hen barn Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I'm trying get an effect pedal that makes my bass sound like a 80s synth bass sound , ie human league/pet shop boys/ madonna? Any ideas? Don't want to spend too much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Not cheap but does exactly what you want it to do is the EHX Bass Microsynth. I'm using one for an 80s project covering stuff like Thriller, Pet Shop Boys, Rick Ghastly and so on and it fits the bill perfectly. A cheaper option and one that I nearly went with is the Digitech Bass Synth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Yeah you really need a pedal that can ape a synth with a short envelope on it. The cheapest solution is the BMS, which to be fair is a great pedal. Actually there aren't many other pedals that can do this at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) Most of my time on bass these days has been spent investigating other bass synth options, putting together non MIDI patches that I hear on modern and classic dance songs. In any case here are some tips and quite possibly the longest post I'll make this year : I avoid any synth pedals that just add a waveform tone to the original pitched sound. The Boss SYB is one example. I think the EHX Microsynth does a similar thing. Nothing wrong with that if it makes someone happy but they're not really synthesisers in my opinion, they're waveform generators. The waveforms don't track the pitch of the note you're playing so you'll just get the same monotone regardless of whatever note you are playing. Some bass synth pedals that DO track pitch include: Mark Bass Super Synth Programmable, USB interface, relatively cheap, tracks pitch but only generates a sawtooth waveform Korg Toneworks G5 Discontinued, programmable, only generates fast and slow sawtooth waveforms plus a square subharmonic. So farly limited in potential. Akai SB-1 Deep Impact Discontinued, programmable, eye wateringly expensive in whatever condition, impossible to get spare parts for if it breaks, no info on waveforms but the 9 presets are very 80's in flavour so could probably cover most songs in some manner. You'll need chorus, phaser and pitch shift to emulate some 80's tracks with all of the units described above. Alternatively there are also the following; Roland V-99 V-bass Features include a choice of pitch tracked square or sawtooth waveforms plus an exhaustive range of multi effects and modelling options, plus MIDI output if you need to trigger real bass synths. Its an absolute beast and has a great user interface which includes USB connection and computer editing software. However its not cheap (used prices are about the same as a used Deep Impact), you'll need to install a GK3B pickup on your bass next to the bridge AND programme the pickup location and other aspects of your instrument into the V-bass so it can both model and track properly. You will also need a dedicated MIDI foot controller if you want to change patches or patch parameters mid-song. Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer Absolute swiss army knife (four waveforms, envelope filter, fuzz and multi effects), fully programmable, pricey if you are outside Australia (still less than a secondhand Deep Impact however) but...only two buttons to do the programming!! So it's not the sort of pedal that you can make stuff up on the fly with. You'll also need a lot of patience and good visualisation skills to navigate that menu with only two buttons. (If ever there was a pedal crying out for a USB interface this would be it). My pick would be the V-bass if I didn't need anything other than square or sawtooth waveforms and I anticipated needing a bass synth capability for a while. However I'm still annoyed by the fact its no longer a floor unit. Not only is the emphasis on using the hands rather than feet inconvenient, I'd also need to take a stand to a gig to avoid bending down between songs or pay extra for a MIDI foot controller. You mentioned Human League in your post, I've managed to get both the introduction sawtooth patch and the verse/chorus bass line for Don't You Want Me Baby with the Deep Impact. Not sure what the latter waveform is though, I've just thought of it as 'rubber bandy', it could be a sawtooth with the dynamics dialled right down. A similar rubber bandy patch is used in Madonna's 'Holiday' too. If I needed more than square or sawtooth then the Octavius Squeezer would come in second but I'd still be reluctant to buy one if there was a remote chance they'd release a Mark II version with a USB interface. If it did have the USB interface then I'd place it ahead of the V-bass because the modelling options aren't really going to come in useful on the V-bass. I've also recently discovered this piece of kit which might make arpeggiating a breeze. Eventide Pitchfactor It's pricey at US$500 but a marvellous box of cutting edge pitch effect tricks from what I've seen so far. I'd like to get one and run it next to the Deep Impact to get some trancey stuff going on. If none of that suits, the alternative is to go down the pitch-to-MIDI route which I've also done but that's another thread entirely. Edited March 6, 2020 by Kiwi Formatting corrupted after site update 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 (edited) excellent post from Crazykiwi ! i'm getting in to the Octavius Squeezer at the moment, but as stated it takes a while to get what you want out of it. if you're interested i have a Korg G-5 which i could be tempted to part with. the advantage with this unit is that it can be controlled with an expression pedal, unlike many of the others. PM me if you fancy it. Edited September 22, 2011 by phil.i.stein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I've got an O.S. and it's a great pedal and yes it does qualify as a 'synth' in every sense of the word, but the thing with the EHX Bass Micro Synth is that - regardless of how it does what it does - it sounds excellent. It's a brilliant little package with a lot of very useful sounds in it. The O.S. on the other hand isn't as flexible in some ways because you're relying on digital pitch tracking and it can get quite ropey if you're not careful, so while it has a massive variety of sounds there is stuff you just can't play on it. Fast arpeggiated synth bass being one example, or anything that relies on quick retriggering of an ADSR filter envelope - both are pretty valuable for doing '80s sounds. I think it's better suited to hip hop sounds, early '90s stuff and G-Funk sounds - it excels at that. The BMS is a whole lot easier to play and therefore more useful, IME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I have to agree with you on that. I'm not into stuff that I have to spend ages tweaking so the BMS is just the ticket. Its not great for doing anything fast low down but play it up an octave and then add in the octave down to the sound and you can play as fast as you like. I've got mine set to play 4 different songs at present and the only difference between songs is one slight movement on one of the sliders to get the desired effect so the lack of programmability does not affect me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Mine's the other way around. i was going to get a cheap volume pedal to reduce the level as its really loud compared to my clean signal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Cutting out? It definitely shouldn't be doing that unless you've turned the preamp gain trim pot (the pot inside) way, way too low. The BMS gates its output when the input level falls too low, and if you've lowered the input gain that might be happening too early. But since you say you raised the input gain level that shouldn't be happening. It might be a faulty pedal, it really shouldn't be doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Well that's helped me out. I got mine second hand and had no idea it had a trim pot inside. That'll save me mucking about with a volume pedal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 A cheap, but maybe less effective, way to get a passing synth sound is to use the Boss OC2 with more of the effect than the original signal and play the notes an octave higher. It has worked for me on a few tunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexmoore10 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 On 21/09/2011 at 18:52, hen barn said: I'm trying get an effect pedal that makes my bass sound like a 80s synth bass sound , ie human league/pet shop boys/ madonna? Any ideas? Don't want to spend too much!! Any chance you have any settings please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscarlb Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Source Audio C4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hen barn Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Seen videos on c4 but not just a synth bass as on PYT Micheal Jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 You do know that before yesterday the previous posts were all from nine and a half years ago? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscarlb Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 I do now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 A more recent thread that expands on my post above is here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/366657-bass-synth-and-the-search-for-an-accessible-arpeggiator/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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