Synth Effects?

uptoeleven · #1 11-16-2007, 07:48 PM

Curious about opinions of synth effects pedals or units that work well for people on their rig. What would you say is the best of the best for both versatility and quality? I've heard some things about moog pedals, but not extensively...

bongomania · #2 11-16-2007, 07:50 PM

Honestly, I know everyone hates it when I say "do a search", but we've had some fantastic synth threads lately, including a major throwdown between three of the top contenders. Just search on "synth".

dirtgroove · #3 11-16-2007, 08:22 PM

it really depends on what people have in mind for their sound. The term synth in itself is fairly indescript- It usually implies an octave/ Fuzz and a filter but as the variations in sound for each of those effect are so large it's generally difficult to get the "sound in your head" from the feeble array of synth pedals on offer to us as bass players.
The fact that some of the notable effect guru's of this forum compiled a showdown of the leading bass synth contenders and yet weren't able to find one that they actually like speaks volumes about the current "gap" in the market where bass synth pedals are concerned. My advice is find a fuzz/, a filter and an Octave you like, throw in some chorus on the end and Hey presto- unfortunately the downside of it is it ends up costing an arm and a leg, and can take years of sorting through various pedals to find "your" sound.
Alternatively for a cheap fix I'd put the digitech BSW at the top of the list as it offers at least a couple of usable sounds in a live setting. Clearly, we're sitting in the cheap seats at this point but -Compare that the BSW with say a Deep impact or a Korg g5 which- considering the huge price are just not that much bang for the buck.

squarewave · #4 11-16-2007, 08:31 PM

The Synthesizer Review MEGATHREAD!

olaff421 · #5 11-17-2007, 01:06 AM

I like using my BR-2 into my Guv'Nor with the octave circuit on on my amp. Without a noise suppressor it gets a little out of hand, but sounds pretty cool.

uptoeleven · #6 11-17-2007, 03:24 AM

has anyone heard the new radiohead album? this is the kind of synth i'm looking for.

dirtgroove · #7 11-17-2007, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptoeleven

has anyone heard the new radiohead album? this is the kind of synth i'm looking for.

Which track?

syciprider · #8 11-17-2007, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptoeleven

Curious about opinions of synth effects pedals or units that work well for people on their rig. What would you say is the best of the best for both versatility and quality? I've heard some things about moog pedals, but not extensively...

Having tried most but a Deep Impact, I found the best balance of ease of use / versatility via the BMS.

uptoeleven · #9 11-17-2007, 09:16 PM

nothing of moog pedals? what is a BMS? i guess the track would be all i need- but i'm certain it's a keyboard or analog synth of some kind- that's the kind of sounds i'm looking for though.

KarateKid25 · #10 11-17-2007, 11:07 PM

A BMS is an Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth. A very good synth pedal with sliders for controls.

What do you mean by 'the track would be all I need' ?

jucas · #11 11-17-2007, 11:17 PM

And the moog stuff, if we're talking about moogerfoogers, then at least a few of them are needed to even approach synthy territory. A "simple" synth pedal is probabaly way cheaper and easier.

Jimbob Jones · #12 11-18-2007, 07:29 AM

To intruduce you to the world of synth, I would strongly recomend the Digitech Bass Synth Wah. It's cheap and has lots of cool sounds in it for you to try out. Then, armed with that information you can look into spending more money (if you need to , i was entirely satisfied with the BSW in itself).

00Funk · #13 11-18-2007, 08:21 AM

My absalute favorite synth, is "synth strings" on a line 6 filter modeler, using an expression pedal. I just cant get enough of it.

2nd favorite, is a Boss SYB-3. My 3rd favorite, is useing digetech bass synth wah in the Q-Tron loop

Swift713 · #14 11-18-2007, 08:59 AM

I've been disappointed with the few synth pedals I've been able to try out (Digitech BSW, Line 6 FM-4?) . What I use is a BYOC Lazy Sprocket into a Zoom B2 with compression, filter, fuzz, and sometimes octave up. I've also used ring modulator in place of filter and/or chorus in place of octave. I don't like the B2's synth patches, they don't track very well for me and they seem less organic sounding than the roll your own option. I'd bet the EH BMS would float my boat but I don't really use synth sounds enough to spend that much.

rawrOOO · #15 11-18-2007, 09:45 AM

i tried my woolly mammoth and mxr bass auto q together recently. super analog synthy sounding. like turn up the pinch on the woolly mam...very cool. i feel like the best synth effects might come from combinations of pedals rather than from a SYNTH pedal

uptoeleven · #16 11-18-2007, 10:17 AM

what i mean by "all i need" is the track off the new radiohead album . there's a keyboard synth sound on there that i'd like to try to achieve. i guess moogerfoogers aren't where it's at...

JanusZarate · #17 11-18-2007, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptoeleven

what i mean by "all i need" is the track off the new radiohead album . there's a keyboard synth sound on there that i'd like to try to achieve. i guess moogerfoogers aren't where it's at...

Ah, that sound?

Sounds like some ring modulator action to me. Maybe some octave weirdness, too.

A Moogerfooger pedal could do that, I think - you'd have to give their Ring Modulator a try.

But if you want to try something cheaper that may work for that sound... try an EHX Octave Multiplexer (one of the new ones), and use it with the Sub switch turned off. Just feed it a bright tone, and it'll do the rest.

EDIT: I should mention that since the Multiplexer is an analog sub-octave pedal, its tone will be on the "dirtier" side of things, but I think you might like it anyway. If not, then definitely explore some ring modulators.

uptoeleven · #18 11-18-2007, 08:35 PM

cheers, i'll have to try that out. It's the subtle synth sounds I really am a fan of such as that.

uptoeleven · #19 11-21-2007, 05:34 PM

anyone tried the moogerfooger freqbox?

JanusZarate · #20 11-21-2007, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uptoeleven

anyone tried the moogerfooger freqbox?

I've tried it out before. It's a noise of a very different nature - it reminds me of some of the noise you'd hear on NIN's Year Zero and in certain industrial bands.

IMHO, you have to have an expression pedal to really enjoy it and make full use of what it can do!