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Becoming a Bass Micro Synth Masta - not!

J

Jawbone

Jul 15, 2010
377
2
Humboldt County
#1
I received one of the new EHX BMS' in trade for another fuzz and am having a hard time make it work (correctly). The previous owner gave up on it as well, saying "this thing is suppose to be the grooviest pedal, but I have no idea how to use it".

So far I've learned that it has a nasty distortion section, can sound like a bow, sounds a little like an organ and sounds a little like a reverse tape machine.

What is the true purpose of this pedal? Anyone have any nifty settings they want to share? Anyone learned to Masta this thing? The trigger and resonance controls don't seem to do a lot. It is versatile (I think), but would really like some wisdom as I still don't understand how it got its name Micro Synth??
 
#3
This pedal needs some time and patience, so don't give up on it too quickly! It took me several months to get really comfortable with it. After 2,5 years, I'm still finding new ways to fine-tune my sounds.

For basic functionality, check this video:
‪Electro-Harmonix Bass Microsynth & Blogger Distortion Pedals‬‏ - YouTube

For some ideas for settings, do a search for "microsynth" or "BMS" and "settings". There are several threads which have helped me in the past.

And very important: adjust the internal trim-pot to your basses output signal! Otherwise you might not trigger the filter (too low signal) or more commonly distort the unit (especially the suboctave)(too hot signal).
 
#4
i really like the filter section. just a few pedals can offer an adsr-like envelope.

this pedal is pretty much like a simple modular synth: oscillator voices (sub oct, guit., oct, fuzz) > vca (attack control) > filter (res.,start/stop freq, …)

the trigger slider just sets the threshold, to trigger the filter.
if you got problems with the trigger, try to adjust the input gain first. you can find some instructions here.

if you don't have an original manual, you can download the ehx sample settings here:

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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

have fun! ;)
 
#6
Trigger somewhere high, 3/4 or more, depending on how hot your bass is and how high you've set up the preamp output trimpot inside the pedal. (You did do this didn't you? Read the manual).

Oct -1 and Oct +1 full up, the other two voices off.
Turn attack delay off.
Resonance up full or near full
Start freq. near full
Stop freq. about half way
Rate slider somewhere in the first third of its travel.
That was my favourite sound with it.

Also trying start freq. at half-way and stop freq. at the bottom with a very low rate - good percussive '80s synth bass sound.

And of course try mixing in the square wave voice, set start freq. very low and stop freq. very high with a longer rate to get a big nasty growl.

I never really used the attack delay slider.
 
#7
kevteop said:
Trigger somewhere high, 3/4 or more, depending on how hot your bass is and how high you've set up the preamp output trimpot inside the pedal. (You did do this didn't you? Read the manual).

Oct -1 and Oct +1 full up, the other two voices off.
Turn attack delay off.
Resonance up full or near full
Start freq. near full
Stop freq. about half way
Rate slider somewhere in the first third of its travel.
That was my favourite sound with it.

Also trying start freq. at half-way and stop freq. at the bottom with a very low rate - good percussive '80s synth bass sound.

And of course try mixing in the square wave voice, set start freq. very low and stop freq. very high with a longer rate to get a big nasty growl.

I never really used the attack delay slider.
Click to expand...

Like kevteop said, make sure your clean level is matched with the unit by adjusting the tweaker inside the the bottom plate(Yes you have to open up the bottom plate to get to it). Then just some advise on the trigger slider, sure you adjust this to your bass playing, how hard or soft you play, and what type of bass active or passive. If it sounds all garbled when you play a note and then kicks in a second later turn down the trigger slider!
 
#10
So the best use of a BMS was a baritone guitarist/practical bassist that I saw open for High On Fire last summer. He had a proco rat running into the BMS with all the sliders dimed into a DD-3. That was fed into a Sunn model T. Biggest wall of sound you could ever imagine. I swear his half stack was roaring so much it was vibrating off the stage. Then he turned on the overdrive channel on the Sunn. Dear. God. in heaven. ****ing incredible. So loud and distorted, yet so articulate. Mind you he was tapping intricate lines the whole time that you could hear very very well.
 
#11
Joe Gress said:
So the best use of a BMS was a baritone guitarist/practical bassist that I saw open for High On Fire last summer. He had a proco rat running into the BMS with all the sliders dimed into a DD-3. That was fed into a Sunn model T. Biggest wall of sound you could ever imagine. I swear his half stack was roaring so much it was vibrating off the stage. Then he turned on the overdrive channel on the Sunn. Dear. God. in heaven. ****ing incredible. So loud and distorted, yet so articulate. Mind you he was tapping intricate lines the whole time that you could hear very very well.
Click to expand...

Do you remember the name of the artist? I'd like to check that out.
 
#12
Defunct local band called enemyswim. Here's their old myspace site, which has a couple of tracks, but i can tell you that they were so much heavier and louder live. Granted I was standing about four feet from that 412 the entire time.

Link Removed

Oh, and they are a three piece. Guitar, baritone guitar, and drums. Cool as **** dudes. Wish they were still together.
 
#13
It just sounds like you're not triggering the filter sweep. You need to play with the input gain trimmer and the trigger slider to get it to trigger correctly. Put the trigger slider all the way up, and put the start and resonance sliders all the way up and the stop slider all the way down. Then just slowly turn the input gain trimpot while playing notes. You should starting hearing the filter do this massive downsweep. You'll know it when you hear it.
 
#15
Wow - guys this was all very useful info - it makes a lot more sense now. Still a lot to learn - but I do love this pedal and don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Now that I think about it, I doubt the previous owner new about the trim pot. Hugh difference.
 
#16
Another thing.... The voice sliders... seem about zero gain over the unaffected signal midway - I think that's 5 on the slider.....

When I first got mine every time I tried to use it I blew everyone's ears out. You want to match the volume of the voices with your unaffected signal, and boost to taste.

It's such a better pedal converted to true bypass. There are some great articles here. Before I had a real love/hate relationship, because the bypass is shite and will suck all the life out of your tone.

I wish I had added an expression jack for sweeping the stop freq slider - getting a feedback drone running and working the filter = awesome. I just don't like having to lean against my amp on my knees to do it by hand.

CM
 
#17
I realized this is an old post, but I wanted to add my ideas.

I obtained a BMS last year (true bypass version) and was pretty happy with it. Adjusting the gain is absolutely necessary to get the most out of this thing. However, I kept wanting to control the speed of the sweep for certain songs. There was a guy I came across somewhere offering to do a mod that would add some LEDs and an external sweep pedal, but it was more than I wanted to spend and I did not want to add more to my board (PolyTune2, BMS, HyperGravity).

So, I started fiddling around with it and realized that if I could just move the Stop Freq slider I could totally do what I wanted to. The problem was that I could not do this with my foot because the pot is so small. Then I got thinking and realized that a piece of something stuck to the top would do it.

I had a small piece of zebrano laying around from a lathe turning a co-worker had given to me. I cut it in half, drilled a hole in the bottom, and bingo! This thing does all the great stuff mentioned above, and also allows one to manually sweep.

Specs if anyone is curious:
-1/2 circle with 2.5 inch diameter
-5/8 inch wide
-7/32 inch hole

Diameter and width are not critical--it just needs to be big enough to move with your foot and be stable. The hole size IS critical. 7/32 inch is just enough to allow you to stick it on the slider, but it will not come off on its own. Also, make sure you drill the hole deeper than the nub is tall or you risk smashing the pot and/or circuit board. Pics are attached.

Settings I use when manually sweeping: Trigger: 0, Sub Octave: 0, Guitar: 8, Octave: 4.5, Square Wave: 4.5, Attack Delay: 0, Resonance: 10, Start Freq: 0, Stop Freq: Adjustable, Rate: 0

I know that others have said to use the trigger at a higher level, and I totally agree if you are doing it automatically. If, however, you are doing it manually, I found that having the trigger at any level other than 0 gives a slight pause in the effect, which is not what I am trying to do.

One final note: if you are picky about the finish, you may want to add some polyethylene or delrin to the bottom to keep it from scratching the paint on the BMS.

IMG_2993.JPG
IMG_2994.JPG
 
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