I'm in a buying mood for synthy sound

zktui · #1 09-23-2011, 12:19 AM

Ok, so you all roll your eyes and think of the word "search"
But for this thread, I want peoples opinions on products rather than stating facts... (If this makes sense?)

I am in a buying mood. I've always wanted a basic synth pedal but never bothered buying one...
So, been looking online and I've found for me:

•Ibanez SB7
•Digitech Bass Synth Wah (this is the one I've most wanted)
•Boss SYB-5 (although expensive....)
•Behringer BSY600 (eyeing up this the moment as it's cheapest)

What are peoples opinions on these. My bass is a Musicman and Modulus so quite hot inputs, and I tend to have a more aggressive fingering style...

I'm really after a sort of crunchy synth sound I guess. Saw tooth styles I love, but really I like the idea that these all cover a spectrum cause I love fiddling with tone...

Kwesi · #2 09-23-2011, 12:42 AM

Unless you've got the scratch to get multiple pedals I won't have much of an answer but I don't see anything in this thread that hasn't been addressed before. Search "synth" and you'll get plenty of exactly what you're asking for.

Now to actually respond to the thread. I would save up for a EHX Bass Micro Synth if I were in your position.For everything I read and heard for myself, the pedals you've picked sound good but none of them track well enough for my standards. I'm sure everyone's standards are different but the BMS could handle everything I threw at it with ease.

kaputsport · #3 09-23-2011, 01:16 AM

•Ibanez SB7: One trick pony IMHO... The trick is great, but it has one use...
•Digitech Bass Synth Wah (this is the one I've most wanted): This is a good pedal to start the world of synth bass with. It is cheap, easy to make sounds, and holds it's value.
•Boss SYB-5 (although expensive....): Not bad. I had an SYB-3 and liked it, but the tracking hurt the most for me. Good sounds, but not as quick to respond as I would like
•Behringer BSY600 (eyeing up this the moment as it's cheapest) This is a copy of the SYB-3, straight up. Just buy it. It is $40 on ebay, brand new. You will get tasty tones out of it all day, but again tracking is an issue.

zktui · #4 09-23-2011, 03:50 AM

that's what I was looking for!

I had a feeling about that for the SB7.
Tracking was what I was worried about, just cause of my technique, I wondered if it would cause problems.

jbednarski · #5 09-23-2011, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

•Ibanez SB7: One trick pony IMHO... The trick is great, but it has one use...
•Digitech Bass Synth Wah (this is the one I've most wanted): This is a good pedal to start the world of synth bass with. It is cheap, easy to make sounds, and holds it's value.
•Boss SYB-5 (although expensive....): Not bad. I had an SYB-3 and liked it, but the tracking hurt the most for me. Good sounds, but not as quick to respond as I would like
•Behringer BSY600 (eyeing up this the moment as it's cheapest) This is a copy of the SYB-3, straight up. Just buy it. It is $40 on ebay, brand new. You will get tasty tones out of it all day, but again tracking is an issue.

+1

I've owned them all including the EHX BMS. The Behringer is your friend, followed by the Digitech. Still, don't expect a Moog Taurus sound out of any of these. That will only come from a keyboard synth, or the Taurus pedals themselves.

BillyIVbass · #6 09-23-2011, 05:14 AM

Synth Wah!

arginator · #7 09-23-2011, 05:50 AM

I've owned the Behringer and Digitech. Behringer does sound better and is more flexible in my opinion. It also has the expression pedal input. Neither pedal tracks great, but they're not THAT bad. As with most Behringer products though, quality's not the best. The switch on mine is starting to go. I have to stomp on it really hard to get it to switch off. It's plastic so I may break it one of these days! But it sounds good and it's cheap.

sprag · #8 09-23-2011, 07:11 AM

haven't had any experience with the 5 yet but I've owned a syb3 great sounds but as stated earlier the tracking is terrible. usable to record but i would never use it live. have an oc2 (staccato up the neck only) which worked well with my fx25b before it died. shopping for a moog lpf and a good od at the moment.

lpf/envelope + octave + od/fuzz = synth

these 3 pedals can be as cheap or expensive as you want.
You will have good control over each parameter and best of all you will have a more unique sound cos there won't be many people with the same combo of whichever pedals you go with.
downside is you will want to upgrade once the gas kicks in
and 3 pedals take up more room than one.

mouthmw · #9 09-23-2011, 07:11 AM

Never had tracking problems with digitech bsw. I mostly use it for sweeping synths though, and envelope. It's cool that you can blend the clean tone with the 2nd knob for envelope filter. Octaver is also cool and it tracks great.

ocoaibass · #10 09-23-2011, 11:17 AM

EHX BMS is cool & much warmer than these (it's analog) but pricey. Digitech is very cool. Lots of sounds & probably the best of what you've mentioned. Behringer will break down & Ibanez will get old quick. BOSS anything is decent, hardworking, & destined to be replaced in a few years for something better.

If you're something warm, gritty, & synthy, consider that you may want to look at older, overlooked pedals before trying one of the newer digital multi-fx. Some cool sounds can be had from old DOD & Ibanez stuff from the eighties...

Jonesy4fnk · #11 09-23-2011, 02:45 PM

I still like my old Korg G5 synth, I've had that thing forever and it still sounds good to me.

sillyfabe · #12 09-24-2011, 06:24 PM

Digitech BSW: amazing little pedal, very vesratile, octaver/envelope filter/synth = WIN.

BSY-600: WAY better than the pedal it cops (Boss SYB-05) plus you can stop the filter sweep for a straight synth sound.

Boss OC-2: dim the direct and OCT-2 and open up the OC-1 and it makes anything that it goes into WAY more synthy!

Owned/Tried:
EHX BMS XO: with the set-up I have now I can make all the sounds that I like from it....
Akai Deep Impact: sounds really good but not $1K + good,
Korg G5: cool sounds...HUGE FOOTPRINT!
Boss SYB-03/05: 03 has terrible tracking, 05 is OK but is a little harsh sounding...

I run a clean boost into my synthy pedals, proper technique (no double-stops, improperly sustained notes or overall messiness). I know some peeps use a compressor before hand as well.

Hope that helps!

Recc in order:

Digitech BSW
BSY-600
OC-2

zktui · #13 09-24-2011, 07:25 PM

Cheers for all the replies, this has been a big help!

Well glad to see that the Digitech and Behringer have come up on top.

Battle between the two now...

rr5025 · #14 09-24-2011, 08:30 PM

I've had two behringers. The difference being the second time I use it with an expression pedal. IMHO the BSY sucks without an expression pedal. That is based on how I was using it though so you might find things to be different. I'd definitely give the BSW or BSY a shot. For 40-50 bucks it'll be a good entry to synth land.

Explorer · #15 09-25-2011, 12:00 AM

I own all the pedals you listed, as well as almost every other synth pedal out there (no Deep Impact yet, though). The ones you listed are all useful, but are two different groups: true synth pedals, with oscillators, and filter pedals.

The SYB-5 and the BSY-600 (Behringer's copy of the 5) are pretty neat. It was the BSY-600 which led me to buy the Boss, although I kept the Behringer as well. They sound close. I prefer the SYB-5 because I can turn it on and off, whereas I've had times where I've accidentally used the Sound Hold on the Behringer instead of turning it off. *laugh*

And, although it doesn't have as many settings as the Bass Synth Wah, I prefer the Ibanez SB7.

On all of the above, I use the same technique I do with synth pedals, using palm muting in order to reduce the harmonic information from each pluck, thus improving tracking.

I've been looking at the various used SB7 pedals on the Emporium... but I already own three. *laugh*

Spectrum · #16 09-25-2011, 12:04 AM

What does "tracking" mean exactly? I hear this term and I think I know what it means but I'm not sure.

DeltaPhoenix · #17 09-25-2011, 12:21 AM

Tracking is how quickly the pedal recognizes what note you are playing. Sometimes they are "glitchy" meaning the pedal jumps back and forth between 2 different notes because it is unable to recognize the note you are playing. Sometimes glitchy can kind of sound cool. Like it was already stated, utilizing some muting technique can greatly help with the tracking.

Spectrum · #18 09-25-2011, 12:24 AM

Okay, I figured it has to do with how well you can control the synth trigger.

DeltaPhoenix · #19 09-25-2011, 12:28 AM

Well that is where the muting technique comes into play. By playing cleanly you help the synth trigger correctly.

zktui · #20 09-25-2011, 01:39 AM

btw, how much can you get expression pedals for? I would be quite keen for a BSY with an expression pedal to be honest