EHX Bass micro synth

[MilkyMcMilkMilk]

what is your opinion of the electro harmonix bass
micro synth? is it worth almost 300$ do they come up used very often?

i found this review and the pedal seems pretty sweet.

I'd have to sell a couple of my pedals to afford it, but my boss
loop pedal that i thought i'd love, i never touch the thing.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SNVkruU3U&sdig=1

[kevteop]

The BMS is a brilliant unit but IMHO having had both the old one and the new one, the old one sounds better.

The new one (the one in that video) has the benefit of true-bypass, but I think it's better to buy a pedal based on what it sounds like when it's on, rather than when it's switched off.

If you can get the older one used it'll be much cheaper too, because everybody wants the new one.

[JanusZarate]

Although I no longer own a BMS, I absolutely loved it and wrote a detailed review comparing it to a few other expensive synth pedals. It's no "Swiss Army knife", but fortunately, it's very versatile if you're looking for cool filter sounds, octaves, fuzz, volume swells, or a combination of all of those.

However, it's not for everyone. It's a niche pedal, and you may not necessarily find it to be useful in live and recording situations. For some, it's just a fun toy. For a few, it's an indispensable asset on their boards. For the rest, they're just not sure what to do with it.

But seriously, though... you need to think about whether it'd really be useful for you.

[MilkyMcMilkMilk]

Thanks for the replies kevteop and MysticBoo.

one more question, can this ehx bass synth get
much of an envelope filter sound?

because one of the pedals i might need to sell would be my
maxon AF-9 , would the synth give me anything like that or should i hold onto
the Maxon?

yeah i'm not playing live or anything. i basically just play for fun at home and
sometimes jam with a couple of friends and we're into making far out
sounds and it seems as tho this would fill that bill pretty well, from what i gather from
that youtube video.

[kevteop]

No I don't think it's usable for envelope filter applications, the filter just doesn't work like that. And the sweep's not that pronounced unless you add in the upper octave or the dirt slider.

It definitely won't cover the same bases as your Maxon.

[JanusZarate]

IMO, the envelope filter on the BMS is different than most pedals. I don't recall what the AF-9 sounds like, but I know that the BMS generally doesn't sound like other filters.

There are five controls to the filter: Trigger, Start Frequency, Stop Frequency, Resonance, and Rate. The filter already sounds very different to begin with than say, a Q-Tron. With those controls, you can tailor your filter in unique ways that prevent it from sounding like a typical envelope filter.

Lots of people are always crying for EHX to make a pedal with just the BMS' filter section on it, because there really isn't much on the market like it. It's what makes the BMS sound more like a synth than it otherwise would.

If you turn down all of the voicing sliders except the Guitar slider (which controls your normal tone), you can use the filter by itself.

[Barkless Dog]

Recreating anything spot on is next to impossible. I tried to use it for a gig and made tiny diagrams on graph paper for different songs, just was not the same. Even a 32nd of an inch on a slider changes the sound.

[MilkyMcMilkMilk]

great, thanks for the help guys

i'll just unload my loop pedal and hold onto the maxon

[afroman]

I have one of the new XO ones and I like it a lot.
The huge size and bad bypass of the older model kept me from getting one. I waited and waited until I found a used XO for a good price and I got it. No regrets, but I can't compare it to the older one. don't want to either,

[JanusZarate]

The older one does have a weird bypass buffer (an annoying one at that, because of its design), but the pre-XO BMS has a 3PDT switch installed, oddly enough (I don't think the 1980s-era BMS had such a switch).

There's a guide on TB which shows you how to use this switch to wire it for true bypass. 3PDT switches are the standard for true bypass wiring.

It's great that they put the hardware in there.

[kevteop]

One other thing worth knowing about the BMS: The octave down tracks about as well as any analogue octave down (reliably to around B on the A string), and it will only track single notes. But the other voices don't rely on tracking, so if you turn off the octave down slider you can play chords and you can play as low as you like.

[bovine mind]

be wary and gentle of the input gain trimpot underneath the pedal. i snapped it off with too much pressure while trying to dial in just the right setting for my stingray 4. had it repaired to include a flywheel inside instead.

[ItsMichaelYeah]

I Had The Old on and I Own the new one. and I love the Newer one It's True bypass so it Doesn't suck alot of my tone. It's smaller so I save Pedal Board Real estate. And since It 9volts instead of 24v it saves me space on my voodoo lab for another pedal

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by MilkyMcMilkMilk

Thanks for the replies kevteop and MysticBoo.

one more question, can this ehx bass synth get
much of an envelope filter sound?

because one of the pedals i might need to sell would be my
maxon AF-9 , would the synth give me anything like that or should i hold onto
the Maxon?

yeah i'm not playing live or anything. i basically just play for fun at home and
sometimes jam with a couple of friends and we're into making far out
sounds and it seems as tho this would fill that bill pretty well, from what i gather from
that youtube video.

I own both the AF-9 and the BMS. The two are not interchangeable.

As others have said the BMS doesn't work particularly well at utilizing its individual components. You don't get an octaver/filter/slow gear/fuzz/gate multi-effect, you get one effect pedal that mixes these together in various forms.

It's probably my favorite pedal I own, and my go to when I want to make spaceship noises.