My thoughts on Futzbox

[challism]

I'm trialing Futzbox now.  I have been patiently saving this trial for when I am ready to possibly buy it, and there's no better time to buy than during a sale.  I was expecting to fall in love with this RE immediately, it seemed like it was right down my alley.  But I'm saddened to report that, after 2 days of trials, I am a BIT disappointed in Futzbox. 

I was expecting it to generate a lot of wild sounds (similar to what Audiomatic is capable of), but instead, I find this is a pretty straight-forward distortion unit, nothing crazy going on, really.  Perhaps chaining with some reverb (and some other fx) could generate some wild and demented sounds, similar to Audiomatic's wash, psycho, pvc, etc.  [and also making use of those CV inputs in the back, which I have done a bit of so far, and it has helped to create some wild stuff]

Don't get me wrong, the SIMs are really great, and well worth the sale price of $40.  And the SIMs really add some unique character and color to the audio running through them.  I love the SIMs.  I am just a bit underwhelmed with the lack of bizarre sound generation that I had hoped Futzbox could spit out.  I think Audiomatic outperforms Futzbox in that department, which is why I am disappointed.  Audiomatic is great, but there isn't really much control over those presets, and that blows.  I read on the old PUF that Futzbox was like Audiomatic on steroids.  I really wish that were the case; I don't find it to be true at all.  I was expecting Futzbox to blow Audiomatic ou of the water in terms of crazy sounds.  Futzbox does blow Audiomatic away in terms of distortion and tape saturation fx, though.

The Lo-Fi section is just a mess to my ears.  One tweak to the rate or bits knob and it pretty much destroys the entire channel (not in a good way).  I'm not crazy about the filter and eq in Futzbox, either.  I don't like the way either one shapes the sound.  I would rather just run the chain through my EVE and Etch Red instead.  So those have pretty much been staying turned off.  The different distortion settings are cool, but unless you crank up the amount, it is really hard to hear any difference between them.  The noise generator is annoying if you have it turned up without any audio going thru it; it doesn't auto-mute.  I know you can fix that with the noise gate, but it seems like it should be part of the noise generation section, at least have a silence when no note is played button.  I do like the noise gate, it's nice to have another device with a noise gate on it.

I still have 28 more days left on my trail and the sale is over on the 31st.  So I will keep playing with it.  Who knows, I may end up falling in love with some of the other stuff; it's only been 2 days.  Fifty percent off at $40 is a great deal just for the SIMs, though, so I will most likely buy it.  The SIMs are really amazing, but that is the only thing I really like so far... and it's a pretty big footprint for only liking one section.  I'm just a little surprised that Futzbox doesn't live up to my imagination.

[joeyluck]

If you're going for something more bizarre, try putting it in a combinator and assigning an LFO like Pulsar to the SIMs selector

[EDIT] By the way, I asked them if they would add an LFO and they said they would consider the option in a future update.

[challism]

Good idea.  Thanks for the tip.  I will keep playing with it.  Two days really isn't long enough to give an accurate or FAIR review.  I posted this kind of shooting from the hip in hopes that some Futzbox veterans could give me some tips.

[joeyluck]

Good idea.  Thanks for the tip.  I will keep playing with it.  Two days really isn't long enough to give an accurate or FAIR review.  I posted this kind of shooting from the hip in hopes that some Futzbox veterans could give me some tips.

No prob! In all honesty, I use it mostly for the SIMs and filter. But it is quite fun assigning CV to many of the parameters. Do you happen to have Rad Keys? I created some patches that use Futzbox and Rad Keys if you're interested...

[challism]

I do have Rad Keys, yes.
I just did as you suggested.  I'm a bit blown away by the sound it is kicking out.... wow!  Ammo100 running the SIM type, with the filter and distortion turned on and a fat reverb.... this is really a nice and bizarre sound. 
My entire post could possibly be operator error.  As I said before, 2 days isn't long, and this was a shoot from the hip post.  Maybe Futz is capable of more bizarre stuff than I initially though.

I'll keep playing with it.......

Any more tips guys?

[joeyluck]

Here it is for anybody to try! 6 combinator patches. It uses Pulsar and Radical Keys. If you don't have Rad Keys, you can replace it with anything else really... 

Cheers

 FutzBox Keys - Joey Luck.zip (22 KB)

[mrj1nx]

I trialed this too because of all the buzz about it. I was probably expecting something more than what this is (such as more crazy stuff and less simulation of speakers/devices), so my verdict was that it's a great unit, but just not something I feel the need to have.

[challism]

Here it is for anybody to try! 6 combinator patches. It uses Pulsar and Radical Keys. If you don't have Rad Keys, you can replace it with anything else really... 

Cheers

 FutzBox Keys - Joey Luck.zip (22 KB)

 
Cool, thanks.  Here I am AGAIN, wishing I had gotten in on that free Pulsar deal upon its release.  I only want Pulsar because it used in so many presets/patches.  I think Ammo100 really blows it away (and every other moderately price CPU in Reason, for that matter... I'm a huge Ammo fan).  No Pulsar, but I suppose I can replace it with Ammo in these patches.

[joeyluck]

I do have Rad Keys, yes.
I just did as you suggested.  I'm a bit blown away by the sound it is kicking out.... wow!  Ammo100 running the SIM type, with the filter and distortion turned on.... this is really a nice and bizarre sound. 
My entire post could possibly be operator error.  As I said before, 2 days isn't long, and this was a shoot from the hip post.  Maybe Futz is capable of more bizarre stuff than I initially though.

I'll keep playing with it.......

Any more tips guys?

Fair enough. I had bought Futzbox immediately when it was released simply for the SIMs and didn't really start messing around with CV stuff until later on. I don't often explore much with CV. And being that there are no connections in the back for SIM type, etc, it didn't occur to me at first that I could assign CV to those via a combinator.

This is why I suggested to McDSP to add an LFO to the device itself. The immediacy of it would spark new ideas for owners and potential customers that otherwise might be overlooked. It would also make creating and saving unique/bizarre patches easier and simpler without having to necessarily use a Combinator.

[joeyluck]

Here it is for anybody to try! 6 combinator patches. It uses Pulsar and Radical Keys. If you don't have Rad Keys, you can replace it with anything else really... 

Cheers

 FutzBox Keys - Joey Luck.zip (22 KB)

 
Cool, thanks.  Here I am AGAIN, wishing I had gotten in on that free Pulsar deal upon its release.  I only want Pulsar because it used in so many presets/patches.  I think Ammo100 really blows it away (and every other moderately price CPU in Reason, for that matter... I'm a huge Ammo fan).  No Pulsar, but I suppose I can replace it with Ammo in these patches.

You certainly can. The rates and levels will likely be much different though...

Just another reason why a built-in LFO would be convenient.

[Marco Raaphorst]

Audiomatic is fantastic. 

I tried Futzbox and wasn't impressed too much. The simulations are filters but don't have any ambience to it (lacking depth). And some distortion settings have too sharp transients, they create a click on certain sounds (like percussive instruments).

I contacted McDSP and didn't recieve anything back from them. It was about a bug. Don't like that. Customer support is key.

[psychasm]

Audiomatic is fantastic. 

I tried Futzbox and wasn't impressed too much. The simulations are filters but don't have any ambience to it (lacking depth). And some distortion settings have too sharp transients, they create a click on certain sounds (like percussive instruments).

I contacted McDSP and didn't recieve anything back from them. It was about a bug. Don't like that. Customer support is key.

Im not too fond of it either. I suppose that there are uses for it but that's just my opinion. It's like that thing Hydlide was explaining about the different flavours of ice-cream when deciding on a compressor.

[zeebot]

I guess its more for guitars/drums/vocals and such. not really my cup of coco, I'll stick with Audiomatic thanks.

[joeyluck]

Audiomatic is fantastic. 

I tried Futzbox and wasn't impressed too much. The simulations are filters but don't have any ambience to it (lacking depth). And some distortion settings have too sharp transients, they create a click on certain sounds (like percussive instruments).

I contacted McDSP and didn't recieve anything back from them. It was about a bug. Don't like that. Customer support is key.

Did you email them?

I have never had an issue with customer support. I hear back quite promptly and have even received follow-ups without having to re-engage the conversation.

[craven]

Here it is for anybody to try! 6 combinator patches. It uses Pulsar and Radical Keys. If you don't have Rad Keys, you can replace it with anything else really... 

Cheers

 FutzBox Keys - Joey Luck.zip (22 KB)

thanks a lot for the combis, Joey - great for a quick trialing of FutzBox

[gak]

For me it's great because I always have some lofi thing I'm trying to get. Not sold on it, but so far it's exactly what I expected (but at a much better price )

One thing I'm excited about is that it's a cab sim alternative. I might want like a far away lead or a raunchy lofi part here or there. Ooooo, I haven't tried it with bass yet.......that could be fun!

[eusti]

Love this one! Not sure why, but it really fits my taste in regards to degrading and roughing up sounds...

D.

[platzangst]

I love Futzbox for some lo-fi things, I don't regret buying it. However, it is the only RE I know of that I can use to crash other REs. I managed to kill the GClip RE and one of Selig's devices with this thing ahead of them.

[Faastwalker]

I read on the old PUF that Futzbox was like Audiomatic on steroids.

I remember reading that as well. I guess in terms of control over the sound it's a true statement. But for the all out weirdness of some of the ART presets it's not. Loving Futzbox though, even though I don't think it's something I will use a lot. It's very good at doing what it does. I really liked the look of Speakerphone when I saw that. Futzbox is more in this ball park than ART I think. Not for everyone though. A very specialist, creative effect.

[challism]

I love Futzbox for some lo-fi things, I don't regret buying it. However, it is the only RE I know of that I can use to crash other REs. I managed to kill the GClip RE and one of Selig's devices with this thing ahead of them.

Interesting and good info.  Thanks for the heads up on that.  Which Selig device was it?  Do you happen to have the file saved so I can try to duplicate the crash?  Did you contact McDSP or Selig about it?

[platzangst]

Interesting and good info.  Thanks for the heads up on that.  Which Selig device was it?  Do you happen to have the file saved so I can try to duplicate the crash?  Did you contact McDSP or Selig about it?

Leveler (I think), no and no. I was working pretty hard and fast on a deadline at the time, and was more concerned about getting done, so once I fixed the problem I saved over the files in progress, and didn't really have the evidence to show any more once I was finished. But here's what happened, to the best of my recollection:

I had put Futzbox on over an audio track of chopped-up samples from an old vinyl record. The record was speech-based, and low-level to fit more talking in, so all pops and scratches were relatively louder. Now, the patch I used was lo-fi and enhanced the mid-range, and really made the pops spike the meters - so I tried to put Leveler or GClip after Futzbox to chop the peaks down.

I speculate that what happened was that the spikes were just so huge after being processed by Futzbox that they overloaded both devices. Both of them crashed, though as advertised, Reason stayed up and I could save my project. What I wound up doing to fix it was put a device before Futzbox, to chop the peaks down before they could be processed - and that seemed to work well enough to finish the job.

I don't know enough about the programming of these things to say for sure why the crashes happened, and crashes have been extremely rare for me. Since I had no file to show, and didn't feel like trying to rebuild the crash, and since the crashes happened because I was playing with obviously extreme volume spikes, I haven't really felt motivated to write bug reports.

[challism]

Thanks for taking the time to share that info with us, platz.

[CharlyCharlzz]

we need a serious update with audiomatics ,

I want :

[challism]

Me too, Charly.  I would love an update to Audiomatic.  I truly love that device, but I don't like how limited it is.  It could be so much more than it is.  It could be so much more than 16 presets. 
Update: I've been enjoying Futzbox a lot more the last few days, now that I have had time to let my initial disappointments heal.  It's a pretty cool device.  I've learned to like the filter a bit more.  Still not really digging the eq, noise or that terrible lo-fi section (I honestly can't get anything decent out of that section).  I'm still loving the sims.  I wish it didnt take up so much room.  It sure does have a large (and unnecessary) footprint.  Anywho.... I'll probably get it, just for the sims; they add a ton of different flavors/possibilities.  And who knows when/if it will be 50% again.

[craven]

I wish the patch and sim selection menu would be multi-leveled like the vst version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1YqXyTqL-I

it's not really nice to scroll through the list right now