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EHX Bass Mono Synth

#243
i followed this thread (looking for that synth thing!) until i bought one at sam ash a couple of weeks ago: i finally got around to just playing with it a bit to see what it's about!
i'm playing fretless so my experience may not be pertinent to others:
- this is my first synth pedal so i can't compare it to other pedals in that 'universe'.
- based on other's tips i have it first in the chain = no glitches.
- the unit needs a certain amount of instrument volume to 'breach the threshold' and function properly: dime the volume!
- tracking seems to be at least as good as my SUBnUP mini (which i hope to replace: can't find a use! :) )
- i've found several 'synths' which i can use, tastefully (but i really like the "cosmic" setting for a few tunes in one band)
- i haven't found the need for fret wraps --- just can't be careless!
- slides can be fun on a fretless: some settings seem to do those slides better than others, but it's an effect/choice issue, not tracking.
- i haven't used the "dry" output in conjunction with the "synth" output, yet, so i'm not sure about those advantages. (i don't typically bi-amp.)
- i have not used an expression pedal with the unit. i'm not likely to use the piece for more than 2-3 tunes and it does its synth thing fine for my use.
- i think a wall wart was supposed to be included but i didn't have one in the box --- so check that you get one if you need it!

summary: not a pedal head, but: this unit tracks well and has some fun/useful sounds/settings. it will get me a 'synth vibe'.
 
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#244
Mine has arrived. I like its sounds very much, even if I don't have an expression pedal. It has more or less the sinthy sounds that I was looking for.
Honestly the tracking is quite bad even if I have first in the chain after the tuner. I like the mono synth because is more straight forward in a band context than the micro synth and has some interesting sounds but if the tracking is like this I don't think I'll keep it. When I speed up a little it literally loses notes on the road, even if I'm playing with a clean technique. Maybe I only have to get used...let's give it another chance
At the beginning I had decided for the digitech Dirty Robot, let's see...
 
#245
Right now, I'm using it for Hella' Good, PYT, Moves Like Jagger and 24 Karat Magic.
With clean technique and a good, non-buzzy setup, it tracks just fine for those.
But anything faster than those it would have problems keeping up.

It is what it is. A great (especially for the price) synth pedal for pop music stuff.
If you're looking to be Jan Hammer with it, better learn to play keys.
 
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#247
karter2000 said:
What's your settings for Hella' Good? Love that bassline.
Click to expand...
For the chorus, 4th setting (Cosmic), CTRL set at 9 o'clock.
Bass volume mixed in equally with Synth volume.
Expression pedal/control (if you have it) at neutral.

I have everything in loops (see next post) so I kick out real bass for the little bass synth
interlude after the guitar solo section.
 
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#248
PhatBasstard said:
Since the altered preset also remembers the position of the expression (pedal),
I'm going to get one of those mini (2"x 2") expression control knobs to put right next to it.
It will give me one more parameter for storing altered presets.
Especially the one where the expression controls the pitch of the secondary tone by half steps.
Click to expand...
So....
I got the control (made by Nose) and a 6" TRS angled/angled (not easy to find) patch cable.
It seems to act as a resonance filter on most patches (the manual points out exactly on each preset).
It controls decay on a couple. It controls the secondary pitch on preset 10 (Spectre) by half steps.
As stated before, it acts as another control option and it's position, like the other controllers,
is saved when you save your altered presets.

I use a multi loop pedal to bring things in and out so the bass level on the pedal itself is unused.
Nose Expression Control.jpg
Bass Mono Synth w Nose.jpg
The Corporate Takeover.jpg
 
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#249
Welp, bought mine on Reverb and received it today. Just spent about an hour playing with it though my Musicman Caprice, and I have to say I’m very disappointed.

Admittedly, the Caprice does not have the hottest output in the world, but even with the volume maxed and the sensitivity all the way up on the pedal the tracking is dismal.

Most of the synth pedals I’ve owned have been analog, in which case tracking isn’t an issue, but compared to my Markbass Supersynth, which is also digital, this is just not cutting it at all.

If the Supersynth didn’t require a mainframe and a team of software engineers to program it would be pretty perfect.

I was really hoping for something simple and easy, which the Mono Synth is, unfortunately it just can’t keep up with moderately fast or even marginally imprecise playing. And that’s being generous.

It’s a shame, because there is an interesting array of sounds on this thing that are not at all useable for me.

Guess I may have to shell out the $700 for a Future Impact if this hunt for the perfect synth pedal is ever to find satisfaction.
 
#250
Discount Saint said:
Welp, bought mine on Reverb and received it today. Just spent about an hour playing with it though my Musicman Caprice, and I have to say I’m very disappointed.

Admittedly, the Caprice does not have the hottest output in the world, but even with the volume maxed and the sensitivity all the way up on the pedal the tracking is dismal.

Most of the synth pedals I’ve owned have been analog, in which case tracking isn’t an issue, but compared to my Markbass Supersynth, which is also digital, this is just not cutting it at all.

If the Supersynth didn’t require a mainframe and a team of software engineers to program it would be pretty perfect.

I was really hoping for something simple and easy, which the Mono Synth is, unfortunately it just can’t keep up with moderately fast or even marginally imprecise playing. And that’s being generous.

It’s a shame, because there is an interesting array of sounds on this thing that are not at all useable for me.

Guess I may have to shell out the $700 for a Future Impact if this hunt for the perfect synth pedal is ever to find satisfaction.
Click to expand...

Try turning the sensitivity down, for me it tracks best with it set around 10/11 o'clock. The higher the sensitivity knob the worse it tracks.
 
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#252
rjovin said:
Try turning the sensitivity down, for me it tracks best with it set around 10/11 o'clock. The higher the sensitivity knob the worse it tracks.
Click to expand...

I experimented with this as well, but I think it kind of depends on what aspect of the tracking you’re looking at.

I found that lower sensitivity tended to produce fewer tracking glitches and give a more consistent sound, but it also starts to miss notes entirely unless you are really hammering them.

There is also a degree of hesitation which seems worse possibly because of the lower output on the bass, as though I’m not quite hitting the threshold of enough to fully trigger the full range of sounds.

Subsequently I found that on the majority of the synths I had to crank up the parameter pretty much to max in order to get anything musical out of it.
 
#258
Hendricks97 said:
I got tired of waiting to see one in person and picked up the Markbass super synth and I'm happy enough with that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got a Super Synth as well, and it does sound and track really well, for sure. My big problem is that it requires a team of NASA scientists and the computing power of the entire Amazon Cloud to program it, and I'm not that patient.

I did actually dig out my laptop and painstakingly create a setting that I pretty much use for everything synthy that I play because the thought of doing that again is too much for my brain to handle. The problem is that even with that one setting that I created, of course it needs tweaking because hearing the patch through laptop headphones doesn't exactly give you a great indication of what it will sound like through a bass amp.
 
#259
Meh.. did a little more playing around with it today, and specifically tested with the sensitivity down around 10/11 as suggested.

I mean.. it DOES help it to sound better, depending on the synth, but it’s very difficult to get fast notes to register, especially multiple hits of the same note, which just ends up sounding like one continual note a lot of the time.

Turning up the dry level significantly does help, but really all that is doing is covering up the poor performance of the synth. That and the fact that I can only really find a couple of sounds that will work in a loud rock setting, and sadly this pedal just isn’t delivering what I had hoped.
 
#260
I played again a couple of times with it, with the drummer. Me too I found that adding the dry signal helps with more definition but, as has been already written, it just covers some gaps of the synth...
Anyway, I like its sounds too much to give it away so I guess I'll keep it and, if not usable enough, I'll put it in the ambient board that is always hungry for synths :drool:
 

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