Akai Deep Impact vs. Octavius Squeezer

AverageWhiteBassist · #1 02-09-2009, 04:43 AM

Back when I was in my late teens, I played a Deep Impact Akai SB-1 at a local music shop and didn't go nuts over it. Now I know how to dial in presets and so forth and would love another crack at the pedal. I just can't decide between that and buying a new Octavius Squeezer Chunk Systems synth pedal. I have a Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth, and love synth tones. Does anyone have direct experience with both pedals, or can give me some sound clips of the Akai Deep Impact. I've heard the bass player Mused the SB-1 a ton, but he combined it with other pedals and I'm curious to hear it solo. Any comments are appreciated.

rustynuts · #2 02-09-2009, 06:02 AM

You'll probably want to ask this in the effects forum....I'd offer a response, but while I have almost 100 pedals, I don't have experience with either of those two.

RCCollins · #3 02-09-2009, 06:05 AM

LOTS of info on both these pedals in the effects forum.

GrammarCop · #4 02-12-2009, 10:40 PM

G'day Dave

I've got both those pedals. Or, at least, HAD both until I sent one back to the store.

I wouldn't view them as alternatives, seeing as they're very different. Like yourself, I'm a sucker for synth bass and I wanted them both on my board.

AKAI SB-1: One thing you need to know about the SB-1 is that it's extremely limited in terms of sounds you can dial up. There are 9 presets that you can tweak. Basically the SB-1 doesn't do much, but what it does it does INSANELY well. I've used about 4 of those sounds live and on recordings; the others are mainly good for getting laughs...

'Fraid I haven't got any straight-ahead sound samples, but you can hear it in one of the tunes here:

http://www.myspace.com/lekingste
That 'mean' bass sound in Two Pills is SB-1 preset no.2: 'hardcore', played through a Fulltone Bass Drive.

The Octavius Squeezer is more of a total DIY synth bass kit. You can choose oscillator pitch, waveform, define the envelope, add fuzz, and you have complete control over the filter settings. It just plain sounded awesome. Setting up your own patches takes some serious dedication. You can get a lot more wacky and creative with this pedal, but you will NOT be able to dial up those SB-1 sounds. You might get close, but that's about it.

Sadly, the 'Squeezer failed to make it onto my board because of its horrendous tracking. It's laggy, it hiccups and warbles and it chops off your notes. Don't think I didn't try EVERYTHING before sending it back; I'd been hanging out for this pedal for a long time. The benchmark in synth tracking for me is the SB-1. If it doesn't track AT LEAST that well, it won't go on my board.

Don't know if this is any help, but yeah...there it is

Joe Gress · #5 02-12-2009, 10:44 PM

I would like to add that the Korg G5 tracked very well too.

niftydog · #6 02-12-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveProulx

Does anyone have direct experience with both pedals, or can give me some sound clips of the Akai Deep Impact.

Sounds clips of both in the Wiki.

I have both, and they really are entirely different beasts. Their differences far outweigh their similarities. The OS is incredibly complex, but with that comes incredible flexibility. The DI is simple and has far less tweakability, but it still sounds great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrammarCop

...Don't think I didn't try EVERYTHING before sending it back...

...except wait for future firmware upgrades!

rottenramone · #7 02-12-2009, 11:19 PM

yeah, i feel that the squeezer is more for ppl who want to get to know synth a level higher from the current offerings. a basic working knowledge of analog synthesis will definitely help a lot in adjusting your settings.

i find that its the most versatile synth bass pedal around, but not the easiest to master. for tweakers, not stompers.

Grimoire · #8 02-13-2009, 02:44 AM

A better option is the Korg G5. The DI is a bit limited, and not the most reliable pedal, and given its cost, that's a real concern. The OS is in theory the perfect synth pedal, I would love to be able to build patches and sounds from scratch, but sadly by all reports the tracking lacks. The G5 is IMHO the best synth pedal thus far released for bass. Tracks more dynamically than the DI, and offers a wider variety of sounds. Someone once said here that the DI is like a keyboard synth emulator, the G5 like a bass synth emulator, that's probably not a bad way to look at them. The G5 also sells for a fair bit less than the DI...a DI recently sold on evilbay for £370, terrifying.

fightthepower · #9 02-13-2009, 02:59 AM

The G5 tracks great, but that's where to ends for me. The sub octave is pretty thin, the filter is pretty weak, and the notes have kind of a weird decay to them. I would describe it as a Casio Keyboard emulator. I have one that I listed for sale for a while but didn't have any interest, so it's been chilling in the pile while I wait to list it again.. I was over it about 2 minutes after I plugged it in, and after a couple days I was done with it- Some people dig it but it obviously wasn't for me, ymmv and all that.

The OS is a cool pedal, but it doesn't do well with the hot signal from my Pbass and there is a bit of bypass bleed. I use it strictly as a fuzz (albeit a great one) right now with hopes that it will see more all around use if I ever get my damn jazz bass back from warranty repair. It seemed to track better with my active jazz that isn't quite as hot, but I only had a very short period of time with the two before having to take the bass back to the shop.

Despite the tracking issues, I would still recommend the OS over the DI and G5- But depending on your needs I might recommend a combination of octave+fuzz+filters etc over all of them.

kevteop · #10 02-13-2009, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

A better option is the Korg G5.

I was frustrated by the filter on the G5. No way to completely turn the envelope follower off AND have the filter stay static at any position other than centre (and what's with that stupid Intensity knob anyway? That is really annoying). The sawtooth sounds good though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

The OS is in theory the perfect synth pedal, I would love to be able to build patches and sounds from scratch, but sadly by all reports the tracking lacks.

Given that it can create all its tones an octave down I don't really see that as an issue, but I'll know for sure when mine arrives. I'm hoping that might be today but international post... y'know.

Gashaponcito · #11 02-13-2009, 03:12 AM

I don't think the tracking of the OS is bad... is not perfect but it sure does a good job, some settings require different types of "attack" for example with Envelope Filter settings I play very hard and use all my tone (P-bass 1 tone knob) for some synth I play a little bit far from the bridge play softly and roll my tone back, the OS is not for everyone its a complex pedal but I think its worth all the time I have spent experimenting
check this pages all synth/noises/fuzz you hear is from the OS and my P-bass (some delay in one or two but that's it)
http://www.soundclick.com/Motel
http://www.myspace.com/chrisbasslover

Grimoire · #12 02-13-2009, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

The G5 tracks great, but that's where to ends for me. The sub octave is pretty thin, the filter is pretty weak, and the notes have kind of a weird decay to them. I would describe it as a Casio Keyboard emulator. I have one that I listed for sale for a while but didn't have any interest, so it's been chilling in the pile while I wait to list it again.. I was over it about 2 minutes after I plugged it in, and after a couple days I was done with it- Some people dig it but it obviously wasn't for me, ymmv and all that.

I had a similar reaction when I first used a G5, I wasn't impressed. After a day or two or tweaking, working it into my setup, I realised how good it could sound...Casio is selling it very short. The sub-octave is very strong, at least I've always thought so. I guess I never use the G5 raw, it's always got delays, reverbs, modulation etc after it, so I could see how you could think it sounds a bit weak by itself. Each to their own of course!

Grimoire · #13 02-13-2009, 03:44 AM

Tracking is IMO the most important and fundamental component of any synth pedal. I don't care if it can sound like a Mini Moog and Taurus and Arp combined, if it doesn't hit every note precisely, then it's not for me. I hold out hope for the OS, the firmware updates may solve the issue somewhere along the line, I want it to be great, and I want the space on my board that would be created by replacing my DI and G5 with the OS.

kevteop · #14 02-13-2009, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

Tracking is IMO the most important and fundamental component of any synth pedal. I don't care if it can sound like a Mini Moog and Taurus and Arp combined, if it doesn't hit every note precisely, then it's not for me.

But... If you can track reliably down to the open A or thereabouts, surely that's enough, given that you can create all the waveforms an octave down?

I suppose I'm used to working around the limitations of the OC-2 and my old Pulse Synth, I don't really mind if I can't play a few notes at the bottom of my bass's register.

Grimoire · #15 02-13-2009, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

But... If you can track reliably down to the open A or thereabouts, surely that's enough, given that you can create all the waveforms an octave down?

I suppose I'm used to working around the limitations of the OC-2 and my old Pulse Synth, I don't really mind if I can't play a few notes at the bottom of my bass's register.

I like to have a fair bit of the clean bass signal in my synth patches, and I seem to use synth sounds mostly on the B and E strings, so I would lose the fullness of the bass if I was playing higher, but octaved...
If the OS tracks reliably down to at least the A string, that's a good start, there is hope.

fightthepower · #16 02-13-2009, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

I had a similar reaction when I first used a G5, I wasn't impressed. After a day or two or tweaking, working it into my setup, I realised how good it could sound...Casio is selling it very short. The sub-octave is very strong, at least I've always thought so. I guess I never use the G5 raw, it's always got delays, reverbs, modulation etc after it, so I could see how you could think it sounds a bit weak by itself. Each to their own of course!

Trust me, I tried warming/waking it up by feeding it octaves, and putting it before analog dirt, filters, modulation.. everything. When i get a new pedal, I go through all of it's settings, and then try it with all my other pedals- There hasn't been a digital synth that I've liked, they just don't do it for me.

While the G5 has the tracking competition won hands down, I think the SYB-3 and BSW had more warmth and depth to their sound. If I were to use a digi synth, it would probably be one of those two (i had both at the same time as the G5) over the G5. The BSW track very well, though not quite as well as the G5, and the SYB3 can track well enough for many applications if you play cleanly. The BSW falls way behind in versatility, but for me it still pulls ahead of the G5 due to the sound. If you like G5's so much, buy mine! I'm about to list it again in the classifieds

Grimoire · #17 02-13-2009, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

If you like G5's so much, buy mine! I'm about to list it again in the classifieds

I have one, thanks

I'll do some samples that show it's plenty warm enough!

Tekken · #18 02-13-2009, 05:52 AM

Hi guys!

I've been negatively impressed by your comments about the Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer's tracking!

Also for me, like Grimoire, the tracking is the most important component in a synth unit (I've owned a Digitech Bass Synth/Wah then sold because that).

Some days ago, I was totally convinced to buy an OS, but now, reading all your posts, I'm not sure if this would be for me a good choice: in fact, I'm actually selling my Korg G5 (even if I'm not so convinced to do that...) in order to buy the OS.

I've a Korg G5 and an Akai Deep Impact SB-1 and both tracks very well (expecially the G5) the very hot signals of my 2 basses (Musicman Sterling HH and Yamaha BB NE2): if you had to put in order of best tracking, what would be your ranking considering:

- Akai Deep Impact SB-1
- Korg G5 Bass Synth Processor
- Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer
- EHX Bass MicroSynth

fightthepower · #19 02-13-2009, 05:59 AM

G5
BMS or Akai from what I've head... I've never used the Akai, but have heard of latency issues..
and last the OS.

The BMS tracks very well- Though not as good as the G5 in the lowest (inaudible) notes, but that is to be expected of any analog octaver. Tracking is a non-issue with the BMS in my experience- as long as you playing consistent and set the trigger accordingly, play cleanly and make sure to mute strings not in use with your right hand. For me, the BSW tracked exceptionally well with clean playing also.

kevteop · #20 02-13-2009, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

G5
The BMS tracks very well

The new XO one is surprisingly good for an analogue octaver IMO (mine's pretty reliable down to around F#), but I've found on the low notes it tends to distort a bit. I wonder if that's anything to do with them switching to 9v.