I stupidly sold mine a few months ago. A new batch went on sale today, so I bought another one! Refreshing my memory with your great demos. I did tend to use Nightly more than the original firmware however.
I’ve had this pedal for over a year and only used it once. It was sooo confusing that I gave up. This video has helped me sooo much! I’m going to give this pedal another shot. Thanks so much for making this video!
You are very welcome! Honestly, I was going through the same experience, and once I got my hands around the controls, it became one of my favorite pedals (especially mode 2). Thanks so much for watching, it makes me happy to spread the word about this awesome pedal :)
Could you do another set of videos showing some of the features with their later firmware updates? Those seem to have really changed what happens in mode 1 and all their explanations of what the newer firmware does are (to me at least) unhelpful.
I feel like they made this pedal only for studio purposes. On the stage you can only access what was programmed before. Is very limited, should have MIDI.
I'd love if they added the ability to store several clips of audio in the buffer as re-callable presets... and MIDI would be pretty amazing too. Maybe they will add such features on a new version of the pedal someday.
Is the initial loop you created looping through the ct5, or do you have a different loop pedal creating the base loop? I just got one of these and I want to make a basic loop so I can test out the controls as you describe in the video.
Hey there! So for this demo, I used a looper pedal set in front of the Ct5 so you can hear how the pedal affects the audio. The Ct5 mostly acts like a delay pedal in Mode 1. In Modes 2 and 3, the Ct5 acts more like a looper pedal... for those demos, I grabbed some audio that I played directly into the pedal to create the base loop. This demo only covers Mode 1, but I also have separate videos for Modes 2 and 3. Thanks for checking out the video!
@@AaronRusch You are a legend! Thank you sir. This is such an interesting pedal. I watched all 3 videos/demos a few months ago, the ct5 arrived today and I should have done a refresher before it got here. Me to the ct5: ‘make beautiful angel noises!’ Its response: ‘cacophonous garbles’
does anyone have trouble with the mix knob being really noisy when its at 12 0'clock or past? I just got mine and i was wondering if this is just part of the pedal or if there is an issue. thanks!
Hi there, I'm so very sorry I missed this comment! My pedal doesn't have that issue at all, it's very quiet even with the Mix turned all the way up. I hope you aren't still having that issue!
Woe! I have this pedal for ages and never knew about the filter and modulation function via the Q switch!!! This was brilliant, mate! Best demo on the Ct5!
I'm not understanding the Trigger function mode. How does this impact the sound between soft notes vs harder notes that activate the trigger? I'm not hearing much of a difference. Even tried it myself and it's not clicking yet. Curious how this can be used effectively.
Hi Daniel. I do have a looper running before the Ct5 for this demo. With the regular firmware installed, Mode 1 on the Ct5 operates much like a delay pedal, and Modes 2 and 3 operate more like a weird looper. I also left a reply to your comment on the Mode 3 video that might be helpful to you. Thanks for watching the videos!
This has been very helpful. I've spent a couple of weeks with the pedal, and love sitting down and "finding" cool sounds to play with and solo over. Deeper levels will definitely unlock when I have a few of your pointers in mind. Gonna venture into TRANSCENDENCE mode. See you on the other side!
I've actually never owned a Rainbow Machine, I always felt like I'd struggle making it work with how I play. But I agree, with the Quantize knob on the Ct5, you can definitely enter some Rainbow-Machine-esque craziness :)
Just ordered mine today! Saw some high prices on reverb and other places but went directly to there Montreal Assembly’s own webpage and they have the Count to 5 on sale and Free shipping! (I live in Canada) Thanks for taking your time and going through some of it’s “under the hood” features!!! Hard to believe you didn’t cover it all 😅. A sand box of possibilities for sure, can’t wait to try it on multiple instruments- Chapman Stick is my primary instrument but I imagine using my electric cello will get some amazing and unique sounds. I just found your videos recently - so happy I did, you are very clear in you descriptions and teaching! Thank You 🙏.
Hi Jason, thanks for checking out the video! I would love to hear what the Ct5 sounds like with a Chapman Stick and a cello... Mode 2 with either of those instruments and a metric ton of reverb would sound incredible. If you ever post a clip of the Ct5 with those instruments, please let me know! Emily Hopkins has a great video where she plays a harp through a Ct5... if you are interested, here's the link: ua-cam.com/video/OBeZPyZmAG4/v-deo.html
Not that I'm aware of, at least on the 0.963 firmware. I haven't looked at the Nightly firmware in a long time, but at first glance, no tap tempo functionality for that firmware either.
I'm with you on the high octave stuff... I tend to stay away from it. I think this pedal would pair nicely with a synth or even a drum machine. I've been meaning to play a bass through it... that might be a good use for the high octave settings too, now that I think about it. Thanks for watching the video!
Okay.... by the 5:20 mark in this video I decided that I want this pedal. Checked out your other videos on the Count To Five and although I'm not usually interested in overly complicated effects, this unit really has a lot that I like. I'm convinced it'll be worth learning to use. I'll have to take a look at their 5th anniversary pedal if it's still available. Or maybe by now Montreal Assembly has something else to offer...? Now just have to find the price and a way way to afford purchasing purchasing one. Thanks for your thorough explanation of this unit. Best regards from Montréal Québec, Canada. ~Glenn ✌😉
Thanks so much, I love hearing this! It's such a great pedal. Even though I'm constantly adding new pedals to my setup, the Count to Five never leaves my board. I hope you find a great deal on one, and thanks for checking out the video! Montréal is one of my favorite cities in the world, I hope all is well up there :)
Recently picked up a CT5, amazing how fun & intuitive Modes 2 & 3 are, but Mode 1 was a bear! Thank you so much for making this video, I feel like I’m starting to get it :-) Enjoying setting the buffer length to max and doing sound-on-sound.
i seem to have transcendence mode enabled and am unable to turn it back for some reason. the LED doesn't turn on at all if i have it bypassed, and i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong. I just got the pedal yesterday and i'm very confused
Hey there :) Hmm, that's a problem I have not encountered yet. I wonder if this is a firmware issue? My understanding is that the new Ct5 pedals have shipped with the "Nightly" firmware installed, as opposed to the "regular" firmware (which is the version I'm demo'ing). Is your pedal one of the new green 5th Anniversary pedals? If so, it likely has the "Nightly" firmware installed, and that would change the functionality. Also, if you bought it used, it could be the old owner never updated the firmware. I'll post a link to the firmware update page in the video description. I hope that helps fix the problem!
@@AaronRusch oh wow yeah, it is definitely the nightly firmware haha. thank you though, it's a slow learning process with this thing, but i'm gettin there
@@designate_om Yeah, it's a tricky pedal! I was thinking about trying the Nightly firmware in the near future... good to know it may do unfamiliar things with transcendence!
Very helpful thanks! I’ve had this for a while and haven’t even tried holding the a switch up or down and making adjustments. Now I might! Does everything go back to the factory settings when you power off the pedal?
Hi there. I'll have to check that... I seem to recall that everything does revert to default when it cycles power. My studio is dissasembled right now so I won't be able to look into this for a bit, but I'll try to find out!
Great videos Aaron, excellent presentation. I'm planning on making the purchase. Novice question, please: what would be the best power supply to use? I see the rating is "100 mA at 9VDC." For example, could I use a Walrus Finch power supply, rated at 500mA, or would that be too much and cause damage to the Count to 5? Thank you in advance for your reply!
Hey there Kent! Regarding the power supply, you will be fine running it at 500 mA, that won’t damage the pedal (I have mine plugged into a 600mA power supply). You do want to make sure the voltage is 9 volts… anything different than that will damage the pedal. I do seem to recall that I had issues with the pedal running it at 100 mA. Montreal Assembly says the pedal requires less than 150mA, but my pedal definitely needed more than 100. So I’d say the Finch will be a great match. If you ever want to go with a larger power supply that will scale to your future needs, I do have another video on the CIOKS power supply, which I absolutely love. Thanks for watching!
@@AaronRusch Thanks, Aaron, for the detailed reply! I also contacted Scott Monk from Montreal Assembly, who said, "...anything over 100mA is fine. The pedal will only pull what it needs." AND, I placed my order today for CT5! MA is currently offering the CT5 on their website for $225 USD.
@@WhyTheGoats Congratulations! I think you will love the pedal. I've had it for several years now, I keep waiting for something to knock it off my board... but nothing has :) I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much for this. I got the count to five today planning to immediately change the firmware to the nightly, as I wanted the 2nd auto stutter mode. After watching your video I decided to keep the current firmware and play with mode 1 for starters. It's nice how you can combine something like the slip mode of mood, the modulation of lo fi junkie and the threshold mode of the mini glitch [ 3 favorite pedals I own]. Once again thank you very much
Thanks for watching! The Ct5 is still one of my all-time favorite pedals. I've considered trying the Nightly mode again, but I'd instantly miss the standard modes too much.
@AaronRusch I'm on the lookout for a reasonable priced second hand one so that I can have both firmwares as I still suffer from IT phobia to keep changing firmwares.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 I'm the same way... every time I opened that pedal up to update the firmware, I was terrified I'd do something wrong or suffer a power outage and poof! - no more Count to Five.
This is the only demo of the secondary functions in mode 1 I could find (ie low pass filter, modulation). Really useful, thanks.
I'm glad it was helpful, thanks so much for watching the video!
I stupidly sold mine a few months ago. A new batch went on sale today, so I bought another one! Refreshing my memory with your great demos. I did tend to use Nightly more than the original firmware however.
That nightly firmware... I need to re-visit it! I'm glad you managed to grab another one. I love this pedal. Thanks for watching!
Definitely the best video to understand how it works. Every ct5 owners will save time with this. Thank you.
Great to hear, that was my goal with this video series. Thanks so much for watching!
Yes. You must run for president of UA-cam.
I’ve had this pedal for over a year and only used it once. It was sooo confusing that I gave up. This video has helped me sooo much! I’m going to give this pedal another shot. Thanks so much for making this video!
You are very welcome! Honestly, I was going through the same experience, and once I got my hands around the controls, it became one of my favorite pedals (especially mode 2). Thanks so much for watching, it makes me happy to spread the word about this awesome pedal :)
Best tutorial on UA-cam for this pedal. You’ve done a big service!! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much! I'm glad the videos are helpful :)
just got the H anniversary edition, thanks for this video it helped me this morning with my initial play. love the pedal, its fucken insane.
Glad the video helped! Yeah, it's one of my favorites... I need to try that Nightly firmware soon...
Got mine yesterday! Thanks so much for making those demos !
I hope you love the pedal as much as I do. Thanks for watching :)
Best demo of the Ct5 I have seen. 👏👏 Thank you so much! 🙏🙏
I'm subscribed! ☺️
I'm very happy the videos were helpful, thanks so much for watching and for subscribing! :)
Fantastic!
Many thanks!
this ‘tutorial’ is ace, thanks
Thanks for the kind words, and thank you for watching!
Very handy, thanks!
Thanks for watching!
I FUCKING NEED IT
Could you do another set of videos showing some of the features with their later firmware updates? Those seem to have really changed what happens in mode 1 and all their explanations of what the newer firmware does are (to me at least) unhelpful.
Sorry for the late response... I'll see if I can add that video idea into the list in the next few months :)
@@AaronRusch no rush! Thanks for responding.
I feel like they made this pedal only for studio purposes. On the stage you can only access what was programmed before. Is very limited, should have MIDI.
I'd love if they added the ability to store several clips of audio in the buffer as re-callable presets... and MIDI would be pretty amazing too. Maybe they will add such features on a new version of the pedal someday.
I use one live with different modes in a rock band.
Is the initial loop you created looping through the ct5, or do you have a different loop pedal creating the base loop? I just got one of these and I want to make a basic loop so I can test out the controls as you describe in the video.
Hey there! So for this demo, I used a looper pedal set in front of the Ct5 so you can hear how the pedal affects the audio. The Ct5 mostly acts like a delay pedal in Mode 1.
In Modes 2 and 3, the Ct5 acts more like a looper pedal... for those demos, I grabbed some audio that I played directly into the pedal to create the base loop. This demo only covers Mode 1, but I also have separate videos for Modes 2 and 3. Thanks for checking out the video!
@@AaronRusch You are a legend! Thank you sir. This is such an interesting pedal. I watched all 3 videos/demos a few months ago, the ct5 arrived today and I should have done a refresher before it got here. Me to the ct5: ‘make beautiful angel noises!’ Its response: ‘cacophonous garbles’
does anyone have trouble with the mix knob being really noisy when its at 12 0'clock or past? I just got mine and i was wondering if this is just part of the pedal or if there is an issue. thanks!
Hi there, I'm so very sorry I missed this comment! My pedal doesn't have that issue at all, it's very quiet even with the Mix turned all the way up. I hope you aren't still having that issue!
Why am I thinking of "Infinite Jest"? 😆
The most objetive and non ethereal demo I've seen of this pedal......and because of this I'll buy one of them.
Thanks so much for watching, and I'm really happy the demo was helpful!
i want to buy one, too but i cant get one!
Good luck I've been trying for over a year. It seems like the only option is to pay a sculper twice what Montreal Assembly charges for them
@@crackerjacksimpson5839 I just got mine this past week straight from MA. just FYI
@@brendanotto9130 dang you got me all excited to buy one and they are sold out... 😢
Woe! I have this pedal for ages and never knew about the filter and modulation function via the Q switch!!! This was brilliant, mate! Best demo on the Ct5!
Thanks Walter, I'm happy you liked the demo! I know, the level of detail and innovation that Montreal Assembly put into this pedal simply amazes me.
That's one crazy pedal! 😂
Great demo! Very useful to have a video to follow along to with the official "manual"!
Thank you! Yeah, this pedal definitely requires some research to figure it out. It's such an amazing tool once it's unlocked!
As a new owner of the Ct 5 I'm so happy to have found your video. Now it's more amazing than I thought it was. Thanks.
Thank you very much for watching the video :)
I'm not understanding the Trigger function mode. How does this impact the sound between soft notes vs harder notes that activate the trigger? I'm not hearing much of a difference. Even tried it myself and it's not clicking yet. Curious how this can be used effectively.
Amazing video, helping me to really unlock my Count to Five! I often just play around until something mad comes out 🙏
I'm very glad it helped, thanks for watching!
How did you record a loop in mode 1? Are you using a looper before the pedal in the chain?
Hi Daniel. I do have a looper running before the Ct5 for this demo. With the regular firmware installed, Mode 1 on the Ct5 operates much like a delay pedal, and Modes 2 and 3 operate more like a weird looper. I also left a reply to your comment on the Mode 3 video that might be helpful to you. Thanks for watching the videos!
This has been very helpful. I've spent a couple of weeks with the pedal, and love sitting down and "finding" cool sounds to play with and solo over. Deeper levels will definitely unlock when I have a few of your pointers in mind. Gonna venture into TRANSCENDENCE mode. See you on the other side!
I'm glad the video was helpful! Transcendance is a great feature, although I STILL feel like I'm not using it to its full potential...
Kinda reminds me of what the rainbow machine.
Except you can control how demented and Diminished it is.
I've actually never owned a Rainbow Machine, I always felt like I'd struggle making it work with how I play. But I agree, with the Quantize knob on the Ct5, you can definitely enter some Rainbow-Machine-esque craziness :)
@@AaronRusch yup.
Just makes me wish that the rainbow machine had a scale switch and a reverse switch.
Just ordered mine today! Saw some high prices on reverb and other places but went directly to there Montreal Assembly’s own webpage and they have the Count to 5 on sale and Free shipping! (I live in Canada) Thanks for taking your time and going through some of it’s “under the hood” features!!! Hard to believe you didn’t cover it all 😅. A sand box of possibilities for sure, can’t wait to try it on multiple instruments- Chapman Stick is my primary instrument but I imagine using my electric cello will get some amazing and unique sounds. I just found your videos recently - so happy I did, you are very clear in you descriptions and teaching! Thank You 🙏.
Hi Jason, thanks for checking out the video! I would love to hear what the Ct5 sounds like with a Chapman Stick and a cello... Mode 2 with either of those instruments and a metric ton of reverb would sound incredible. If you ever post a clip of the Ct5 with those instruments, please let me know!
Emily Hopkins has a great video where she plays a harp through a Ct5... if you are interested, here's the link: ua-cam.com/video/OBeZPyZmAG4/v-deo.html
Finally added this pedal to my collection. Your series are great to get me up to speed quickly. Thorough and simple which is a nice combo. Thanks.
I'm glad the video was helpful, and thank you very much for watching!
wow MAN, that was an amazing explanation! thank you so much! I would be totally lost without it! 😂🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
Does mode 1 have tap tempo?
Not that I'm aware of, at least on the 0.963 firmware. I haven't looked at the Nightly firmware in a long time, but at first glance, no tap tempo functionality for that firmware either.
I want to like Sharon Subscribe, but I have no idea who she is!
sounds good accept when for when it’s high octave candy stuff. But would be neat to hear on non guitar things too!
I'm with you on the high octave stuff... I tend to stay away from it. I think this pedal would pair nicely with a synth or even a drum machine. I've been meaning to play a bass through it... that might be a good use for the high octave settings too, now that I think about it. Thanks for watching the video!
Many Thanks for this !!
Thank you for watching! :)
Okay.... by the 5:20 mark in this video I decided that I want this pedal. Checked out your other videos on the Count To Five and although I'm not usually interested in overly complicated effects, this unit really has a lot that I like. I'm convinced it'll be worth learning to use. I'll have to take a look at their 5th anniversary pedal if it's still available. Or maybe by now Montreal Assembly has something else to offer...? Now just have to find the price and a way way to afford purchasing purchasing one. Thanks for your thorough explanation of this unit. Best regards from Montréal Québec, Canada. ~Glenn ✌😉
Thanks so much, I love hearing this! It's such a great pedal. Even though I'm constantly adding new pedals to my setup, the Count to Five never leaves my board. I hope you find a great deal on one, and thanks for checking out the video! Montréal is one of my favorite cities in the world, I hope all is well up there :)
Great tutorial! I knew this was a cool pedal, but I didn’t realize how deep it is. Thanks for giving us the lowdown on the first mode.
Glad it was helpful! I still love the Count to Five- it's deceptively deep :) Thank you for watching!
Recently picked up a CT5, amazing how fun & intuitive Modes 2 & 3 are, but Mode 1 was a bear! Thank you so much for making this video, I feel like I’m starting to get it :-)
Enjoying setting the buffer length to max and doing sound-on-sound.
Thank you for watching! Yes, it's such a great pedal, and no matter how many years I have it, I still love it and can't imagine replacing it :)
Thank you SO MUCH! you made it was easier for me to understand now! I subscribed, kind sir
I love hearing this... thank you for watching and subbing! :)
great video, thanks! I ordered one from Spain and it's going to take a lot of time to get here. After seeing this really can't wait!
You are going to love it, I hope it arrives soon! Thanks for watching the video :)
i seem to have transcendence mode enabled and am unable to turn it back for some reason. the LED doesn't turn on at all if i have it bypassed, and i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong. I just got the pedal yesterday and i'm very confused
Hey there :) Hmm, that's a problem I have not encountered yet. I wonder if this is a firmware issue? My understanding is that the new Ct5 pedals have shipped with the "Nightly" firmware installed, as opposed to the "regular" firmware (which is the version I'm demo'ing).
Is your pedal one of the new green 5th Anniversary pedals? If so, it likely has the "Nightly" firmware installed, and that would change the functionality. Also, if you bought it used, it could be the old owner never updated the firmware. I'll post a link to the firmware update page in the video description. I hope that helps fix the problem!
@@AaronRusch oh wow yeah, it is definitely the nightly firmware haha. thank you though, it's a slow learning process with this thing, but i'm gettin there
@@designate_om Yeah, it's a tricky pedal! I was thinking about trying the Nightly firmware in the near future... good to know it may do unfamiliar things with transcendence!
Great job explaining.. thanks
Thanks for watching!
Very helpful thanks! I’ve had this for a while and haven’t even tried holding the a switch up or down and making adjustments. Now I might! Does everything go back to the factory settings when you power off the pedal?
Hi there. I'll have to check that... I seem to recall that everything does revert to default when it cycles power. My studio is dissasembled right now so I won't be able to look into this for a bit, but I'll try to find out!
@@AaronRusch thanks
So useful!! Thank you for uploading this
Glad it was helpful!
Great videos Aaron, excellent presentation. I'm planning on making the purchase. Novice question, please: what would be the best power supply to use? I see the rating is "100 mA at 9VDC." For example, could I use a Walrus Finch power supply, rated at 500mA, or would that be too much and cause damage to the Count to 5? Thank you in advance for your reply!
Hey there Kent! Regarding the power supply, you will be fine running it at 500 mA, that won’t damage the pedal (I have mine plugged into a 600mA power supply).
You do want to make sure the voltage is 9 volts… anything different than that will damage the pedal.
I do seem to recall that I had issues with the pedal running it at 100 mA. Montreal Assembly says the pedal requires less than 150mA, but my pedal definitely needed more than 100. So I’d say the Finch will be a great match. If you ever want to go with a larger power supply that will scale to your future needs, I do have another video on the CIOKS power supply, which I absolutely love. Thanks for watching!
@@AaronRusch Thanks, Aaron, for the detailed reply! I also contacted Scott Monk from Montreal Assembly, who said, "...anything over 100mA is fine. The pedal will only pull what it needs." AND, I placed my order today for CT5! MA is currently offering the CT5 on their website for $225 USD.
@@WhyTheGoats Congratulations! I think you will love the pedal. I've had it for several years now, I keep waiting for something to knock it off my board... but nothing has :) I hope you enjoy it!
Beautiful underrated pedal.
I totally agree. It's still one of my favorites :)
Thank you so much for this. I got the count to five today planning to immediately change the firmware to the nightly, as I wanted the 2nd auto stutter mode. After watching your video I decided to keep the current firmware and play with mode 1 for starters. It's nice how you can combine something like the slip mode of mood, the modulation of lo fi junkie and the threshold mode of the mini glitch [ 3 favorite pedals I own]. Once again thank you very much
Thanks for watching! The Ct5 is still one of my all-time favorite pedals. I've considered trying the Nightly mode again, but I'd instantly miss the standard modes too much.
@AaronRusch I'm on the lookout for a reasonable priced second hand one so that I can have both firmwares as I still suffer from IT phobia to keep changing firmwares.
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 I'm the same way... every time I opened that pedal up to update the firmware, I was terrified I'd do something wrong or suffer a power outage and poof! - no more Count to Five.
@AaronRusch My fear exactly...I have a pink one would prefer a green one next...I already have too many blue ones
@@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045 Ha, me too... I don't have a sea foam green pedal yet, but plenty of pink :)
Thank you!
Thanks for watching the video!!