The Akai Deep Impact is a bass synth pedal introduced by Akai in the mid-'90s. It takes a bass guitar's signal and turns it into synthesizer tones, and its fat sounds won it a following among players including Muse's Chris Wolstenholme and Jamiroquai's Paul Taylor1.
A discontinued pedal with a second life
The Deep Impact has been discontinued, but it never left the conversation. Panda Audio's page for the Future Impact series refers to "the discontinued Deep Impact, which he had designed for Akai", referring to designer Andras Szalay3. On the used market, MusicRadar reported that "Used models currently sell for £600/$1,000+", and in a Stompbox Book interview with collector Juan Alderete, the two units discussed were described as "now worth around six hundred bucks"45.
Players who used one tended to hold onto it. MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown wrote that "its fat tones won a host of favourite fans, including Muse's Chris Wolstenholme and Jamiroquai's Paul Taylor"1.
The Future Impact reissue
The pedal's story did not end with its discontinuation. Panda Audio's Future Impact series page keeps the connection to the original alive, referring to "the discontinued Deep Impact, which he had designed for Akai"3. The original itself remains sought after: MusicRadar reported that "Used models currently sell for £600/$1,000+", and noted that "its fat tones won a host of favourite fans, including Muse's Chris Wolstenholme and Jamiroquai's Paul Taylor"1.
Premier Guitar's 2021 review of the Future Impact noted the improvement in signal quality over the original, describing "a much clearer signal than the Deep Impact's 32 kHz", a reference to the oscillator rate at which the original ran5.
For players considering a bass pedal synth today, the practical picture is simple: the original Deep Impact turns up only secondhand at collector prices, while the Future Impact series carries the design forward with modern features the original never had31.
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Questions
Is the Akai Deep Impact still made?
No. The Deep Impact was designed for Akai and is discontinued, as Panda Audio notes on its Future Impact page. Used units have commanded high prices on the secondhand market, and the design lives on in the Panda Audio Future Impact series, which began as a reissue project for the Deep Impact.
What replaced the Akai Deep Impact?
Panda Audio's Future Impact I, launched in February 2022, is a refined reissue of the Deep Impact from Andras Szalay, the pedal's original designer. It added 99 presets, a desktop editor and MIDI, and was priced at $499 at launch.
Sources (5)
- Akai's legendary Deep Impact bass guitar synth pedal is reborn as the Panda Audio Future Impact I, MusicRadar, 2016-10-28
- pandaMidi Future Impact V3: A Deep(er) Impact bass synth pedal, gearnews.com, 2019-11-04
- Panda Audio, Panda Audio
- Juan Alderete, Stompbox Book (stompboxbook.com), 2019-09-22
- Panda Audio Future Impact I. Review, Premier Guitar, 2017-08-29
