Filter & Synth Sounds - Let's hear them!

[Al Krow]

There's been a few threads on filters and synth pedals, with lots of descriptions of what they're like. 

A sound clip is worth a couple of hundred words and I thought it would be great if we shared some clips of what our filter and synth pedals actually sound like (together with details of our signal chains used in the recording)?

To get the ball rolling @GisserD has kindly shared a clip from his MXR BEF which he's just managed to pick up from the FS. 

His signal chain for this clip was: Sandberg VM5 () -> MXR BEF -> Scarlett Focusrite 8i6 -> Ableton DAW (no processing).

DGis - MXR BEF.mp3

[dannybuoy]

Ok, I'll play!

Clean bass, then adding the layers of Diabolik, Octabvre Mini, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, MXR Carbon Copy:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApKsVfvGwYkOiqkL9mVycX-u9kCMAA

Chain is in that order, octave after the fuzz to keep the low end clean. Recorded direct, no amp or speakers involved.

[xgsjx]

My old set up was Bass into Boss OC3 into a Moog Bass Murf.  The signal was split with lows going into one side of a mixer/loop pedal I made & the other side went into a PSK dirt, Moog LPF (with exp pedal & an envelope out to the Bass Murf to shift frequencies as the note decays) & then a boss CH2.  This then went back into the other side of the mixer to sum it all together & then to the amp.  The loop side of the pedal allowed me to switch everything after the octave on or off.

Here's a track I made 5 years ago for Basschat.  The bass comes in at 2 seconds.

My current rig hasn't made as great a synth sound yet, but I've not really played much with it.
I now have MXR BOD > PSK Dirt > Source Audio BEF Pro > Boss CE2.

[Quatschmacher]

12 hours ago, xgsjx said:

My old set up was Bass into Boss OC3 into a Moog Bass Murf.  The signal was split with lows going into one side of a mixer/loop pedal I made & the other side went into a PSK dirt, Moog LPF (with exp pedal & an envelope out to the Bass Murf to shift frequencies as the note decays) & then a boss CH2.  This then went back into the other side of the mixer to sum it all together & then to the amp.  The loop side of the pedal allowed me to switch everything after the octave on or off.

Here's a track I made 5 years ago for Basschat.  The bass comes in at 2 seconds.

My current rig hasn't made as great a synth sound yet, but I've not really played much with it.
I now have MXR BOD > PSK Dirt > Source Audio BEF Pro > Boss CE2.

What were your reasons for getting rid of the MF-101?

[xgsjx]

2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

What were your reasons for getting rid of the MF-101?

I stopped playing bass for a few years.  Sold everything except my bass, the chorus & the dirt. 

I had a Markbass 2x10 combo that sounded fantastic & I got shot of that too. 

I’d happily have those 2 Moog pedals back again. 

[dodge_bass]

Here's another tune I'm putting some synth bass on - OC2 -> bit crusher -> MXR DI -> Focusrite. Managed to get the OC2 to glitch on the last few notes

 

Mother Garten BASS IDRVING OUTRO.mp3

Edited July 5, 2018 by dodge_bass

[Jonathan Bee]

 Real nice piece @dodge_bass, reminds me a little of Radiohead Kid A era. Digging that bit crusher sound, what type is it again?

[dodge_bass]

3 minutes ago, Jonathan Bee said:

 Real nice piece @dodge_bass, reminds me a little of Radiohead Kid A era. Digging that bit crusher sound, what type is it again?

Yeah, I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Bit crusher - well it's an out of production 'BugBrand BigCrusher 08' that I picked up recently having been looking out for one for months...it's amazing! Not very pedal board friendly though....:(

[Bo0tsy]

Really nice @dodge_bass.

To add to the thread, here's a couple of quick demo's I did of my most recent acquisition, a vintage Frostwave Funk-a-Duck...this thing is crazy fun to play around with and is one of the most extreme analogue filters I've ever come across. Please excuse the sound quality and sloppy playing...

Chain is very simple (like me): Warwick Spacebass > Funk-a-Duck > PJB Double Four

 

 

[dodge_bass]

13 hours ago, Bo0tsy said:

Really nice @dodge_bass.

To add to the thread, here's a couple of quick demo's I did of my most recent acquisition, a vintage Frostwave Funk-a-Duck...this thing is crazy fun to play around with and is one of the most extreme analogue filters I've ever come across. Please excuse the sound quality and sloppy playing...

Chain is very simple (like me): Warwick Spacebass > Funk-a-Duck > PJB Double Four

 

 

Woah. INTENSE! These sound great. What a filter! Great stuff.

[Al Krow]

My turn to make some belated contributions to the thread.

Here's a couple from my Markbass SS:

MB SS (1).WAV

MB SS (2).WAV

[Al Krow]

And the same phrase played on my very recently acquired Bananana Matryoshka on three different settings (dirt, LFO, low filter)

BM Dirt.WAV

BM LFO.WAV

BM Out1.WAV

[dodge_bass]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

And the same phrase played on my very recently acquired Bananana Matryoshka on three different settings (dirt, LFO, low filter)

BM Dirt.WAV

BM LFO.WAV

BM Out1.WAV

These are tasty. I just couldn't get on with  this despite trying my best to. But you're getting some great sounds and without all the extra 'noise' I seemed to be getting when I was using it. Good stuff. Got any recordings of it in context?

[GisserD]

15 minutes ago, dodge_bass said:

These are tasty. I just couldn't get on with  this despite trying my best to. But you're getting some great sounds and without all the extra 'noise' I seemed to be getting when I was using it. Good stuff. Got any recordings of it in context?

I can almost guarantee the noise was caused by high output bass. I had the same glitchy noises when I first got it. Did you try a lower signal going in?

I find the BM sounds better in all cases with the output of my bass down considerably! And entirely eliminates the glitchy noises I was experiencing. 

Edited July 29, 2018 by GisserD

[dodge_bass]

11 minutes ago, GisserD said:

I can almost guarantee the noise was caused by high output bass. I had the same glitchy noises when I first got it. Did you try a lower signal going in?

I find the BM sounds better in all cases with the output of my bass down considerably! And entirely eliminates the glitchy noises I was experiencing. 

Perhaps. Just a passive P bass with flats though. But yeah I never suspected that and just thought it was a bit rubbish so sold it....damn....

[Al Krow]

28 minutes ago, dodge_bass said:

These are tasty. I just couldn't get on with  this despite trying my best to. But you're getting some great sounds and without all the extra 'noise' I seemed to be getting when I was using it. Good stuff. Got any recordings of it in context?

Hi Ian, thanks very much. What had you in mind in terms of "in context"? 

[dodge_bass]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Hi Ian, thanks very much. What had you in mind in terms of "in context"? 

Well just in a band (or whatever 'project' you work with) setting....

[Al Krow]

14 minutes ago, GisserD said:

I can almost guarantee the noise was caused by high output bass. I had the same glitchy noises when I first got it. Did you try a lower signal going in?

I find the BM sounds better in all cases with the output of my bass down considerably! And entirely eliminates the glitchy noises I was experiencing. 

Aha! Ok well my BM recordings were with my Ibby SR Premium set on active and with output on full! The pedal was certainly sensitive, so I had to mute the strings before playing the phrase to prevent my Boss RC 30 being prematurely triggered to record! 

I'm looking forward to trying your suggestion, Darren, of lowering the bass output and / or using my passive Yammy BB1025 and separately also to checking out the settings that Andy Martin is using, to get his excellent synth sounds, on his Reverb review of the 🍌M.

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, dodge_bass said:

Well just in a band (or whatever 'project' you work with) setting....

Ah okay, am working up to that...just home use at the moment 

[Al Krow]

On 29/07/2018 at 20:36, dodge_bass said:

Perhaps. Just a passive P bass with flats though. But yeah I never suspected that and just thought it was a bit rubbish so sold it....damn....

Well Darren sold his 🍌M and then bought a replacement(!)**. That kinda told me it's a pedal worth investigating - 'cos there have been MANY pedals that have crossed Mr Gisser's pedal board, most have come and gone and very few stayed! [Aside: the only pedal I've ever done that with is my Zoom MS-60B - bought my first one back in 2013 when they first came out...and I'm more convinced than ever that they're probably the single best value for money pedal on the market, particularity with the advent of the Tone Lib editing software!]

I pulled my weekend's effort into a crib sheet for future reference, which I've attached in case this might be useful to you (if you do decide to get another one!) or any other BCers who might be interested in this pedal. At the moment it seems to be quite complementary to my Markbass SS in the sounds it  produces, so I can see a place for both of them on my pedal board; besides the octaver on the MB SS is surprisingly good (both in terms of tracking and also having an octave up).

Having never owned an OC-2 but in the knowledge that, together with @Sibob, you're our BC expert on those ancient emblems of glory: the third BM clip I uploaded is how I imagine an OC2 would / should sound like. (The clip is not a million miles from the "full filter" sound on my COG T16 v2 which I recently moved on and whose place the BM has taken on my board).

I'd be really interested to hear from you how close that third clip is, if at all, to the classic OC-2 sound? (And please do feel free to upload a clip so we can hear them side by side).

 

Bananana Matryoshka.pdf

[**Edit: and has sold it again now. Lol!]

Edited April 7, 2019 by Al Krow

[Sibob]

Was always quite proud with how this came out, a playthrough of an old electronic/dubstep band I was in. You absolutely need headphones or decent speakers, listening on your phone or laptop speakers? Don’t bother pressing play . There’s no bass sounds on the track, all me!

The verses are just OC-2 (-1 Octave, no direct) and this slow gear effect on the ME-50B (basically a volume swell).

The synthy ‘choruses’ are all tapped on my fretting hand so my right hand can operate the Hot Hand for the enevelope changes. So that’s a Source Audio BEF, OC-2, Orbit CoPilot Fuzz & the ME-50B for some chorus and the whammy bits at the end of the phrase.

Worked nicely live. Basically every modular bass synth sound is Envelope filter, fuzz, modulation and pitch in some variation.

Si

Edited July 29, 2018 by Sibob

[dodge_bass]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Well Darren sold his 🍌M and then bought a replacement(!). That kinda told me it's a pedal worth investigating - 'cos there have been MANY pedals that have crossed Mr Gisser's pedal board, most have come and gone and very few stayed! [Aside: the only pedal I've ever done that with is my Zoom MS-60B - bought my first one back in 2013 when they first came out...and I'm more convinced than ever that they're probably the single best value for money pedal on the market, particularity with the advent of the Tone Lib editing software!]

I pulled my weekends efforts into a crib sheet for future reference, which I've attached in case this might be useful to you (if you do decide to get another one!) or any other BCers who might be interested in this pedal. At the moment it seems to be quite complementary to my Markbass SS in the sounds it  produces, so I can see a place for both of them on my pedal board; besides the octaver on the MB SS is surprisingly good (both in terms of tracking and also having an octave up).

Having never owned an OC-2 but in the knowledge that, together with @Sibob, you're our BC expert on those ancient emblems of glory: the third BM clip I uploaded is how I imagine an OC2 would / should sound like. (The clip is not a million miles from the "full filter" sound on my COG T16 v2 which I recently moved on and whose place the BM has taken on my board).

I'd be really interested to hear from you how close that third clip is, if at all, to the classic OC-2 sound? (And please do feel free to upload a clip so we can hear them side by side).

 

Bananana Matryoshka.pdf

Yeah - that clip is pretty close to an OC2 - it's got more 'bloom' and a bit more grit but it's not bad and I suspect might sit in the mix a little better. The OC2 -1 8ve by itself tends to get a little lost live without much top end information but it makes things rumble and sounds lush recorded.

And great work re.pdf settings - fantastic little resource and another reason why basschat is just a great place! 

Also @Al Krow there happens to be an OC2 on the effects sale forum, boxed, for....well not £125 thats for sure

[dodge_bass]

Here's a pass with the OC2 with just the -1 8ve on for reference. This is the chorus groove for a dance-pop tune. Nowt flash but I love the way it's stable and has the super synthy sound esp. on the 8ve figures.

OC2 boy chorus.wav

[dodge_bass]

1 hour ago, Sibob said:

Was always quite proud with how this came out, a playthrough of an old electronic/dubstep band I was in. You absolutely need headphones or decent speakers, listening on your phone or laptop speakers? Don’t bother pressing play . There’s no bass sounds on the track, all me!

The verses are just OC-2 (-1 Octave, no direct) and this slow gear effect on the ME-50B (basically a volume swell).

The synthy ‘choruses’ are all tapped on my fretting hand so my right hand can operate the Hot Hand for the enevelope changes. So that’s a Source Audio BEF, OC-2, Orbit CoPilot Fuzz & the ME-50B for some chorus and the whammy bits at the end of the phrase.

Worked nicely live. Basically every modular bass synth sound is Envelope filter, fuzz, modulation and pitch in some variation.

Si

This is great. I was in a live 10 piece DnB band in the early 2000's - had some success musically but I was permanently frustrated by not knowing where to start getting these types of sounds. Fast forward 15 years and I've got quote a few at my finger tips...but using the hot hand like this for those amazing whammy bits is inspired. AWESOME.

 

 

[Al Krow]

17 minutes ago, dodge_bass said:

Yeah - that clip is pretty close to an OC2 - it's got more 'bloom' and a bit more grit but it's not bad and I suspect might sit in the mix a little better. The OC2 -1 8ve by itself tends to get a little lost live without much top end information but it makes things rumble and sounds lush recorded.

And great work re.pdf settings - fantastic little resource and another reason why basschat is just a great place! 

Also @Al Krow there happens to be an OC2 on the effects sale forum, boxed, for....well not £125 thats for sure

Cheers, thanks for the confirmation and you're very welcome re. the pdf

I've deliberately got it on the Arpeggiator mode, which gives the output of "Out1" a little boost as compared to all the other modes, precisely so that it might cut through the mix better.

If the 🍌M can get close to an OC-2 (and full filter COG T16 v2) sound, well it's almost earned its keep just on that one setting as it means I won't need to get myself an OC-2 (not that there's any space for one on my board 😂). It also means that I'm not going to regret moving my T16 v2 on either as the 🍌M can cover off the full filter and my Markbass SS the octaver side of things.

...Just had a listen to your OC2 clip. It's definitely more rounded, stable and super synthy as you say! I like it a lot, I'll have to admit (fortunately my peal board is full)  

Edited July 29, 2018 by Al Krow