Devi's at it again (Console II)

[snipelfritz]

I feel like cartridge technology should be far more widespread than it is.

[solarolosonoio]

This is my opinion exclusively on the Console.
(I don't have an opinion about devi ever : fx nor about Devi herself, I don't care).

The Console might be missing the point of pedals and pedalboards:
When you start building a board, you get the pedals you want and can afford, you lay them out the way you want,
(if you want to route some in parallel you get a mixer/router unit); you continue buying, selling and buying more,
and rearranging them over and over again. The Console, seems to me, intents to emulate this process in a restricted context which is also unpractical (I just read someone asking for switches.)

Regarding Just Nick's comment about builders and everyone happily collaborating… I don't see how building a cartridge for the Console is going to make builders collaborate with each other more than they actually do now. This forum is a proof of that: builders and DIYers are constantly helping eachother out when it comes to circuits and such. The "job" of putting their work together (in series or in parallel!) is what ILFers and pedal owners do already.

…looks like a toy for stacking fuzz circuits. (Which can be cool, but it's just that.)

[yallerhon]

Solar, have you actually seen the list of builders on board to produce cartridges for this? There will be plenty of non-fuzz effects made for it.

Plus the several options DIYers & small builders have for doing limited runs of effects that may be prohibitively expensive if done as pedals.

I think you may have missed the point, misunderstood the intentions behind the device, or not read up on it. Not meaning to offend.

[solarolosonoio]

Solar, have you actually seen the list of builders on board to produce cartridges for this? There will be plenty of non-fuzz effects made for it.

Plus the several options DIYers & small builders have for doing limited runs of effects that may be prohibitively expensive if done as pedals.

I think you may have missed the point, misunderstood the intentions behind the device, or not read up on it. Not meaning to offend.

I know you mean no offense

Yes I have seen the list. And yes I have read and understood the intentions behind the device.

"From fuzz, to delay, to modulation, to even DSP based effects, the Console : FX platform will allow you to take a bag full of your favorite pedals anywhere and mix and match them more easily than having to deal with cables and power supplies and bulky enclosures."

Imagine Dr. Scientist manages to fit The Elements into a cartridge (the original pedals took several months to develop and lay out to put into its enclosure). So this cartridge is going to be half the price of the original Elements. Then you're going to be able to run it together with a cheap Dwarfcraft crazy fuzz cartridge. Is that it? You think the Console can substitute a proper board, so you no longer need to "deal with cables and power supplies and bulky enclosures"?

I might be wrong and maybe this is going to be huge and successful.
I just think is something worth discussing and talking about, that's why we're here.

EDIT: And speaking of DSP and modulation. Decent DSP effects are really hard to develop (think of Strymon, even some EQD or Iron Ether), digital doesn't always mean DSP. Plus I don't think they can fit a Cosmichorus into a cartridge (I will shit my pants if they do).

[CBA]

Plus I don't think they can fit a Cosmichorus into a cartridge (I will shit my pants if they do).

That's a weird thing to promise! Do you mean in surprise or as like a guarantee?



C

[solarolosonoio]

Plus I don't think they can fit a Cosmichorus into a cartridge (I will shit my pants if they do).

That's a weird thing to promise! Do you mean in surprise or as like a guarantee?


C

I guarantee

(You're so right, dumb sentence)

[Chankgeez]

I know I'm not the best talker of words... but this guy recently posted a video in support of the Console and maybe his little presentation will make more sense.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6HUoV8s7XE[/youtube]

i was watching some of his demos earlier...dude does a good job

That dude talks too much. Not even a note was played in that demo right there.

[theavondon]

Jesus fuck, ghost just signed on.

[Chankgeez]

…looks like a toy for stacking fuzz circuits. (Which can be cool, but it's just that.)

To be fair, yeah, it's gimmicky (albeit a cool gimmick), but I think it's really intended for bedroom players. In which case, it's awesome.

[behndy]

Jesus fuck, ghost just signed on.

[devi ever]

You think the Console can substitute a proper board?

EDIT: And speaking of DSP and modulation. Decent DSP effects are really hard to develop (think of Strymon, even some EQD or Iron Ether), digital doesn't always mean DSP. Plus I don't think they can fit a Cosmichorus into a cartridge (I will shit my pants if they do).

The Console is meant to suppliment pedals... not substitute a board, though for those who have small simple setups, I'd think the Console III would be an incredible boon to those who want just a few fx to work with, especially once we have a larger selection of carts.

... and DSP effects are more and more easy to manufacture, and can absolutely fit in our cartridges.

I have no hesitations saying that there -will- be DSP based carts by 2014 at the latest.

[goroth]

I think Solar's raised some good points - I can't see a purpose for this in my gigging board at this stage, but for home jams or nicking over to a mate's place for a jam it could be cool. But I'm too much of a collector-gear-nerd - there's so much stuff I like about pedals as an artform that the console isn't particularly interesting for me - I'd rather just buy a bunch of pedals But what the fuck, go for it Devi. I want to see where this goes.

[ghost_effects]

Jesus fuck, ghost just signed on.

you can fit tagboard in there yeah?

[skullservant]

I've been a bit hesitant about all of this, just trying to gather my thoughts before I posted anything.

I think it would be really neat to see each cartridge decorated differently, like all cartridge games are, to give them personality just like pedals themselves have. I think dressing them standard (per what is on the kickstarter, and what I am going off of) just makes them kind of generic looking and loses some of what we enjoy about pedals.

I don't necessarily think that a Console I is as useful as the II or III, just because you can't stack things in it like with the others. BUT the blend knob INSTANTLY turns any of them bass friendly, which is a definite plus.

The appeal that I DO see, is if someone like myself, who likes really minimal setups, was able to carry a Console 3 with me to a show, loaded with a reverb, fuzz, and delay, along with possibly a clean boost cartridge instead of an entire board. At this state it just seems a little 'too good to be true' to have a Faye Sing, Elements, and RRR in one box to change around at will, but I will not dismiss it until I actually see it.

I'm a bit sceptical, like some of you seem, about some of the builders being able to fit their designs into a standardized (and extremely small) template. As stated previously, fuzzes? No problem. But something like a Faye Sing going into a 1"x3" square seems a like a bit of a strech, unless the cartridge happened to be extended or elongated to allow for more board space.

Just judging by the size of things, it looks like to really 'experiment' on the protoboard, you'd almost have to use SMT parts for things like delays, etc on DIY builds, which I know that not all of us are comfortable with.

I think that something like an RRR board for even $80 would be pretty neato, and especially for someone who is picky like myself, a little bit easier to resell or trade than a $200 pedal that people might not be able to float.

I'm just trying to equate the console to something between an old hardwired Ibanez Multieffects and something like a digital multieffects. The Ibanez units were neat because it was pretty much an entire board in a single unit. Just pick it up, stash it in your bag, and go. The digital units are neat because of their flexibility and editing capabilities. So in rationalizing it all that way, I find it to be a pretty interesting concept of both old and new. Taking the template and platform of these older non-switchable standalone multieffects, and these now highly advanced DSP devices that are so vast and expansive that some of them leave us scratching our head in amazement.

A few questions for you, Devi:

Are you planning to let builders decorate the outside of their cartridges? How would you go about doing it? I think it'd be neat to see gold cartridges like old NES stuff.

Would the proto/perf cartridges come in different sizes? I saw already that there is an adaptor for them, but could there be something like a S/M/L type proto cartridge? I think it would be a most excellent introduction for people who want to get into building to just put together a board and pop it in the socket, but being so small, especially for beginner diy builders, might prove to be rather difficult.

Anyways, I'm curious to see it come out if it does. If some handy cartridges come out, I might have to pick one up.

[deadbeatriot]

i think this has the potential to be really cool.

like skullservant said, it would be a great little mini board. i'd most definitely consider a console III down the line for smaller shows or as an alt board for when i play bass.

to devi: if i had the cash, i would seriously consider supporting your kickstarter. unfortunately, i don't have any disposable income at the moment, so all i can do is say i hope it works out.