Bass synth effect ?

[chris2401]

hey guys.looking to buy a good synth pedal for my bass guitar.im looking to get a good muse kind of sound(from what ive searched he combines a synth pedal with a muff,i already own the bass big muff).so ive come down to these two.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gr/electro_harmonix_bass_micro_synth_new_2008.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gr/electro_harmonix_...th_new_2008.htm[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gr/digitech_bass_synth_wah_bodeneffektpedal.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gr/digitech_bass_syn...effektpedal.htm[/url]

do u think there is anything better,or something else that i could get that could sound more like the sound i wanna have ?

thanks.

[danbowskill]

[quote name='chris2401' post='911048' date='Jul 31 2010, 11:06 AM']hey guys.looking to buy a good synth pedal for my bass guitar.im looking to get a good muse kind of sound(from what ive searched he combines a synth pedal with a muff,i already own the bass big muff).so ive come down to these two.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gr/electro_harmonix_bass_micro_synth_new_2008.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gr/electro_harmonix_...th_new_2008.htm[/url]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gr/digitech_bass_synth_wah_bodeneffektpedal.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gr/digitech_bass_syn...effektpedal.htm[/url]

do u think there is anything better,or something else that i could get that could sound more like the sound i wanna have ?

thanks.[/quote]
get the micro synth dude!
i found the digitech pants if your a medium to hard player! the boss 1 is crap as well,
you can get nice musey sounds using your muff with a eh octave multiplexer.
or you could try mxr blowtorch(nice chain saw/synthy sound).
thats all i can think of in a mid price range?

[danbowskill]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=96971"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=96971[/url] bargain :-)

[EvilSmile]

I've not tried the mirco synth so can't comment only read mixed reviews and sound clips and to me it sounded very analogue and just like an overly distorted bass - and wasn't as synth like as i wanted. I've no idea how it'll far through a big muff but in my mind it sounds like everything will be garbled and hugely distorted..

When i was looking into synth pedals i was going for the pure synth tones and wanted something a little more versitile using muse tones as inspiration i was looked into an akai deep impact (this was before they got to silly prices and were about £200 ish). But the tracking issues and reliability problems stopped me from getting one.

In the end i got a Korg G5 bass synth which to me did exactly what i wanted. Tracks amazingly well super reliable and sounds similar enough to the deep impact (if not better in some cases imo) Huge amount of sounds, can save 9 custom presents, double up on waveform sounds 3 banks of 3 - which for live stuff allowed my to organize me tones so i could switch between a couple at a time in a song. Add some delay and you got a huge synthy keyboard sound - on its own i can almost nail the hysteria sound i'm sure adding a big muff will just take it the one step closer to perfecting it.

There is also new mark bass synth also looks like it could be something special but i've yet yo try it - but it should be worth a look at! - from the comments i;ve heard from people its a very good synth pedal.

All the projects where i was using my Korg G5 have pretty much stopped so i've got mine up for sale for £200 - I can get some clips up of the Korg G5 for you if you want, but my advice would be to really hunt around youtube and try and find clips of all the pedals as they all are different and appeal to different people. If you can find some to try that would be even more ideal and really give you a sense of what you want.

[danbowskill]

i agree on the tracking problem,hard to find 1 thats bang on for under a ton!

[EvilSmile]

That said the micro synth doesn't have any issues tracking as it manipulates the bass signal instead of tracking it and reproducing the wave form iirc.....might be wrong but i think this was one of the reasons why i didn't go for it in the end.

[Hit&Run]

I'm after a bass synth effect, but haven't got a clue where to start having never used one before.

Sound-wise I'm after an 80s type of sound, like on:
* crush on you by the jets
* Let The Music Play by Shannon
etc..

I'm not going to be covering those songs, but they're the kind of sounds I'm after. My band is on about covering GaGa's bad romance, which I'm sure would benefit from a bit of synth bass action.

So, any suggestions or recommendations?

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='922657' date='Aug 12 2010, 01:00 PM']I'm after a bass synth effect, but haven't got a clue where to start having never used one before.

Sound-wise I'm after an 80s type of sound, like on:
* crush on you by the jets
* Let The Music Play by Shannon
etc..[/quote]

That fast re-attack is something that all "synth" pedals struggle to do. Even with the best playing technique in the world, the hardware often won't keep up with you.

Avoid the Korg G5 (which has the wishy-washiest note attack of all effects ever), try to find a super-responsive low-pass filter that can close to 20hz or so maybe. I do have a patch on my Octavius Squeezer that I use for this '80s-style percussive bass sound which can just about manage something like 'West End Girls' but I'm sure it would choke on 'Into The Groove', if you see what I mean.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='922657' date='Aug 12 2010, 01:00 PM']I'm after a bass synth effect, but haven't got a clue where to start having never used one before.

Sound-wise I'm after an 80s type of sound, like on:
* crush on you by the jets
* Let The Music Play by Shannon
etc..

I'm not going to be covering those songs, but they're the kind of sounds I'm after. My band is on about covering GaGa's bad romance, which I'm sure would benefit from a bit of synth bass action.

So, any suggestions or recommendations?[/quote]

I get this exact synth sound with my Akai Deep Impact (play this song in my Disco/Funk band). The tracking issue is normally down to people not driving the input stage enough on these units and getting the dreaded monotone note. Just give it a good hot signal and it works flawlessly.

[thisnameistaken]

TBH you could probably get close enough to that with a gated fuzz pedal and a bit of chorus to lush it up.

[JP Soundsystem]

I used to use an Ibanez SB7 in my old band and found it to be a great pedal for the money. I got mine for about £30 off ebay, and they're under £60 new.

Pretty solid construction too, and the tone-lok knobs are a great idea. Not only that, it's polyphonic too (which some of the more expensive ones aren't).

JP

[Hit&Run]

[quote name='crez5150' post='922823' date='Aug 12 2010, 02:53 PM']The tracking issue is normally down to people not driving the input stage enough on these units and getting the dreaded monotone note. Just give it a good hot signal and it works flawlessly.[/quote]
Is this the case with the bulk of synth pedals?

[phil.i.stein]

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='924889' date='Aug 14 2010, 02:16 PM']Is this the case with the bulk of synth pedals?[/quote]
..guess that depends on the input sensitivity.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='924889' date='Aug 14 2010, 02:16 PM']Is this the case with the bulk of synth pedals?[/quote]

TBH I doubt the earlier poster has polled other Deep Impact users as to the strength of their input signal. It might've solved the issue adequately for him given a particular bass and signal path, but for others who knows what their problems might be (assuming they have problems at all).

In short though: No. Generally the single best thing you can do to improve tracking into a synth pedal is string your bass with flatwounds. That's a bit too extreme for some, so pick nearer the neck, solo the neck pickup, roll the treble off, etc. - simplify your signal, mute open strings well, pick accurately, try to leave the pedal with as much pure fundamental note as possible to listen to without harmonics confusing the issue.

[woodyratm]

[quote name='crez5150' post='922823' date='Aug 12 2010, 02:53 PM']I get this exact synth sound with my Akai Deep Impact (play this song in my Disco/Funk band). The tracking issue is normally down to people not driving the input stage enough on these units and getting the dreaded monotone note. Just give it a good hot signal and it works flawlessly.[/quote]

Agreed.

Also if you're looking for a Chris sound then you can't go wrong with the pedal he uses

Deep Impact is my most used pedal i think - or my fuzzes.

[crez5150]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='925149' date='Aug 14 2010, 07:49 PM']TBH I doubt the earlier poster has polled other Deep Impact users as to the strength of their input signal. It might've solved the issue adequately for him given a particular bass and signal path, but for others who knows what their problems might be (assuming they have problems at all).

In short though: No. Generally the single best thing you can do to improve tracking into a synth pedal is string your bass with flatwounds. That's a bit too extreme for some, so pick nearer the neck, solo the neck pickup, roll the treble off, etc. - simplify your signal, mute open strings well, pick accurately, try to leave the pedal with as much pure fundamental note as possible to listen to without harmonics confusing the issue.[/quote]

Actually most people I've spoken to about the SB-1 have had this problem..... and the issue is not driving hard enough.... found a lot of other synth pedals have the same problem.
There have been threads on this site where players using the the SB-1 have found they get a certain note playing all the time regardless of where they are pitching on the fretboard. Most of the time the issue is down to not enough input signal. Have found the same issue with other synth effect units... and believe me I've tried most of them