the future is now, where's the cool shit?

[Bellyheart]

That OWL pedal seems cool. Program your own effect.

[jrmy]

Feels like we have this conversation every few months. Right now, I'd say that the cool shit is in softsynths, iPad apps, and lunatic microbuilders (and I mean that as a compliment) like Sonic Crayon. As usual, rfurtkamp has the historical perspective - check the "Timebender alternative" thread for more deets.

[rfurtkamp]

It's also a case of "what are you going to do with it?"

I can go to space with minimal stuff.

We didn't have this stuff when I started playing. Back then the wackiest it got for live use unless you were incredibly wealthy was the then-blisteringly expensive Boss PS-2. I paid $250-something in 3.35 minimum wage era dollars for it, and it was as expensive as a pair of SF Bassman heads.

And that pedal was more useful for the first compact 2s of delay than the pitch shift - when it's the only thing like it around, you can't use it on everything in that mode.

Then I got a Quadraverb. And went to beyond grainy ugly reverb 20-some years before the current lo-fi stuff was even a dream.

It's all out there, and you can do weird shit with *anything*.

I've been anathema a long time in some circles becuause I can and do do it with any old shit.

[Jwar]

For example. Boss just came out with some "killer" new synth unit. It sounds like the 1980's. Why would anyone want that? It's not progressive. It's not forward thinking or new. It's literally recreating the shit soundscapes that were created in the 80's. THE WORST DECADE EVAR.

Dude, Boss/Roland is known for the worst presets ever, and like any synth, someone should be willing to get in there and make their own patches. So, it takes patience and learning about how to program synths in order to make the sounds you want. Or you get something that is very preset focused and sound like what the box lets you.

Definitely no way to judge the new pedal synth without trying it out and knowing how to use it (or being willing to learn) or some really good demos by someone that happens to program sounds that you like.


I am not looking to pick it up or anything though.

See to me, it's overly complicated and expensive. I don't want to spend hours upon hours to find good tones. I fucking HATE that about digital effects pedals. I like when you can take a pedal, plug that shit in and be good to go. Now the Eventide H9 I've spent a bit of time with, but I just feel it's silly to do that IMO. Like there has to be a better way. I understand wanting to have control over things, but why use a pedal if that's the case. Just use one of the many programs on the PC that have far better interfacing and sounds than any digital pedal on the market. I could recreate almost anything with Pro Tools. I know because I've done it. It makes most pedal obsolete IMO. Especially with all the plugins.

I'm not a synth guy though. I find most synth to be annoying. I thought I liked it, but I don't. I hate Dubstep and electronic music. haha.

I just want someone to make an envelope filter that doesn't sound like fucking shit. Or a bit crusher that is actually innovative. Or fuck, something new. A new sound! The Bubble Chamber was the first pedal I'd been excited for in a long time and it never came out.

Everything seems like a different flavor of the same exact shit. You just have to decide where your brand loyal.

I could literally find the same tones on most distortions, fuzzes or overdrives. I have not tried one is a few years that actually wowed me. They've been meh, that's pretty good.

I believe that they need a room full of gear nerds coming up with new ideas and inventing the wheel again. That's just me.

[Inconuucl]

Bubble chamber?

[Deltaphoenix]

Bubble chamber?

Yeah it was a pedal that was never released from Iron Ether.

[behndy]

heeeeeeeeeee........... does that. unfortunately.

[technicoloraudio]

My intention was never to rehash the specifics of the lack of any one thing or another. I guess, after spending a six hour car ride gleaning the interweb for new stuff, and there just wasn't a lot out there. I watched the summer NAMM coverage, not expecting too much, but was just kinda surprised to find nil. With the secular popularity of Hexe, Somic Crayon, MTLASLY, etc I half expected to see some young upstarts push out some other real time sample control in pedal form.
That's just one example of one area. And I know that technology isn't the easiest to program and produce, I have the utmost of respect for those and most all other builders who are all putting hours in at the bench so that we here may later go on rabid jizzfests over their wares.
Is there not some unexplored method of modulation? Some other means of making a sound repeat itself?

I guess my original question was dumb and uninformed, I'm just a little supeised that I can call my mom from halfway around the world from a little box in my pocket, and that is also the most futuristic way to manipulate audio.

[Inconuucl]

Well, the popularity of those brands is insular, as much as ILF would like to tout itself as open, we're still an echo chamber, stuff seems a lot more popular here than they really are. This is not ILF's fault, it's really just a feature of any topic-centric community.

[Sparrow]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8VtGXG3v8A[/youtube]

[resincum]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8VtGXG3v8A[/youtube]

lovin it

funny thing is this unit is designed around a chip introduced in 1978 for generating sound fx in arcade machines

[popvulture]

The idea of the Pittsburgh pedal enclosure has opened my mind up quite a bit lately. I'd previously found Eurorack to be enticing but a bit daunting for beginners and, as a mainly guitar guy, not necessarily what I wanna do with synth. A lot of the videos I've seen online have been guys just generating waves and feeding them into the chains and twiddling knobs, which is of course seriously fun, but I never looked at it and thought "this would be a great way for me to explore new tones for songwriting!" Plus I already spend too much fucking money on guitars, pedals and recording gear, and "like I need another goddamn expensive habit" was uttered on multiple occasions.

That said, I know that outlook is limited, and like I said, the Pittsburgh was definitely an aha moment for me. Just looking at something like the Make Noise Erbe-Verb... that thing's way more fucking versatile than 99% of reverb pedals I can think of, and that's just one module. So yep, I'm way, way curious about that format in a pedal. It's not exactly new technology, but it's way different than what we're typically seeing in pedals, and I find that exciting as hell.

So maybe build your own reverse cowgirl eiffel tower rusty trombone that way?

[Inconuucl]

http://store.muffwiggler.com/collection ... -resonator

Stick that shit in the Pittsburgh patchbox, then talk to me. No seriously, I want to hear it.

[kbit]

http://store.muffwiggler.com/collections/frontpage/products/4ms-smr-spectral-multiband-resonator

Stick that shit in the Pittsburgh patchbox, then talk to me. No seriously, I want to hear it.

Damn dude, 4MS comes out with such sweet looking shit. Id lobe to play qith one of these with one one of their new clock divider modules.

[popvulture]

Ugh there's so much awesome looking shit just on the front page of the Muffwiggler store--my head almost explodes every time I try to investigate that world beyond just surface browsing.

Any good resources for noobs out there? I'd kill for a good site with some suggestions on how to get started, maybe describing a few potential avenues.

The goddamn Pittsburgh box just had to get my already gear addled brain all a-whir.