Future Impact v3 and now V4

[Quatschmacher]

25 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

That's great thank you for your help.

 

However as someone who works in graphic design producing items like user manuals, one of the main reasons why they are now only available as on-line PDFs is so they can be updated quickly and easily to reflect changes in the specification of the product through firmware and software updates. The block diagram in question has a date of 2015, and is obviously completely out of date. Without the extra help that I am getting on this forum, that would make me question the integrity of the product in question.

We’re only human and a small team; occasionally stuff slips by. Thankfully the main focus goes into making the device work. 

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Ultimately I think I'm going to have to buy one and send it back for a refund if I can't get it to do what I want.

 

Fyi BRX - If you end up giving this a good try-out and find it's not for you and are out of time to return it to Music Store who are selling it new for £305 - there are several of us with this on our 2026 wish list (including me!) and I'm sure will be happy to guarantee you a very decent used price for it! If you end up deciding to keep it, given the high synth standards you have, well that would be high praise indeed! 

[BigRedX]

My Future Impact has arrived. As this is my Christmas present I have opened it to make sure it is working so that if there is a problem I can return it within the 14 day returns window.

 

However I cannot get the Editor software to work.

 

1. Simply getting it to load required me to alter my security settings (Mac OS 15.7.1). For a supposedly professional piece of software this is IMO unacceptable. 

 

2. AFAICS I cannot get the Mac to communicate with the Future Impact. Either there is a major fault or I am doing something wrong, so I could do with a bit of help and guidance.

 

I am using a basic USB to MIDI DIN plug interface which I was told would be suitable and I have had this interface work with other MIDI devices and the Mac Audio MIDI setup application has correctly identified the interface:

I have made what I would assume are the correct settings within the FIEditor application for MIDI input and output:

 

 

However in the File Manager all the program slots are blank and the "Download from FI" button doesn't appear to do anything.

 

Also once I've accessed the File Manager window I can't get back to the Editor Window without quitting and reloading the application. This looks like a serious bug.

 

Is it a problem or am I doing something wrong?

 

It will be a deal-breaker if I can't get the Editor program to work as AFAICS most of the functions I want to use are only accessible via this application, and without them the device is useless to me and will have to be returned.

 

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

[Woodinblack]

45 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

My Future Impact has arrived. As this is my Christmas present I have opened it to make sure it is working so that if there is a problem I can return it within the 14 day returns window.

 

However I cannot get the Editor software to work.

 

1. Simply getting it to load required me to alter my security settings (Mac OS 15.7.1). For a supposedly professional piece of software this is IMO unacceptable. 

 

Is that the bit where you have to give permission to use software that isn't on the app store? I get that with a lot of software so I don't find the issue.

 

I have never connected my future impact to the mac, but I do have a future impact, a mac and a midi interface, so I will give it a try later

 

[Quatschmacher]

47 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

My Future Impact has arrived. As this is my Christmas present I have opened it to make sure it is working so that if there is a problem I can return it within the 14 day returns window.

 

However I cannot get the Editor software to work.

 

1. Simply getting it to load required me to alter my security settings (Mac OS 15.7.1). For a supposedly professional piece of software this is IMO unacceptable. 

 

2. AFAICS I cannot get the Mac to communicate with the Future Impact. Either there is a major fault or I am doing something wrong, so I could do with a bit of help and guidance.

 

I am using a basic USB to MIDI DIN plug interface which I was told would be suitable and I have had this interface work with other MIDI devices and the Mac Audio MIDI setup application has correctly identified the interface:

I have made what I would assume are the correct settings within the FIEditor application for MIDI input and output:

 

 

However in the File Manager all the program slots are blank and the "Download from FI" button doesn't appear to do anything.

 

Also once I've accessed the File Manager window I can't get back to the Editor Window without quitting and reloading the application. This looks like a serious bug.

 

Is it a problem or am I doing something wrong?

 

It will be a deal-breaker if I can't get the Editor program to work as AFAICS most of the functions I want to use are only accessible via this application, and without them the device is useless to me and will have to be returned.

 

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

I haven’t used Mac so can only pass on info from other Mac users.

 

Obviously check the in and out ports are wired up the right way round (it’s astounding how many seasoned MIDI users have fallen at this hurdle).

 

There was a user having a similar issue with another interface not correctly showing. This was the advice:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/future-impact-now-available-was-deep-impact-reissue-interested.1115025/page-375#post-27723015
 

I would maybe leave the keyboard input blank for now until you’ve troubleshooted the issue (why isn’t it “troubleshot”?).

 

Once the connection is established and you move something in the editor, you should see two horizontal lines in the FI’s display. 

[BigRedX]

I have my security settings to allow me to run applications from both the App Sore and Known Developers which has been sufficient for everything I have needed to install on my Mac since I get it just over a year ago. Since the primary function of this computer is for my work, you may understand why I was reluctant to alter them in order to run an application that falls into neither of those categories.

[BigRedX]

And now having quit everything and reloaded the application and rebooted the FI, it appears to be working. Not changed anything in the hardware configuration since my last attempt, Very strange.

 

I had checked the MIDI connections were the right way around before I started because I'm marginally dyslexic and the rather confusing (to me) correct way for this cable is connect In to Out and vice-versa. I can understand connecting In to Out for external equipment but when the other end of the cable is a USB plug I would have normally expected In to In and Out to Out. And I did try it the other way around just in case, but earlier neither way worked.

 

Also now that the Editor program is recognising that the Future Impact pedal is connected, the programs loaded from the pedal in a matter of seconds, and I have no problem swapping between the Manager and Editor screens.

 

Next thing is to check I can use the Editor application whilst also running Logic which sending MIDI to the FI, but I won't have time to do that until this evening. Wish me luck!

[MacDaddy]

21 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

And now having quit everything and reloaded the application and rebooted the FI, it appears to be working

 

 

 

😉

[BigRedX]

Two things I can't work out in the Editor:

 

1. How do I change modes? I think want to be in what the manual calls Synth mode but I can't see a setting for changing this in the Editor. The manual does say that EWI mode does most of the same things, so I have started with an EWI preset from the manager page, but that leads me to the second problem:

 

2. How do I turn off the envelope follower? Even with it set to 0 playing a note on the bass triggers the envelopes and therefore opens the filter. What I want is for the VCF and VCA to process just the incoming bass guitar signal but for them to be controlled by their respective envelopes being triggered by MIDI note commands only. 

 

I can't see how to achieve this. If someone could share a screen shot of the basic setting I need to achieve this, it would be much appreciated.

[Quatschmacher]

15 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Two things I can't work out in the Editor:

 

1. How do I change modes? I think want to be in what the manual calls Synth mode but I can't see a setting for changing this in the Editor. The manual does say that EWI mode does most of the same things, so I have started with an EWI preset from the manager page, but that leads me to the second problem:

 

2. How do I turn off the envelope follower? Even with it set to 0 playing a note on the bass triggers the envelopes and therefore opens the filter. What I want is for the VCF and VCA to process just the incoming bass guitar signal but for them to be controlled by their respective envelopes being triggered by MIDI note commands only. 

 

I can't see how to achieve this. If someone could share a screen shot of the basic setting I need to achieve this, it would be much appreciated.

As always, this stuff is covered in the manual. Manual is under “help” in the editor. 

 

Instrument mode is selected via the global menu. Currently this is done on the pedal (but will be possible in the editor in the next version). See the QuickStart part of the manual on how to access this.

 

Envelope follower and VCA/VCF envelope triggering are two entirely separate things:

 

Envelope follower is the voltage from your instrument’s amplitude envelope coming in via the audio input.

 

VCA/VCF envelope triggers are activated as soon as the audio input is above the threshold set by the note-on level parameter on the pedal’s panel. To have them be triggered solely by MIDI note data, you’ll need to put the pedal in either Synth or EWI mode. In those modes the synthesiser pitches will also only be generated by note data. You’ll still be able to send your bass’s audio through the filter via the “INSTR” slider in the VCF Input section. 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Quatschmacher

[BigRedX]

4 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

As always, this stuff is covered in the manual. Manual is under “help” in the editor. 

 

I have the downloaded PDF manual open on another screen on my computer so I can refer to it whilst also using the Editor. I've spent the last 2 hours looking through the manual and couldn't find this. Because of course I didn't realise that I wasn't looking in the right section, as it's not possible to do from the Editor - hence my question.

 

5 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Instrument mode is selected via the global menu. Currently this is done on the pedal (but will be possible in the editor in the next version). See the QuickStart part of the manual on how to access this.

 

I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to go back to the bad old days of convoluted button pressing and parameter access from the 80s...

 

As it's a "Global" setting does that mean I can't switch between modes by selecting a different program? Whilst I expect to be using the Future Impact in Synth mode most of the time, it would be much more versatile if the mode was stored with the program so I can change it by calling up the relevant program. If it is going to be possible to access this parameter in a future version of the Editor does that mean that it can currently be changed via MIDI, or will that also require a firmware update? If it can be changed by MIDI at the moment what are the relevant commands? I haven't been able to find a MIDI implementation chart in the manual. 

 

Are there other parameters that can only be accessed and changed on the pedal itself and not from the editor? It would be useful to know. I can't see a list of them in the manual.

 

Finally (for now), the Future Impact appears to do MIDI program mapping on MIDI send, but can it also do it on receive or is incoming MIDI program 01 always preset 01 on the FI?

[Quatschmacher]

4 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I haven't been able to find a MIDI implementation chart in the manual.

It’s under “MIDI Implemention” in the table of contents funnily enough. 🙂

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

As it's a "Global" setting does that mean I can't switch between modes by selecting a different program? Whilst I expect to be using the Future Impact in Synth mode most of the time, it would be much more versatile if the mode was stored with the program so I can change it by calling up the relevant program. If it is going to be possible to access this parameter in a future version of the Editor does that mean that it can currently be changed via MIDI, or will that also require a firmware update? If it can be changed by MIDI at the moment what are the relevant commands? I haven't been able to find a MIDI implementation chart in the manual. 

Instrument mode is wholly independent of program. It is possible to play the same program in either mode. (I did suggest the possibility of having something in the editor to log which mode the user wanted to use the patch with in a previous update round, but it was deemed too much work/unnecessary at the time.) (Pre-v4 FIs could switch mode automatically depending on whether audio or MIDI was detected at the input and it’s a feature that is now not present, due to the fact that the MIDI and audio modes now inhabit two separate areas of the memory. I do wonder if there might be code space to add a similar function that can switch between the two quickly. I’ll ask. 

 

Instrument mode can’t currently be changed via MIDI command either but I’ve been asking for this for a while. If you email them asking for it, it’ll lend more weight to my argument.

 

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Are there other parameters that can only be accessed and changed on the pedal itself and not from the editor? It would be useful to know. I can't see a list of them in the manual.

Yes, and they are all detailed in the manual. Currently anything in the Global menu and the two Global options on the Parameter dial.

Edited 2 hours ago by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

20 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

is incoming MIDI program 01 always preset 01 on the FI?

Yes. 

[Al Krow]

We're bloody lucky to have Peter on hand to deal with detailed queries like this! Amazing customer service!

[BigRedX]

52 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

It’s under “MIDI Implemention” in the table of contents funnily enough. 🙂

 

So it is. Confusingly it's 3/4 of the way through the manual rather than being at the end where I would normally expect to find it. It is also rather sparse and AFAICS I will need to use the 4 flexi controllers if I want to do anything interesting with MIDI control of a program's parameters. I assume that since they are in the Editor their assignments can be changed per program rather than being global?

 

The MIDI implementation chart does answer my question regarding program mapping - it's only available on send and not on receive. Which you have just confirmed.

 

It's a little disappointing that not all the parameters are accessible from the Editor application. It would be a massive improvement of the usability if everything was accessible via the Editor, or at least those parameters that can only be changed from the pedal interface itself were made A LOT MORE OBVIOUS in the manual 

 

Thank you for all your help, I realise that as a new user with unconventional requirements I'm probably asking lots of weirds and difficult questions that never occur to most potential users of this device. I appreciate the time you've taken to help me.

 

I'll email the maker now requesting that the Instrument mode either be changed on a per-program basis or separately by MIDI command in a future update.

Edited 3 hours ago by BigRedX

[Quatschmacher]

38 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

It's a little disappointing that not all the parameters are accessible from the Editor application. It would be a massive improvement of the usability if everything was accessible via the Editor

As I stated earlier, this is being addressed in the forthcoming update: all global menu parameters will also be accessible via the editor. 

[Quatschmacher]

40 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Thank you for all your help, I realise that as a new user with unconventional requirements I'm probably asking lots of weirds and difficult questions that never occur to most potential users of this device. I appreciate the time you've taken to help me.

No problem. I hope you enjoy using the FI once you’ve got your head around it and its idiosyncrasies. 

[Quatschmacher]

53 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I will need to use the 4 flexi controllers if I want to do anything interesting with MIDI control of a program's parameters. I assume that since they are in the Editor their assignments can be changed per program rather than being global?

Yes, per preset. Basically a 4-slot mod matrix. If you read the section on Flexi Controllers it should show you how powerful it is. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Quatschmacher

[LawrenceH]

 

56 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

We're bloody lucky to have Peter on hand to deal with detailed queries like this! Amazing customer service!

 

Peter's advice, and courteous patience, is worth a lot more than the price anyone here is paying for it.

 

The only completely foolproof, stable, reliable MIDI I've used that involved a computer was in the days when Atari ST ruled the roost. Sadly I don't think it's feasible to expect ANY MIDI gear to work out of the box across multiple OS, interfaces, device hardware and updates thereof. Especially when you consider how important MIDI is to the OS manufacturer, ie not in the least. Meanwhile I'm having the devil of a time getting an Allen & Heath digital mixer to just talk to it's dedicated (and entirely mandatory) control app, and they are industry leaders with a relatively huge development team.

 

The FI4 manual layout could be done several different ways, but FWIW seems fine to me. It can't be ordered in a way that anticipates every use-case scenario and it seems fair enough that it prioritises basic function for less technically ambitious users, with other info present but less prominent.

Edited 2 hours ago by LawrenceH

[BigRedX]

37 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

As I stated earlier, this is being addressed in the forthcoming update: all global menu parameters will also be accessible via the editor. 

 

That's brilliant news. If these parameters could also be made per-program that would be even better.

 

I've just been playing through all the presets and I find I'm having to adjust the Note On and Not Off settings to get the best out of each program.

[Quatschmacher]

49 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

That's brilliant news. If these parameters could also be made per-program that would be even better.

 

I've just been playing through all the presets and I find I'm having to adjust the Note On and Not Off settings to get the best out of each program.

Most of the global parameters found in the Global Menu are mostly not likely to become per-program, i.e. stuff like MIDI channels, tune base, etc.

 

I have argued on several occasions that it could be useful to have the note-on/off levels be per-program but I’ve always been overruled. I especially find that setting a really low note-on level is great for envelope filter patches where I want maximum sensitivity. Again, if you email them and ask, it may add weight. 

[Quatschmacher]

53 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

That's brilliant news. If these parameters could also be made per-program that would be even better.

 

I've just been playing through all the presets and I find I'm having to adjust the Note On and Not Off settings to get the best out of each program.

Do sign up for a free account here so that you can access all the cloud-based presets directly in the editor via the Global Directory.

https://auraplug.com/fidatabase2/

[GisserD]

5 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Two things I can't work out in the Editor:

 

1. How do I change modes? I think want to be in what the manual calls Synth mode but I can't see a setting for changing this in the Editor. The manual does say that EWI mode does most of the same things, so I have started with an EWI preset from the manager page, but that leads me to the second problem:

 

2. How do I turn off the envelope follower? Even with it set to 0 playing a note on the bass triggers the envelopes and therefore opens the filter. What I want is for the VCF and VCA to process just the incoming bass guitar signal but for them to be controlled by their respective envelopes being triggered by MIDI note commands only. 

 

I can't see how to achieve this. If someone could share a screen shot of the basic setting I need to achieve this, it would be much appreciated.

Wait what..... you read the manual? 

Hahaha. Kudos to you sir!