I think the bypass switch blows on the bsy600, the plastic case kinda worries me too. The sounds it can make are amazing. I never had a synth pedal before but I think I'm hooked. I was thinking maybe I should get a DIY metal box and change the switch type. Has anybody else done this? Or is it a waste of time?
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Boss SYB-3 vs SYB-5 vs Behringer BSY-600?
- Thread starter mcascone
- Start date
Rehousing it is a huge PITA. What many are doing- including me- is getting a loop switch and using it to turn the synth on and off.
The switch on the BSY600 is tricky... it has a Hold function associated with it, so to turn it on and off you need a quick and precise step. Since i also want a compressor involved with it I made the compressor, BSY600 and Hot Hand controller all one loop.
The switch on the BSY600 is tricky... it has a Hold function associated with it, so to turn it on and off you need a quick and precise step. Since i also want a compressor involved with it I made the compressor, BSY600 and Hot Hand controller all one loop.
A photo:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=312046&d=1358568432
Bass-> tuner -> octave -> overdrive-> LOOPER (that little saturn box)
The looper sends the signal to compressor, synth and hot hand 3
then from looper to BEF and chorus to amp. The two TC helicon Voicetone pedals are, of course, for vocals.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=312046&d=1358568432
Bass-> tuner -> octave -> overdrive-> LOOPER (that little saturn box)
The looper sends the signal to compressor, synth and hot hand 3
then from looper to BEF and chorus to amp. The two TC helicon Voicetone pedals are, of course, for vocals.
QC issues aside, if we're talking purely sound, tracking and features, I found the BSY superior to the SYB-5 when I A/B'd them.
Yeah, that seemed to be the overwhelming consensus, which is why I bought one instead of the pricier counterparts.
That said, it's no secret that synth tracking still has a lot of evolving to do, which IMO mostly leaves us trusting in the standard octave+distortion+filter method to achieve synth sounds. Hopefully SA will eventually save the day with a nice digital wave-generating synth pedal that will let us finally put these toys aside and move on.
That said, it's no secret that synth tracking still has a lot of evolving to do, which IMO mostly leaves us trusting in the standard octave+distortion+filter method to achieve synth sounds. Hopefully SA will eventually save the day with a nice digital wave-generating synth pedal that will let us finally put these toys aside and move on.
Just a quickie... The bsy600, has it got major tone suck when not on compared to true by pass pedals?
Anyone else reading this thread who owns a Digitech Bass Synth Wah - will the octaver setting do polyphonic (two notes?).
BTW, I did own the Behringer BSY-600 but I couldn't get the tone I was looking for so I returned it. Same for EHM Micro Synth.
BTW, I did own the Behringer BSY-600 but I couldn't get the tone I was looking for so I returned it. Same for EHM Micro Synth.
Ok I went to try a Behringer SBY-600.....
Yes it is true the switch is USELESS!
Yes there was no tone suck but...
The effect did not work on an effects loop.
My conclusions:
Do not buy Behringer effects. I had a Behringer Ultra Octaver once and the sound was grea turned on but the by pass had terrible tone suck. I even got a VB-1 with true by pass which actually was OK, but the "on" sound was tinny.
The bottom line is even if effects are made in china, don't buy any thing under 70-80 pounds, 'cause if it is "cheap" it is generally coupled with "Nasty", and not "Nice"!
Generally always get "True Bypass"*, as I had a nice looking and sounding Ibanez tonelok Bass synth, but the by passed sound had bad tone suck as it wasn't buffered. At least the Boss stuff is buffered.
*Mind you these Gear for Music own pedals are True Bypass, but they are very cheap at 29 pounds........ Invalid Link Removed
I have now EBS pedals made in china, but reassuringly expensive, and sturdy, and do exactly what they say on the tin.
So short of getting the Mark Bass Super synth.......
BTW how is the tone suck on the Digitech?
Yes it is true the switch is USELESS!
Yes there was no tone suck but...
The effect did not work on an effects loop.
My conclusions:
Do not buy Behringer effects. I had a Behringer Ultra Octaver once and the sound was grea turned on but the by pass had terrible tone suck. I even got a VB-1 with true by pass which actually was OK, but the "on" sound was tinny.
The bottom line is even if effects are made in china, don't buy any thing under 70-80 pounds, 'cause if it is "cheap" it is generally coupled with "Nasty", and not "Nice"!
Generally always get "True Bypass"*, as I had a nice looking and sounding Ibanez tonelok Bass synth, but the by passed sound had bad tone suck as it wasn't buffered. At least the Boss stuff is buffered.
*Mind you these Gear for Music own pedals are True Bypass, but they are very cheap at 29 pounds........ Invalid Link Removed
I have now EBS pedals made in china, but reassuringly expensive, and sturdy, and do exactly what they say on the tin.
So short of getting the Mark Bass Super synth.......
BTW how is the tone suck on the Digitech?
Well I ended up with both the SYB-5 *and* the BSY-600. A bandmate gave me the syb and the expression pedal to go with it, and I got an amazing deal on the BSY on eBay - $28!! I still need a second expression pedal for the BSY.
I'm using them both in my rig. I did notice severe tone suck with the Behringer; minor but noticeable with the boss. I got a One Control "iguana tail loop" true-bypass switcher (5 loops) to run them through which takes care of that. (I settled on this brand due to the quality, price, dedicated tuner output, and a 9v output for each loop which creates several options for daisy chaining your power through your pedalboard.)
They both make usable sounds. They have nearly identical controls - the Behringer may actually be easier as the direct/effect knobs are separate, while they're combined (inner/outer knob rings) on the boss. Based on a small amount of messing with them, I'd say the boss makes better synth sounds, while the Behringer sounds more musical to my ears. I have the boss set to a fuzzy sound that I can weave in with the pedal, and the Behringer to a funky envelopey filter sound.
The "hold" function that both pedals have feels useless to me since you have to keep your foot on the pedal to hold it, so you can't do much else while it's on. The footswitch is quite flimsy on the Behringer, as expected. The expression pedal jack on the boss is in an annoying place that gets in the way of the audio cable. I forget if it's in the same place on the Behringer.
I looked at the boss syb-3, but I would certainly only recommend the SYB-5 over the 3, as the 3 doesn't have the expression pedal control.
If you don't want to invest in a bypass looper, the boss is better than the Behringer. But with the addition of the loop, they both work well, just slightly differently.
I'm using them both in my rig. I did notice severe tone suck with the Behringer; minor but noticeable with the boss. I got a One Control "iguana tail loop" true-bypass switcher (5 loops) to run them through which takes care of that. (I settled on this brand due to the quality, price, dedicated tuner output, and a 9v output for each loop which creates several options for daisy chaining your power through your pedalboard.)
They both make usable sounds. They have nearly identical controls - the Behringer may actually be easier as the direct/effect knobs are separate, while they're combined (inner/outer knob rings) on the boss. Based on a small amount of messing with them, I'd say the boss makes better synth sounds, while the Behringer sounds more musical to my ears. I have the boss set to a fuzzy sound that I can weave in with the pedal, and the Behringer to a funky envelopey filter sound.
The "hold" function that both pedals have feels useless to me since you have to keep your foot on the pedal to hold it, so you can't do much else while it's on. The footswitch is quite flimsy on the Behringer, as expected. The expression pedal jack on the boss is in an annoying place that gets in the way of the audio cable. I forget if it's in the same place on the Behringer.
I looked at the boss syb-3, but I would certainly only recommend the SYB-5 over the 3, as the 3 doesn't have the expression pedal control.
If you don't want to invest in a bypass looper, the boss is better than the Behringer. But with the addition of the loop, they both work well, just slightly differently.
Ive said it before and ill say it again, you should avoid Behringer stomp boxes at all costs. The bsy600 is just a copy of the boss syb 5 and lacks in quality. I had 2 bsy600s and 2 behringer expression pedals; the first expression pedal broke in a day, the first bsy600 had issues that became more apparent after the expression pedal was replaced, and the second bsy 600 was doa at wich point i got a refund and shelled out for a boss syb-5 with a roland ev-5. The whole thing was a waste of money that left me stuck with a crumby expression/volume/pan pedal that has an audible squeak through the amps it runs through. Also there's more settings/sounds on the boss pedal.
so after several months with both the Behringer and the Boss, I find myself liking the Behringer better. I get a nice snappy bubbly filter out of the Behringer, but I can only get noise-y or distortion-y sounds out of the boss. I use the Boss with a CV pedal and typically wave the noise in and out, it's almost like a wah, but it's only good for short periods. I just found real deep synth tone out of the boss, though, which I've been liking, but it has a pretty big tracking delay. I use the CV pedal all the way back to get a deep sub-bass tone and then I can wah it around with the pedal.
The Behringer, I pretty much set it and forget it on the nice wubbly setting i found.
I have them both running through their own bypass loops, so suck isn't an issue, nor is the abysmal switch on the Behringer. I recently a/b'd them while off through the bypass and found less suck than I thought there was, but it's worth running at least the behringer through the bypass to get around the unusable switch.
The Behringer, I pretty much set it and forget it on the nice wubbly setting i found.
I have them both running through their own bypass loops, so suck isn't an issue, nor is the abysmal switch on the Behringer. I recently a/b'd them while off through the bypass and found less suck than I thought there was, but it's worth running at least the behringer through the bypass to get around the unusable switch.
