There‘s a new guide on how to use Microcosm for German speakers. Covers guitar but also synths. Didn’t check it out yet but thought it might be interesting to some:
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TLDR : looking for user feedback on the Microcosm as a looping pedal with Punchable FXs (for the lack of a better term).
Hey guys.
Thanks for this thread - as always, this community is a mandatory read when it comes to new gear.
I’m on the fence to buy the Microcosm. And it’s a first for me. I’m usually refraining from such pedals. My job has me covering guitar duties in many genres, so I usually go for the practical modeling pedalboards nowadays.
After making my due diligence on the Microcosm, I feel I’m in need of some user feedback, tho, as my use cases are a bit derivative from the intended « ambient loop mangler » purpose of this one.
Mainly, I’m looking for a pedal that would act as some kind of Punch-In FX unit. Whether it’s a looper or sequencer, I need some real time synced FX. A proper pitch up/down, a reverse function, some reverb/delay, a stutter is a always nice but not mandatory…you get the idea. Basically, I’d love to find the PO-33s Punch-In FXs elsewhere - the low bit rate is cool, but not ideal at all.
A bit of context, now. I own the PO-33 and PO-32, the op1Field and the SP404mk2. All of which have some type of punchable FXs.
But I can’t justify shelling out anymore money in bad Teenage Engineering gear. Learned that the hard way this year. So no cheap EP-133, no bent op-Z.
So I turned my attention back to the Microcosm, although it’s not the usual use case, and I’m debating whether it’s a good buy or not.
If anyone can chime in on any of the followings, you’d make my day. I’m ok with a flat no, other recommendations, etc.
- since I’d use the Microcosm as a songwriter/arrangement tool, MIDI sync is paramount here. Ideally, I would loop sources into the pedal (drum loops, guitar riffs, etc) and then record the mangled loop on the op1 Field tape. But even tho I understand how to set this up, I don’t know if it’s possible at all.
- I hear the MIDI sync is somewhat sketchy on this one. Drifting, bad sync, clicks and pops on the first firmware. I know about the 1.13 firmware. And wonder if it’s a total fix or not. And if the MIDI-through firmware install is a hassle.
- When using with other gear, namely the op1 Field, I’m always wary of pedals because of ground loops. So I’m wondering if it’s a thing on this unit.
- The unit seems bulky enough. And since the idea is to be able to use it on the couch at times, I’m wondering how you guys handle it. Are the ports sturdy enough? Is this a heavy unit?
- At that point, I’ve watched about 4 hours worth of review and read many threads. And since it’s quite a polarizing bit of kit when you take it outside of its ambient realm, I’m wondering how beatmakers and songwriters use this wonderbox. Is it practical as a punchable FX unit? Or is it best used as an ambient pedal for synthheads?
- I’ve seen the menu-divey workflow and was wondering how users (both on the pros and cons camps) got along with it. Or not.
Thanks for your time.
I’ll probably update this, should I have some other questions.
And as always, thanks for taking the time.
Cheers.
I think it can work the way you want. If you want instant punch-in you’d probably do that with the Dry/Wet knob since the Bypass button takes a short period for the signal to fade in so it’s not ideal for punch-in I guess. But you can control Mix via CC so that’s handy. It’s quite a busy effect so you’d probably find the algorithms that work best for that.
- If you record it all into the OP-1 you can get the loop right in advance so I don’t see the problem with that.
- I think it syncs well to ext tempo except when algorithms are too busy.
- The MC is rock solid and pretty light.
- Definitely possible to to use it in a more dry/tight way without ambient reverb.
- No menu diving unless you want to setup something specific.
Watch RedMeansRecordings’s demo of it to get a good impression of how it works with drums. And Ricky Tinez’s.
Octatrack would be more precise for punch-in effects.
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Thanks a lot for this answer. Exactly what I was waiting for.
Owe you one!
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- No menu diving indeed.
- I never really had problem with MIDI sync using it with my OT sending clock.
- You can get it out of the ambient obvious using cases by learning the pedal. At first , ambien is its strong point or glitches, in a long run I’d say interesting uses of cases can be done mixing the wet and dry and keeping the repeats and activity knob on low values.
- Don’t expect traditional easy to set FX. It’s pretty hard to set it up as a regular delay (and no dotted timing!!) or regular pitch shifter (the algorithms are what they are: crazy and not controllable so much).
I see it more like the suprise weapon if you have others pedals covering the regular stuff. It really shines and is usable with MIDI sync IMHO, especially if you can sequence it.
Perfect choice for the OT for me as I am using it as a send FX and can control it by MIDI and recall presets. I spent ages comparing pedals before buying it and it was the only one to have all these advantages and including a very usable looper for transitioning between songs. The UI is well thought as well so you can trick the loops live.
The downside are the non consistent output volume according presets and the lack of editing access to the presets.
To answer a previous post of mine, the noise was coming from the power supply. I just invested in a Strymon Ojai and will report when I will have tested it with more consistency and different electrical configurations.
For the different flaws that might be considered depending on the use you wanna have with it, I posted a resume of the main flaws I had with the pedal earlier in the post:
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You guys really deliver.
Thanks a lot.
I guess these feedbacks are what I was looking for.
I just made a simulation on their website. And since I’m french, the whole thing comes out at a hefty 620$ price.
So I’ll keep debating whether or not it is, indeed, what I need it to be. And probably will pull the trigger first thing in January!
Anyways.
Thanks.
A lot.
This forum is a treasure.
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Wow, prices were ramping… I’m french and got it for 500€ IIRC.
You might wanna look for second hand market.
EDIT: prices on Reverb FR go until more than 800€… this site is really a joke, like the Christies of FX pedals.
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I even looked on Le Bon Coin - a french 2nd hand site. Found one for 550€ (about 600$) from a guy reselling some stuff.
But at that point, I’d rather buy new!
We’ll see.
Since my use case is very peculiar and I’ve already got plenty ITB options, I’m gonna wait this one out!
We’ll see after Xmas.
But thanks for checking on Reverb.
A weird place, that Reverb platform. Prices are all over the place!
It’s the same problem I’ve seen in other hobbies.
People are now trying to make money off reselling gear, rather than offloading it because they need money, to make room, or fund another purchase.
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Yeah. Scalpers are gonna scalp.
But I’d rather buy new for such a price tag anyways.
If the pedal was out of stock, why not. I mean, if it was discontinued and had picked up some value…why not.
But as these are still in production, I just can’t justify these 2nd prices.
While I’m at it, asking questions and such.
I’m wondering if anyones uses some MIDI footswitches with their pedal.
Mine would live on a desktop. And the whole purpose would be to be hands on with the pedals.
I hear the MIDI integration is useful. Anyone could eventually chime in?
Bonus points if anyone can confirm that using the Time rotary is pretty immediate.
I’m wondering if I could eventually get some momentary/quick pitch bends on some sources (808 basses, guitar phrases, etc).
Cheers!
I bought an expression pedal these days, i wanna try with the MC ASAP but it seems not all functions are controllable.
Yes, it kind of glides conveniently to avoid sudden jump of values, not sure you could pitch bend so suddenly though as there is no such FX as a simple pitch bend. Maybe setting up Glide FX and adjust to your needs but you definitely need to put your hands on it to understand what’s doable and what’s not.
Sequencing a LFO would it easier than using a MIDI knob i reckon but i guess any sequencer would give you easier time to be able to bend the pitch value of a synth with a direct MIDI CC…
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Thanks a lot for both these feedbacks.
That’s a real bummer on the MIDI pedals side of things. Adding to the cost of the pedal and yet not being able to route the Microcosm stomps to the MIDI ones kinda kills the workflow.
That momentary pitch bend thing (just as with pitch wheels on MIDI controllers, I guess) is a bit of an obsession for me. I know I could workaround this one by timing some edits. Not ideal, not performance based by any means. But could workaround it.
Thanks again.
Both these infos make it easy to tame up my GAS for this Microcosm wonderbox!
You have to use pedal gor what they are capable of. I guess uou need a whammy for pitch bending or the Audio Change new pedal.
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That Bigsby pedal sure does look cool enough!
Thanks for sharing. Got some investigations to do, now!
Okay, I‘m thinking about selling my Cosm or boxing it up for a while. It used to be part of my sound. But more and more, I tend to ignore it. Mostly because it‘s just really unreliable at times. So often, it just doesn’t even respond with an effect, although you feed it the kind of sound that used to produce a great effect. Also only use Mozaic 3/4, Haze 3/4 and Pattern Delay anymore. I‘m at the point where I feel like making my own chain out of rather standard effects, adding up to interesting ambient sounds, if wanted, that are reliable. And then chopping that stuff up in OT for the more out there moments.
How are the other regulars feeling about their Cosm nowadays? Still an integral part of your process?
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Still happy with it here. I was very impressed with how much the Microcosm was adding to my setup/sound when I got it and still is. It’s great fun to jam with just Digitone and MC. There’s so many realtime effects or kinds of delay it can do (without the reverb) and I would not know where else to find that.
Personally it’s more a matter of control for specific effects that I’m missing. That and I’d really really love to have a highpass filter to remove the thick low (mid) end that’s often part of the wet signal.
I’m really hoping the Torso S-4 will be like a very customisable MC where you can design your own algorithms or scenes that do exactly what you have in mind. Times four.
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I sold it, the main reason being that I felt I didn’t have enough control over what was going on “under the hood”.
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Control freaks. 
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It was starting to control me.
I realized that when it ordered me to make a coffee while it was rearranging my beat.
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