So I received a SubT last month and I'm also getting the Synth voice "bleed" into the Octave down voice....this is annoying. Does anyone have a SubT with a CLEAN octave voice, or is this a characteristic of the pedal?
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Iron Ether Subterranea
- Thread starter JBNeedsBeer
- Start date
Top knobs (synth voices) are off, switches don't matter, Octave voice at noon, Octave "tone" at noon, Clean at noon. Doesn't really matter which settings though, at any point where the synth voices are off, I can still hear them.
The Octave never sounds totally "clean" per se- much like an OC-2, but I don't hear any bleed-over of the synth voices on mine.
So I got the Xerograph Deluxe from the post office this morning. Stared at it for half the day since I didn't have much to do at work.
Finally got to plug my Dingwall Super J in it and the first impression was :
Definitely not an intuitive "plug-and-play" pedal, I found the controls to be very interractive which I never understood why builders use it as a marketing argument.
Kinda turned knobs and switches at random but after a few minutes I was reassured : the sounds are there! Just need to spend a few more hours taming the beast I guess - it's not coming to tomorrow's gig!
Finally got to plug my Dingwall Super J in it and the first impression was :
Definitely not an intuitive "plug-and-play" pedal, I found the controls to be very interractive which I never understood why builders use it as a marketing argument.
Kinda turned knobs and switches at random but after a few minutes I was reassured : the sounds are there! Just need to spend a few more hours taming the beast I guess - it's not coming to tomorrow's gig!
That was my finding with the deluxe too, only I started with the resonance maxed on 4pole... about crapped my pants.. it is an intense and powerful pedal.So I got the Xerograph Deluxe from the post office this morning. Stared at it for half the day since I didn't have much to do at work.
Finally got to plug my Dingwall Super J in it and the first impression was :
Definitely not an intuitive "plug-and-play" pedal, I found the controls to be very interractive which I never understood why builders use it as a marketing argument.
Kinda turned knobs and switches at random but after a few minutes I was reassured : the sounds are there! Just need to spend a few more hours taming the beast I guess - it's not coming to tomorrow's gig!
My OC-2 is MUCH cleaner sounding than this. It is clearly the synth voices I hear bleeding through, I don't get this kind of noise on my OC-2. I'm talking when you have the Octave up, the filter completely CCW, then just mute the strings. I hear the synth voice.
I guess I keep bringing this up because I've read other people have heard this too. Some members said this was a defect with the very first run, which is why I'm confused as to why I hear it on a month old pedal...
I'm sorry, I missed your post. I'll try tomorrow if I have the time. But it sounds "normal" to me too...
So I got the Xerograph Deluxe from the post office this morning. Stared at it for half the day since I didn't have much to do at work.
Finally got to plug my Dingwall Super J in it and the first impression was :
Definitely not an intuitive "plug-and-play" pedal, I found the controls to be very interractive which I never understood why builders use it as a marketing argument.
Kinda turned knobs and switches at random but after a few minutes I was reassured : the sounds are there! Just need to spend a few more hours taming the beast I guess - it's not coming to tomorrow's gig!
That's what I've been saying, but people wouldn't believe me! One thing for sure: it does totally reveal itself coupled with the SubT. And vice-versa. I don't use one without the other.
Well I have my pedalboard at home with me so I checked it out really quick- I tried it with two different basses (one high output/active and one low output/passive). If I put the Octave Voice all the way up and filter all the way down with my active basses preamp dimed I can get some nasty buzzy/clippy artifacts not dissimilar to the Octaynth in timbre (I get the same with my OC-2 with the same bass unless I leave the volume around 50% though- I actually like the blown out tones I get from clipping the OC-2 sometimes), but if I turn the basses volume down or use my passive bass it stays pretty clean. Even with my active bass it is also less noticeable if I turn the Octave down closer to unity gain (around noon-2 o'clockish in this case). Curious if you might be clipping the pedal? Though if it is doing anything while you mute the strings I'm not sure we are hearing the same thing (mine is totally quiet when I mute my strings regardless of bass)...
If you are muting the strings all the voices should be quiet as there is a gating applied to all of them (they make noise when you make noise). What kind of signal are you feeding it? Its possible if you feed it with a hot enough input that there is some sort of hum that is above the gating threshold and is being tracked by the octave voice. My MXR BOD seemed to do this with my hotter basses (it would just make these glitches and buzzes when I wasn't playing- any hum or finger noise was getting tracked). The gate on the OC-2 on the other hand is super hard and I think part of what gives it its particularly punchy/synthy character (as a result it also removes any trace of single coil hum from the signal when I use it which is great!). I haven't had any issue with my current basses and the Subterranea, but just something to experiment with maybe.
Or maybe you got a dud- send an email to Taylor about it. He always seems to be very forthcoming and helpful when there are issues or limitations with his pedals...
Oh- I tracked down Behndy's video of the original batch of SubTs with the bleed issue- the beginning of the video shows it pretty clearly. Is this what you are hearing? Mine definitely doesn't have that Uni-Synth clearly audible in the Octave signal:
Here's a video that shows a newer version (this is how mine sounds):
Here's a video that shows a newer version (this is how mine sounds):
hey, I'm getting back to this, because I wasn't quite convinced with my expression sweep range, but I have no idea how to correct this. When the expression is either fully down (no low pass filter) or at the middle of the sweep, there is no difference.
My Xero settings are Slow switch, 4 pole, up mode, Res at ~1:00, Sens at ~2:00, Freq at noon.
I'm using a modded VP Jr expression pedal, with an Expressionator (for now set to the basic linear mode "/"). The pedal has a sweep range control as well (if I set it to 0, it's like if the pedal is constantly "open").
I am not sure if this is a problem of Xero setting or of the pedal and/or expressionator? It's not really a problem, because I've started to get used to it, but something more linear would be nice. Not sure if trying to change Res, Sens or Freq would change anything. What do you think?
With the expression pedal "fully down" the filter is still working, it will just be at whatever frequency the Frequency knob is set to. It is possible your Frequency knob is set below the audible range so you aren't hearing anything until you sweep it through the audible frequencies? Depending on other settings I almost always have my Freq knob set at noon or above. Another possibility is that the Sensitivity is too high so that you are constantly above the trigger threshold and on the "slow" trigger setting it might not be giving the filter a change to come down again.
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ok I'll try slightly increasing the Freq then (it's annoying because the pedal is not at home...)
just to make sure: for me expression pedal "open" = low pass filter, and "closed" = normal
just to make sure: for me expression pedal "open" = low pass filter, and "closed" = normal
Right- but "normal" in this case is still filtered, the cutoff frequency is just set at wherever you have the Frequency knob on the pedal (you can think of the expression pedal as just turning up the Frequency knob from wherever you have it set, with the lowest frequency at the bottom of the sweep being set by the knob).
When you are using the envelope with the expression pedal you are still setting the start frequency of the sweep, but if you have the Sensitivity set too high then your playing will always be triggering the filter above that starting point, limiting the sweep- to get the widest/deepest sweep I always set the Sensitivity to where the envelope only triggers when I play moderately hard (though if you are a cleaner/lighter player than me or have a compressor you can get away with a higher Sensitivity). Once you find the best Sensitivity setting you can readjust the Frequency knob to get the bottom of the sweep where you want it.
Taylor Livingston
Commercial User
Lebowsky, I'm kind of confused about your terminology so I'm having trouble writing a direct response. It can clarify if we use "heel down" and "toe down" since both directions could be called "down". Your signal is being lowpass filtered whenever the LED on the XD is lit and the filter volume is not at minimum. But if the cutoff frequency is higher than all of the harmonic content of your signal, then I think this is what you're referring to as "normal".
I think maybe the issue you're having is this, correct me if I'm wrong. The "meaningful" part of the expression sweep, in which sound goes from bassy to full-range, occupies only a fraction of the mechanical throw of the expression pedal.
Here's how you tune it. Set the heel down, then use the XD's Freq control to set the "heel frequency" where you want it. Now, to set the toe frequency, normally an attenuator knob as on the Moog expression pedal is used to keep the frequency sweeping way higher than the highest harmonic in your signal. I'm certain the Expressionator can be programmed to do this, hopefully someone more expert on that unit can explain the steps.
Your expression unit may be able to do this since you mention a range knob, but because of the terminology I'm not sure if that knob is limiting the minimum or maximum extent. Some units like the Roland exp. pedals do the former, which won't help as it's equivalent to the XD's onboard Freq knob.
I think maybe the issue you're having is this, correct me if I'm wrong. The "meaningful" part of the expression sweep, in which sound goes from bassy to full-range, occupies only a fraction of the mechanical throw of the expression pedal.
Here's how you tune it. Set the heel down, then use the XD's Freq control to set the "heel frequency" where you want it. Now, to set the toe frequency, normally an attenuator knob as on the Moog expression pedal is used to keep the frequency sweeping way higher than the highest harmonic in your signal. I'm certain the Expressionator can be programmed to do this, hopefully someone more expert on that unit can explain the steps.
Your expression unit may be able to do this since you mention a range knob, but because of the terminology I'm not sure if that knob is limiting the minimum or maximum extent. Some units like the Roland exp. pedals do the former, which won't help as it's equivalent to the XD's onboard Freq knob.
ok, so if I understand correctly, let's say that I like both my heel down and toe down sounds. I probably should just fiddle with the expression pedal range knob. If I set it to 0, then the setup will always "sound like heel down". So I can probably linearise my sweep by reducing the range? (like I said it's annoying since I can't test live with Talkbass next to me
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Ah, I think I had your terminology backwards- so it is the top end of the frequency range (treble) that isn't getting much audible action from the sweep? If so then you are correct- the pedal is probably just sweeping through high end that is barely present in your signal (this happens on my Moog expression pedal too if I leave the sweep control at max). So adjusting the Range in your Expressionator should help you reign in the top end of your sweep to an audible range!ok, so if I understand correctly, let's say that I like both my heel down and toe down sounds. I probably should just fiddle with the expression pedal range knob. If I set it to 0, then the setup will always "sound like heel down". So I can probably linearise my sweep by reducing the range? (like I said it's annoying since I can't test live with Talkbass next to me
sorry about the frenglish terminology 
yeah, whether the pedal be halfway or completely toe down, the top end sounds exactly the same.
yeah, whether the pedal be halfway or completely toe down, the top end sounds exactly the same.
So to dial it in, just put the toe down on the expression pedal and turn the Range knob down until you start to hear a change, then turn it back up just a hair to get just the tip of the sweep to sound "normal" as you call it!
