turn before the pedal recognizes you're trying to do something so all those tiny divisions you're trying to hit on the stutter knob mean you might have to jump the knob outside the range so it knows you want to change something and then try to land on the setting you want when you stop moving the knob. I was trying to go from 1 stutter to 2 stutters with a bunch of tiny increments and the knob was almost at the end of the section before it actually changed to stutter twice.

[whoismarykelly]

As jwar said, they probably rushed to get the pedals out. And it's not like they aren't going to have a manual, they just haven't finished it yet.

Both the Meris Mercury7 and the P&E Ottobit video explained some of the functions in regards to the Expression pedal and setting up the sequencer, so I haven't had any problems without a full manual. I'm loving the pedal so far and I'm not frustrated at all.

PSA ON THE STUTTER:
If anyone wants to get the Ottobit Jr. strictly for the Stutter to replace a Raptio or Revolver or something, they may be disappointed. The Stutter is tempo-based and has kind of a "Marco. Polo." feel to it. It's not instantaneous. It reacts to the first note you play based on the tempo. The cool thing about it is that it's predictable so you can build riffs around it and repeat them predictably. You can infinitely stutter, but it will be on the "Polo" and it won't happen when you hit the switch, rather the next stutter. My raptio/Mandala/Revolver aren't going anywhere so this doesn't bother me, but this a very different kind of stutter than those. In that regard, I really like it. But if I was trying to replace a DD-5 with it, I wouldn't.

Also this thing really goes bonkers with an expression pedal - probably the coolest pedal I've ever owned as far expression control - from toe to heel you can simultaneously sweep the filter, add bitcrushing, turn the sequencer on, change the tempo subdivisions, add stutter and change the note patterns of the sequencer.

Yep this is what I found with the stutter as well. Trying to decide if the marco polo quality of it is something that warrants a place on my board.