Source Audio C4 Synth Pedal

[Quatschmacher]

5 hours ago, urb said:

Thanks man

 

Just connect the 3.5mm output from your Dual Expression straight into the “control input” port on the C4 with the supplied 3.5mm TRRS cable and it should work. 

[urb]

On 05/12/2019 at 13:30, Quatschmacher said:

Have you got source set to “external expression”? Have you set the mini

minimum and maximum percentages in the editor?

Is there a trimpot on the expression pedal and is it set fully open to give maximum range?

thanks again 

[Quatschmacher]

21 minutes ago, urb said:

thanks again 

Is it working now? If using dual expression, you’ll need to make sure you select that option in the “control source”; I’m not sure if you should choose “X” or “Y” (they are the axes for Hot Hand) or whether both work when using a dual expression. Suck it and see, I guess.  

Edited December 7, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[fretmeister]

Seriously thinking about one of these.

Will the C4 do everything the Spectrum can? Can the C4 load Spectrum presets?

 

ta.

[Quatschmacher]

8 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Seriously thinking about one of these.

Will the C4 do everything the Spectrum can? Can the C4 load Spectrum presets?

 

ta.

Yes it can load Spectrum presets.

It does everything Spectrum does, with a few qualifications:

Spectrum has two functions per control knobs 1 and 2 whereas C4 (currently) only allows one function to be assigned to each.

Spectrum has a few things that you can assign to control knobs (such as cutoff 1+2, resonance 1+2 and maybe a couple of other things) which cannot be assigned on C4. This is because C4 has many more parameters than Spectrum and there are only so many slots for what can be assigned. As Spectrum has fewer individual parameters than C4, Source Audio added some combinations and a couple of choices for which there is no room on C4.

C4 is a much more capable pedal. However, if you don’t want or need the synth stuff, then Spectrum might be a better choice for you. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by Quatschmacher

[fretmeister]

On 09/12/2019 at 16:26, Quatschmacher said:

Yes it can load Spectrum presets.

It does everything Spectrum does, with a few qualifications:

Spectrum has two functions per control knobs 1 and 2 whereas C4 (currently) only allows one function to be assigned to each.

Spectrum has a few things that you can assign to control knobs (such as cutoff 1+2, resonance 1+2 and maybe a couple of other things) which cannot be assigned on C4. This is because C4 has many more parameters than Spectrum and there are only so many slots for what can be assigned. As Spectrum has fewer individual parameters than C4, Source Audio added some combinations and a couple of choices for which there is no room on C4.

C4 is a much more capable pedal. However, if you don’t want or need the synth stuff, then Spectrum might be a better choice for you. 

This is my dilemma.

I like mucking about with synth noises but it's unlikely I'd ever use them live. But I would use filter stuff live - a lot.

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

This is my dilemma.

I like mucking about with synth noises but it's unlikely I'd ever use them live. But I would use filter stuff live - a lot.

The difference is only £40 new. How important is having more dedicated knobs to you?

[fretmeister]

22 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

The difference is only £40 new. How important is having more dedicated knobs to you?

I don't know without actually playing with them!

[fretmeister]

I've listened to a playlist of all the youtube demos for both.

 

Ordered a Spectrum. If I need the C4 as well.... well so be it!  

[GisserD]

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

I've listened to a playlist of all the youtube demos for both.

 

Ordered a Spectrum. If I need the C4 as well.... well so be it!  

i like your style!

[sshorepunk]

Been following this thread for a while

Really into filters, C4 is gonna give me good filters which I can use in a band situation and good synth sounds to play around with through the looper pedal, sounds like a lot of fun out of one box! 
Tony

[Quatschmacher]

Clip of the Mu-Tron Microtron IV and my attempt to recreate it on the C4. See if you can guess which is which.

[Cuzzie]

Not heard the Tron in action but both sound banging - the second possibly a bit fuller in its presence.

Been watching a fair few vids on the C4 and it’s very much the danglies from what I hear

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, Cuzzie said:

Not heard the Tron in action but both sound banging - the second possibly a bit fuller in its presence.

Been watching a fair few vids on the C4 and it’s very much the danglies from what I hear

I forgot to check for output balance over the two pedals so the second one is a bit louder.

The C4 is brilliant. Between it and the FI I have a lot of sounds covered.

[Cuzzie]

I better do some homework and come out with a proper answer - cheers for that!

it probably too complex to cover in a couple sentences - but where do you think the C4 shines above the FI and vice versa?

[Quatschmacher]

31 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

I better do some homework and come out with a proper answer - cheers for that!

it probably too complex to cover in a couple sentences - but where do you think the C4 shines above the FI and vice versa?

I’m sure I already wrote about this either earlier in this thread, on the FI thread or on the generic synth bass thread.

In a nutshell FI has much better envelope control, better oscillator options (the ability to have more than two of the same shape at the same time and the ability to have all three waveforms simultaneously within each oscillator), pulse width modulation and the mod matrix is brilliant. C4 has a wider choice of filters, including dedicated phasers, dual processors, FM synthesis, sequencer and intelligent harmoniser and some cool routing options.

For proper synth sounds, the FI wins. If the C4 were updated with full ADSR envelopes then that would close the gap a lot, or even a sustain stage control would help massively. I really hope they take note. They didn’t sound like they would but then Andras didn’t want to add ADSR to the FI either and only added it after I and a few others pestered him. I’m glad he gave in in the end as it’s absolutely brilliant now.

[dannybuoy]

8 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Clip of the Mu-Tron Microtron IV and my attempt to recreate it on the C4. See if you can guess which is which.

No idea which is which, but I preferred the first! I'd guess the C4 was the 2nd one.

[Cuzzie]

7 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

I’m sure I already wrote about this either earlier in this thread, on the FI thread or on the generic synth bass thread.

In a nutshell FI has much better envelope control, better oscillator options (the ability to have more than two of the same shape at the same time and the ability to have all three waveforms simultaneously within each oscillator), pulse width modulation and the mod matrix is brilliant. C4 has a wider choice of filters, including dedicated phasers, dual processors, FM synthesis, sequencer and intelligent harmoniser and some cool routing options.

For proper synth sounds, the FI wins. If the C4 were updated with full ADSR envelopes then that would close the gap a lot, or even a sustain stage control would help massively. I really hope they take note. They didn’t sound like they would but then Andras didn’t want to add ADSR to the FI either and only added it after I and a few others pestered him. I’m glad he gave in in the end as it’s absolutely brilliant now.

Thanks for that - kind of you to write again for me/us

[Quatschmacher]

34 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Thanks for that - kind of you to write again for me/us

You’re welcome. That’s not to say the C4 isn’t capable of some amazing synth sounds too - it totally is and the dual sequencers can produce some incredible results that the FI cannot do. It is worth remembering that the FI can be played via midi so you can easily trigger it with a sequencer.    

[Quatschmacher]

I’ve created a C4 preset which allows me to have just the contents of its loop be active. It can be found here:

https://neuro.sourceaudio.net/preset/7GVB1SSDo3

[Jonathan Bee]

I'm loving this! Feel like I'm understanding it's capabilities more now... looking forward to having a good play around with the C4 tomorrow 🙂

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

Just found a nice little feature buried in the MIDI map, which I think has been expanded since I last looked. There is an option for control 1 and 2 knob assign. This basically means I can use the MC8 buttons to assign parameters to the C4’s knobs in real time. @GisserD this might be the nail in the coffin of the Manta-twekabilty argument.

[GisserD]

I really cant see how that will replace the 5 most commonly used parameters on the manta. Or the instant acess to 24 filter types. Maybe I'm missing somthing?

[Quatschmacher]

2 hours ago, GisserD said:

I really cant see how that will replace the 5 most commonly used parameters on the manta. Or the instant acess to 24 filter types. Maybe I'm missing somthing?

I think you might be missing my point. Basically I could then map the 6 Manta parameters onto 6 buttons of the MC6 or MC8 (or to fewer buttons if using toggle positions) and each button would then allow me to use one of the C4’s assignable knobs to control those parameters. (I could even double that control onto the expression pedal so that I didn’t have to bend down to twiddle the knob.)

Filter type isn’t assignable to one of the knobs sadly but filter type (for both filters!) can be mapped to a CC message and controlled by buttons an/or with an expression pedal to switch between the 24 types.

In other words, the much-lauded instant tweakability of the Manta can be had out of the C4 if using a midi controller such as MC8 (or your ES8). Granted, it’s not a stand-alone unit, but aren’t most of us generally hooking up to bigger systems anyway?

Edited February 19, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[Quatschmacher]

Now that I’m permanently running pedals in my C4’s loop, I’ve had a go at writing a patch that runs processor 1 and 2 in series:

 

https://soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/donkey-biter

 

It’d be a wonderful addition if a series routing option could be done in software so that one didn’t physically have to patch the cable from output 2 into input 2 as I imagine not everyone will want to have their pedal set up like this.