Akai Deep Impact SB1

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Akai Deep Impact

The Akai Deep Impact SB1 is a bass synth pedal, produced by Akai. Following it's introduction in the mid 1990s, the Deep Impact did not last long on the market, despite being one of the most sought-after bass synthesizer pedals. Because of that, it has since become a rarity and goes for over 700 bucks a piece, used.

The Deep Impact is known for it's fat synth bass tones which differ from regular synth bass pedals, however, the build quality was reported to be quite cheap, which was probably the reason why it was pulled off of the shelves. The Deep Impact was also used by Bootsy Collins and Paul Taylor of Jamiroquai. In 2016, Deep Impact audio designer Andras Szalay created a re-issue of the Deep Impact together with PandaMIDI (now Panda Audio) called the Future Impact. The shape of the stompbox remained almost the same (it only got a little smaller and thus pedalboard friendlier, allthough it is still a big unit) with the existing Deep Impact sounds being improoved while still retaining the classic tones. It's also got it's own PC software which allows the user to create it's own synth sounds. The Future Impact is also known for it's tracking capabilities, which are better than on the Deep Impact.

Wolstenholme has gotten hold of the Akai Deep Impact SB1 for the Origin of Symmetry tour and has kept it on his board ever since. The pedal is responsible for his most-heard synth sounds on songs such as Space Dementia (performed live), Plug In Baby, I Belong to You and Apocalypse Please (also performed live).

See also


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