Mod Dwarf: Play Guitar & Synth at the Same Time!

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Күн бұрын

The MOD Devices MOD Dwarf combines awesome amp modeling and effects with a full array of MIDI synth capabilities. Join me as I walk through a pedalboard that allows me to play Frippertronics and a bass synth drone at the same time! moddevices.com/products/dwarf/
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Morley Volume Pedal
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Chords of Orion - Ambient guitar is life
Bill Vencil - Guitars
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Video Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:25 Inputs / Outputs
0:36 Controls
0:59 Patch Creation
1:15 Pedalboard Editor
3:07 Synthesizer Chain
3:58 Step Sequencer Demo
5:32 Whammy Pedal Setup
6:05 Frippertronics / Delays
6:52 Pedalboard Performance Demo
8:19 Pedalboard Management / Effects Store
9:22 Download this Pedalboard!!
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Sweetwater Affiliate Disclosure:
Chords of Orion is a participant in the Sweetwater Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for Chords of Orion to earn fees by linking to sweetwater.com.

Пікірлер: 107

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

A clarification on the web browser editor: The web site is built into the pedal. You connect the pedal to your computer with a USB cable and then open a browser and browse to a local URL on the pedal itself. No internet connection necessary. And if for some reason the company goes out of business, you will still be able to access it. Sorry for not making this clearer!!

@outdatedgear5036 2 жыл бұрын

This was my first question when opening this video up lol. Can it work as a audio device to?

@Emily_M81 2 жыл бұрын

so it's kind of like accessing a wifi router. Sweet!

@ikestoddard2458 3 жыл бұрын

THANKS for the review!!! I have been curious about their devices for months! Plus you showed the archive of stuff online, and the broad capabilities of the pedal to save stuff. Wonderful!

@devnall 3 жыл бұрын

I kickstarted one of these last February and am looking forward to getting my hands on it but it's going to be a few more months. Thanks for the demo to help tide me over. I'll definitely try out your patch when my unit arrives -- and hopefully you'll have made and shared even more patches by then!

@helmanfrow 3 жыл бұрын

I deferred my shipment to the last phase so that I can get the special-edition color, a custom laser etching as well as additional premium plugins. Can't wait!

@_DRMR_ 3 жыл бұрын

Same! (although I already have a Duo X and I want others to get a MOD unit asap. So I'm fine waiting a couple months extra)

@modaudio 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for being such a nice backer :)

@spoofoid 2 жыл бұрын

Me too!

@docchamberlain2807 Жыл бұрын

Same here and I've just received mine. Started playing with it.

@cyonkers 3 жыл бұрын

Nice demo as always. I can't wait to get mine, coming in the second wave.

@cjbogannam 3 жыл бұрын

Ser Davos playing the dwarf Tyrion Lannister’s pedal! Incredible

@emirarnas Жыл бұрын

Valar Morghulis 🙌🏼

@JeffHendricks 3 жыл бұрын

I'm really interested in this, not only for the effects, but because it has a USB host port... which means I can also use an EWI USB with it as a tone generator. Ridiculously flexible machine!

@modaudio 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the nice words :) Feel free to reach out if you need some clarifications on the device

@tensility 4 ай бұрын

You should also be aware of Keith McMillen's Midi Expander since it's a great problem solver for using USB-based MIDI controllers with classic DIN-based MIDI networks, regardless of the synthesizer(s) you choose to work with. Cheers!

@ibalrog 3 жыл бұрын

Neat, hadn't heard of this one before. That web interface is SLICK.

@polyglotwave 3 жыл бұрын

Very helpful video! Frippertronics music has ended up becoming one of the main applications I look at in a guitar pedal. In the end I went for a MOD Dwarf over the Line 6 Helix as it seemed a lot more expandable. I wasn't having much luck with getting a long delay from the Bollie Delay plugin and the Looper is very minimal with no decay setting. I'll have a go at recreating this same pedalboard if you haven't already published it on the store. I guess you could also make the global tempo even slower to maximise the delay time.

@billwesley Жыл бұрын

nice presentation and playing and timbre

@hailmaryrecordings8255 2 жыл бұрын

Very cool pedal. Great demo. ☮️

@Bebopopotamus 3 жыл бұрын

I love the web interface. I wish more pedals implemented that.

@MarkHarmer 3 жыл бұрын

Got mine yesterday and having a lot of fun creating long sustained effects to use with my harp. It will replace a bulky multiFX unit.

@RossellaDeFalcoSoleyCelticHarp 2 жыл бұрын

I am also considering it for my harp!! :D Seems that this channel is getting popular amongst harp players

@MarkHarmer 2 жыл бұрын

@@RossellaDeFalcoSoleyCelticHarp the Shiroverb or Shiroverb 2 are both really good for exploring what You can do with the harp - and there are loopers as well although that’s not something I’ve really ever used except experimentally. But I use the dwarf exclusively as my effects unit in my band - I have a cab Sim which simulates the body of an acoustic guitar, and it makes my harp pickup sound amazing. I also run it through one of the parametric eqs and have lots of notches at multiples of the mains frequency, because my pick up produces a little bit of 50Hz hum - this kills the hum completely. I like the way you can just plug the thing in and pretty much forget about it.

@RossellaDeFalcoSoleyCelticHarp 2 жыл бұрын

@@MarkHarmer may I ask you which cab sim? I am a big fan of your work by the way!! :D I think that also the Mod Dwarf has cab sim

@seank.2589 3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking about getting an HX Stomp strictly for modulation but this has synth stuff, a visual layout of the effects I really like, and you can play the effects in stereo and parallel. Very very interested and definitely considering buying one.

@hireality 3 жыл бұрын

Intriguing product Bill, thanks for the review 👍 As I was getting more interested in buying Hologram Microcosm and Line 6 Pod Go you present this machine 🙂 looking forward to your upcoming videos

@modaudio 3 жыл бұрын

Let us know if you have some questions about the MOD Dwarf and the platform ;)

@hireality 3 жыл бұрын

@@modaudio We are “gearing” up with a number of instruments and machines to create multiple series of unique content formatted in binaural audio and Dolby Atmos aimed at two different but complimentary goals. For now I’m learning more about your Mod Dwarf through Bill’s and other KZfaq channels including your own and your website. I will gather my questions and present to you our project plan in near future by sending you an email via your website. Please feel free to drop me an email via my channel to establish a contact. Thanks indeed for your message. Shine on ☀️

@Merlincat007 3 жыл бұрын

@@modaudio Hi! Is there some high-pitched noise coming in and out at 8:00? Is that from the Dwarf, and is that avoidable? Also, what's the cap for number of simultaneous fx? I can't find that on your website.

@modaudio 3 жыл бұрын

@@Merlincat007 the "high pitch noise" is possibly something from the effect or perhaps the setup. Regarding the number of effects, it depends on how heavy they are in terms of CPU and RAM. Virtually you can load infinite effects.

@brucebaldy 3 жыл бұрын

Very nice

@PatrickWard4 2 жыл бұрын

I don't know the extent of the plugin store, but I really like the idea of the ability to pay for additional plugins if it is implemented right. As long as the core product is continuously improving and the paid for addons aren't some marketing ploy.

@PooNinja 3 жыл бұрын

I thought you said Red Dwarf and I wanted to hear the Rimmer ring mod… wait what?!

@spaceexpireaudio666 3 жыл бұрын

nice thing, with relatively affordable price. If I gigged somewhere that would be useful

@raynewell6371 3 жыл бұрын

I want one

@hannibalbarkas1350 3 жыл бұрын

Thats some cool shit as I like to play guitar over drones and was looking for a portable solution. One question, is the tuning stuck at A=440 or can I change the reference pitch for the synth part ? (I tune to 432 or 444 to vibe with solfeggio frequencies) Thank you

@LoVeAmBiEnT 3 жыл бұрын

That low sawtooth sounds great as well as everything else damn... Do I need my big ass board w allllllll my Pedals? Yes I do but if I didn't have what I have this would be the next option for sure

@shitmandood 3 жыл бұрын

I thought about joining the kickstarter last year but I guess I'd forgotten about it. Can it substitute for a Microcosm? I think I'm all set for guitar pedals this year unfortunately. Probably the Microcosm might be the last one for me to get, if I get another one this year.

@kevinsturges6957 3 жыл бұрын

You really know how to find the Gear. I wonder if there's an MXR BlueBox model available for this?

@ant1sokolow 3 жыл бұрын

Super impressive. I look at the MOD website and the thing is even far more than shown here. And the price is quite low (

@docchamberlain2807 Жыл бұрын

Well Bill, I love this pedalboard you've got set up, and it was one of the first I tried from the site. Problem is, I can hear the sequencer drone working, but I'm getting nothing when I plug my guitar in and try to get sounds from it. Am I missing something. So far I'm testing out boards and just using my headphones as sound output. I can hear the drone but as I say no guitar output.

@Merlincat007 3 жыл бұрын

Is there some high-pitched noise coming in and out at 8:00? Is that avoidable? Also, what's the cap for number of simultaneous fx? I can't find that on the website.

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

Not exactly sure what you are hearing. Might be too high for my old ears or might be high overtones from the EBow That being said, I did run into a bit of noise (that I could hear :-)) that I asked them about. This is an early unit, and was running a beta version of the firmware. They did say that they were still in the process of making improvements. As far as the cap goes, there is no exact number, however, there is a CPU meter in the lower right corner of the editor to let you know how much DSP the patch is taking.

@charlarge3555 3 жыл бұрын

Would you recommend using the Mod Dwarf with other pedals, or does this device take the place of physical pedals? Do you find it to be intuitive navigation? Also, are you plugged into an amp or running sound through your computer speakers ? Thank you for all that you continue to do!🙏🏻

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

in general, I would say it takes the place of physical pedals, however, you could place other pedals in front of or after the Dwarf. As far as navigation goes, I assume you mean the pedalboard editor - it's very intuitive. Finally, no amp. Just plugged into the computer audio interface.

@charlarge3555 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Thank you for getting back to me. So appreciated!🙏🏻

@AaronLevitz 3 жыл бұрын

You could potentially insert one physical pedal between two virtual ones if you really wanted to, but it would mean giving up one of your two i/o pairs, which is quite the sacrifice.

@charlarge3555 3 жыл бұрын

@@AaronLevitz Thank you!

@silddx 3 жыл бұрын

Marvellous! Mine's on the way, and I can't wait! Would you tell us which Jam expression pedal you are using please? Thank you!

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

I believe it is the EXP1. Thanks!

@silddx 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Thank you very much! Love what you;'re doing with the Dwarf!

@MattGallagherBass 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Hi, sorry if this is a dumb question - but how are you connecting your EXP1 to the MOD Dwarf? From what I can see on mine it has no EXP input. Are you using an EXP pedal -> MIDI converter and using the MIDI IN or is the EXP1 plugged into one of the audio inputs?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

@@MattGallagherBass Yes - I am using the MeloAudio MIDI Commander. Should have mentioned that in the video. The Dwarf supports MIDI learn, so super easy to connect.

@MattGallagherBass 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Thanks! That’s really helpful. 👍

@hubertvancalenbergh9022 2 жыл бұрын

It's back to peering at a computer screen. After a whole day of job-related peering the last thing I want to do is even more peering in my free time.

@FuZZbaLLbee 2 жыл бұрын

That and hopefully it doesn’t use any browser feature that will not be available in 10 years. At least it doesn’t require a mobile app

@MrFusion101 Жыл бұрын

so cool but it needs more switches, once they make it gig ready by having like 8 switches and expression pedal i'ma grab one

@DataCommando 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Bill, I hope you can clarify something about the Mod Dwarf? I'm intrigued to see you using a JAM expression pedal hooked up to the Mod Dwarf, as it doesn't have a dedicated EXP Jack Input socket. How exactly are you doing that? Is it MIDI? I am amazed that a unit like this doesn't have at least one regular expression input (the Mod Duo has 2). In this day and age it's not just for the volume swells and wah fx, but is really is a requirement, as in your example patch for the whammy pedal pitch shifting.

@tonyhartley871 2 жыл бұрын

Even on some pedals the sounds that are created sound like they are computer generated. Is that so here or samples of actual instruments used. Hate most generated fake sounding synth stuff.

@seank.2589 3 жыл бұрын

You had my interest at Mod, but you have my attention at Synth.

@barrybarry9714 3 жыл бұрын

Lovely video. One quick question, I keep forgetting what the device is you are using in your right hand called?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

It is a Heet Sound EBow.

@barrybarry9714 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion many thanks .love your bids btw

@barrybarry9714 3 жыл бұрын

Meant vids not bids

@RyanMcQuen 2 жыл бұрын

Does it have a looper?

@kentrey 3 жыл бұрын

Dang, Bill. I hope you eventually switched over to rechargeable 9 volt batteries. I know you've had to of went through thousands from all of that e-bow usage.

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

Surprisingly, EBows have long battery life, at least for me. I probably only go through 4 batteries per year.

@piperman63 3 жыл бұрын

What do you think about guitar synthesizers for ambient, like the Boss SY series? How would this one compare? Trying to get into ambient, love it, and have played just about every other genre.

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

This is really different from the SY series. The synths are MIDI triggered, so you would need a midi based guitar synth. I have a Jamstik Studio MIDI guitar and will be trying it with the Dwarf in the next several weeks to see how well it works.

@piperman63 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion would either the SY or dwarf be worthwhile to use with ambient?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

@@piperman63 It all depends on what you mean by ambient. It is better to determine what you are trying to achieve in your sounds and then find the gear that allows you to achieve it.

@piperman63 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion thank you, that makes sense. I really like the sounds from that ebow

@johnsmits2494 2 жыл бұрын

Great, but I don’t remember a mention of the Ebow, which is a bit tricky to use properly. Why do they always do this ? Great pedal anyway.

@chordsoforion 2 жыл бұрын

I use EBow a LOT on this channel and have several tutorials in addition to many performance videos. Here's the latest: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jNOlmqeoprG-XaM.html

@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup 11 күн бұрын

Is the "website" intranet, or internet?

@prodevus 3 жыл бұрын

Cool! How many HX Stomplikes are there on the market now, anyone know?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

Definitely a bunch. That being said, I don't think the MOD Devices units are very much like the HX Stomp. They are more in the direction of the Empress Effects ZOIA or the Poly Effects Beebo, blurring the line between effects and modular synths. They also have an open source community for the development of effects and synth modules.

@shawnsaul7759 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion for someone looking for amp/cab modeling+fx, would the HX stomp be more suitable than the Mod devices?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

@@shawnsaul7759 That's an interesting question. I would say that if you are specifically looking for a "guitar pedalboard brain" where you are integrating other effect pedals, you will be better off with the HX-Stomp given its effects loop and other I/O. That's typically the way I use the HX-Stomp. If you are looking to create effects chains that are more complex than what the HX-Stomp can support and don't need to integrate with pedals through an effects loop, then the Dwarf might be a better choice.

@prodevus 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Interesting, will check it out as well as the ZOIA and Beebo!

@tomcrawford8509 2 жыл бұрын

What are you holding with your picking hand??

@chordsoforion 2 жыл бұрын

It's an EBow. Here's one of my tutorials if you are interested: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jNOlmqeoprG-XaM.html

@snowblackmusic 3 жыл бұрын

Have you tried it with your Jamstik MIDI guitar?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

that's next on the list!

@shitmandood 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing that!

@planetpjr 3 жыл бұрын

It would be great if it had 13 pin in and a standard midi out.

@JeffHendricks 3 жыл бұрын

Might want to look at the Mod Duo X. I think the 13-pin interface is a proprietary Roland thing, though.

@modaudio 3 жыл бұрын

With a little TRS to DIN MIDI adapter you have the "standard" DIN MIDI out.

@blindcanseemusic 2 жыл бұрын

does it work ok with an acoustic guitar?

@chordsoforion 2 жыл бұрын

If your acoustic guitar pickup system works well with pedals, then yes, you can create patches that are optimized for acoustic guitar.

@RossellaDeFalcoSoleyCelticHarp 2 жыл бұрын

Anyone had issues of background noise? Some reviews mention it...but probably they were doing something wrong with the device as it has so many possibilitie s

@chordsoforion 2 жыл бұрын

I had some hum issues with the Mod Dwarf because of the grounded plug (American power supply) and the connection to my grounded audio interface. This created a ground loop which was causing the 60hz hum. I lifted the ground on the Mod Dwarf and that cured the problem.

@RossellaDeFalcoSoleyCelticHarp 2 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforion Grazie (Thanks!) I did not know the mod dwarf had a ground lift button...?

@TheBaconWizard 3 жыл бұрын

This looks VERY cool. But I worry about what happens if the company goes bust.. your pedal becomes a paperweight?

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

Are you thinking of the web site comment? It is built into the pedal. You connect it to your computer via USB and open the editor via a web browser. The URL is a local address to the pedal itself.

@TheBaconWizard 3 жыл бұрын

@@chordsoforionOh. yes that IS what I was referring-to. Thanks for the reply :)

@roscius6204 Жыл бұрын

The computer interface looks great but to be brutally honest I would not touch a product that requires an internet connection to function. They need to make it downloadable..... or you're screwed the moment they stop supporting it.

@Kennephus 3 жыл бұрын

Looks pretty neat, but I'm skeptical of the website approach. If they drop support or go out of business, does it become a $500 brick?

@adrboe3027 3 жыл бұрын

The site is local on the dwarf and not accessed over the internet. It's just accessed with a browser (This way you don't have to install any additional software). So that scenario can't happen :)

@Kennephus 3 жыл бұрын

@@adrboe3027 Thanks! That's a huge help!

@chordsoforion 3 жыл бұрын

that is correct. It is maintained in the firmware of the device.

@gianfrancoceccolini7009 3 жыл бұрын

In that tragic case, the outcome would probably be the opposite. MOD Devices adopts and releases open-source software. This means that the community is able to keep supporting the software even in our absence. That said, if the company ever goes out of business, our products have the biggest potential of keep being supported somehow.

@loudguitarist 3 ай бұрын

Seems like a hassle, I can easily get these synth tones on my Fractal, yes, it's more, but you get what you pay for.

@Boogielee0520 3 жыл бұрын

😭 어렵다..

@FastRCToys 2 жыл бұрын

So... Same price than Beebo, same concept but no large color touchscreen... It's a miss, sir !

@quinnl 9 ай бұрын

With all due respect, it is incredibly hard to watch these videos on my feed reviewing a pedal I backed on kickstarter over three years ago, and STILL HAVEN’T RECEIVED IT! These people are holding my pedal hostage until I pay them more money than I already paid with the agreement that I would be sent one of the first ones off the line! Beware of these people. Awful company.