What happened to that "home made" modeler?

[the-trooper]

From couple of years ago. I think made by someone from UK. It looked like a plain metal box with literally one knob (joystick?) for editing. Supposedly was getting ready for mass production.
There were a couple of videos about it, made a tiny ripple and disappeared.
Anything ever come out of it?

 

[Rocco Crocco]

I remember that thread. DI was very complimentary of the guys pedal IIRC.

I can’t remember what is was called.

Edit… I think this is what you mean.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/smooth-hound-innovations-siva.2253064/

 

[Sascha Franck]

Oh yeah, I remember that one. Took the crown for most horrible on unit editing instantly

 

[the-trooper]

Edit… I think this is what you mean.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/smooth-hound-innovations-siva.2253064/

That's it!
There doesn't seem to be a video newer than two years, guessing it wasn't meant to be.

 

[Digital Igloo]

I remember that thread. DI was very complimentary of the guys pedal IIRC.

I can’t remember what is was called.

Edit… I think this is what you mean.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/smooth-hound-innovations-siva.2253064/

A bunch of TGPers were total dicks in that thread. Sure, one needs thick skin to get into this business, but a one-person startup clearly deserves more leeway, polite discourse, and encouragement than an established company like, say, Yamaha.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

A bunch of TGPers were total dicks in that thread. Sure, one needs thick skin to get into this business, but a one-person startup clearly deserves more leeway, polite discourse, and encouragement than an established company like, say, Yamaha.

For sure. At the same time, it seemed the creator was blissfully unaware/naive about what it takes to get a foothold in the market. It came across like he thought he’d revolutionized the modeling process, when in fact his methods were probably not much different from what Line 6, Fractal, et al do.

It was a very impressive feat for one guy, though.

 

[norminal]

A bunch of TGPers were total dicks in that thread. Sure, one needs thick skin to get into this business, but a one-person startup clearly deserves more leeway, polite discourse, and encouragement than an established company like, say, Yamaha.

Just glancing over that thread, many of them are prominent users of this forum.

 

[Digital Igloo]

For sure. At the same time, it seemed the creator was blissfully unaware/naive about what it takes to get a foothold in the market. It came across like he thought he’d revolutionized the modeling process, when in fact his methods were probably not much different from what Line 6, Fractal, et al do.

It was a very impressive feat for one guy, though.

True, and look at the magic that Cliff's built from what was once (presumably) a one-man operation. So it's possible, but reaaaaallly difficult.

Just glancing over that thread, many of them are prominent users of this forum.

I stand by my statement.

 

[jellodog]

It looks like he's moved away from hardware and into plugins:

Does this sound like an AC30 to you?

It almost sounds more like an AC15 to me. It's brighter, raspier, harder edged, and more compressed than how I usually dial in an AC30. AC30s tend to be a bit smoother and more "refined" sounding in comparison. Of course they can be dialed in to lots of different sounds. A lot of digital...

www.thegearpage.net

 

[Rocco Crocco]

That's it!
There doesn't seem to be a video newer than two years, guessing it wasn't meant to be.

Looks like you can still buy it (UK only).

https://www.smoothhound-innovations.com/buy

 

[Gearzilla]

Just reviewed that thread….

Talk about getting the kid gloves treatment.

If someone is going to spend the time to bring a product to market they better have a firm grasp on putting their best foot forward promotionally.

 

[Sascha Franck]

but a one-person startup clearly deserves more leeway, polite discourse, and encouragement

Possibly. But in that case the only decently helpful advice would've been to tell the guy he had to completely redo the device's case and controls. That one-knob-UI is a such major offense the device would've been DOA. This is why there's usually programmers and UI designers. People getting both things equally right are a super rare breed and that dude certainly isn't among them.

 

[dk_ace]

A bunch of TGPers were total dicks in that thread. Sure, one needs thick skin to get into this business, but a one-person startup clearly deserves more leeway, polite discourse, and encouragement than an established company like, say, Yamaha.

Exactly. I bought an axe-fx when there was a long waitlist to get a standard. It wasn’t perfect, but it had some meaningful advancements in it and did some things well enough to become a prominent part of my live rig for years. I’m glad @FractalAudio didnt get kicked in the throat repeatedly like that for daring to try to make a cool new thing or the current fractal products wouldn’t exist and the original Axe unit wouldn’t have made it to what it became. The balls it takes to even try such a thing in this market are commendable. There’s plenty of reasons why you could say it was impossible for a largely one-man vision and execution to be successful back then just like people would say that now, but Cliff managed to do it so if someone today has the gumption to try I won’t stand in their way and tell them it’s pointless.

What the internet really needs is more negativity.

D

 

[Lysander]

A bunch of TGPers were total dicks in that thread.

Oh god that f****ing thread. I distinctly remember watching it happen in real time; that was the beginning of my (current) disgust with TGP in general.

I understand the Siva is a bit rough around the edges, but i wonder if any of those morons stopped to watch this:



To recap, this an end-to-end SPICE modelling unit - the only one i'm aware of besides Fractal products. With Wi-Fi audio inputs. USB recording output. Free-form signal paths. A shitton of cabs, effects and models. A single control UX which honestly looks better than some units i've seen people raving about in forums... and it was all put together by a single guy?

My professional background is electronics and software engineering, and i tell you, i was just floored when i saw that video.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Just glancing over that thread, many of them are prominent users of this forum.

Some of us had the best intentions when migrating over here. Turns out we're just dicks.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Some of us had the best intentions when migrating over here. Turns out we're just dicks.

 

[Elf]

HeartSome of us had the best intentions when migrating over here. Turns out we're just dicks.

Isn’t admission the first step of recovery?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Isn’t admission the first step of recovery?

There's no recovering from nature.

 

[Gearzilla]

Is it better than something already on the market from Fractal Audio? No

Is it less expensive? No

Was the demo inspiring for consumers? No

Was I sold? No

That’s not to take anything away from him for putting it together as an engineer. However the backend development is of little significance to the market viability of that particular device.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Is it better than something already on the market from Fractal Audio? No

Is it less expensive? No

Was the demo inspiring for consumers? No

Was I sold? No

That’s not to take anything away from him for putting it together as an engineer. However the backend development is of little significance to the market viability of that particular device.

I don't remember, nor am I going to watch/listen to any clips re: sound. That was the only real standard I was going to hold it up to -- my recollection was a bunch of "holy shit, look at that awful UI!!!" when, in all honesty, its a pretty solid UI for a dude making shit in his garage. Whether I'd buy it or not was kinda irrelevant from a curiosity perspective.