Some info I just found, on a V2 of the Red Panda Particle.
“Particle V2 - coming summer 2018
I started designing the Particle in 2010 and built the first the first batch of 25 in 2011. My goal was to take the techniques of granular synthesis and make them intuitive for live sound manipulation. There have been a few changes to improve production efficiency, but it is relatively unchanged since June 2012. Later this summer we will be releasing a significant update, based around the same DSP platform as the Tensor.
New in Particle Version 2 (subject to change):
Stereo in/out (TRS)
1.8 second delay time
Soft touch footswitches
Freeze footswitch
Tap tempo with divisions
Assignable expression pedal
USB MIDI and firmware updates
Additional parameters via MIDI
Presets (4 on front, 128 via MIDI)
Smoother pitch shifting
Higher sampling rate
Higher headroom, lower noise
Smaller enclosure (3” x 4.6”)
One of my goals is to make it easier for touring musicians to integrate into their pedalboard. For example, it will power up with the previous preset so you don’t have to worry about bumping the knobs. You can create more complex granular sounds by combining all of the delay and pitch parameters via MIDI, store it as a preset, and then manipulate the sound live using the Particle’s knobs. We will share more information over the coming months.
This news is bittersweet… I love my Particle, but I really wish it were stereo. If this info is true, It looks like I got my wish. However, I don’t know whether this will hurt the value of my V1 Particle. Oh well, maybe I don’t need stereo & other bells and whistles.
I tried to buy one of these years ago. The salesman in the shop was one of these throwback guitar player types, probably still grinding out “hard rock” after age 30 and wondering why it wasn’t happening. He was so flabbergasted I wanted to buy it he sort of refused to sell it to me. To keep the peace I just bought something else I was interested in and eventually stopped speaking to anyone in guitar pedal sales.
I know the video I posted isn’t with synths & samples, I can’t explain why it’s my fav video so far of it… just love the textures. Maybe it’s how much the particle adds to such simple sounds (like clearing your throat, tapping the table). I don’t know, but I love how it sounds in that vid.
Also the below, for more practical use (featuring Blue Sky & Reface CP)
There used to be a ton of Particles for sale, now I’m not finding any. I wonder if they stopped making them? I couldn’t find a single Particle for sale online, new or used. Argh.
was there any info whether there might be some stereo trickery in the FX or just I/O? I’m always eyeing on stereo FX and I do like my prtcl v1 quite a bit… granular stereo ping pong delay sounds interesting