EHX Mono Synth: completely useless? Please tell me otherwise...

[Altitude]

That is one of my favorite pedals ever, but it is a little hard to use live.

What I found is that you have to commit to one sound, because there are so many sliders and adjusters that it’s not practical to make changes mid-set. Just too complex. Also, IIRC it uses a different power source than normal, so there’s some debt there to keep it on the board.

So I stopped using it, and the point about changing settings in the middle of a set is part of why I switched to multi-FX units where I can save presets and call them up.

But, all that said - the EHX is a beautiful expression of what an analog, old school effects pedal should be.

 

[W_R]

Awesome to hear what Billyears is doing with the C4. I’m curious how it can be controlled to move through presets, will check into it.

Yeah, channels change, but I appreciate all the helpful stuff that’s out there. I am not a serial watcher of many things, and usually come across info by searching. Weird how fast things change, yet 10 years+ of YouTube content can be usefully relevant on any given day.

 

[RattleSnack]

In my covers band, I use C4 on about 10% of songs. When it's dialed in well, I can even slip synth on songs that don't require it, whole songs or parts.
Trick, for me, is to go trough online library and identify patches that sound good and cut trough. No dark-farty-mumbly patches, just brighter and complex ones. Than I designate bass or lower sine wave to Ctrl1, and dial it on rehearsal, by switching it on and off, so it's got unity(ish) gain with clean bass signal. Than one more dial in, on the sound check.
Three good sounds are all I need fpr typical gig.

 

[900se]

Another C4 user - I have the pedal to use in a covers band when we need to do synth basslines. I've also used it to 'beef' up parts of songs as a very processed overdrive sound. It's a great tool for these sorts of things. I've linked it with a minimal MIDI controller pedal (two footswitches) to jump quickly between patches. Even used it to play parts of the sequenced slapback on the synth line to I Feel Love which was interesting...

As some examples, David Bowie's Lets Dance - mixed in overdriven sawtooth for that growl.
Synth bass-lines on Rhianna's Don't Stop The Music, Ms Dynamite's Wile Out, Jamilia's Superstar. These work really well.
It's also good for rolling LFO tone effects - where the bass line seems to phase in and out on early house stuff.

I haven't used it for anything original yet, although I'm joining another funk-based project soon so I may see if there's any use for it there - though I do tend to be more old-school with funk normally (flats, pbass etc).

The only drawback with it is some tracking on really busy lines - you have to play it as it's own thing most of the time. Input driven patches seem to work fine, but triggered waveforms need to be treated more carefully.

 

[cornfarmer]

I've struggled with the EHX Bass MicroSynth since the '90s, that's when I found an OG one with broken sliders for a hundred bucks. Bought the reissue when it came out, they're the same pedal. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it sucks. 1 in 10 times it can be useful in a band (like in my long defunct proggy jammy improv trio). Mostly I see these as useful (maybe) for recording simple lines. The gate/trigger/glitch thing is really quite awful. Mine don't get used anymore but they'll stay put just in case...

I got a Prunes & Custard (clone) recently and it's mostly a 1.5 trick pony, but it has a synthy quality to it if you just need a basic usable tone or to sound like Chameleon (Herbie Hancock). Play soft and it's got a gritty overdrive tone, then dig in and it sounds like an envelope filter opening up (à la velocity on a real synth).

 

[Billyears IV]

Awesome to hear what Billyears is doing with the C4. I’m curious how it can be controlled to move through presets, will check into it.

Yeah, channels change, but I appreciate all the helpful stuff that’s out there. I am not a serial watcher of many things, and usually come across info by searching. Weird how fast things change, yet 10 years+ of YouTube content can be usefully relevant on any given day.

You use midi with source audio pedals to access up to 127 presets. Requires a seperate midi controller. Can assign expression pedal to huge choice of parameters.
It is an investment and learning journey but no regrets.
Others wise 6 with footswitch.

 

[Billyears IV]

I think 'less is more' with a lot of synth lines. So not really necessary to play lots of quick notes. That helps with tracking/latency and gives more weight to the synthy sound.

I find the octave v good with C4. Another parameter that I like to swell in/out with expression pedal for certain parts of a track. I do like mellow subby sounds with some 'sizzle'. Not keen on harsh buzzy square waves.

It is option overload at times. As @RattleSnack says, sift out anything that doesn't sound good with your rig. Learn to make adjustments.

 

[bassbrad]

Synth pedals are all a unique instruments that you have to adapt to or develop your own approach and touch. While I passed on the mono synth I have several other EHX offerings that I find very usable the Bass Micro Synth, Mel9 and Synth9 and will eventually get a String9.

 

[N4860]

I can also recommend the C4 as a great sounding synth pedal with pretty much endless sounds, though it is a steep learning curve. I also use mine with a midi controller to pull up different presets. I have the midi controller connected to like 5 or 6 pedals so I can change all of the pedals settings at once with 1 click on the controller which is nice.

 

[jcerio]

I've been using the Mono Synth for a couple of things live. The "Laser" setting works for Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" for the synth stabs in the verses. I use the "Unison" setting for Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". It took a lot of practice and fiddling with the "SENS" knob to get my technique in order to properly activate the pedal. I also added an "expression knob" and learned how to store presets. I play in a modern pop/dance cover band and having some synth sounds available really helps. I've been playing with some of the other settings to see if I can fit them in anywhere. We'll see how it goes. This thing is pretty fun to play with.

 

[acid bass]

The Monosynth is a mixed bag, but I did have it on my board and got usable tones out of it. It definitely does have tracking issues and you can't play quick lines with it. Most synth pedals will struggle a bit here, but the difference between the Monosynth and the Future Impact is significant; I can play 16ths with some of the patches on my FI.

As far as cutting through I like what RattleSnack said; you might be best served by picking the tones that cut through best rather than the ones that you personally like. At least this is the concession I've had to make with synth pedals (including the FI). I most frequently used Laser, that's the most classic sawtooth synth bass tone. But I did actually find a chance to use Wub once, that was fun. Tweaking the sensitivity and resonance made a big difference in how well I cut through. Like you, I discovered that you have to have some dry signal in there, and I typically had the synth knob WAY up (eg; dry signal at noon, synth at 3 o'clock).

Even though I replaced the Monosynth with a Future Impact on my board, I kept the pedal because it's so much fun.

Lastly, I have a keytar too. Highly recommend, fun as hell.

 

[charlie ford]

Lol so many Keytars!

I've been using the Mono Synth for a couple of things live. The "Laser" setting works for Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" for the synth stabs in the verses. I use the "Unison" setting for Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". It took a lot of practice and fiddling with the "SENS" knob to get my technique in order to properly activate the pedal. I also added an "expression knob" and learned how to store presets. I play in a modern pop/dance cover band and having some synth sounds available really helps. I've been playing with some of the other settings to see if I can fit them in anywhere. We'll see how it goes. This thing is pretty fun to play with.

Thanks for the examples, I'll see what I can do along those lines.
I feel like maybe I've been playing too light my whole life by needing the SENS cranked so high, what do you mean by fiddling with it? Maybe I'm missing something.
What do you mean by expression knob though?

The Monosynth is a mixed bag, but I did have it on my board and got usable tones out of it. It definitely does have tracking issues and you can't play quick lines with it. Most synth pedals will struggle a bit here, but the difference between the Monosynth and the Future Impact is significant; I can play 16ths with some of the patches on my FI.

As far as cutting through I like what RattleSnack said; you might be best served by picking the tones that cut through best rather than the ones that you personally like. At least this is the concession I've had to make with synth pedals (including the FI). I most frequently used Laser, that's the most classic sawtooth synth bass tone. But I did actually find a chance to use Wub once, that was fun. Tweaking the sensitivity and resonance made a big difference in how well I cut through. Like you, I discovered that you have to have some dry signal in there, and I typically had the synth knob WAY up (eg; dry signal at noon, synth at 3 o'clock).

Even though I replaced the Monosynth with a Future Impact on my board, I kept the pedal because it's so much fun.

Lastly, I have a keytar too. Highly recommend, fun as hell.

Yeah I think I've done a lot more playing around with Laser than most of the others. Wub was one of the first ones I tried when I first got the pedal and jeez the noise it made when I first did it! I'll try some more with it. After I got it calmed down (more dry, less synth) then using the expression pedal with it was a lot of fun, but did you ever use wub with anyone?

 

[Wasnex]

But so far it's useless. It makes fun sounds, but that's about it.

You must not like "extra cheese."

 

[acid bass]

Yeah I think I've done a lot more playing around with Laser than most of the others. Wub was one of the first ones I tried when I first got the pedal and jeez the noise it made when I first did it! I'll try some more with it. After I got it calmed down (more dry, less synth) then using the expression pedal with it was a lot of fun, but did you ever use wub with anyone?

I did. I was in an R&B cover band that used tracks and the drummer played to a click so I knew the tempo was going to be steady every time. We did Let The Music Play by Shannon and instead of doing quick plucking for the synth part, I just plucked once and set the delay to fill in the rest of the notes. I was so jazzed when I got it to work but literally no one else cared, LOL.

 

[jcerio]

Lol so many Keytars!


Thanks for the examples, I'll see what I can do along those lines.
I feel like maybe I've been playing too light my whole life by needing the SENS cranked so high, what do you mean by fiddling with it? Maybe I'm missing something.
What do you mean by expression knob though?


Yeah I think I've done a lot more playing around with Laser than most of the others. Wub was one of the first ones I tried when I first got the pedal and jeez the noise it made when I first did it! I'll try some more with it. After I got it calmed down (more dry, less synth) then using the expression pedal with it was a lot of fun, but did you ever use wub with anyone?

Instead of connecting an expression pedal that I would never use (and takes up space on my pedal board) I purchased an "El Garatge Expression Knob" at Expression Knob - Mini expression pedal and it works well to give me another parameter to work with on most of the pedal modes.

 

[charlie ford]

You must not like "extra cheese."

I love cheese! I just wanna be able to use this thing lol

Instead of connecting an expression pedal that I would never use (and takes up space on my pedal board) I purchased an "El Garatge Expression Knob" at Expression Knob - Mini expression pedal and it works well to give me another parameter to work with on most of the pedal modes.

That knob demo is pretty cool!

 

[Billyears IV]

Instead of connecting an expression pedal that I would never use (and takes up space on my pedal board) I purchased an "El Garatge Expression Knob" at Expression Knob - Mini expression pedal and it works well to give me another parameter to work with on most of the pedal modes.

Can you tweak it with your toes?

 

[Ritter667]

This is one of those pedals you need to play like an instrument in it self, you can't just go on playing your bass like you normally would and expect the pedal to adapt to your playing, you need to adapt your playing to the pedal.

 

[charlie ford]

This is one of those pedals you need to play like an instrument in it self, you can't just go on playing your bass like you normally would and expect the pedal to adapt to your playing, you need to adapt your playing to the pedal.

What changes to your playing did you make?

 

[Billyears IV]

Seriousl

Instead of connecting an expression pedal that I would never use (and takes up space on my pedal board) I purchased an "El Garatge Expression Knob" at Expression Knob - Mini expression pedal and it works well to give me another parameter to work with on most of the pedal modes.

Seriously though, that looks quite handy - thanks for sharing.