Future Impact v3 and now V4

[Woodinblack]

Any idea why the VIP is €50 more than the normal case?

[Quatschmacher]

6 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Any idea why the VIP is €50 more than the normal case?

Yes, it cost extra to develop and is a smaller run so unit price is higher than the regular which has been produced en masse and was designed 10 years ago. 

[Quatschmacher]

Here’s a VIP in the wild (not mine):

 

[itu]

Now what's that?! Kool!

[Quatschmacher]

4 minutes ago, itu said:

Now what's that?! Kool!

Have you been off-world?

 

https://www.pandamidi.com/store/future-impact-vip

[itu]

Yes, I have, and I'm far from VIP, so...

[Quatschmacher]

A nice all-FI4 feature. 

Edited May 15 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

It’s been brought to my attention that there’s a bug in the “convert folder of prg/pr3 programs to pr4” function. Until it is fixed, I’d suggest either loading older patches as normal via the manager as they get converted automatically when they get written to the pedal. If you need to do any bulk conversions, load 99 older patches into the manager and then use the “save” function within the manager to save the files to your computer and they’ll be converted at the point of saving. 

[Quatschmacher]

V4.12 should be available to download imminently.

 

It fixes a bug with MIDI thru where PC messages on other channels other than the FI4’s own weren’t being forwarded.

 

It also adds a feature which is mainly for the VIP version - it suppresses the EDIT dial’s function when the on/off footswitch is pressed, thus preventing accidental bank changes when engaging/disengaging the pedal.

 

I’ve uploaded it to my google drive for now so users can access it there until it’s live on the panda site:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j5siBd_MoGfvHDYcISal42VjkFAdwp71

Edited May 27 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

Finally been sent my FI4 VIP unit. Lovely.

 

Obviously thanks are due to @GisserD who designed his own aftermarket mini housing years ago which undoubtedly created the groundswell for this official Panda one to eventually happen. 

 

Edited June 10 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

Front shots for folks asking about the clearance between the footswitch and the encoder:

[iamtheelvy]

On 21/04/2025 at 15:53, Kev said:

Any VIPs out in the wild yet?  Would love to hear some real world feedback regarding that potentially dodgy right switch/pot placement, as even raised I still feel like it wouldn't last a week of my gig stomping! 😅

Just had one arrive today. The aim is to have this in a loop, so it won't be an issue, but can say in a quick play-around to test it I've changed the bank (the push function of this pot) every time I've turned the unit on or off...

 

EDIT: Just saw the post below. This will help a lot with this issue. As I've only just unboxed I haven't had a chance to update the firmware yet.

 

On 27/05/2025 at 19:20, Quatschmacher said:

V4.12 should be available to download imminently.

 

It fixes a bug with MIDI thru where PC messages on other channels other than the FI4’s own weren’t being forwarded.

 

It also adds a feature which is mainly for the VIP version - it suppresses the EDIT dial’s function when the on/off footswitch is pressed, thus preventing accidental bank changes when engaging/disengaging the pedal.

 

I’ve uploaded it to my google drive for now so users can access it there until it’s live on the panda site:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j5siBd_MoGfvHDYcISal42VjkFAdwp71

 

Edited June 12 by iamtheelvy

[Quatschmacher]

v4.12 is now on the online updater site and pandamidi site.

[Quatschmacher]

I’m reiterating here as there’s been a bit of chatter related to this on the MXR bass synth thread.

 

I’ve finally had a bit of headspace to flesh out a nice UI for an old idea of mine to allow for the ability to copy/move patches on the pedal itself without recourse to the editor. It would only require a minor alteration to the current store workflow. I’ve sent it to the team. It remains to be seen whether the underlying system will easily allow it. 

[LawrenceH]

Reposting here from the MXR thread at Peter's request, where people were discussing the relative merits of the two pedals:

 

OK I am breaking a self-imposed decade-long exile from posting to chime in here, because I just got the Future Impact VIP that was up for sale and I'm so bloody impressed with it as a product. You guys are absolutely right - in fact, I'd said something eerily similar to Peter earlier today in a private chat where he was very kindly giving me advice on a usb-midi converter.

 

First up - tracking on the VIP is stellar. I don't have the MXR, but I own the Source C4 and used to own the original Deep Impact. This feels both immediate and accurate, it gives me that finger-ear connection that makes me believe I'm playing an instrument. Feed it clean bass with clean technique and octaves jumps, slides, ghost notes, bends are no problem. The only thing that might improve it a little bit is some kind of training mode with AI or similar to give even better, context-dependent note-on/-off triggering. But it's already really, really good. If you're competent enough to play in a funky covers band then this pedal will do what you want with minimal adaptation to your playing style, you can play it and still feel like a bassist.

 

Sonically, I only needed to play through a few presets to hear very clearly that this will do anything that is showcased on that MXR demo, and more besides; including stuff the MXR can't do to the best of my knowledge but that's still useful for actual real-world bassists. E.g. some of those classic bass monosynth patches a la MJ or Herbie rely on mixed waveform voices and/or pulse width modulation. The MXR 'voice' button is a bit of a black box that sort of kind of maybe covers these a bit but definitely not to the extent the FIV4 does. The FIv4 filters and associated envelopes sound great in a way the C4 can't manage; the sweeps are smooth, the tone is fat and pristine in a good way, that'll dirty up nicely if desired. In particular the very starts of the notes are the first time I've been convinced by a bass synth.

 

Ergonomically, the VIP makes this much pedalboard friendly and the metal finish looks good, better in real life than on-screen. In an ideal world a future hardware revision would include LCD screen, USB interface and either rotation of the VIP casing 90 degrees while retaining top cable entry, or an additional footswitch for separating patch up/down functions. At the moment fast-pressing moves you down a patch number instead of up, it is ok when you get used to it.

 

As other users have said: The big but very solvable problem is that the v4/VIP presets showcase the power and quality of the pedal but by and large aren't at all useful for the average gigging bassist in a band. All it needs is slots 1-10, or better 1-20, to be filled with a range of presets chosen to mimic synth bass in classic tracks a la the MXR, and it would elevate it to the undisputed top of the pile. It wouldn't matter how easy it is to edit beyond the basic level and dynamics controls on the front, because the users that feared the editor would never need to touch it. That'd probably also help with the dearth of decent Youtube demos, since bass reviewers wouldn't have to gain programming expertise first. I think part of the issue for the FI is that the people developing it are way more adventurous and forward-looking than us bassists! As it is, for now we just have to accept getting our editing fingers dirty or at least downloading some of QM's excellent patches. Hence my question to him about an appropriate MIDI adaptor. A secondary problem is that a lot of the useful online info about the FIv4 is buried in this gigantic megathread here and at the Other Place, that are hard to search or browse efficiently.

 

Honestly I love the MXR demo and am still keen to try one, but I think once the hype has died down the FIv4 will emerge as still being current best-in-class for synth bass. It's not just powerful, it's musical and fun. Right I'll climb off my soap box now!

 

Be interested to hear people's takes on which classic synth bass tracks would make the cut for a preset top ten or top twenty...

[LawrenceH]

One thing to add that is more relevant for users here: the FIv4 takes compression very well. I've tried it both with an optical compressor and the ubiquitous Cali76, separately and together. Both together in particular gave that final polish and punch you get on e.g. 70s records. I haven't tried the internal overdrive, but it also responded well to a smidge of pedal drive to emulate those classic synth lines where a small amount of overdrive juices them right up.

 

I did wonder whether I would need a compressor before the pedal to help it, happily I can say not and will probably keep this immediately after my tuner in the chain. I didn't think to check background noise when testing which, as I was on studio-grade headphones, means it was probably very quiet since my compression chain adds a lot of gain.

[Quatschmacher]

12 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

I’ve finally had a bit of headspace to flesh out a nice UI for an old idea of mine to allow for the ability to copy/move patches on the pedal itself without recourse to the editor. It would only require a minor alteration to the current store workflow. I’ve sent it to the team. It remains to be seen whether the underlying system will easily allow it. 

This is looking promising as we’ve had some further discussion about it…

[Al Krow]

Maybe a complete non-starter, but was thinking that given that synth pedals have to track pitch, would pitch shifting, which a lot of pedals struggle to do well (even dedicated pitch shift pedals!) be something they could be set up to do? Basic pitch shift would be excellent in itself, but there's then maybe the possibility of chords too?

[Quatschmacher]

19 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Maybe a complete non-starter, but was thinking that given that synth pedals have to track pitch, would pitch shifting, which a lot of pedals struggle to do well (even dedicated pitch shift pedals!) be something they could be set up to do? Basic pitch shift would be excellent in itself, but there's then maybe the possibility of chords too?

Polyphonic pitch detection is very difficult, requiring lots more resources than monophonic tracking. That’s not to say it couldn’t perhaps be done as one of the two currently-unused apps in the pedal.

 

Polyphony/paraphony has already been under discussion (for MIDI-triggered uses).

 

I’d like to push the idea of on-pedal patch management as that will benefit all users.

[Quatschmacher]

21 hours ago, LawrenceH said:

Be interested to hear people's takes on which classic synth bass tracks would make the cut for a preset top ten or top twenty...

So would I. In fact I’ve added a poll to the FI Facebook group to ask. 

[Al Krow]

25 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Polyphonic pitch detection is very difficult, requiring lots more resources than monophonic tracking. That’s not to say it couldn’t perhaps be done as one of the two currently-unused apps in the pedal.

 

Polyphony/paraphony has already been under discussion (for MIDI-triggered uses).

 

I’d like to push the idea of on-pedal patch management as that will benefit all users.

 

Sounds good!  I think where I'm heading is that the FI with 99 presets is capable of being much more than "just" an excellent synth pedal. Why not have banks dedicated to some of the commonly used fx that the FI does well e.g. Bank 2 modulation - chorus, delay etc. Bank 3 octave and pitch shift etc.? It then becomes a synth / multifx.

Edited 4 hours ago by Al Krow

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Why not have banks dedicated to some of the commonly used fx that the FI does well

That’s already the case to some

degree: the latter patches are given over to

delays, choruses and reverbs. 

[Al Krow]

4 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

That’s already the case to some

degree: the latter patches are given over to

delays, choruses and reverbs. 

 

Sure. I guess my angle is coming at this from an accessibility / marketing stand point.  

Having popular synth bass patches in 1-10 or 1-20 is going to be a great start. 20 such patches => already 12 more presets than the MXR 

But then making it clear that Bank 3 is for delays / choruses and reverbs (in the style of which band bass-players?)

Bank 4 for ??

Bank 5 for ??

Banks 6-10 free for 49 user created patches (which is more than enough for 95% of bass players methinks?)

 

Now that v4 has apparently cracked the tracking and glitching that plagued so many of us with the earlier iterations, and which is very much one of the MXR's selling point, the rest of the FI's capabilities should make it really shine, not least given it's a similar price point: FI "synth-multifx" vs MXR "synth".

Also multifx users are very used to getting their hands dirty when it comes to PC editing of patches: the moment you label the FI a mutlifx, it's suddenly then worth investing the time, because there are a plethora of different usable patches rather than it being just about tweaking a few usable synth bass sounds.

 

Just a thought - I'll leave that all with you!