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EHX Micro Synth question

#21
I like my older micro synth, yes its a pain in the ass but it sounds so nice. I personally dont notice a problem with mine while bypassed, but when im running anything through the pedalboard im not going for a clean tone. Yes, has to have its own power plug, but so did my Morley Power Wah Boost and I loved that too. XD
 
#22
So I feel the need to offer up my opinion on the subject of which EHX BMS is better sounding, the old version or the new XO version. This past weekend I had a chance to play my Sad J-bass through and old BMS, and a new XO BMS. I used a Mesa BB750 and a PH1200 cab. Here are my results:

1) The low end tracking on the older version is about a million times better than the new XO version, the difference is actually disgusting. Playing a low to high sweep with most of the octave, guitar, and square wave sliders maxed the older version sounded full and rich with tons of low end while when trying to replicate the same sound on the newer version (some sliders were postioned a bit differently to try and find the sound) the XO farted out and sounded like shite.

2) The resonance slider on the new XO model has about 70% of its range crammed into about 10% of the sliders physical movement, the res slider is a lot better on the older version in terms of movement for sound use.

3) There were a few higher end filter sounds that I could get out of the XO version that I've never heard from an older version, I didn't really explore these as well as I could have because the tracking is SO bad that if you try to incorporate a little low end into a sound the XO just farts out.

4) The advantages to the XO are its size, jack locations, led indicator (instead of a power indicating led), power needs (although the new XO can't be daisy chained as far as I know, you still have to use the regulated power supply), and some new higher end filter tones. The XO's disadvantage is its tracking, total crap "IMO".

5) The advantages to the older version are it's sound, the tracking is vastly better than the XO, and the slider's movement in comparison the the sound change. The disadvantages are its size, jack locations, power supply (24v), power indicating led (always on), and total lack of anything close to true bypass.

So there it is "IMO".

I've chosen to buy a simple looper (http://www.fuzzhugger.com/pedal-the-sidestep.html) and put my old version BMS in a loop. Its advantages far out weigh its disadvantages in my opinion. Anyone call me out on anything I might have done wrong. Peace, I'm out.
 
#23
CliffD said:
The XO's disadvantage is its tracking, total crap "IMO".

5) The advantages to the older version are it's sound, the tracking is vastly better than the XO,
Click to expand...

While I much prefer the older BMS to the new one, the tracking on my XO is much better than on my old one!

The XO will track down to low F# pretty reliably for me (but unfortunately it sounds farty down there, as you mentioned, making those low notes useless) whereas my old one got iffy as early as B or A.
 
#25
I wonder... are you guys remembering to tweak the trimpot on the XO version?

On the old version, you were pretty much forced to. You had to tweak it in order to get a decent bypassed sound. On the XO, I'm sure a lot of people who try it will forget about the trimpot (or not even know it still exists), because it bypasses just fine.

I haven't tried the XO version yet, but as soon as I spot one, you know I will. I remember my experience with the older version rather vividly, so I'm curious to see if it's truly worse.
 
#30
CliffD said:
I've chosen to buy a simple looper (http://www.fuzzhugger.com/pedal-the-sidestep.html) and put my old version BMS in a loop. Its advantages far out weigh its disadvantages in my opinion. Anyone call me out on anything I might have done wrong. Peace, I'm out.
Click to expand...

I think the only thing you did wrong was buy a looper and make the BMS package even bigger! The Macro Synths have a 3pdt footwitches already in them, and iirc the true bypass mod is very simple and only requires connecting or re-routing a few wires. To pay someone to do it would probably cost the same as that looper.
 
#32
Caveat: I have not played the older BMS, so I cannot make comparisons. That being said, I really like the XO BMS. I haven't had any trouble dialing in good sounds out of it. I had to adjust the internal trim pot to get a good overall operating level, and since then it's been great. I haven't had any tracking issues. I haven't heard the sub octave glitch at all. What is annoying is that the trigger, when set to activate fairly often, totally freaks out when I play a low B,C, or C#. The whole filter section jitters and it sounds like $#!%. Sure, the resonance and rate are pretty sensitive, but that's not to say they're not effective, and without the older BMS to compare, I'd have to say the rate of change on the sliders is pretty reasonable. Overall, IME and all that, I'm simply not having any trouble getting good, fun sounds out of this unit. Highly recommended!
 
#33
Just rec'd my big box BMS yesterday and had a few moments to play with it. It's a touchy beast, for sure. I did notice some level drop, but I haven't had a chance to tweak the trimpot on the bottom of the enclosure. My workaround was to pull the guitar slider up full.

I'm considering having Howard Davis do the TB and LED mods.
I think an alignment is in order as well (assuming this can be done), as the unit is fairly beat up.

How about sharing settings?
 
#35
Aurel said:
What does the trim pot do on the XO BMS? Increase/decrease input gain to improve tracking? Something else?
Click to expand...

Same thing as on the old BMS - it's a preamp gain pot. Too low and the sub-octave note will gate early, too high and you'll get distortion on the guitar slider and wobbly tracking.

FWIW I've had the back off my XO BMS three times tweaking that pot and the tracking to be fair is excellent for an analogue effect, but it still doesn't sound as good as my old one.
 
#36
kevteop said:
Same thing as on the old BMS - it's a preamp gain pot. Too low and the sub-octave note will gate early, too high and you'll get distortion on the guitar slider and wobbly tracking.

FWIW I've had the back off my XO BMS three times tweaking that pot and the tracking to be fair is excellent for an analogue effect, but it still doesn't sound as good as my old one.
Click to expand...

There's a hole on the big box bottom to access the trim pot. That seems like a plus for convenience.
 

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