Al Krow

You're not the only one! I've just enjoyed watching this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n93c4/synth-britannia

Soz Harry, on this one I have to disagree with you. Glitchy pedals don't have 'character', in my books they're simply annoying. So the less glitches the better! How often do you hear glitches with quality keyboard synths, which is what bass synth pedals are aiming for, or any recorded synth music? Pretty close to never, right? Let's face it: if glitchy / poor tracking was just fine and musicians and audiences didn't care, FI wouldn't have bothered improving the tracking via their recent software updates would they? If tracking can be made flawless that's a good thing in my books. I'll take flawless tracking over glitches every day of the week and on this the SY-1 has set the bar. ^^ this absolutely

How does it do on a 4 string down to the open E and played at speed - any glitching at all? I'm guessing by definition it won't be flawless, otherwise @HazBeen wouldn't be able to say that the C4 tracks marginally better! 😉 I suspect the polyphonic capability of the SY-1, which is not shared by either the C4 or FI, will give it an edge on tracking. For live band use IMO tight tracking is as important, if not more so, than wider sonic variety. It's a real plus for the SY-1. I think we need you, as our BC synth guru, to get hold of an SY-1 and put it through its paces for yourself and see if you would change any of the A/B points list in my earlier post.

Sounds promising. But does it now track flawlessly / tightly all the way down to a low B with the latest firmware, Peter, even when playing short notes quickly? I'd be very (and pleasantly) surprised if it did! That is however the bar that the SY-1 has set.

Yup! I pretty much only play 5ers these days. Both Woody and I were a little blown away (see his initial review immediately after getting the pedal earlier in this thread) by its ability to track tightly down to a low B. My FI didn't come close in terms of tracking ability. I'm sure being fully polyphonic really helps give this its edge with tracking.

Wunjos is a fantastic little bass store - probably my favourite in Central London. Tom the manager there is a great guy, and his team mostly also called Tom(!) are pretty decent too!

@razor5cl - you mentioned you'd tried a 735A at a store, was that the main Yammy store in central London? I'm guessing you're still loving it compared to your Ibby Talman, although I have to 'fess to being a big Ibby fan, particularly of their SR Premium range. @TRBboy - the only caveat about the Yammy store is that they just have a couple of pretty basic combos to play through and there is the whole noise and buzz of other folk in a music store. So IMO it will give you just a taster of tonal palette, but you if you take your usual strap you can at least assess how they feel to wear and how comfortable the necks are to play etc. My BB 1025 is very noticeably better than it sounded in the store, so whatever you're hearing in the store you should treat as a kind a base case!

Yeh - they've usually got the full 'mainstream' BB range on display up to and including the P34/5s. May not have some of the more high end basses in stock (e.g. the NE2). If you give the store a quick call they'll happily confirm what they currently have in.

Agreed! And would also fall into the significant category. I've updated my earlier post

I like the handwriting analogy! But I think we are now straying into the realms of how competent technically and the groove we play with etc. Which for me is quite a different point to the impact that finger placement has on the tone you are getting out of a bass, and which is just one of the several factors mentioned above. A great bass player will make any bass sound good.

No question that our technique, finger placement etc does have a significant bearing on our sound, but I wouldn't go so far to say that it was a "large portion" which kinda implies to me that it's a dominant factor? Me playing my Yammy PJ in P mode sounds quite distinct tonally to my Spector Legend Custom or Ibanez SR Premium etc. In terms of tone from a bass itself, before we get to the rest of the signal chain, IMO the following all have impact: Significant tonal impact pups - type and placement strings EQ settings on the bass e.g. treble rolled off, and whether played actively or passively finger placement and technique properly set up => clarity / buzz etc Relatively minor tonal impact Woods used Neck through or bolt-on

It's a less sophisticated unit than the FI that lets a bassist, who doesn't want to have to spend hours and days deep diving into PC editing, get some very usable sounds quickly. Where the FI wins: overall more capable and more tweak-able synth engine midi enabled ability to provide 99 presets Where the SY-1 wins: flawless tracking all the way down to a low B (and not requiring a staccato / muted style to avoid glitching) immediacy of dials (no need for an app/midi/PC) to access some great synth sounds £175 vs £329 (new) arpeggiator polyphonic straightforward parallel loop capability ability to use an expression pedal smaller footprint So for me it was a no-brainer in going for the SY-1, which I'm loving, and I'm not missing my FI at all. For others, the pros / cons may push them to getting an FI.

Time-clock noted at 10 36pm on 13-09-19

I love that description of the journey you're on! An analogue bass player in a digital world.

Haha - you're clearly suffering from a bit LOT of confusion as part of your mid-life crisis?! Surely mid-life crisis = more gear not less? (Well that's how I sold it to Mrs Krow, anyway 😂)

I guess we won't need to enquire of @cetera what the right answer to the question "how many is too many basses" then, as I think you've hit the nail on the head

What does that phrase even mean?! Someone please explain 😁😂

That's frustrating! But must admit I'm not massively surprised - this thing is clearly shifting off the shelves. And of my entire pedal board, this would probably be the one I would be most reluctant to let go of (followed by my HX Stomp). Boss have been really canny with their price point on this. It's selling for $199 in the US so you'd expect it to be around £199 or little more over here. But despite the weakening £ they've held the price at £175. Whereas the C4 is $239 in the US and £249 over here, which is getting that little bit further into the pain zone for many of us.

It totally looks the part, too, Mick! Just love the simple but elegant finish on that bass.

Don't even think of getting one, unless you're prepared to have a lot of very easy to access fun, and your creative juices pumped! 😀 If you've not seen it already, worth checking the video out that fretmeister posted above.

...and isn't going to hit on your singer! 😂 Looking forward to some sound clips!

They're already out! Both Woody and I have one on our boards and it's a seriously creative fun pedal. @Kev is having the same doubts about his C4 as you've touched on about needing an app etc and it's exactly the reason I went for the SY-1 over the C4.

The first good bass focused review! Thanks for sharing that. The two significant points they've not picked up are the additional filters provided by depth and rate dials, and that this is fully polyphonic. But totally agree with their comments that: This is a game changer compared to predecessor SYB-3 and SYB-5 pedals; No need for an app / midi / pc editing; Flawless tracking; Inspires creativity and is entertainment gold.

Yup seems to be in the Akai Deep Impact territory on ancient pedal pricing. Funnily the "big 3" bass synth pedals when the K5 came out (2005?) were the Akai DI, the K5 and the EHX BMS. Chip tech has moved on since then and the current top 3 (in my books anyway) knock this older stuff out the park. Bit like comparing a Sinclair C5 with a Tesla.