Meris Enzo X Synth

[Quatschmacher]

 

[HenryH]

We all knew it was coming, just a matter of time. But it just looks and sounds so good (albeit I’ve not seen anything bass related yet) 

[itu]

I love to see these!   (without price tags)

[HoorayForAnonyms]

Zach Rizer’s demo. I’ve been waiting for this release. I’m very interested. 

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, itu said:

I love to see these!   (without price tags)

$600.

[bassbora]

Just watched Zach's video and this pedal looks amazing.  Also great to see him back.  

[HoorayForAnonyms]

4 hours ago, bassbora said:

Just watched Zach's video and this pedal looks amazing.  Also great to see him back.  

It does sound as good as the original and addresses some of that pedals shortcomings like a master volume and full ADSR. Having a polyphonic dry mode and ability to also use the ADSR in dry mode is also a welcome expansion on the original. 
 

I’m still uncertain how usable the polyphonic mode is for bass although Zach Rizer doesn’t seem to have too much trouble in that video, so I’m cautiously optimistic that some work has been done on pitch detection. The original Enzo does not handle bass chords well in my experience. 
 

Im also really interested in the ability to connect a midi controller to create a full keys synth; which can also be triggered simultaneously with guitar and bass. I think that would make a really powerful, compact and easily transportable bass and keys synth rig! 
 

I don’t think I’ll be an early adopter though considering the price. I’ll wait until other people report back. 
 

There is also a desk top editor nearing completion which will also be really helpful for patch creation and organisation. 

Edited February 19 by HoorayForAnonyms

[0175westwood29]

my bank just crapped itself! i actually might need to try and sell a few bits to grab one

[Kev]

Looks and sounds fantastic, a truly modern bass synth in a really useable floor unit.

[Al Krow]

@Quatschmacher other than polyphonic capability, do you have an initial sense of the overall capability of this unit vs the FI Mk4? Is it a step up and, if so, how significantly? Be very interested to get your thoughts as our resident synth expert!

[Al Krow]

 

Well, that's Music Radar's view of it!

[Byo]

Sounded great on Zack's video, looking forward to hearing what other bass players do with it.

[Quatschmacher]

13 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@Quatschmacher other than polyphonic capability, do you have an initial sense of the overall capability of this unit vs the FI Mk4? Is it a step up and, if so, how significantly? Be very interested to get your thoughts as our resident synth expert!

I can only go off the few videos I’ve watched. Not had time to read the manual.

 

The effects in the Meris will likely be better and are stereo.

 

FI4 is still superior as far as oscillator options is concerned.

 

Can’t comment on Enzo X’s tracking as I’ve not played it but guess it won’t be using the FI4’s fast tracking implementation so will be a bit slower.

 

Arpeggiation is a plus (if, unlike me, you’re into that sort of thing).

 

Enzo’s filters were pretty nice as I recall from playing the original version.

 

Don’t think it’s something I’ll buy but I’d certainly like to try it out. 

[Al Krow]

That's great thanks Peter!

 

They seem to have included quite a bit of stuff since the original Enzo, a lot of it not specifically synth though. Have they improved the synth aspects too?

 

The Arm chipset sounds like it's a premier piece of kit, though, and likely to give it DSP capability significantly ahead of any of the competition. 

 

Look forward to your further thoughts as/when you get a chance to get your hands on one.

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

Noob question....

 

Is this worth the extra outlay over a Source Audio C4 or a Future Impact pedal for those of us that are dipping our toes into synth bass? 

 

🤔

[0175westwood29]

3 minutes ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said:

Noob question....

 

Is this worth the extra outlay over a Source Audio C4 or a Future Impact pedal for those of us that are dipping our toes into synth bass? 

 

🤔

id say its too much of a jump for someone dipping there toes, i still think for ppl dipping a toe the boss sy-200 is a great option as it can do pitch stuff and alot of sounds (same sort of thing of the C4)

 

this does look pretty in depth

 

[Quatschmacher]

33 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

The Arm chipset sounds like it's a premier piece of kit, though, and likely to give it DSP capability significantly ahead of any of the competition. 

I’d definitely like to hear the raw oscillators to hear how much aliasing there is higher up. Still hoping that one day a company will use FPGA oscillators in a pedal (the Novation Summit and UDO synths have these and they are ultra-high resolution and have zero aliasing).

 

Shame there’s no PWM on the Enzo X but perhaps they could add that in a firmware update. Huge oversight in a synth pedal of this nature.

[Quatschmacher]

19 minutes ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said:

Noob question....

 

Is this worth the extra outlay over a Source Audio C4 or a Future Impact pedal for those of us that are dipping our toes into synth bass? 

 

🤔

If you’re just getting started, I’d pick up a used FI or C4 first. If you’re not fussed about getting the newest FI4, you can pick up the still excellent previous version for about £150 now.

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

I’d definitely like to hear the raw oscillators to hear how much aliasing there is higher up. Still hoping that one day a company will use FPGA oscillators in a pedal (the Novation Summit and UDO synths have these and they are ultra-high resolution and have zero aliasing).

 

Shame there’s no PWM on the Enzo X but perhaps they could add that in a firmware update. Huge oversight in a synth pedal of this nature.

 

Can they add PWM just via a software update? I think a couple of folk have mentioned that omission too, including the Music Radar article, which was otherwise raving about the pedal!

 

PWM useful mostly for string pad type sounds, or does it have wider use?

[Quatschmacher]

56 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Can they add PWM just via a software update? I think a couple of folk have mentioned that omission too, including the Music Radar article, which was otherwise raving about the pedal!

 

PWM useful mostly for string pad type sounds, or does it have wider use?

Most recognisable uses of adjustable pulse width are stuff like clavinet sounds and the bass sound from “Ain’t Nobody”, which uses the 25% duty cycle setting. 

[HoorayForAnonyms]

Some guitar demos beginning to trickle through. The poly presets sound wonderful. The mono patches less so. 

 

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

On 23/02/2025 at 22:23, HoorayForAnonyms said:

Some guitar demos beginning to trickle through. The poly presets sound wonderful. The mono patches less so. 

 

 

 

A lot of the ones I’ve heard seem overly drenched in reverb. That first 3 oscillator mono patch sounded terrible. 

[LukeFRC]

2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

A lot of the ones I’ve heard seem overly drenched in reverb. That first 3 oscillator mono patch sounded terrible. 

in my head a lot of digital effects have a kinda sound signature - which goes from raw harsh organicness (Source Audio) through to Slick smooth polished studio type sounds (Eventide) - my inexpert opinion having not played as much gear as other folk on the thread, but for bass, esp live, the polished sound doesn't work as well as rawer sounds.
Obviously that's not always the case, music style varies, what you're running before it matters, and where it is in the chain too...   

This sounds like the polished end of things.