EHX Bass Micro Synth HELP!!!

[govind678]

Hey.
I just got my EHX BMS yesterday. I ordered it from eBay and it took a whole month coz I live in India.

Anyway, the filter section doesn't seem to work. The start frequency knoe does nothing. The Stop frequency knob just hones in to different frequencies, like a tone knob. All the others (the voice mix n the rest) work fine. It's just, there is NO FILTER SWEEPING HAPPENING!!! Which is what I bought that pedal for!!!

So, any suggestions on how to proceed? Do I have to return it or could I fix it myself? Suggestions/Links on how to fix it? Also, sending the pedal back to the US, getting it fixed and bringing it back here is going to be a b**ch.

[Crazyeelboy]

govind678 - If you are sure it is broken, I suggest to try to send it back to the ebay seller. If they knew that you were in India and they shipped it to you, they should not claim that a month is too long to bring up a problem. Even if they didn't ship it to you, you should bring up the problem anyway - they may take it back after all.

If that does not work, then contact these guys - the are the EHX distributor for India:

BHARGAVA'S MUSIK PVT LTD
MUMBAI

4-5 Imperial Plaza, 30th Road
Bandra West
400050
http://www.bhargavasmusik.com
ankur@bhargavasmusik.com
Tel: +91 (0) 99 3005 5472

[govind678]

Well, i'm not sure if it is a manufacture fault or if something happened to it in transit.

Anyway, thank you. I will try that dealer tomorrow. It's the middle of the night here now. I'm sure you're in a similar time zone.

Govind

[Swift713]

EHX is usually really good and reasonable with repairs etc. Of course, if the ebay seller sent you a dud you should take it up with them. Maybe they would pay for repairs and shipping to/from EHX.

[govind678]

I will definetely look into it. I'll contact EHX right now.

Thank you very much. It's just that I've been waiting for this pedal for so long! Now I have it and it doesn't really work!! I'm just very disappointed.

Thanks again. I'll call that dealer tomorrow. I'll mail EHX right away.

[Jazz Ad]

It would be a good idea to check the gain pot inside the pedal and tweak the trigger before betting on a dysfonctional filter.

[bigchiefbc]

Yeah, its possible that its not broken, but just not triggering the filter sweep. Lower the trigger slider all the way down, and then play with the input gain trimpot inside the pedal. Here is the part of the manual that discusses it:

"PREAMP GAIN ADJUSTMENT The preamp gain in the Bass Micro Synth has been set at the factory for use with a bass equipped with single-coil passive pickups. If you will be using another instrument with higher or lower output, it may be necessary to readjust this setting. A screwdriver or alignment tool with a tip width of no more than 1/16” is required. To access the preamp gain adjustment, remove the bottom plate from the Bass Micro Synth. Look for the small trim pot in the lower left corner of the circuit board, it is labeled TRIM1 GAIN TRIM. Turning the trim pot clockwise will increase the preamp gain. Turning it counter-clockwise will decrease preamp gain. Please do not touch any other components when the bottom plate is removed or you risk damaging the circuit board or the components."

[Bill Ruppert]

Sorry to hear your story!!!!!!!!!!!

The filter will not fire unless you have the trig slider up.
If not ..no sweep.
If your bass has low out put you will have to raise the input trimmer inside.
Many people do this with a large screw driver and break the trim pot.
It happens a lot. Could be the problem.

Not sure if you have a new one or an old big box version.
Good luck, its a fantastic pedal and I hope you get things worked out.
Shipping can kill ANYTHING!
Bill

Originally Posted by govind678

Hey.
I just got my EHX BMS yesterday. I ordered it from eBay and it took a whole month coz I live in India.

Anyway, the filter section doesn't seem to work. The start frequency knoe does nothing. The Stop frequency knob just hones in to different frequencies, like a tone knob. All the others (the voice mix n the rest) work fine. It's just, there is NO FILTER SWEEPING HAPPENING!!! Which is what I bought that pedal for!!!

So, any suggestions on how to proceed? Do I have to return it or could I fix it myself? Suggestions/Links on how to fix it? Also, sending the pedal back to the US, getting it fixed and bringing it back here is going to be a b**ch.

[govind678]

Well, i haven't tried experimenting with the trigger. I always left it at/around 0. I will try that today.

When I first started playing it, it was extremely noisy. So i reckoned i had to adjust the trim pot. I did and well, I guess the signal wasn't strong enough from the bass coz I coldn't hear anything. So I ran a compressor before it. (actually, I used the compressor of this old korg guitar mfx pedal i owned). The voice section worked fine, i could hear the octave n sub-octave n square wave n everything. Again, no sweep.

Anyway, I'll try experimenting with the trigger n trim-pot again.
I own the XO (new/small) version by the way.

Thanks again,
Govind

[Swift713]

Yeah, you've got to have the trigger slider up to get any filter action. Mine was always about 1/2 way or higher.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by govind678

Well, i haven't tried experimenting with the trigger. I always left it at/around 0. I will try that today.

With that setting the filter sweep will never trigger, there's your problem.

[govind678]

Hey!

IT WORKS!! The problem was the trigger! I assumed that the filter triggered when the slider was at 0 and the higher you went, the louder signal you need to kick in the filter!! I tried the trigger at 10 before but I hadn't adjusted the trim pot then. It was too noisy, maybe that's why I didn't hear the sweep!!!

Anyway, it is AWESOME!!! I love the sweeps!! Sounds so beautiful!!! I am so happy! For like a couple of days I was extremely disappointed with everything, the world in general. Now I feel so happy it works!!!

Thank you very much, everyone! I apologise for bringing up such a trivial problem (as in a problem with such a trivial solution!!). In fact, when my dad asked me before I ordered the pedal as to what I would do in case of repairs, I told him there were many forums on the net where people help you out if you do have any problems and give suggestions n stuff. I basically convinced him that this forum is like the bible to bass. I spent 6 months reading and re-reading every review and every thread on this pedal. So yeah, I was convinced too. Again, thank you very very much!!

Govind

[Swift713]

I'm glad you worked it out. That's a mighty fun pedal you got there. Enjoy!

[kevteop]

Glad it worked out for you man. The BMS is a truly excellent effect, you can get so much variety out of it. Very wise choice.

[Bill Ruppert]

Great!
Glad it work out.
Here are some presets for you to try if you have not seen them:

http://www.ehx.com/assets/instructio...-templates.pdf

Bill