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How are you guys using the Frantabit?

bassmandudeguy

bassmandudeguy

Sep 3, 2011
80
0
Katy, Texas
#1
So, long story short there's some pedals I've been gasing for bigtime but I haven't seen them on the classifieds lately and when I have- it was too late DOH! So wanting to try something new I shot from the hip and snagged a Frantabit and Expression pedal in one shot! Woot!

Of course I checked out some youtube vids first to have an idea what I was getting mysef into. I had heard tons of good things about this pedal on TB so I bought the hype and pulled the trigger! It looked pretty interesting.

Flashforward- so now I've had a little time to play with it and I'm kinda scratching my head. Maybe it's a difference in my rig versus the rigs that did the demos or? A couple vids had a riff on a looper while he twiddled knobs, but... I dunno I guess I'm ignorant here? I thought this would be a little more musical. I realize it's a bit crusher(my first one btw) but the only sound I can get thats really usable so far is a weird distortion/fuzz tone with a hiss in the background.

How are you guys using this thing? Is there a magic combination of pedals? Is it just a bedroom novelty? Does anyone use it in a band context? I'm not trying to be a doucher here. And I'm certainly not dissing on I.E. This thing is built really well and it looks sweet and I'm sure as far as bitcrushers go it's top of the line but when I turn it on I'm having acid flashbacks and a feeling like I'm trapped in another dimension with no escape.

Input? Am I alone on this one?:confused:
 
#2
The thing to keep in mind is that like most IE pedals, but moreso with the Franta all of the controls have a ton of range including some combinations that will not be the most musical. It can take some time to find the tones you're looking for.

I don't currently own one, but when I did, I recall enjoying something like:

Switch to Degrade
Bit depth all the way up
Mix about 50/50 (or to taste)
Start with Sample rate all the way up and turn down until you hear the rate you like the sound of. For me it was always above 2 o'clock

That should be a pretty basic SRR sound, but there are tons of other options in there. Check out some of the recommended settings from the manual as well.
 
#4
Jeff Moote said:
That should be a pretty basic SRR sound...

Check out some of the recommended settings from the manual as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff. Two things though- whats the SRR sound your talking about? And I don't have a manual, I got it used but I'll see if google can pull up something. I'm definitely gonna try your settings though. My headphones broke so I should probably be a good neighbor and wait until this afternoon before I make a bunch of noise. Even at low volumes the bass freqs go right through the floor and the Chinese lady downstairs has been hating on me for awhile now! lol sorry lady!
 
#6
I get quite a bit of use out of my franta, and have found it to be very musical if you put in the time tweaking.

By itself, I use it for the subtle sample rate reduction in degrade mode. I find it adds some robotic grit, without overpowering the signal. I usually have the mix set to 100% wet and the sample rate to taste. Lower if I want it to be growly and higher if I'm going for piercing, ring mod sounds. I also like the "foldback" style fuzz when the bit depth is below 9:00. I find holding notes with the mix set all the way wet gives you multiple layers of filtering that sounds really epic.

With other pedals, I love using it to get a "talking" synth bass when used after a filter. I set it to either degrade with mix all the way wet or obliterate with the mix at about 9:00 and sample rate to taste. The best combo I've heard is octave down>gated fuzz>manually swept lpf>franta>detune. Definitely gets the yaya bass for days. It also sounds really cool after an envelope filter with the bit rate all the way up and sample rate to taste.

Just a few ideas on how to use it musically. Of course it can do really weird, really well, but I almost never use it for that. I suggest spend some time with it in degrade mode to appreciate the more subtle side. Then work into obliterate, at first keeping the mix pretty high on the dry side. I hope this helps!
 
#10
Just got my Frantabit and all I can say is WOW. This thing is going to turn heads!!! Just a quick setting I've found to be my favorite in the 20 minutes I've been playing with it.

SR- right around 1-2
MIX- All the way up
BD- around 11
Switch on obliterate!!!
 

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