Best place for synth pedal in pedal chain

Largedon · #1 12-09-2008, 11:50 AM

It appears I may be doing more electronica/funk type stuff in the near future so I was probably going to add a synth pedal. I was curious as to the best placement of the synth pedal in my chain. Here is my current config.

EBS MicroBass II -> Boss Tuner --> Boss OC-2 Octave --> EHX Bassballs-->EBS IQ-->Boss Chorus-->EBS MicroBass II (the pedals are in the effects loop of the MicroBass) all of this then goes to a MB F1, TC electronics compressor/limiter (in the F1s effects loop) then finally a Epi UL2 410.

First off, I'm looking at getting the Boss SYB-5, trying to stay on the cheaper side until I decide I want to go all out then I'm going for the Chunk OS. My "instinct" is to put the synth after the EBS IQ, so the filters are in front of the synth, but I have no real logical reason for this, just gut feeling. Any tips or advice would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Jared Lash · #2 12-09-2008, 11:58 AM

First.

Especially the SYB-5. I would keep it out of the loop of the Microbass and put it ahead of everything else, primarily for tracking.

It's tracking is pretty poor regardless, but putting it first should help.

rratajski · #3 12-09-2008, 12:20 PM

Most of us tend to put them 1st or in the first few effects.

For me, the BMS goes haywire when a muff passes through it, so I literally have no choice but to put it in my 1st loop.

You can always experiment and see what happens after certain effects though! You may get a different sound than you were expecting!

Largedon · #4 12-09-2008, 12:27 PM

How bad is the tracking of the SYB-5? I want to stay on the cheaper side but also don't want to get something that'll just frustrate me. I know on my OC-2 that sometimes its tracking is a little weird, especially on a D (for some reason it doesn't like D).

T.O.Bass · #5 12-09-2008, 01:06 PM

Stay away from the SYB-5 if you want to play anything but simplistic riffs/lines with it. It's tracking isn't just bad, it's TERRIBLE. It has some neat sounds, and can be fun, but the tracking makes its pretty much useless (IMO).

JohnDavisNYC · #6 12-09-2008, 01:10 PM

the OC2 will freak out on wolf notes... evidently your bass has a wolfy D. mine is the C on the G string on my Fender, Eb on the G on my Fodera... all basses have them somewhere in that range.

the OC2 tracking, however, is FLAWLESS if you have good technique and avoid wolf tones... i imagine any synth will have trouble with wolf tones.

john

Largedon · #7 12-09-2008, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

the OC2 will freak out on wolf notes... evidently your bass has a wolfy D. mine is the C on the G string on my Fender, Eb on the G on my Fodera... all basses have them somewhere in that range.

the OC2 tracking, however, is FLAWLESS if you have good technique and avoid wolf tones... i imagine any synth will have trouble with wolf tones.

john

cool, I learned something new today. That has always bothered me with that pedal. You can hear it cutting in and out on a D. Note to self, don't use OC-2 on songs in D.

Largedon · #8 12-09-2008, 01:19 PM

Also, if the SYB-5 isn't very good, any recommendations on a <$200 synth pedal. Trying to keep the price down. I have kids and Christmas gets expensive around here.

JohnDavisNYC · #9 12-09-2008, 01:27 PM

well, actually, just play the D somewhere else on the neck... i still play in C, i just play it on the D or A string.

(b)Assman · #10 12-09-2008, 02:17 PM

depends on the synth, there's no right answer. I think my BSW definitely sounds better after my distortions.

Snakeman1066 · #11 12-09-2008, 02:43 PM

General rules of thumb on placement order found here:

http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-order.htm

However there is no set order...you have to experiment and do what works best for you and the sound you are trying to achieve.

Good luck

kevteop · #12 12-09-2008, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (b)Assman

depends on the synth,

And how many you've got. They can't all go first.

FWIW I run my G5 into my BMS, which handles it in a manly fashion (it will even produce a sub-octave of the G5's sub-octave down to about low A). I've also run my Pulse Synth into my OC-2 before and the OC-2 tracked it like a champ.

MakiSupaStar · #13 12-09-2008, 03:01 PM

The SYB-5 as a synth pedal works best when you have a split sound, either through a DI or a split channel head. If you have your clean sound in the mix at all times, tracking doesn't become an issue. If you're just going to be running in a chain without any clean accompaniment, I would recommend a pass on the SYB-5. Trust me, and I'm one of the biggest proponents of the SYB-5 here.

derrico1 · #14 12-09-2008, 03:18 PM

I'm with Maki on this. I run SYB-5 -->overdrive --> autofilter, with the whole thing in a Barge loop pedal. The SYB-5 alone I don't care for much, but I love it driving a synth chain.

Setting the right level into the SYB-5 is crucial for tracking, and keeping a bit of clean signal underneath adds insurance. (In fact, the SYB-5 allows you to blend clean/synth on-board, but I prefer using the Barge for a few reasons.)

Largedon · #15 12-09-2008, 04:24 PM

ACtually with the Microbass I can dial in how much effect I want in my signal. Maybe with the SYB I could put it alone in the effect loop then put the rest after the Microbass and before the head. That way I can just dial the % of synth and still have some "clean" signal to smooth out the tracking issues.

Largedon · #16 12-09-2008, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

well, actually, just play the D somewhere else on the neck... i still play in C, i just play it on the D or A string.

I'll have to experiment on my neck. It seems to lose tracking on both the 5th fret D on the A string and the 7th fret D on the G string. I need to check the other Ds up the neck and see if they track cleanly. Sorry for misunderstanding, I was thinking that you meant it was more of the bass in general excessively resonating certain frequencies and causing the loss of tracking. Kind of like how some cabs will "boom" at certain freqs.

tomvelsor · #17 12-09-2008, 04:41 PM

pedals can either create or alter sounds. a pedal like a synth creates a sound, and other pedals should be after it, to alter it.

dgelting · #18 12-09-2008, 04:56 PM

I've had problems using a synth pedal with low output basses. The tail end of sustained notes gets cut off. In those situations I would put some sort of "gain" in front of the synth.

kevteop · #19 12-09-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Largedon

I'll have to experiment on my neck. It seems to lose tracking on both the 5th fret D on the A string and the 7th fret D on the G string.

That's weird. I've found tracking issues like that are always due to weird resonance issues on the guitar neck, and I've never had a bass that had more than one obvious dead spot in the lower register. The D on the G string is a common place for a dead spot on a bass guitar (they always seem to crop up somewhere between the 5th and 9th fret on the G) but I've never had one on the A string.

The OC-2 is a great tool for finding dead spots. If I ever bought a new guitar (which I don't, because I'm not a chump) I would take one along.