Having a blast with this little puppy! Most of you are very familiar with it. Pretty darn good little gizmo, IMO.
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Best Bass Synth Pedal
- Thread starter Jake Massey
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- pedal synth bass pedal
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
Future impact or C4 (or both, like I have). Both are seriously enhanced with midi switching. Not cheap, but easier than learning a new instrument!
i *think* that the HW is the same, just with newer firmware.
Also there is the new Iron Ether Dubterrenea, which has 3 voices in it - unison, sub, and either a + or - 1 octave. its more of a synth oscillator then a complete synth and needs some sort of filter after it to really shine, but that + a IE XD is amazing. the FI and presumably C4 is more flexible (I have teh FI and it sounds great) but look up the video on youtube - if thats the sound you are looking for thats the pedal.
I use an MXR Vintage Bass Octave and just add pedals as I need them for a bass synth sound. But my sounds are usually more basic than what you can do with an actual synth pedal. I do have a Digitech Bass Synth Wah, but I really only use it for envelope filter 
Not familiar or interested enough in the newer pedals, but some seem pretty good.
Not familiar or interested enough in the newer pedals, but some seem pretty good.SY-1 is very different to C4 and FI in terms of the sounds it can make. I really wanted to like it (due to it's lack of "tracking" by design, it requires 0 adjustment of technique), but out of the 121 options there was not one sound I liked or needed. FI nails that fat bass synth, and C4 comes close with a bunch of extras thrown in.
V1 and V3 are identical hardware except for the decal on the box. Just update your firmware.
Its amazing tracking and lack of need to alter technique actually makes it one of the best low latency / non glitching octavers on the planet as a very useful extra; the immediacy of having dials vs PC editing is also a real plus for me. Shame you couldn't find any sounds you liked. It's obviously got a lot more than 121 options in that neither filter has to be set at noon - so you have a bunch of other sounds to access. And the arpeggiator is a bunch of cool too.
Agreed that the SY-1 gets A LOT of things right. I really wanted that to be the one I keep, but alas...
No that's fair enough! If I had the head space to do PC editing on anything other than my multifxs and was prepared to compromise on technique to keep my pedals sweet, then I'd go for the C4 or FI too - they are both "proper" synth pedals generating synth waveforms, unlike the SY-1 which is a synth emulator, and consequently both give a more authentic synth sound.
Already ordered the new one.
Well, it's got updated graphics on the effect, too, gotta be worth something. Hmm, so sell one, or find a use for 2 of them? Such a problem to have... 
I have listened to many demoes of the SY-1, and like you, I find no interesting or good sounds, especially for gigging. There is "noise tail" to all the sounds, and there seems to be a lot of "wide band, dark noise" embedded in the sounds as well. When I expressed that in the dedicated discussion, I was met with much negativity. Fast forward to today, there are many, many users of the C4 and/or FI for gigging, but so far, I saw just one single user of the SY-1, in spite of the gig friendly layout and low price...
I own a C4 and an SY-1 and used to own a FI.
TLDR they are all great pedals and I think it depends on each individual which pedal is best.
Here are my thoughts.
For my needs the C4 is the best of the bunch. It does require more time investment to get into but I found it to track really well and get the synth sounds I wanted. It also ended up replacing my filter, phaser, and bit crusher pedals. I bought a midi controller for it and I find it essential if you plan on switching around more than 2 or 3 patches. It's also worth noting that Source Audio has amazing customer service.
I bought an FI the day they went on sale. It's a very cool pedal and right out of the box there are great sounds that can be somewhat edited right on the pedal itself. I didn't really like the editing software or the patch sharing system. I sold my FI shortly after getting the C4. This was before the FI v3 was released which apparently has better tracking. I found the v1 tracking ok but the C4 was better for me. The FI is a great synth pedal and it is worth watching the available demos to get a feel for its sound. Again great pedal, but for me, the C4 works better.
The SY-1 is different from the other 2. If you are playing chords, the polyphonic tracking is glorious. Monophonic sounds are just ok. It definitely feels like a digital synth compared to the others. No convincing moog sounds in my opinion. But it has its strengths and I can see how this would be perfect for others. Also there is no editing required so it is much more user friendly to get going.
Hope this helps!
TLDR they are all great pedals and I think it depends on each individual which pedal is best.
Here are my thoughts.
For my needs the C4 is the best of the bunch. It does require more time investment to get into but I found it to track really well and get the synth sounds I wanted. It also ended up replacing my filter, phaser, and bit crusher pedals. I bought a midi controller for it and I find it essential if you plan on switching around more than 2 or 3 patches. It's also worth noting that Source Audio has amazing customer service.
I bought an FI the day they went on sale. It's a very cool pedal and right out of the box there are great sounds that can be somewhat edited right on the pedal itself. I didn't really like the editing software or the patch sharing system. I sold my FI shortly after getting the C4. This was before the FI v3 was released which apparently has better tracking. I found the v1 tracking ok but the C4 was better for me. The FI is a great synth pedal and it is worth watching the available demos to get a feel for its sound. Again great pedal, but for me, the C4 works better.
The SY-1 is different from the other 2. If you are playing chords, the polyphonic tracking is glorious. Monophonic sounds are just ok. It definitely feels like a digital synth compared to the others. No convincing moog sounds in my opinion. But it has its strengths and I can see how this would be perfect for others. Also there is no editing required so it is much more user friendly to get going.
Hope this helps!
Although you may have only seen one, there are definitely others using the SY-1 live, including me
and I'm aware of other bass players here in the UK. And "low" price is a relative term: it's still £175 / $200 / Eur 199.
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Good to hear from someone using it on stage! May I ask what sounds you use, and for which (type of) songs? Do you need/use additional pedals to further process the SY-1 sounds?Although you may have only seen one, there are definitely others using the SY-1 live, including me
