Bass Synth effect.

[Mr Fudge]

In the title really ... Looking for a stomp box that gives a reasonable synth effect. I know there are some mega expensive ones, Im looking to colour the odd 80's cover we do. I have a Boss ME50, which is pretty good except when it comes to the synth.

I may be looking to swap/trade my DHA VT1 which I never use. That of course may be for another thread.

Just looking for a bit of advice to start with please.

[gnasher1993]

I've got the Boss SYB-3 which is really good. Alot of folks prefer it to the SYB-5. I don't use it in my new band so I'd be willing to trade for the DHA if you fancy it.

I personally think the tracking on the Boss is really good but there is a tiny bit of latency if your playing isn't very accurate (I quickly got used to this). The autowah settings are really good as well.

[thisnameistaken]

Depends what sort of synth effect you mean. Do you have specific songs in mind for the sounds you want to make?

[Mr Fudge]

[quote name='gnasher1993' post='673016' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:48 AM']I've got the Boss SYB-3 which is really good. Alot of folks prefer it to the SYB-5. I don't use it in my new band so I'd be willing to trade for the DHA if you fancy it.

I personally think the tracking on the Boss is really good but there is a tiny bit of latency if your playing isn't very accurate (I quickly got used to this). The autowah settings are really good as well.[/quote]

Hello mate,

Im definately interested. A few things. Im hoping it's a lot better than my Boss ME50 synth sound on my multi effect. Ive use Boss for g****r for many years and always thought it was fine. For some reason the synth on the multi effect I have is rubbish! Also Im using the DHA adaptor for my Korg Pandora, so its just the pedal. Im not sure if there would be some adjustment because of this or it's more or less a swap. I haven't looked on the bay yet Ive just replied here first.

Have a think and PM me.

Cheers Mr Fudge

[Mr Fudge]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='673029' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:05 PM']Depends what sort of synth effect you mean. Do you have specific songs in mind for the sounds you want to make?[/quote]


Yes, Cars by Gary Newman in particular. I know that there is a clean line in there and most of the bass is on an actual keyboard. Just looking to emulate something like. Of the general era?

[absolutpepper]

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='672908' date='Dec 3 2009, 10:06 AM']In the title really ... Looking for a stomp box that gives a reasonable synth effect. I know there are some mega expensive ones, Im looking to colour the odd 80's cover we do. I have a Boss ME50, which is pretty good except when it comes to the synth.

I may be looking to swap/trade my DHA VT1 which I never use. That of course may be for another thread.

Just looking for a bit of advice to start with please.[/quote]

Well a lot of the multi-effects offer synth and filter sounds but by their nature they tend not to be as 'good' sounding as some of the stand alone options. As with everything it will depend on budget, here are some of the big players in the bass synth market.

Markbass Supersynth (£280 odd) - PROs, on paper sounds like it could be fantastic and going by their reputation and other products it likely will be. CONs, availability is difficult at the moment and as a result not many people have had the opportunity to play one and explore the sounds/features on offer.

Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer (£400) - PROs, excellent sounds, good tracking, reliable. CONs, expensive...thats about it.

Korg G-5 (£160s/h) - PROs, dark warm analog sounding with pretty decent tracking. CONs, discontinued and quite large if you have limited available space on your pedalboard.

Akai Deep Impact (£300s/h)- PROs, nice fat analog sound with plenty of tone shaping. CONs, not particularly reliable (high failure rate) and due to some celebrity users (see Muse) probably more expensive than they are worth.

At the lower end of the spectrum...

Digitech Bass Synth Wah (£50) - PROs, pretty decent sounds and tracking for the cash particularly if you run it after a fuzz. CONs, not as warm or analog sounding as other more expensive boutique pedals.

EH Bass MicroSynth (£150) - PROs, nice fat anolog sound with easy tone shaping on the fly due to slider design. CONs, quite large (although xo version is smaller), doesnt track as well and sounds are a little limited.

My two pence is that the Digitech is the cheapest but also pretty decent for the cash however if I saw a G-5 for a decent price I would be all over that! If money were no object i'd be likely to plump for the Markbass (pending some proper online reviews) or the Octavius Squeezer. I've deliberately not mentioned the Boss SYB-3/5 cause they arent particularly great in terms of sound or tracking.

Hope this helps.

[Mr Fudge]

[quote name='absolutpepper' post='673036' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:11 PM']Well a lot of the multi-effects offer synth and filter sounds but by their nature they tend not to be as 'good' sounding as some of the stand alone options. As with everything it will depend on budget, here are some of the big players in the bass synth market.

Markbass Supersynth (£280 odd) - PROs, on paper sounds like it could be fantastic and going by their reputation and other products it likely will be. CONs, availability is difficult at the moment and as a result not many people have had the opportunity to play one and explore the sounds/features on offer.

Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer (£400) - PROs, excellent sounds, good tracking, reliable. CONs, expensive...thats about it.

Korg G-5 (£160s/h) - PROs, dark warm analog sounding with pretty decent tracking. CONs, discontinued and quite large if you have limited available space on your pedalboard.

Akai Deep Impact (£300s/h)- PROs, nice fat analog sound with plenty of tone shaping. CONs, not particularly reliable (high failure rate) and due to some celebrity users (see Muse) probably more expensive than they are worth.

At the lower end of the spectrum...

Digitech Bass Synth Wah (£50) - PROs, pretty decent sounds and tracking for the cash particularly if you run it after a fuzz. CONs, not as warm or analog sounding as other more expensive boutique pedals.

EH Bass MicroSynth (£150) - PROs, nice fat anolog sound with easy tone shaping on the fly due to slider design. CONs, quite large (although xo version is smaller), doesnt track as well and sounds are a little limited.

My two pence is that the Digitech is the cheapest but also pretty decent for the cash however if I saw a G-5 for a decent price I would be all over that! If money were no object i'd be likely to plump for the Markbass (pending some proper online reviews) or the Octavius Squeezer. I've deliberately not mentioned the Boss SYB-3/5 cause they arent particularly great in terms of sound or tracking.

Hope this helps.[/quote]


It does. Thank you very much.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='673034' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:10 PM']Yes, Cars by Gary Newman in particular. I know that there is a clean line in there and most of the bass is on an actual keyboard. Just looking to emulate something like. Of the general era?[/quote]

The Korg G5 can do that sort of thing fairly well, but it's not entirely convincing (sounds a bit woolly to me), and it's quite limited otherwise and the way the filter works is frustrating. I was very disappointed with mine. It's also a huge pedal to lug around for one or two sounds.

A gated fuzz into a chorus would probably work quite well for that, to be honest.

The Akai Deep Impact would definitely do it - it's got a preset just like it - but you'd be looking at £3-350 if and when one turns up on the market because of the Muse fanboys, and you get the issues of relying on an old and discontinued pedal.

The EHX Bass Micro Synth wouldn't do it, but it is excellent for '70s funk Moog-like bass sounds. And I would say the tracking is very good, I see another respondent has already said it wasn't.

The Octavius Squeezer wouldn't do it because it only has one oscillator. It is a mental pedal though, the OSC sounds great and it's really versatile but it doesn't do that string synth type sound - put it through a chorus and it might though, I don't have a chorus so I can't say.

The Digitech Bass Synth Wah wouldn't do it, it's a similar effect to the Bass Micro Synth but with a less good filter.

The Boss SYB-5 might do the sound, but it might not track your playing well enough to produce that particular bass part reliably and cleanly. Caveat Emptor and all that, but it's cheap compared to most of your options and it's Boss so you might find one in a shop you can try out, so might be worth a look.

[quote name='absolutpepper' post='673036' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:11 PM']Markbass Supersynth (£280 odd) - PROs, on paper sounds like it could be fantastic and going by their reputation and other products it likely will be. CONs, availability is difficult at the moment and as a result not many people have had the opportunity to play one and explore the sounds/features on offer.[/quote]

It's not out yet - nobody's played one. Biggest CON to me is the lack of tweakability on the pedal itself, seems you have to plug it into a computer via the USB port to edit patches - not very convenient to tweak your sounds in rehearsals and I think that's really important. What sounds good at home might disappear into the mix with your band.

[Mr Fudge]

cheers, thisnameistaken. Tbh the fuzz on my ME50 is pretty versatile and I have a nice wah unit anyway. For the sake of one song this may be good enough.

[absolutpepper]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='673163' date='Dec 3 2009, 01:35 PM']The Korg G5 can do that sort of thing fairly well, but it's not entirely convincing (sounds a bit woolly to me), and it's quite limited otherwise and the way the filter works is frustrating. I was very disappointed with mine. It's also a huge pedal to lug around for one or two sounds.

A gated fuzz into a chorus would probably work quite well for that, to be honest.

The Akai Deep Impact would definitely do it - it's got a preset just like it - but you'd be looking at £3-350 if and when one turns up on the market because of the Muse fanboys, and you get the issues of relying on an old and discontinued pedal.

The EHX Bass Micro Synth wouldn't do it, but it is excellent for '70s funk Moog-like bass sounds. And I would say the tracking is very good, I see another respondent has already said it wasn't.

The Octavius Squeezer wouldn't do it because it only has one oscillator. It is a mental pedal though, the OSC sounds great and it's really versatile but it doesn't do that string synth type sound - put it through a chorus and it might though, I don't have a chorus so I can't say.

The Digitech Bass Synth Wah wouldn't do it, it's a similar effect to the Bass Micro Synth but with a less good filter.

The Boss SYB-5 might do the sound, but it might not track your playing well enough to produce that particular bass part reliably and cleanly. Caveat Emptor and all that, but it's cheap compared to most of your options and it's Boss so you might find one in a shop you can try out, so might be worth a look.



It's not out yet - nobody's played one. Biggest CON to me is the lack of tweakability on the pedal itself, seems you have to plug it into a computer via the USB port to edit patches - not very convenient to tweak your sounds in rehearsals and I think that's really important. What sounds good at home might disappear into the mix with your band.[/quote]

I like how you went through my post and basically tore apart or disagreed with everything I said...so much for my trying to help!!!!

Obviously you seem to be THE authority on bass synths.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='absolutpepper' post='676330' date='Dec 6 2009, 11:52 PM']I like how you went through my post and basically tore apart or disagreed with everything I said...so much for my trying to help!!!!

Obviously you seem to be THE authority on bass synths.[/quote]

I'm sure your post was helpful and the O.P. thanked you for it, but there's no harm in hearing more than one opinion. I was replying with regard to the tune the O.P. wanted to ape, and I only referred directly to your replies in two places.

In every other part of my response if I've disagreed with what you said it's because I have a contrasting opinion to you. I haven't owned all the pedals discussed (I've owned most of them, and I've had three Bass Micro Synths so I'm fairly convinced the tracking works) but the only one I haven't at least used is the Digitech Bass Synth Wah. Oh and of course that Markbass pedal you recommended which doesn't exist yet.

Edited December 7, 2009 by thisnameistaken

[The Funk]

Sometimes an octave pedal, distortion pedal and envelope filter will give you a decent approximation of a bass synth.

[whynot]

I've also been thinking of something like this for a while but have been advised to wait for the Markbass Supersynth.
Seems initial tryouts at music fairs have been very positive and thats before Markbass had completed programming.
Also has a very usable octaver I understand and the tracking is meant to be excellent.

[ahpook]

i've used both the boss syb-5 and syb-3 and the syb-3 is far superior imho (although you do have to tighten up your playing to get it to trigger correctly...ok - [b]I[/b] had to tighten up my playing !! )

although listening to 'cars', you could prolly get a good sound with something fuzzy like a mxr blowtorch (which has quite a 'synthy' sound) and a chorus (and possibly an octaver, as thefunk suggested).

i've had no experience of any of the other pedals mentioned, so i can only really talk about the boss units.

i think a little goes a long way in this kind of situation.