Mxr bass synth sb301

[midichlorine]

Ordered Thursday, got it today.
Pretty cool for the hour I spent with it.
Didn’t touch the presets, just played with the live mode and got a feel for parameters. would’ve killed to have this 15 years ago when I was touring a lot and covering synth bass parts.

This will be fun!

 

[Bob_Ross]

Ordered Thursday, got it today.

Wait, WHAT?!?!?!

:angryface:

 

[Feral Feline]

When this thing was first announced, or shortly thereafter, I made a humorous post elsewhere on the forum about what an "epic failure" this thing was — which someone mistook as my serious assessment of the pedal. While my response then was OTT and poking fun, there was a small grain of truth contained within...

ie/re Top Jacks.

What's brought that back to the fore is seeing people in this thread getting an extra little footswitch for this wee beasty.

It's a pedal that should've could've and maybe would've had top jacks in a 1590BB-portrait sized orientation (same as Matt Dean's Bluebeard, for example) which would then have had enough room for the extra footswitch for scrolling.

TOP JACKS and an EXTRA STOMPER that IMO are needed for it. The slightly "larger" enclosure wouldn't be much of burden on dwindling pedalboard real-estate because those sidejacks on the production unit are taking up just as much space side-to-side once the in/out cables are inserted. Then add to that the non-latching preset stomper...
... suddenly the whole enchilada takes up more space on the plate than an entire quesadilla.


To make this thing work for me, I'd have to rehouse it with the extra stomper — things that should've been done by Dunlop-MXR from the git-go, IMO — and that means an added hassle and expense for me. I guess Dunlop-MXR planned to sell the pedal and then get more money out of people by selling them a footswitch, too. I know, not everyone needs/wants the footswitch. Maybe headquarters will put out a "Deluxe" model, in a slightly larger enclosure with top-jacks and the (for me) requisite extra stomper for changing patches on the fly.

Until then, my Future Impact is more than up to my Synth-bass wants/needs.

I don't need the MB301 (no wonder this thread flew under my radar, maybe a mod can change the title from "sb301" to "MB301"?),
but I sure want to like it.

 

[Bob_Ross]

So I just gotta say: I've only used my MXR Bass Synth for two rehearsals now, with a band that only requires it for one song

...and both times we played that tune, when I stepped on the footswitch to engage the effect, my foot also hit the Preset Advance button, and totally screwed up what I was trying to achieve!!!

:::angryface:::

I see a Barefoot Buttons pedal topper in my immediate future.

 

[Pep]

So I just gotta say: I've only used my MXR Bass Synth for two rehearsals now, with a band that only requires it for one song

...and both times we played that tune, when I stepped on the footswitch to engage the effect, my foot also hit the Preset Advance button, and totally screwed up what I was trying to achieve!!!

:::angryface:::

I see a Barefoot Buttons pedal topper in my immediate future.

 

[projectapollo]

So I just gotta say: I've only used my MXR Bass Synth for two rehearsals now, with a band that only requires it for one song

...and both times we played that tune, when I stepped on the footswitch to engage the effect, my foot also hit the Preset Advance button, and totally screwed up what I was trying to achieve!!!

:::angryface:::

I see a Barefoot Buttons pedal topper in my immediate future.

I’ve tapped the engage button for too long and unexpectedly entered preset selector mode. That was confusing.

 

[SLO Surfer]

So I just gotta say: I've only used my MXR Bass Synth for two rehearsals now, with a band that only requires it for one song

...and both times we played that tune, when I stepped on the footswitch to engage the effect, my foot also hit the Preset Advance button, and totally screwed up what I was trying to achieve!!!

:::angryface:::

I see a Barefoot Buttons pedal topper in my immediate future.

Been using the pedal since September and never had that happen once. A pedal topper would definitely help, but it might also block your view of the preset bank lights.

 

[adarvas]

I've had one for a week. I fell for the hype and it does sound good in a very limited capacity...BUT...... The tracking is an absolute deal breaker. I adjusted it to the 4 string tracking, turned down the delay, tried it with a P and a J bass, either or both pups, tone on and off and everything in between. I played close to the neck, close to the bridge. I have a very even touch, I don't have to use a compressor recording. I returned it and I'm done with digital pedals. I can't be a slave to a device when I'm playing and yes, most bass synth lines are sparse but then there are those Greg Phillinganes lines with Chaka Khan....... Just my $0.02

 

[SLO Surfer]

I've had one for a week. I fell for the hype and it does sound good in a very limited capacity...BUT...... The tracking is an absolute deal breaker. I adjusted it to the 4 string tracking, turned down the delay, tried it with a P and a J bass, either or both pups, tone on and off and everything in between. I played close to the neck, close to the bridge. I have a very even touch, I don't have to use a compressor recording. I returned it and I'm done with digital pedals. I can't be a slave to a device when I'm playing and yes, most bass synth lines are sparse but then there are those Greg Phillinganes lines with Chaka Khan....... Just my $0.02

For reference, did you adjust the global sensitivity? And have you used a synth pedal that tracks better than the MXR?

 

[rcmbass]

For reference, did you adjust the global sensitivity? And have you used a synth pedal that tracks better than the MXR?

Did you adjust for a four or five string?

 

[pgpete]

The tracking is an absolute deal breaker.

I find the tracking is good - not perfect - but good enough.

 

[sunbeast]

I've had one for a week. I fell for the hype and it does sound good in a very limited capacity...BUT...... The tracking is an absolute deal breaker. I adjusted it to the 4 string tracking, turned down the delay, tried it with a P and a J bass, either or both pups, tone on and off and everything in between. I played close to the neck, close to the bridge. I have a very even touch, I don't have to use a compressor recording. I returned it and I'm done with digital pedals. I can't be a slave to a device when I'm playing and yes, most bass synth lines are sparse but then there are those Greg Phillinganes lines with Chaka Khan....... Just my $0.02

I've found the tracking to be pretty good with most of my instruments, really good with a few (most of the passive flatwound-equipped ones!), and pretty tweaky with my more modern active 6-string basses w/ bright roundwounds (combination of lots of harmonics and more difficulty muting unused strings that tend to ring). In general it definitely seems to respond best to a passive signal (but that is often the case with these kinds of pedals). That said, I am pretty used to the adjustments necessary for technique to get any pitch-tracker to perform its best- utilizing solid muting techniques on unused strings goes a long way with this one (not to mention slightly muting harmonics on the strings you are using really tightens things up- I play alot of palm-muted plucking with mine). I don't think any pedal like this will ever track great without some "playing to the pedal"- playing monophonically and with a solid fundamental is a must, and that includes even noise from adjacent strings. I certainly don't find the tracking exceptional compared to the competition, definitely not a "game changer" in that regard- though I do find it tracks things like ghost notes more attractively than most. The Gate function is very helpful to chill out string noise from glitching it out, but also I find responds best to digging in to separate noise from music (the softer I play the more glitching sneaks through). One limitation I've found that I can't really fix totally on some instruments/notes is with sustained notes- it can definitely glitch out when notes start to decay on some instruments or certain registers of some instrumens, so not something I'd recommend for long sustained parts (the Future Impact v4 really handles those the best that I've used by far).

 

[Stevorebob]

Yeah, I’m good with the tracking, as well. Not perfect, but better than most synth and octave pedals I’ve tried. YMMV.

 

[mtsens1]

So I just gotta say: I've only used my MXR Bass Synth for two rehearsals now, with a band that only requires it for one song

...and both times we played that tune, when I stepped on the footswitch to engage the effect, my foot also hit the Preset Advance button, and totally screwed up what I was trying to achieve!!!

:::angryface:::

I see a Barefoot Buttons pedal topper in my immediate future.

In a pinch, save the wanted preset to all of them in a bank. Also, a tap sw plugged into the CTR jack make switching between presets easier.

 

[Bob_Ross]

a tap sw plugged into the CTR jack make switching between presets easier.

Does a tap switch plugged into the control jack disable the top mounted preset scrolling switch? If so, that would be a no-brainer.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Does a tap switch plugged into the control jack disable the top mounted preset scrolling switch? If so, that would be a no-brainer.

It doesn’t disable the top button on mine.

 

[ZainyBass]

Hey, all. I (finally) got my pedal about 3 weeks ago (after months of waiting)! I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet (hopefully soon) but without plugging anything in, I noticed something that kind of bugs me. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine, but when I turn all of the knobs all the way down (or up), I can see that they are not perfectly aligned. You can notice this the most on the sub mix knob, the envelope knob and even a bit on the mix knob (see attached photos)

I'm curious if anyone else has this issue, especially those of you who got your pedals earlier, like during the Summer.

It makes it look like the pedal was hastily thrown together, which could have been the case since they were probably really backed up and in a rush to get these out. One issue being that if these positions are slightly different pedal-to-pedal, that has to be taken into account if you ever want to copy someone else's settings. Not hugely, obviously, but still an issue. Also, if they were that sloppy with the knobs, it makes me wonder what else inside might have been hastily put together that could become an issue. I'd be interested in hearing some fo your experiences with this.

Thanks!

 

[sunbeast]

Hey, all. I (finally) got my pedal about 3 weeks ago (after months of waiting)! I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet (hopefully soon) but without plugging anything in, I noticed something that kind of bugs me. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine, but when I turn all of the knobs all the way down (or up), I can see that they are not perfectly aligned. You can notice this the most on the sub mix knob, the envelope knob and even a bit on the mix knob (see attached photos)

I'm curious if anyone else has this issue, especially those of you who got your pedals earlier, like during the Summer.

It makes it look like the pedal was hastily thrown together, which could have been the case since they were probably really backed up and in a rush to get these out. One issue being that if these positions are slightly different pedal-to-pedal, that has to be taken into account if you ever want to copy someone else's settings. Not hugely, obviously, but still an issue. Also, if they were that sloppy with the knobs, it makes me wonder what else inside might have been hastily put together that could become an issue. I'd be interested in hearing some fo your experiences with this.

Thanks!
View attachment 7394501View attachment 7394502

Total non-issue IMO. None of the controls have a defined “center” to be off, I’ve seen worse from much more expensive pedals, directly matching sounds via visual reference is a fool’s game anyway, and I think MXR has pretty well proven itself as a company not known for lax quality control over 50 years of making pedals (and I say that as someone who has had one lemon pedal from MXR before, but that happens and had I bought it new I’m sure I would have gotten a replacement). It’s a digital pedal anyway, so most of the “guts” are in the software.

 

[Ynherag]

Hey, all. I (finally) got my pedal about 3 weeks ago (after months of waiting)! I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet (hopefully soon) but without plugging anything in, I noticed something that kind of bugs me. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine, but when I turn all of the knobs all the way down (or up), I can see that they are not perfectly aligned. You can notice this the most on the sub mix knob, the envelope knob and even a bit on the mix knob (see attached photos)

I'm curious if anyone else has this issue, especially those of you who got your pedals earlier, like during the Summer.

It makes it look like the pedal was hastily thrown together, which could have been the case since they were probably really backed up and in a rush to get these out. One issue being that if these positions are slightly different pedal-to-pedal, that has to be taken into account if you ever want to copy someone else's settings. Not hugely, obviously, but still an issue. Also, if they were that sloppy with the knobs, it makes me wonder what else inside might have been hastily put together that could become an issue. I'd be interested in hearing some fo your experiences with this.

Thanks!

You know that knobs are not glued on, right?

 

[SLO Surfer]

Hey, all. I (finally) got my pedal about 3 weeks ago (after months of waiting)! I haven't had a chance to play around with it yet (hopefully soon) but without plugging anything in, I noticed something that kind of bugs me. Maybe just a pet peeve of mine, but when I turn all of the knobs all the way down (or up), I can see that they are not perfectly aligned. You can notice this the most on the sub mix knob, the envelope knob and even a bit on the mix knob (see attached photos)

I'm curious if anyone else has this issue, especially those of you who got your pedals earlier, like during the Summer.

It makes it look like the pedal was hastily thrown together, which could have been the case since they were probably really backed up and in a rush to get these out. One issue being that if these positions are slightly different pedal-to-pedal, that has to be taken into account if you ever want to copy someone else's settings. Not hugely, obviously, but still an issue. Also, if they were that sloppy with the knobs, it makes me wonder what else inside might have been hastily put together that could become an issue. I'd be interested in hearing some fo your experiences with this.

Thanks!
View attachment 7394501View attachment 7394502

I got my pedal at the beginning of August and have not noticed this issue. The only time all the knobs were turned all the way up or down was when I first opened the package and I remember it looking glorious. (Although mine could be just like yours and I didn’t notice)

I agree with everything else @sunbeast responded with about this. I don’t think it matters, and if it bothers you it should be easy to take the knobs off and re-center them yourself. There’s no dots, lines, or setting indicators printed around the knobs to line them up with anyways, so this pedal (like most pedals) will always be driven by using your ears more than your eyes. Lots of people ask about copying settings on this pedal, but that’s impossible to do visually since most of the knobs control two or three parameters depending on which button(s) you hold while you turn them.

Honestly, the magic of this pedal is in the 8 presets, not the ability to create great synth sounds on your own. I don’t even use the knobs.