• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Mxr bass synth sb301

#101
sunbeast said:
Cool- I just messed with it and found that as well! What other settings are you using?
Click to expand...

I have that sound tuned pretty well at this point. I find that the noise/envelope/cutoff on this one is easier to get musical and less harsh for an initial attack to emulate kick than the C4. The glide, kind of goofy. Some notes seem to pitch drop by themselves, some notes don't. Really do have to learn to speak its' language. I've made three different presets of an 808 sub bass sound tuned in different ways. Mostly figuring out working the expression pedal into it. We do Essence by Wizkid/Tems and it rolls through a deeper sub octave and punchy higher octave on and off and the pedal is my key to it.

Working on tuning a saw to match sound for Love On Top, again the expression pedal is key because it switches filtering level in the chorus. Working on subtleties in how the envelope closes in the secondaries and the balance of the three voices.

Also just using the first and fourth presets with some tuning to personal tase. Of course all this is gonna change after I take it to first rehearsal, but I can do it on the pedals face now instead of digging out a macbook...

The secondary parameters and all that being active in live mode the last way they were set has thrown me a bit. I think I found the other day you can use envelope filtering and chorus/modulation through a clean dry bass signal? I have to double check (am in NYC and surrounding area right now away from my gear). Mostly just trying to figure out how to get it tracking nice. I do admit the C4 was a bit tighter, at least for me at the moment. I might try a Fump or the Nordymute.
 
#102
I've now been more deep testing this unit and come to the conclusion that it's not for me. Although surely nice and suitable for many players it just doesn't do it for me. And it has nothing to do with being lazy or sloppy technique. I've been in this business long enough to know that some things fit your playing and practical situation better than others.
That's not to say anything bad about the MXR, it's more that it lacks whatever makes me feel like it's something I'm will use regularly.
I had the HX stomp for a long time and battered with making some, for my situation, usable synth sounds and just didn't get there and this feels about the same. That's not saying it sound the same. It has al lot of good parameters usable to fine tune your sound but in the end of the day all these different effects have their own sound and that's what you have to like to make it a keeper.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parzival, Les Fret, instrumentlevel and 1 other person
#104
yaksonator said:
Here's a few sound samples of the mxr bass synth in action. It does have a hard time on certain bass lines. But you have to play to the pedal. I happen to think this pedal sounds amazing.



Let me know if this link works please?
Click to expand...

Sounds great! I have the best feedback from mine by playing with palm-muted plucking- fortunately a technique I use a lot anyway in my main projects. I can dig in without excessive ringing or messiness
 
#108
Will Birckhead said:
I mentioned earlier that this isn’t a “Lazy Man’s” pedal — and I still stand by that, but let me clarify. I didn’t mean that to sound harsh. What I’m really saying is: this isn’t a plug-and-pray situation.

In the right hands — someone who understands synthesis and is intentional about their technique — this pedal is a game changer.

Just like any preset, whether it’s an audio plugin or keyboard patch, it’s just to get you in the ballpark. The real magic happens when you customize those patches to fit your bass, your playing style, and your sonic goals.

This pedal, like any proper synth pedal, doesn’t reward sloppy technique. But it will shine with intentional ghost notes, precise articulation, and a dialed-in understanding of tone shaping. With three oscillators and powerful secondary controls, this is a real-deal synth in a box.

If you’re serious, I challenge you to sit down with some classics — Parliament, Zapp & Roger, Jamiroquai — and work on emulating those tones. As you tweak and play, you’ll start to hear how the parameters shape the sound.

Just like the HX Stomp, there’s a learning curve. But once you lock in?

The sky’s the limit.
Click to expand...

That is absolutely not how the pedal is marketed. Buyer beware.
 
#109
I blew up a Speaker last weekend . Outdoor gig I had it turned up a lttle more than normal but nothing crazy. I Have two 8 ohm Avatar 1-12 cabs with the Eminence Delta 12 LFA. powered by a Markbass Little Marcus 500. I think the synth pedal might have been the cause. I love the sound of my cabs but I might have to find a tougher speaker. Something that can hndle deep Squarewaves and that type of stuff easier. I Do have a 5 string but for the synth I don"t go past D because for tracking I have the pedal set for 4 string. BTW I do use a compressor before the pedal
I know Eminence makes a Kappa 12" that handles 600W and 1200 peak could that be a better choice?
 
  • Wow
Reactions: instrumentlevel
#113
trigger_happy said:
Anyone noticed when doing slow or quick frills, it looses the note effect?
Click to expand...
You can change the gate, the glissando and compression to try and make it better, but all pedals like this have to sample and then generate and there is always a small processing delay. Depending on whether you want it to re-articulate or not, you have to mute notes to create deadspace or not.

It’s going to the practice to play this way. This is why IAM’s demo sounds better than most. He plays synth bass all the time and his articulations while playing are honed to make the synth work well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikeswals, trigger_happy and OlyWhite
#115
klattman said:
You can change the gate, the glissando and compression to try and make it better, but all pedals like this have to sample and then generate and there is always a small processing delay. Depending on whether you want it to re-articulate or not, you have to mute notes to create deadspace or not.

It’s going to the practice to play this way. This is why IAM’s demo sounds better than most. He plays synth bass all the time and his articulations while playing are honed to make the synth work well.
Click to expand...
Ah makes sense! Will try this. Thank you so much!
 
#116
yaksonator said:
Here's a few sound samples of the mxr bass synth in action. It does have a hard time on certain bass lines. But you have to play to the pedal. I happen to think this pedal sounds amazing.



Let me know if this link works please?
Click to expand...

Nice playing and sounds great in your recording.

How are sb301 owners generally finding recording the presets?
I struggle a bit to get the best from my C4. Sounds great in the room with synth, dub, env presets etc but weak in recordings. A synth preset can just sound dirgy fizzy /fuzzy rather than the actual refined character.

I've tried recording direct from pedal and/or through amp or pre-amps without much improvement. I use compression. I've mic-ed the cab. I work on EQ pre and post in recording software. Use quality studio headphones.

It's not all bad, some presets work easily but most require patient tweaking and the results just feel weak.

Anyone compare recording with sb301 vs C4?
 
#118
This new mxr is significantly better at tracking than the Ehx mono synth.
I’d say the top three slots currently go to the Future Impact4, the MXR bass synth and the source audio C4. (Runner up is the HX stomp, but I can’t get it to do all the same synth sounds because there are not yet drop filters that are quick enough.

All my older pedals are significantly behind these.
 
#120
Finally shipped!
Excited for this one to arrive.
1753623160383.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: bassfiddlesteve, rcmbass and kevk

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back