OWL pedal v2?

OWL
#1

(Sorry, i this was double posted, the first one seems to have disappeared)

Are you guys thinking about an OWL pedal MK II eventually? Upgrading hardware?
I’d have a few suggestions for that!

  • two silent footswitches.
  • Cortex A8
  • more RAM
  • wired GPIO sockets on rear side, so one can connect and configure various faders, sensors, witches etc. oneself without breadboarding - alternatively some fo them already connected to faders.
    Turns out, a patch is so rich in possible variations, the more controls we have, the better.
  • small two line display showing the current parameter name and it’s value (and/or the name and number of the current patch)
  • MIDI IN over jack and/or over 5-pin and/or over USB.
  • USB usable as keyboard input

Other things:
Ergonomically it never made sense to me to use a pedal with too many hand controls on board. Actually most of those units were much more usable, if i could separate the footswitches from the rest. That way i’d have the faders on a table before me, and the footswitches under my feet. No more shoegazing!

Well, i thought i should mention this.
Looking forward to all of this!

#2

+1 to the display and MIDI over DIN5

The other things you mention are more of a personal preference. I wouldn’t, for example, add the GPIO sockets. Probably you and I are the few people that would use them.
The switches, I prefer an external switch (I already have it) and the 4PDT for true bypass. Putting a soft switch and relays would be a pain in the butt. Probably worth it, but it’s not much of a difference to me.

More RAM and more CPU… thats always good of course. But an A8 it’s a totally different thing than the M4. You have things like Bela or the Organelle with this kind of processors.

What I would like besides, it’s a rotary encoder for changing the patch. In addition to the display would be a huge difference. Has anyone used the electroharmonix cathedral? Something like that.

And a note about the mechanics. I think the jacks should be closer to enclosure’s wall and the holes should be like this:

TC mini hof
TC mini hof620×620 30.6 KB

The “neck” of the jack should pass through the wall. I already replaced 1 jack because the thread was broken (I can’t find a better word).

#3

Good to hear your feedback on this.
We’ve been doing some prototyping with a newer processor, bit more ram and flash, and a better performing codec with more dynamic range. Early days still, and these things take time, but it’s really good to hear what is important to you.

Changing patches was always a tricky subject, and true bypass is one of these things that people have strong opinions on.

If/when we make another pedal I’d love to add a momentary, soft touch foot switch and maybe relay bypass too, but it is difficult to find reliable, affordable components that will fit our build.

#4

@Martin,

nice you are experimenting with newer hardware. Did you add a display, too?
Also, i have a bunch of pedals with silent switches. Those are both momentary and toggle kinds. If you want i can open those pedls at some point and find out, which switches exactly are used. Let me know.
Those pedals are for instance the Hexe Revolver, Montreal Assembly Count To Five, Chase Bliss Brothers, TC Electronic Ditto X2…
The Ditto switches have gone through hell - dusty stages, too many dance theatre shows on fog-covered ground etc. - and they still work, though sometimes need Tuner 700 contact spray :slight_smile:

Switches for people who do low volume music and who like to play their stompboxes. That’ll be awesome.

@Jose,
i use a Stereo Memoryman with Hazarai, which has push-to-save rotary encoder for the presets. In fact it isn’t very reliable. When this thing got hit on the top (my bad, i know) it lost its saving function…

Ah, MIDI. Would just be nice to tune a delay, feedback or filter with keys, or whatever other musical function this could have.
Personally i like 5-PIN MIDI, but the smaller modern keyboards usually only have USB.