Gigging with the MXR Bass Synth

[klattman]

I agree, any bass with a really strong, dry fundamental. My basses fitted with flats work just a little better with my MXR Synth.

Rolling the tone knob of helps similarly.

 

[Barticus]

Thread Drift: Have you ever tried an Iron Ether FMeron?

This entire thread has drifted, with only a couple of useful posts that are actually discussing the MXR Bass Synth pedal.

I’m wondering if there's a better thread that is actually focused on the MXR Bass Synth pedal and not every alternative to it.

I’m using mine live with a Stingray Special 5H and experiencing the sustain chokes and dropouts. Playing differently to the synth with very direct/solid notes in higher register certainly helps to sustain the notes, but during live play I am having the issues with dropouts.

I was hoping to learn some additional tweaks to deal with this issue on this thread as my adjustments have not completely resolved the issues.

 

[klattman]

Save this to your phone. Comes in handy.

 

[Barticus]

Save this to your phone. Comes in handy.
View attachment 7450910

Super helpful, thanks

 

[SLO Surfer]

This entire thread has drifted, with only a couple of useful posts that are actually discussing the MXR Bass Synth pedal.

I’m wondering if there's a better thread that is actually focused on the MXR Bass Synth pedal and not every alternative to it.

I’m using mine live with a Stingray Special 5H and experiencing the sustain chokes and dropouts. Playing differently to the synth with very direct/solid notes in higher register certainly helps to sustain the notes, but during live play I am having the issues with dropouts.

I was hoping to learn some additional tweaks to deal with this issue on this thread as my adjustments have not completely resolved the issues.

I use a stingray Special 4H (among a couple passive basses) and have no issues with sustain. In fact, the MXR sustains way better than any analog octaver I’ve tried. I can get most notes to ring out for at least 10 seconds, which is way longer than I typically need a note to ring out in performance settings. I do have a Cali76 compact bass running in front of the MXR, but the MXR sustains plenty long for my needs with or without the compressor. If I need to sustain a Bass Synth note longer than 10 seconds I use the “hold” function of the foot switch just to be safe that it won’t cut out when I don’t want it.

Now, I got a volume pedal just to be able to have long held notes fade out. It seems any note with the bass synth will just immediately go from full volume to 0 immediately when ending the note. Like a noise gate engaging. It can be shocking. There’s no built in musical decay. But that just requires playing with the mind set that every note needs to have a planned cutoff to be performed musically (should be done with or without any effects anyways), or use the volume pedal to fade a note out. Not sure that’s what you’re talking about (noise gate effect), or if you’re saying you can’t play longer notes that lasts a certain amount of time without cutting out (not sustaining long notes as long as desired).

How quickly does yours drop out, and on which presets?

 

[Barticus]

I use a stingray Special 4H (among a couple passive basses) and have no issues with sustain. In fact, the MXR sustains way better than any analog octaver I’ve tried. I can get most notes to ring out for at least 10 seconds, which is way longer than I typically need a note to ring out in performance settings. I do have a Cali76 compact bass running in front of the MXR, but the MXR sustains plenty long for my needs with or without the compressor. If I need to sustain a Bass Synth note longer than 10 seconds I use the “hold” function of the foot switch just to be safe that it won’t cut out when I don’t want it.

Now, I got a volume pedal just to be able to have long held notes fade out. It seems any note with the bass synth will just immediately go from full volume to 0 immediately when ending the note. Like a noise gate engaging. It can be shocking. There’s no built in musical decay. But that just requires playing with the mind set that every note needs to have a planned cutoff to be performed musically (should be done with or without any effects anyways), or use the volume pedal to fade a note out. Not sure that’s what you’re talking about (noise gate effect), or if you’re saying you can’t play longer notes that lasts a certain amount of time without cutting out (not sustaining long notes as long as desired).

How quickly does yours drop out, and on which presets?

Thanks, this is useful.

I’m running through the effects loop of my Anagram so I do have a little bit of compression in front of it but no other effects. I’m not always using presets when this happens, although it has occurred in either instance (example settings below when not using a preset).

I’m not attempting to have a note sustain for a long time and this only happens sometimes while playing live (with other instruments playing at the same time) not when testing at home. As an example that first song in your video, if I play F# on the D string (2 1/8 notes) pressing the D firmly and striking the string firmly (sometimes, not always) the note will decay like a gate is engaging before jumping up to the G#. Again, it doesn’t happen every time, but when it does happen, it’s an abrupt drop that I have to react to.

There are times that I need to roll off the volume and fade but as you know, if you do this for the bass, the note will drop immediately… so I was planning on putting an expression pedal in play to be able to take the note down gracefully. Do you have your expression pedal running into the MXR or elsewhere in the chain?

 

[sunbeast]

Thanks, this is useful.

I’m running through the effects loop of my Anagram so I do have a little bit of compression in front of it but no other effects. I’m not always using presets when this happens, although it has occurred in either instance (example settings below when not using a preset).

I’m not attempting to have a note sustain for a long time and this only happens sometimes while playing live (with other instruments playing at the same time) not when testing at home. As an example that first song in your video, if I play F# on the D string (2 1/8 notes) pressing the D firmly and striking the string firmly (sometimes, not always) the note will decay like a gate is engaging before jumping up to the G#. Again, it doesn’t happen every time, but when it does happen, it’s an abrupt drop that I have to react to.

There are times that I need to roll off the volume and fade but as you know, if you do this for the bass, the note will drop immediately… so I was planning on putting an expression pedal in play to be able to take the note down gracefully. Do you have your expression pedal running into the MXR or elsewhere in the chain?

View attachment 7451041

Make sure to experiment with the internal compressor setting- the comp comes before the synth so will affect tracking and sustain. Also the Gate to adjust sensitivity to playing if you are getting notes that are cutting off too quick

 

[SLO Surfer]

I’m running through the effects loop of my Anagram

Does it give you the same problem when you plug your bass straight into the MXR? Or at least have you tried it not through an effects loop? Maybe the effects loop is sending a level the MXR doesn't like.

I run custom settings much like in your picture with no sustain issues. Although, your picture doesn't show the secondary and tertiary settings you may or may not have adjusted for each knob. Have you adjusted any of those 'hidden' settings? If you're not going to use the pedal on notes below the low E, perhaps consider switching the tracking from 5 to 4 string. Many people (4-string players admittedly) find that change helps tremendously with tracking.

I’m not attempting to have a note sustain for a long time and this only happens sometimes while playing live (with other instruments playing at the same time) not when testing at home.

When playing live we often change our playing from our at-home practice, whether it's how we attack the strings or anything else technique-wise. Could be something like that?

As an example that first song in your video, if I play F# on the D string (2 1/8 notes) pressing the D firmly and striking the string firmly (sometimes, not always) the note will decay like a gate is engaging before jumping up to the G#. Again, it doesn’t happen every time, but when it does happen, it’s an abrupt drop that I have to react to.

I think the harder you pluck, the more this pedal glitches. It's late at night and I've kinda finished messing around at home with this pedal and only use it on gigs these days, so I can't pull it out and double check right now. But I think plucking too hard can be an issue where too many overtones come out and mask the fundamental, where this pedal needs the fundamental most. I think this pedal likes a medium to light touch, and if you're running into this issue most in live settings where many players tend to subconsciously dig in harder, maybe that could be causing your issues? You can try at home by digging in harder than normal to see if the issue arises that way.

There are times that I need to roll off the volume and fade but as you know, if you do this for the bass, the note will drop immediately… so I was planning on putting an expression pedal in play to be able to take the note down gracefully. Do you have your expression pedal running into the MXR or elsewhere in the chain?

I got the mini dunlop volume/expression pedal and put it after ALL my effects so I can hold any note with any effect(s) and fade it out. I just use it as an in-line volume pedal for fade outs, so it's not plugged into the MXR Bass Synth expression jack. It's just another pedal in my linear signal chain, and it works great this way.


So perhaps mess with your attack by actually lightening up a bit, or then messing with the 'hidden' setting like global sensitivity, tracking, etc.

I will say a couple other things about my technique that may or may not help. With this pedal if I'm doing a fat quarter note or longer that needs to end, I often do a slight downward slide out of it as I stop the note. This is to avoid the jarring gate effect that is undesirable. You can hear it in the first song I posted that you referenced. The 4th group of 1/8th note hits (right at :43 seconds) I hold the second 1/8th note out noticeably longer, and do a quick slide downward when cutting the note off on the beat. It's super subtle, but makes it sound more natural and less jarring. I remember that moment clearly, as the pedal was fairly new to me. I got carried away with how cool the effect was sounding so I let it ring out when I probably shouldn't have, but then immediately remembered the pedal cuts off super abruptly. I wanted to get out of that moment musically so I just did that downward slide and tried to make the cut off sound in time with the band. Now I do that quick downward slide to release notes with this pedal a lot.

I also don't squeeze or press the strings firmly with my left hand. I kind of use the weight of my arm. I learned electric and upright bass from a great upright player, and everything on upright is about using your relaxed body weight, rather than muscle and strength. So I get really good fundamentals out of the bass with my left hand by letting the weight of my left arm/shoulder pull down/back on the strings. This helps a lot with sustain as well as with slides and shifts up and down the neck to stay consistent in volume and fundamental note presence. (although sometimes all that technique goes out the window when I'm dancing around lol) In any case I think that technique helps me with getting good fundamentals and thus with this pedal.

Sorry for the novel but I'm a total geek and hope there's something helpful in there for you and/or others.

 

[Barticus]

Does it give you the same problem when you plug your bass straight into the MXR? Or at least have you tried it not through an effects loop? Maybe the effects loop is sending a level the MXR doesn't like.

I run custom settings much like in your picture with no sustain issues. Although, your picture doesn't show the secondary and tertiary settings you may or may not have adjusted for each knob. Have you adjusted any of those 'hidden' settings? If you're not going to use the pedal on notes below the low E, perhaps consider switching the tracking from 5 to 4 string. Many people (4-string players admittedly) find that change helps tremendously with tracking.


When playing live we often change our playing from our at-home practice, whether it's how we attack the strings or anything else technique-wise. Could be something like that?

I think the harder you pluck, the more this pedal glitches. It's late at night and I've kinda finished messing around at home with this pedal and only use it on gigs these days, so I can't pull it out and double check right now. But I think plucking too hard can be an issue where too many overtones come out and mask the fundamental, where this pedal needs the fundamental most. I think this pedal likes a medium to light touch, and if you're running into this issue most in live settings where many players tend to subconsciously dig in harder, maybe that could be causing your issues? You can try at home by digging in harder than normal to see if the issue arises that way.


I got the mini dunlop volume/expression pedal and put it after ALL my effects so I can hold any note with any effect(s) and fade it out. I just use it as an in-line volume pedal for fade outs, so it's not plugged into the MXR Bass Synth expression jack. It's just another pedal in my linear signal chain, and it works great this way.


So perhaps mess with your attack by actually lightening up a bit, or then messing with the 'hidden' setting like global sensitivity, tracking, etc.

I will say a couple other things about my technique that may or may not help. With this pedal if I'm doing a fat quarter note or longer that needs to end, I often do a slight downward slide out of it as I stop the note. This is to avoid the jarring gate effect that is undesirable. You can hear it in the first song I posted that you referenced. The 4th group of 1/8th note hits (right at :43 seconds) I hold the second 1/8th note out noticeably longer, and do a quick slide downward when cutting the note off on the beat. It's super subtle, but makes it sound more natural and less jarring. I remember that moment clearly, as the pedal was fairly new to me. I got carried away with how cool the effect was sounding so I let it ring out when I probably shouldn't have, but then immediately remembered the pedal cuts off super abruptly. I wanted to get out of that moment musically so I just did that downward slide and tried to make the cut off sound in time with the band. Now I do that quick downward slide to release notes with this pedal a lot.

I also don't squeeze or press the strings firmly with my left hand. I kind of use the weight of my arm. I learned electric and upright bass from a great upright player, and everything on upright is about using your relaxed body weight, rather than muscle and strength. So I get really good fundamentals out of the bass with my left hand by letting the weight of my left arm/shoulder pull down/back on the strings. This helps a lot with sustain as well as with slides and shifts up and down the neck to stay consistent in volume and fundamental note presence. (although sometimes all that technique goes out the window when I'm dancing around lol) In any case I think that technique helps me with getting good fundamentals and thus with this pedal.

Sorry for the novel but I'm a total geek and hope there's something helpful in there for you and/or others.

This was excellent, thank you for all the helpful tips. I will test in the studio this evening to see if I can work it out.

 

[Barticus]

Does it give you the same problem when you plug your bass straight into the MXR? Or at least have you tried it not through an effects loop? Maybe the effects loop is sending a level the MXR doesn't like.

I run custom settings much like in your picture with no sustain issues. Although, your picture doesn't show the secondary and tertiary settings you may or may not have adjusted for each knob. Have you adjusted any of those 'hidden' settings? If you're not going to use the pedal on notes below the low E, perhaps consider switching the tracking from 5 to 4 string. Many people (4-string players admittedly) find that change helps tremendously with tracking.


When playing live we often change our playing from our at-home practice, whether it's how we attack the strings or anything else technique-wise. Could be something like that?

I think the harder you pluck, the more this pedal glitches. It's late at night and I've kinda finished messing around at home with this pedal and only use it on gigs these days, so I can't pull it out and double check right now. But I think plucking too hard can be an issue where too many overtones come out and mask the fundamental, where this pedal needs the fundamental most. I think this pedal likes a medium to light touch, and if you're running into this issue most in live settings where many players tend to subconsciously dig in harder, maybe that could be causing your issues? You can try at home by digging in harder than normal to see if the issue arises that way.


I got the mini dunlop volume/expression pedal and put it after ALL my effects so I can hold any note with any effect(s) and fade it out. I just use it as an in-line volume pedal for fade outs, so it's not plugged into the MXR Bass Synth expression jack. It's just another pedal in my linear signal chain, and it works great this way.


So perhaps mess with your attack by actually lightening up a bit, or then messing with the 'hidden' setting like global sensitivity, tracking, etc.

I will say a couple other things about my technique that may or may not help. With this pedal if I'm doing a fat quarter note or longer that needs to end, I often do a slight downward slide out of it as I stop the note. This is to avoid the jarring gate effect that is undesirable. You can hear it in the first song I posted that you referenced. The 4th group of 1/8th note hits (right at :43 seconds) I hold the second 1/8th note out noticeably longer, and do a quick slide downward when cutting the note off on the beat. It's super subtle, but makes it sound more natural and less jarring. I remember that moment clearly, as the pedal was fairly new to me. I got carried away with how cool the effect was sounding so I let it ring out when I probably shouldn't have, but then immediately remembered the pedal cuts off super abruptly. I wanted to get out of that moment musically so I just did that downward slide and tried to make the cut off sound in time with the band. Now I do that quick downward slide to release notes with this pedal a lot.

I also don't squeeze or press the strings firmly with my left hand. I kind of use the weight of my arm. I learned electric and upright bass from a great upright player, and everything on upright is about using your relaxed body weight, rather than muscle and strength. So I get really good fundamentals out of the bass with my left hand by letting the weight of my left arm/shoulder pull down/back on the strings. This helps a lot with sustain as well as with slides and shifts up and down the neck to stay consistent in volume and fundamental note presence. (although sometimes all that technique goes out the window when I'm dancing around lol) In any case I think that technique helps me with getting good fundamentals and thus with this pedal.

Sorry for the novel but I'm a total geek and hope there's something helpful in there for you and/or others.

All fixed! I adjusted at a show during sound check last weekend… the gate was kicking in.

Save this to your phone. Comes in handy.

I did this, and used it!

 

[fluxman84]

I have the following chain: Active Bass > EBS Multicomp > MXR Bass Synth > Overdrive > EBS Microbass 3 (DI Out)

The tracking is great. I would have preferred 12 knobs though haha. Some of the hidden presets you hardly have to touch, but others: it can be annoying.

For me, putting the compressor first lead to better tracking (some notes used to cut out.. but this might be a gate setting problem on the MXR)... Compressor first also makes more sense to me, since the bass compressor is used to compress my bass tone, not weird synth tones.

I also notice some presets have much higher volumes than my clean bass -- which is strange... but you can change the output gain per preset.

Another issue I have, which I can't find any info about online, is that I use my Microbass for tone shaping EQ. So I get a nice character to my clean bass, but then obviously this also affects the MXR Synth tone. I guess if the EQing is subtle, it's no big deal, but in my case, the MXR synth tone sounds drastically different compraed to when I turn off the Microbass EQ.

The Microbass 3 has 2 channels, so I'm thinking of using an A&B->Y splitter so that I can use the "pure" MXR Synth tone without it going through my tone shaping EQ (but then I lose the 2nd channel of the Microbass, which I use as a drive channel).
I could also put it through the FX-loop of the Microbass, but then the tracking might suffer (and I also lose any EQ for the MXR that way)

I think the issue is, is that the MXR Synth is not really a normal guitar pedal -- it's basically emulating a 2nd instrument, so maybe it makes sense to split the signal and use a 2nd chain (even a 2nd DI box for FOH)?

I'd be interested to know what other bassists are doing live in terms of preamp EQ and setup