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C4 synth pedal - I give up.

mikey2000

mikey2000

Jun 24, 2025
27
24
#1
I've been in touch with source audio tech support and finally got my head around the input calibration as the documentation is pretty poor.

For instance - the documentation doesn't mention the main green LED having variable brightness during calibration until you finally hit the red LED when you turn up the input. Tech support confirmed this is actually the case.

So I thought I had a duff pedal with a wonky power supply or something. Nope, all good, I just didn't understand the partially written documentation...


But the real reason I give up is that even after understanding that calibration, I still can't get anything but horrible glitchy noise out of it. I've tried loads of community presets, watched hours of YouTube videos (including that hour long deep dive) and I just can't get it to sound good with any of the synth waveform sounds.

it works quite well as a fun filter for clean bass tone but as soon as I try to switch to a saw/sine or square wave, it just doesn't track my playing at all well. Sometimes it glitches hard at the start of a note, some notes are missed all together, others randomly jump to higher octaves (as if its tracking a harmonic for a moment) then back down again.

The maddening thing is that I can make a patch that sounds fine through the built in bass guitar loops via "soundcheck' but can't get my real bass playing to sound anything like them. Just a glitchy mess :-(. Very frustrating!



Am I missing something obvious? I'm in touch with the online store I bought it from to talk about a return.

At least I didn't throw it out of the window!
 
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#2
mikey2000 said:
I've been in touch with source audio tech support and finally got my head around the input calibration as the documentation is pretty poor.

For instance - the documentation doesn't mention the main green LED having variable brightness during calibration until you finally hit the red LED when you turn up the input. Tech support confirmed this is actually the case.

So I thought I had a duff pedal with a wonky power supply or something. Nope, all good, I just didn't understand the partially written documentation...


But the real reason I give up is that even after understanding that calibration, I still can't get anything but horrible glitchy noise out of it. I've tried loads of community presets, watched hours of YouTube videos (including that hour long deep dive) and I just can't get it to sound good with any of the synth waveform sounds.

it works quite well as a fun filter for clean bass tone but as soon as I try to switch to a saw/sine or square wave, it just doesn't track my playing at all well. Sometimes it glitches hard at the start of a note, some notes are missed all together, others randomly jump to higher octaves (as if its tracking a harmonic for a moment) then back down again.

The maddening thing is that I can make a patch that sounds fine through the built in bass guitar loops via "soundcheck' but can't get my real bass playing to sound anything like them. Just a glitchy mess :-(. Very frustrating!



Am I missing something obvious? I'm in touch with the online store I bought it from to talk about a return.

At least I didn't throw it out of the window!
Click to expand...
Just curious - have you tried to play with your instrument the same basslines as the built in bass guitar loops?
 
#3
Yes. I tried broadly similar lines. I played into a looper so I could fiddle around with the C4.

I made a patch with everything turned off, just Mono Input 1 being sent to Direct output with no envelope, filter or distortion. (Ie it should sound exactly as if the pedal wasn’t even switched on.). That patch works.

Now, I’ve read elsewhere that this pedal can be multi use and can even be a substitute for an octave pedal so I’ve tried that. I switched to monophonic input 1 (which enables the pitch shift effects) and immediately the sound goes wrong. It’s glitchy and horrible.- it sounds like it’s been a little bit-crushed. So adding an octave up or down sounds equally crushed. Not at all like all the online videos.

I suppose the monophonic input activates the pitch tracking system so it can begin to work the magic. But if that sounds glitchy and horrible, I can sort of understand how any symptoms based off that input would be equally bad. Rubbish and rubbish out.


I must have a bad setting somewhere. I’ve factory reset about 5 times!
 
#4
Synth pedals are very sensitive to type of signal they are fed. If your bass guitar sound has lots of overtones and/or fret sounds, that won't work.
If you are playing bass in your avatar (Yamaha BB), use only P pickups and close Tone pot, that might help. Also play softer and consistent.
 
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#6
I had a similar experience with the Ultrawave - there is some stuff that is apparently completely non - intuitive that I couldn't get, and I gave up. Oddly, the pedal that I have on both my pedalboards that is always on are my Source Audio EQ2's - there was s bit of a learning curve in how to get the thing connected to a computer that was not spelled out in the manual, but I did somehow get past that, and the rest was pretty straightforward.

I have 2 generations of their Neuro desktop software on my computer. The newer one is a definite step backwards from the original one, so I end up using the older one.

Some of their stuff has decent user interfaces, some of it...not so much
 
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#7
I also play Yamaha BB (PJ pickups) and use C4. All of my C4 presets are octave down (-1) based. I noticed that way the sound is much more consistent.
Maybe start with couple of Octaver presets and try to get good output just by adjusting your bass preamp and playing. Set preamp to flat, maybe cut Treble or Tone. When your octave -1 sounds good, go and explore other C4 presets.
 
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#12
What bass are you using? I use the C4 often in the studio (live i do prefer the MXR) and it sounds great. I do little to no deep diving into the configurations of patches. Some of them are over the top and some way too loud, but I have found dozens of usable patches that sound great.

Are you a heavy handed player? What strings are you using? Active bass?
 
#13
Ive tried the C4 and the MXR. I always went back to my Future Impact. It tracks better than any other pedal I’ve tried, has gobs of useable presets, and is easy to tweak on the fly in regard to input and output levels, and patch choice. Best investment for the few synth tunes I have in my set. Depeche mode is pretty dead on with that pedal.
 
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#16
I need to eventually put on my big-boy britches and have another try at getting into the C4 - I'm not a heavy techie like my nephew, but the first go 'round was discouraging. But what's also been working against me with that thing is that I also have a Zoom B6 - I think I got both of these at around the same time. The B6 really gave me an invitation to jump in with both feet and after having it at home for only a couple of days, I used three or four sounds in it for a gig that same weekend. While the tone connoisseurs will probably give their nod to the Source Audio box for its potential with most things bass synth, I have to admit that the B6 just wants to be my friend.

Everybody has their own priorities and I really respect a lot of the innovations happening with the designs and uses of different effects gizmos. But I want my gear to help me play without much fuss instead of leaving me sidelined with a learning curve that's too steep.
 
#17
mikey2000 said:
I've been in touch with source audio tech support and finally got my head around the input calibration as the documentation is pretty poor.

For instance - the documentation doesn't mention the main green LED having variable brightness during calibration until you finally hit the red LED when you turn up the input. Tech support confirmed this is actually the case.

So I thought I had a duff pedal with a wonky power supply or something. Nope, all good, I just didn't understand the partially written documentation...


But the real reason I give up is that even after understanding that calibration, I still can't get anything but horrible glitchy noise out of it. I've tried loads of community presets, watched hours of YouTube videos (including that hour long deep dive) and I just can't get it to sound good with any of the synth waveform sounds.

it works quite well as a fun filter for clean bass tone but as soon as I try to switch to a saw/sine or square wave, it just doesn't track my playing at all well. Sometimes it glitches hard at the start of a note, some notes are missed all together, others randomly jump to higher octaves (as if its tracking a harmonic for a moment) then back down again.

The maddening thing is that I can make a patch that sounds fine through the built in bass guitar loops via "soundcheck' but can't get my real bass playing to sound anything like them. Just a glitchy mess :-(. Very frustrating!



Am I missing something obvious? I'm in touch with the online store I bought it from to talk about a return.

At least I didn't throw it out of the window!
Click to expand...

I tried the C4 briefly. Sent it back, accepted that I have to bring keyboards on gigs. No matter how hard they try to market it, the technology is not there yet.
 
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#18
I agree with the OP.

Over the lockdown I got the SA Spectrum. Found the UI & user content to be a bit overwhelming, but found the choruses / phasers / filters to be very nice. Wasn’t as impressed with the octaves or buzzy fuzz sounds. But should’ve kept it for the above mentioned fx alone.

Figured the C4 would be all that and more. It certainly was. But I couldn’t really quite figure out how to blend in a complementary synthy thing that didn’t completely take over my tone. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe I needed two separate amps.

Anyway everything always sounded glitchy and farty so I obviously had no idea what I was doing and eventually lost interest.

Likely too low of an input level and too fidgety technique to be sure.

I then went a little back in time and bought a Gemini chorus (but also phasers etc.) Should've kept this one as well. Took a lot of the option paralysis out of the equation and still had super chewy choruses and phasers for days.

Let all of them go. Ended up with an analog phaser that plays nice without much effort and can go from gooey and filtery to chorusy and sparkly with a few quick twists.
 
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#19
@mikey2000 I hope you can get your issue sorted as I don't know what I would do w/o the C4.

Glitchy signal is either too much or too harmonic rich a signal or not enough. Try running your bass 'flat' or even with some treble rolled off since a lot of bass tone is in the upper harmonics. I do have to make some gain adjustments when using different basses, sometimes creating a patch that is bass specific*. When using any synth or octaver pedal I have to be keenly aware of attack, cut off and ghost notes.

You might have already tried but I started just using the 6 main presets and would go one module at a time to be sure I had everything adjusted to my own particular bass and playing style. Once I had one voice working it was then much easier when getting more complex.

*My jazz group prefers I play mainly fretless and that has made me do some serious editing to a lot of my previously used sounds.
 
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#20
Play around with your pitch detector settings

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