Darkglass Anagram

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

It's not just the DSP though, it's how it's used. Neunaber wet reverb is still good today, and that's based on FV1 chip - it's just really well programmed.  

 

Sure, agreed. And they got folk to land on the moon with less computing power than a current pocket calculator. Hence my comment about the Line 6 software updates and its value in keeping the Stomp in the game, which is also true with the even the more basic Zoom pedals where some of their patches are decades old.

 

However better DSP is going to provide an inherent improvement in chip capability, other things being equal? It's then up to the programmers to make the most of it.

[Greg Edwards69]

5 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

I'd say it's the amp models and cabs, Al... as seems to be the story of my morning it's a feel thing, they just seem to have more life to them without needing parameters like "sag" and "hum" to dial them in.  They're closer to captures than models though in that the SVT won't drive when you whack the gain up; but sticking a vintage microtubes and compressor in front of it does a cracking approximation. 

• The cab sims feel more musical and less dramatic once the amp blocks are EQ'd to suit. The can go into the typical more dramatic IR thing if wanted though
• The fuzzes are also brilliant, I find fuzz to be a really difficult thing for digital modellers to get right but the 3 fuzzes available are great.
• The noble block adds something more than low end, some of the newer models like he Orange and EBS blocks will give tube like saturation at low drive settings
• The pitch shifting is decent - using the pitch shift to do an octave up is nice and clear and sharp, the oc2 approximation is decent as far as digital goes

Even little things like the tuner seem well thought out - Long press to access, a footswitch for mute on/off and tap tempo at hand on third footswitch.  There were a load of updates before xmas too, Darkglass do seem really invested in this so it feels like an investment in the sense that you know most things will be incrementally improved over time.

 

Everything just feels more premium.  The best way I can explain is that to me, the HX stuff always felt flat and 2D.. like a really good drawing of what it as supposed to be, where as the the Ampero felt more like a less accurate sculpture of what it was approximating.  The Anagram feels like the best of both.

 

I'll be honest in that most of my concerns come from a) the price tag, b) previous experiences with digital and c) Only hearing it in anger through headphones so being unsure how it sounds in an FOH mix or through my amp.  I think I've just talked myself into being happy about keeping it though.. thanks Al! 😄

Personally, I think there are a few parameter-based things rather than modelling, that make the Anagram sound arguably "better" than my Helix LT.

1. The default settings on the Anagram usually sound great. As has been mentioned before in this thread, many of the Helix block defaults are at "what were they thinking?" settings.
2. Almost every effect block in the Anagram has a clean blend. The Helix often requires you to insert effects on a parallel path just to make them usable for bass.
3. The anagram's parameters are pretty self explanatory for each block. The Helix replicates real world devices, including sometimes misleading parameters, or strange behaviour, and they take a while to get your head around.
4. The cab blocks are usable without much tweaking. It took me years (literally years) to get a usable tone out of a cab block in the Helix. I do wish the Angram cab blocks had hpf/lpf in them, though.

 

PS. Now that DG has demonstrated they can build amp blocks that do drive when pushed, I wonder if they'll revisit the Peggy block or make a new one.

Edited Tuesday at 17:38 by Greg Edwards69

[Al Krow]

5 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4. The cab blocks are usable without much tweaking. It took me years (literally years) to get a usable tone out of a cab block in the Helix. I do wish the Angram cab blocks had hpf/lpf in them, though.

 

Thanks Greg - appreciate this is an aside to the thread, but you've confirmed my anecdotal evidence of working with guitarists over the years who all seemed to struggle with taming a harsh tone on their Stomps!

 

Some, like you on bass, got there after considerable effort and do sound good, others gave up and switched to other multifx. Whereas those using Boss usually had a great sound "out of the box" - a big reason my current crew went for the Boss GT1000 Core and latterly the more budget GX10, in my case, on bass. I love my current guitarist's tone whereas the previous line-up's guitarist's tone from his Stomp often grated. 

 

Glad that the Anagram has avoided the same pitfalls!

 

Edited Tuesday at 22:35 by Al Krow

[Greg Edwards69]

Indeed. Dialling in a cab block does require a modicum of audio engineering knowledge. It shouldn’t. It should be as easy as selecting a cab. 

[thisisswanbon]

16 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Personally, I think there are a few parameter-based things rather than modelling, that make the Anagram sound arguably "better" than my Helix LT.

1. The default settings on the Anagram usually sound great. As has been mentioned before in this thread, many of the Helix block defaults are at "what were they thinking?" settings.
2. Almost every effect block in the Anagram has a clean blend. The Helix often requires you to insert effects on a parallel path just to make them usable for bass.
3. The anagram's parameters are pretty self explanatory for each block. The Helix replicates real world devices, including sometimes misleading parameters, or strange behaviour, and they take a while to get your head around.
4. The cab blocks are usable without much tweaking. It took me years (literally years) to get a usable tone out of a cab block in the Helix. I do wish the Angram cab blocks had hpf/lpf in them, though.

 

PS. Now that DG has demonstrated they can build amp blocks that do drive when pushed, I wonder if they'll revisit the Peggy block or make a new one.

All excellent points! The EBS and Orange blocks both do the breakup with completely different character so it'd be great if they re-visited Peggy!  Struggle to work out why they made the new Mesa blocks seperate clean and drive blocks instead of 1 block like the original amp.

 

I spent a good while with mine last night and started to get my "I'm seeing digital so I'm hearing digital" head on - So I pulled out the old board with a Tonehammer Pre on it for comparison, thinking I'd hear/feel something different and it'd be the death of the Anagram... didn't quite work out that way.  There was little to no difference in response between the Anagram and Tonehammer (this was using the Super Cali amp block without cab block), I think the Anagram may be the closest to analogue feeling I've come across for base clean tones!  What a belter of a unit this is!

 

[Chadu25]

Testing the Mood2

 

 

[Killerfridge]

10 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

All excellent points! The EBS and Orange blocks both do the breakup with completely different character so it'd be great if they re-visited Peggy!  Struggle to work out why they made the new Mesa blocks seperate clean and drive blocks instead of 1 block like the original amp.

 

I spent a good while with mine last night and started to get my "I'm seeing digital so I'm hearing digital" head on - So I pulled out the old board with a Tonehammer Pre on it for comparison, thinking I'd hear/feel something different and it'd be the death of the Anagram... didn't quite work out that way.  There was little to no difference in response between the Anagram and Tonehammer (this was using the Super Cali amp block without cab block), I think the Anagram may be the closest to analogue feeling I've come across for base clean tones!  What a belter of a unit this is!

 

Honestly I think there is a whole load of that "see digital, hear digital" problem, and its really difficult to get past. I know I suffer from it, and flip flops between my digital rig and my analog rig. However I definitely think this new era of modellers/capture devices (QC, Anagram etc.) have a very realistic "feel" to them. I know it's a rubbish comparison, but when compared to something like my old PodXT, the pod just feels dead. 

[PinkMohawk]

What MIDI footswitches are we using? I like the Darkglass footswitch, but nearly £200 is tough to swallow right now. 

[Hugsonic]

I'm using a Morningstar MC6 Pro which is awesome but also a bit pricey. If you just want a few more buttons I think some are using the m-vave chocolate which is cheap as chips (£30 on Amazon) and very compact. I've not used one so can't vouch for it but I'm sure you can find some info. I'm hoping for some improvements to the midi implementation soon but we shall see.

[Hugsonic]

While I'm on the subject, as there is expression input, DG could add a two or three buttons aux option. If they are feeling really adventurous a resistor ladder with scope for any number of buttons but probably 6. 

[MichaelDean]

The lack of full MIDI implementation is what's really putting me off committing right now. I need more than three scenes. I know you can combine the stomp switches and scenes with MIDI, but I'd rather be able to have a MIDI preset per song with bits turning on and off. I was thinking the Luminite Graviton might be a good shout for a controller. I've not heard much about it, but it looks pretty feature packed. I'm assuming there'd be an import fee with it.

https://luminitefx.com/en-gb/products/graviton-m2-midi-controller

 

I'd also want more than one expression pedal as I like one as always volume and another for wah or delay times & feedback. Though I guess I could get round that with MIDI, and map one to control one or more knob bindings.

 

One question for current MIDI users: For arguments sake, if you've got scene A on, then you use a stomp, and then move to scene B, would the stomped effects turn off for the newly selected scene?

[Hugsonic]

I'm pretty sure a scene change will override any stomp changes.  

[MichaelDean]

3 minutes ago, Hugsonic said:

I'm pretty sure a scene change will override any stomp changes.  

That's super helpful, thank you.

[Acebassmusic]

6 hours ago, PinkMohawk said:

What MIDI footswitches are we using? I like the Darkglass footswitch, but nearly £200 is tough to swallow right now. 

 

2 hours ago, Hugsonic said:

 I think some are using the m-vave chocolate which is cheap as chips (£30 on Amazon) and very compact. I've not used one so can't vouch for it but I'm sure you can find some info.

 

I looked at the DG pedal but at £200 I wasn't sure I wanted to go there for my needs so I got a MVave Chocolate Plus. It's got 4 buttons which have 2 actions (long and short press) so you have in effect 8 different operations. You can also set it up so that by pressing A&B or C&D together can change to a new bank of MIDI functions (max 8 banks). If I could only remember what I programmed and where I stored it, it would give me approx. 64 diferent commands! 

 

I have mine setup so that the MVave can quickly switch between presets & banks and my Anagram takes care of the scenes / stomp operations. The instructions for setting it up are not very clear at all so I had to do some internet digging to find out. Mine is powered / connected via the USB post so I dont have to worry about remembering to recharge it. Since setting it up its been rock solid with no glitches. Until such times as MIDI gets more fully integrated I dont think I'll get any extra value from the DG pedal for what I do.

[thisisswanbon]

3 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said:

 

 

I looked at the DG pedal but at £200 I wasn't sure I wanted to go there for my needs so I got a MVave Chocolate Plus. It's got 4 buttons which have 2 actions (long and short press) so you have in effect 8 different operations. You can also set it up so that by pressing A&B or C&D together can change to a new bank of MIDI functions (max 8 banks). If I could only remember what I programmed and where I stored it, it would give me approx. 64 diferent commands! 

 

I have mine setup so that the MVave can quickly switch between presets & banks and my Anagram takes care of the scenes / stomp operations. The instructions for setting it up are not very clear at all so I had to do some internet digging to find out. Mine is powered / connected via the USB post so I dont have to worry about remembering to recharge it. Since setting it up its been rock solid with no glitches. Until such times as MIDI gets more fully integrated I dont think I'll get any extra value from the DG pedal for what I do.

I use the chocolate plus for my Source Audio C4 and it's an absolute gamechanger (especially when SA insist on midi adapters etc)... They're unbelievable value at £30, the battery lasts ages too!

[Greg Edwards69]

5 hours ago, Hugsonic said:

While I'm on the subject, as there is expression input, DG could add a two or three buttons aux option. If they are feeling really adventurous a resistor ladder with scope for any number of buttons but probably 6. 

I added this idea to the wishlist forum on Anagram Answers - allegedly, some DG staff, such as Ivan, look at these and provide feedback to the team. Feel free to upvote.

 

TRS footswitch support | Anagram Answers

[joeabass]

6 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

.

 

One question for current MIDI users: For arguments sake, if you've got scene A on, then you use a stomp, and then move to scene B, would the stomped effects turn off for the newly selected scene?

Each scene/preset will open in the state you last saved it. 

[Paddy777]

I bought mine this week - traded in cash plus my Stomp XL that’s probably done 100+ gigs with me in the last year so it’s a bit of a leap of faith, but I have to say it’s knocked my socks off - everything about it is fantastic. I hope over time it’s going to get a larger array FX as I did used to love going through the Stomp and finding some random drive or delay etc that I’d never looked at before that suddenly nailed a sound for me, and it’s not really going to be the case as much on this as there’s not huge amounts of stuff on there in comparison, although if you take the guitar stuff off the Stomp and just count Bass stuff they’re probably pretty comparable

 

Game changer for me has been the NAM player - found some cracking captures on Tone3000, my favourite being the Kasleder Albatross Fuzz! https://www.tone3000.com/tones/kasleder-albatross-30490

 

Also the DCX Bass: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-28027

 

And I’ve been liking the B-Side Gain from the Jad Freer Capo: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jad-freer-capo-31244

 

Any suggestions of other NAM captures to look out for would be very welcome. The Alabatross fuzz has some beautiful low gain fuzz settings, which if you save it as a NAM Pedal (rather than Amp or Misc) you get a blend control available so you can tweak it to give you a really sweet always on low gain fuzz tone, I’ve combined it with a LPF for an easy to switch on ‘vintage tone rolled off’ sound. I did similar on the Stomp, but this sounds SO much better

 

 

[tayste_2000]

39 minutes ago, Paddy777 said:

I bought mine this week - traded in cash plus my Stomp XL that’s probably done 100+ gigs with me in the last year so it’s a bit of a leap of faith, but I have to say it’s knocked my socks off - everything about it is fantastic. I hope over time it’s going to get a larger array FX as I did used to love going through the Stomp and finding some random drive or delay etc that I’d never looked at before that suddenly nailed a sound for me, and it’s not really going to be the case as much on this as there’s not huge amounts of stuff on there in comparison, although if you take the guitar stuff off the Stomp and just count Bass stuff they’re probably pretty comparable

 

Game changer for me has been the NAM player - found some cracking captures on Tone3000, my favourite being the Kasleder Albatross Fuzz! https://www.tone3000.com/tones/kasleder-albatross-30490

 

Also the DCX Bass: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-28027

 

And I’ve been liking the B-Side Gain from the Jad Freer Capo: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jad-freer-capo-31244

 

Any suggestions of other NAM captures to look out for would be very welcome. The Alabatross fuzz has some beautiful low gain fuzz settings, which if you save it as a NAM Pedal (rather than Amp or Misc) you get a blend control available so you can tweak it to give you a really sweet always on low gain fuzz tone, I’ve combined it with a LPF for an easy to switch on ‘vintage tone rolled off’ sound. I did similar on the Stomp, but this sounds SO much better

 

 

You can try a bunch I made in a studio setting

 

https://www.tone3000.com/tones/steven-taylor-tone-pack-41791

 

I use the punchline as my main clean tone

 

The Cream Pie and Beta combo is also very nice for vintage rock

 

 

[Paddy777]

27 minutes ago, tayste_2000 said:

You can try a bunch I made in a studio setting

 

https://www.tone3000.com/tones/steven-taylor-tone-pack-41791

 

I use the punchline as my main clean tone

 

The Cream Pie and Beta combo is also very nice for vintage rock

 

 

Ah nice one - I’ll have a look at those today, thanks very much. Going by your videos you use dirt in a way I really like so I’m sure there’ll be some stuff I’ll use in there!

[krispn]

1 hour ago, Paddy777 said:

I bought mine this week - traded in cash plus my Stomp XL that’s probably done 100+ gigs with me in the last year so it’s a bit of a leap of faith, but I have to say it’s knocked my socks off - everything about it is fantastic. I hope over time it’s going to get a larger array FX as I did used to love going through the Stomp and finding some random drive or delay etc that I’d never looked at before that suddenly nailed a sound for me, and it’s not really going to be the case as much on this as there’s not huge amounts of stuff on there in comparison, although if you take the guitar stuff off the Stomp and just count Bass stuff they’re probably pretty comparable

 

Game changer for me has been the NAM player - found some cracking captures on Tone3000, my favourite being the Kasleder Albatross Fuzz! https://www.tone3000.com/tones/kasleder-albatross-30490

 

Also the DCX Bass: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-28027

 

And I’ve been liking the B-Side Gain from the Jad Freer Capo: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jad-freer-capo-31244

 

Any suggestions of other NAM captures to look out for would be very welcome. The Alabatross fuzz has some beautiful low gain fuzz settings, which if you save it as a NAM Pedal (rather than Amp or Misc) you get a blend control available so you can tweak it to give you a really sweet always on low gain fuzz tone, I’ve combined it with a LPF for an easy to switch on ‘vintage tone rolled off’ sound. I did similar on the Stomp, but this sounds SO much better

 

 

It was only a matter of time 🙂

[tayste_2000]

2 hours ago, Paddy777 said:

Ah nice one - I’ll have a look at those today, thanks very much. Going by your videos you use dirt in a way I really like so I’m sure there’ll be some stuff I’ll use in there!

Most of it is clean to mildly gritty (all with very little high end)

 

But there is one Noise Theory nam in there that’s a heavy synthy fuzz

[thisisswanbon]

The NAM stuff on there goes over my head a bit and I’ve stuck to the DG blocks - what’s the NAM stuff all about?

[MrDinsdale]

44 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

The NAM stuff on there goes over my head a bit and I’ve stuck to the DG blocks - what’s the NAM stuff all about?

NAM is essentially a virtual snapshot of a piece of gear, could be an amp or a pedal that can’t be created and shared by users.
 

It can’t do modulation, time based effects etc right now, it’s mostly just preamps and drives etc. They’re typically very realistic in how they react and allow you to share gear captures of gear that might be hard to obtain.

 

Its just a snapshot of the gear with a specific set of controls though, the block has some gain, eq, and volume controls but they’re not necessarily going to respond the same as the actual gear would so you really have to create multiple captures of the gear with different settings.
 

They’re well worth experimenting with, in my experience a good capture can sound excellent. Particularly when you want to experiment with stuff that’s a bit off the beaten track. 

[Paddy777]

1 hour ago, thisisswanbon said:

The NAM stuff on there goes over my head a bit and I’ve stuck to the DG blocks - what’s the NAM stuff all about?

Yeh exactly what @MrDinsdale says, so for example there’s guy done DCX Bass captures - he’s done all the example settings and a few others, so you can select any of them to use if you download them. I just guessed how to do it, but it’s super easy. Basically go to www.tone3000.com and download the NAM files you want, they’re zip files so unpack them first. Then connect your Anagram to the computer and the DG suite etc, then go to ‘Asset Loader’ then select NAM or Neural uploads - it’s next to the IR tab which is what it opens up to when you select asset loader. Then it’s just ‘select files to upload’ and you go upload the NAM files you’ve downloaded to your computer. 

 

They all upload as Amps by default but you change it to Pedal or Misc - the reason this matters is when you select a Neural Amp block there is a 4 band EQ with 2 x mid frequency selection), Neural Pedal has input/output Bol and blend (the most useful control on the whole pedal for me), and Misc just has input/output vol. It’s really intuitive, and super easy to do - and this is from someone who had a Stomp for 6 months before actually learning how to do snapshot mode properly 😁 you really can’t go wrong,