Fake Synth?

bluehevy75 · #1 05-02-2009, 10:22 AM

I'm still pretty new to using pedals. I've done some searches but I still have some questions...

I'm trying to use some of the pedals I have to make some synth type sounds. I would buy a synth but can't afford one. I know that things like pedal order are personal preference and I am playing around with order but maybe some of you could help me with the learning curve.

I have a homemade fuzz pedal....a POG...and an older style Q-tron. Righ now I'm setting them up POG into Fuzz into Q-tron. Will that get me a "synth sound" or do people usually put them in a different order?

Also, I can get some sounds that I like but now and again I want to drop the "vowel" sound out of the q-tron and just get the "synthy" effect without the vowel. Is there a way to set up a q-tron to drop the vowel thing or is that just what a q-tron does?

Thanks for the help.

K

rcubed · #2 05-02-2009, 10:29 AM

Check out EHX's Bass Micro Synth and Chunk System's Octavius Squeezer.

Jimbob Jones · #3 05-02-2009, 12:15 PM

Definately experiment with what you have before spending money...fuzz, octave and filter can get some very cool sounds, (they don't have all to be on all the time; octave down and filter is an awesome combination, for example), but if you can't get the sounds you want from that combo I would agree with rcubed's recommendations.

Good luck!

SoonerMatt · #4 05-02-2009, 12:16 PM

Also check out the Akai Deep Impact if you can find one.

iualum · #5 05-02-2009, 04:44 PM

...octave, fuzz, filter is the right sequence...you've got it right...

RickenBoogie · #6 05-02-2009, 05:20 PM

+1, I've had great success with the same types of pedals, in that order. Try tweaking your QTron to try to lesson the vowel growl. And also remember, with 3 pedals, sometimes tweaking one affects another one down the line.

All_¥our_Bass · #7 05-02-2009, 09:49 PM

For a sorta "Holdsworth" synthy sound:
Bass (w/ tone knob all the way down) > Cranked Fuzz > Flanger or Chorus (set speed very low)

fightthepower · #8 05-02-2009, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluehevy75

Also, I can get some sounds that I like but now and again I want to drop the "vowel" sound out of the q-tron and just get the "synthy" effect without the vowel. Is there a way to set up a q-tron to drop the vowel thing or is that just what a q-tron does?

Thanks for the help.

K

I don't think you will be able to lose the vowel sound with the Qtron since there is no control over resonance- It is a very resonant filter that is funky and wet and feeding it dirt just increases the intensity of the vowel. As RickenBoogie mentioned, you can adjust it a bit by not allowing the envelope to open as far but you can't adjust the general character of the filter unfortunately. For instance, with the Prometheus, Photron, Grinder, and Moog filters I can dial in a lot of vowel sound, or none at all- For synth sweeps with an expression pedal, I generally turn the resonance down close to 0, and for synthy enveloping stuff I keep it a bit higher, but not as high as I would for a regular funky envelope filter sound because it becomes overpowering. The resonance accentuates the the frequency closest to the filters cutoff point, giving you that pronounced 'wah' sound.

bluehevy75 · #9 05-03-2009, 06:22 AM

Hey everyone...thanks for the replies....I'll keep playing with the control...

--k

Jerry J · #10 05-03-2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fightthepower

I don't think you will be able to lose the vowel sound with the Qtron since there is no control over resonance- It is a very resonant filter that is funky and wet and feeding it dirt just increases the intensity of the vowel. As RickenBoogie mentioned, you can adjust it a bit by not allowing the envelope to open as far but you can't adjust the general character of the filter unfortunately. For instance, with the Prometheus, Photron, Grinder, and Moog filters I can dial in a lot of vowel sound, or none at all- For synth sweeps with an expression pedal, I generally turn the resonance down close to 0, and for synthy enveloping stuff I keep it a bit higher, but not as high as I would for a regular funky envelope filter sound because it becomes overpowering. The resonance accentuates the the frequency closest to the filters cutoff point, giving you that pronounced 'wah' sound.

This is great info!

And I too recommend the EHX bass micro synth. You just have to plan on spending some time with it to get it where you want it. Silly me, I bought one around Christmas and sent it back because I wasn't getting the sounds I was looking for. Then I saw the Ed Friedland video on Youtube and decided I needed to get another BMS. Long story short I ended up buying another and dedicated some time to it. It's a keeper IMHO.

bluehevy75 · #11 05-04-2009, 11:10 AM

I've done some more reading and searching. I'm learning that part of my problem isn't necessarily the vowel sound it's that I wasn't putting enough of the sub signal through the fuzz and the q-tron. I read somewhere that it is that fat sound that gets you the "synth" sounds.

I was running mostly dry and octave up with a little octave down put will try some other combos....

I've been listening to Morphine lately. Mark Sandman's band--he played two-string slide bass. And I've been talking to guys on another thread trying to experiment with some of the stuff he was doing. Most live clips and a lot of his music has a pretty clean tone (I think there's some reverb though). That said on some of the darker tracks he's using some effects that others had told me was a synth.

Blah....blah.... long story (sorry) so I'm trying to do some of these "darker" sounds with a slide bass and using the pedals I have because I can't afford a "real" synth...

Anyway...thanks for all your help...if anyone else has other ideas about how to move variables within the "POG+FUZZ+QTron=Synth" equation I'd love to hear about them.

KH

fightthepower · #12 05-04-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluehevy75

I've done some more reading and searching. I'm learning that part of my problem isn't necessarily the vowel sound it's that I wasn't putting enough of the sub signal through the fuzz and the q-tron. I read somewhere that it is that fat sound that gets you the "synth" sounds.

I was running mostly dry and octave up with a little octave down put will try some other combos....

I've been listening to Morphine lately. Mark Sandman's band--he played two-string slide bass. And I've been talking to guys on another thread trying to experiment with some of the stuff he was doing. Most live clips and a lot of his music has a pretty clean tone (I think there's some reverb though). That said on some of the darker tracks he's using some effects that others had told me was a synth.

Blah....blah.... long story (sorry) so I'm trying to do some of these "darker" sounds with a slide bass and using the pedals I have because I can't afford a "real" synth...

Anyway...thanks for all your help...if anyone else has other ideas about how to move variables within the "POG+FUZZ+QTron=Synth" equation I'd love to hear about them.

KH

Take out all dry signal, replace with -1oct (unity) and put that into the fuzz-qtron. Play at or above the 12thfret on the E string (you can do a bit lower with other strings obviously and still be audible).

You can add some dry or some +1 to the equation if it sounds good to you, but the basic combo is -1suboctave full, fuzz, filter.

cheapbasslovin · #13 05-04-2009, 04:39 PM

Try running the Q-tron into the POG. I've done this with my HOG and while I'm not sure which I prefer, I know that there are usable sounds in both. The POG will translate the nuances of your tone into the generated octaves so if you run your fuzz-> POG, then your POG outputs will be a little fuzzy (it still sounds like a POG, but just ...fuzzy. If you run your Qtron in band pass mode, you will get a stronger peak with less low end, but if you dump that into your -2 oct then you get all the filtery goodness in a low, low package.

I don't know if you will like it better, but you might.

Lots of people say that the common rule is octavers first, but I disagree with that sentiment with the HOG/POG series. It tracks flawlessly under any circumstance and transfers the tone through to it's octaves. Try it.

bluehevy75 · #14 05-05-2009, 06:27 AM

Fight the power and Cheap bass loving...

both great suggestions...thanks for your help...I will definitely experiment with those ideas..

--kh