LukeFRC Posted October 3 Posted October 3 22 minutes ago, LawrenceH said: Plugged in, the numeric display is (usefully) bright - hence it washes out the cameras as seen above. Looking carefully in person, I'd say it's up there with my Cali76 bass comp in terms of finish quality and apparent ruggedness, though obviously it's more 'functional' than 'graphic designer-y'. But on a pedal this complex I don't care, particularly when its from such a small company and getting it re-engineered to match a commissioned visual design brief would make it (much) more expensive. +1 - as a graphic designer there's easy wins you could make on small scale products like this - but equally small scale companies tend to (rightly) focus on engineering and not have budget (or know how to value) design. it's all good. Quote
Quatschmacher Posted October 3 Author Posted October 3 (edited) 4 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: +1 - as a graphic designer there's easy wins you could make on small scale products like this - but equally small scale companies tend to (rightly) focus on engineering and not have budget (or know how to value) design. it's all good. That’s some way off. I kid you not, it’s taken until now for them to say they should probably spend some money on marketing, seeing what it’s done for MXR. I’ve only been saying it for 6 years. Also, @LukeFRC, if you fancied sketching out a nice graphics idea sometime and putting it their way, they might well pay you to use it. Edited October 3 by Quatschmacher 2 Quote
Quatschmacher Posted October 4 Author Posted October 4 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: decent review here... Cheers for sharing that. I’ve shared it with the team. Quote
LukeFRC Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago This week I was kindly allowed into Chateau @Quatschmacher and try the FI4 VIP ... my background, I'm not an amazing player- but not awful and have messed around with synth type stuff in various Zoom multiFX then HX, H9 then the classic octave-fuzz-envelope thing... I've owned a C4 (twice) and sold it each time... One use which is a bit different to the normal synth bass/keybass type sounds is a pad sound I've used to fill in songs while playing at church (small church by US standards so sometimes only 2-3 musicians) I really really enjoyed the FI4 and need to work out if it will fit on my board... My thoughts... - Really premium enclosure - it's really nice metal box. - The tracking is amazing. I've got fairly good at playing clean and slightly before the beat from owning the C4 ... this you don't need too - it's so so fast and seemingly accurate - It can do rhythmic sounds - and works - you can add that little muted thump as a part of the rhythm and works - doesn't trigger the whole sound - a bit of a learning curve but you can choose how it reacts with your fingers - if your next note triggers the envelope again, or just glides to the next. (this has got a proper term in synth land) - The presets... like obviously you can build your own... but from what's available on the top it gives you edits from the preset! ... so rather than an absolute release time for example, it lets you fine tune from what's there! This makes so so much more sense - the sounds are really really good. Im pretty certain if you wanted the sounds of the fashionable MXR synth pedal it would do them... but suspect you have more control over how it articulates... - But most importantly to me - the C4 feels like you're playing a pedal- and the sounds are good enough to do that. The FI4 makes it sound like your bass sounds different. it's feel and how it reacts is so so natural feeling and musical. Honestly it was astounding - I had pretty much given up on synth bass and was going to go buy a wee synth and learn to play it... but now I'm rethinking. - I didn't scratch the surface of everything it could do! Short version: The very low latency makes it feel like a musical extension of your instrument. I like 4 Quote
LukeFRC Posted 6 hours ago Posted 6 hours ago 33 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Great review, thanks Luke! £305 online for vip version. I’m tempted! Though if you’re selling one secondhand in a few weeks I can wait… 1 Quote
Al Krow Posted 5 hours ago Posted 5 hours ago 32 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: £305 online for vip version. I’m tempted! Though if you’re selling one secondhand in a few weeks I can wait… And vice versa, haha! Have the prices come down a bit recently, I thought they were closer to £340 inc P&P? Quote
LawrenceH Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago (edited) On 03/10/2025 at 22:03, Quatschmacher said: By the way, if you contact Panda you can get a free window film for the display. The first units didn’t have one fitted. I did this, got a prompt reply asking my address and an envelope arrived a few days later containing the film. I also mentioned some suggestions I've made here about presets and a tutorial video showing recreation of a classic bass sound from scratch. The response to these was very positive. It is a nice luxury when you as a consumer can communicate directly with the design team on a product like this. Edited 3 hours ago by LawrenceH 1 Quote
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