It can be very easy to work with digital plugins in your music productions – whether to emulate effects, instruments or amplifiers – as long as you are in your studio controlling everything in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
But think about how complicated it is to take those same sounds to the stage.
You would need to take a computer with you to run the plugins, which for most musicians is simply not viable.
Now imagine if there was a way to bring together the functionality of a DAW in a physical, standalone device that could be used on stage.
Got the picture?
It’s basically a computer in a box designed to be an effects processor. Or a synthesizer. Or a looper. Or a backing track player.
That is exactly what MOD Devices has achieved with its new generation of multipurpose audio devices.
They offer endless ways to change your sound and unprecedented patching freedom inside open-source, powerful black boxes.
In fact, the crossover between the effect pedal and the computer spawned three different beasts, each of them with their own unique features and purposes.
MOD Dwarf: the smartest digital pedal ever created
The MOD Dwarf is the newcomer in the MOD family, launched in 2021 after being successfully crowdfunded in 2020 on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Equipped with a Quad-core 64 bit ARM CPU running at 1.3GHz, with 8 GB storage and 1 GB RAM, it offers the experience of a regular pedal with the versatility of a computer or a smartphone.
Or, as we like to call it, a “digital audio brain”.
It does cabinet and amp simulations, and also has hundreds of effects you can download from an online plugin store, including delays, reverbs, modulation, distortion… you name it!
It also has a ton of instrument plugins (generators) so that you can hook up a MIDI keyboard to the device and essentially play with it.
And if you connect it to a computer, you can access a handy graphical interface in your browser to combine your desired effects, simulators and/or generators, string it all together into a virtual gear setup and then save it as a pedalboard.
Just unplug the device and you can leave your computer at home in order to play live using your virtual setups.
The MOD Dwarf comes pre-loaded with a number of pedalboard setups, but you can dive into more than 300 plugins by accessing the evergrowing gallery hosted by MOD Devices.
It runs LV2 plugins, an open-source platform used to build audio effects, synthesizers, and control processors for modulation and automation. That is why you can find many plugins free of charge to use in the device.
It also has an official integration with MaxMSP, allowing users to compile their Max Gen~ code into plugins.
The Dwarf packs big effect processor power into a compact pedal measuring only 202mm x 105mm x 54mm.
It has two independent audio channels, each with independent gain controls. The device controller includes three fully assignable knobs, three footswitches and four pushbuttons.
There’s also USB-MIDI and TRS MIDI jacks, as well as a MIDI learn function that allows the unit to be manipulated by any MIDI controller.
As an evolution of MOD’s previous devices, it allows for fast interactions, better control and quicker results.
The Dwarf runs mostly the same software as the other MOD devices, but it also has a unique device controller that gives users more options to use it without connecting to a computer.
MOD Duo X: a flexible standalone device in a box
Unlike the MOD Dwarf, the Duo X was not designed to be used as a stompbox-style pedal.
It is a table-top device – with an ultra-resistant monolithic enclosure – primarily built for live effects manipulation.
Basically, it trades the guitarist-friendly configuration for more onboard knobs and buttons, as well as CV ins and outs.
With its two independent audio channels and an endless array of effects, utilities and generators, it is mostly aimed at electronic musicians.
You can plug in any instrument or piece of gear that you want and split, join, feedback and rearrange your signal freely.
Measuring 180mm x 60mm x 160mm, the MOD Duo X has two endless encoders, eight potentiometers, four programmable buttons and three buttons for navigating pages of parameters and recalling saved states.
You get maximum connectivity with MIDI Learn, MIDI Sync, or by using the device as a MIDI hub for multiple controllers at the same time.
You can also use external CV inputs or generate CV signals inside the box for modular synth style patching, and crazy modulation options.
Get to know the MOD family
Now that you know what are the results of a crossing between an effect pedal and a computer, how about trying one of these beauties out?
Visit our website to find out more about our multipurpose audio devices and place your order online.
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Get in touch with us if you have any additional questions.
