MXR Bass Synth v Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe

[Vibhas Patil]

Hi All,

Firstly, am I even right in comparing these pedals? Just curious if they're in the same ballpark...

If yes, has anyone tried out both of them? Would love to hear comparisons. I know the Xerograph Deluxe is a killer pedal but I know I'll have to wait for quite a while to get one. On the other hand, the MXR is quite readily available.

Looking forward to hearing some perspectives on this.

Thanks

 

[GMC]

Go get a Source Audio Spectrum filter. It’ll do everything these two pedals can do and a lot more

 

[sunbeast]

The Xerograph Deluxe is just a filter- it's a damn good filter, but in itself not a synth. The MXR is a synth that tracks your playing- it has both a synth waveform generator with multiple octave voices to blend together and a filter. A more fitting comparison would be between the Iron Ether Subterrograph and the MXR, as the Subterrograph is also a combination of synth waveform generator running into a filter (the same filter from the Xerograph). I haven't owned the Subterrograph, but I did once own the two modular elements that made it (the Subterranea and the Xerograph Deluxe) and that would be a tough call between those and the MXR. For the price difference and the fact that the Subterrograph is very hard (if not impossible) to get, I think the MXR is well worth a shot.

 

[sunbeast]

Go get a Source Audio Spectrum filter. It’ll do everything these two pedals can do and a lot more

Spectrum doesn't do the synth voices of the MXR, but agreed if you meant to say C4. Owning both, the C4 does do most of the general sounds of the MXR though I prefer aspects of both soundwise. I personally prefer the filter section of both the Xerograph and MXR to the C4/Spectrum, but that is mostly down to the ease of dialing in sounds on the fly. The C4/Spectrum definitely have a wider palette of sounds that can be dialed in which is a big plus.

 

[MojoPin]

Spectrum doesn't do the synth voices of the MXR, but agreed if you meant to say C4. Owning both, the C4 does do most of the general sounds of the MXR though I prefer aspects of both soundwise. I personally prefer the filter section of both the Xerograph and MXR to the C4/Spectrum, but that is mostly down to the ease of dialing in sounds on the fly. The C4/Spectrum definitely have a wider palette of sounds that can be dialed in which is a big plus.

You probably don't get this much but I like it when you post. You don't just give your opinion and split, you give the REASON why you have your opinion which is always well thought out. Keep posting and thanks.

 

[Vibhas Patil]

Spectrum doesn't do the synth voices of the MXR, but agreed if you meant to say C4. Owning both, the C4 does do most of the general sounds of the MXR though I prefer aspects of both soundwise. I personally prefer the filter section of both the Xerograph and MXR to the C4/Spectrum, but that is mostly down to the ease of dialing in sounds on the fly. The C4/Spectrum definitely have a wider palette of sounds that can be dialed in which is a big plus.

So, would you say that the absolute best combination to address all possible avenues on the synth and filter fronts would be C4 and Spectrum together?

 

[Pep]

Hi All,

Firstly, am I even right in comparing these pedals? Just curious if they're in the same ballpark...

If yes, has anyone tried out both of them? Would love to hear comparisons. I know the Xerograph Deluxe is a killer pedal but I know I'll have to wait for quite a while to get one. On the other hand, the MXR is quite readily available.

Looking forward to hearing some perspectives on this.

Thanks

You’ll have to wait for the MXR as well. They’ve been on back order for about 60 days and the delivery date continues to be moved back. Good luck.

 

[Bob_Ross]

On the other hand, the MXR is quite readily available.

 

[sunbeast]

So, would you say that the absolute best combination to address all possible avenues on the synth and filter fronts would be C4 and Spectrum together?

The C4 has everything the Spectrum has (filters, octaves, distortions) PLUS added synth voices, so there is no reason to have both unless you prefer to keep the Spectrum as a dedicated filter. The only thing the Spectrum can do that the C4 can’t is that it has additional programmable secondary functions under each of the two standard programmable hardware knobs of the C4. They couldn’t add that feature to the C4 because the extra C4 features used up all the extra processing power.

 

[sunbeast]

You probably don't get this much but I like it when you post. You don't just give your opinion and split, you give the REASON why you have your opinion which is always well thought out. Keep posting and thanks.

I love the feedback! I’ve learned so much from this forum over the years that I generally try to put as much info out there as possible for future readers to find, especially these days when there is so much misinfo and misunderstanding propagated (not just here of course, internet and media in general). Cheers!

 

[moon-bass]

You probably don't get this much but I like it when you post. You don't just give your opinion and split, you give the REASON why you have your opinion which is always well thought out. Keep posting and thanks.

I agree with this 1000% - @sunbeast is one of the good ones!

 

[moon-bass]

The Xerograph Deluxe is just a filter- it's a damn good filter, but in itself not a synth. The MXR is a synth that tracks your playing- it has both a synth waveform generator with multiple octave voices to blend together and a filter. A more fitting comparison would be between the Iron Ether Subterrograph and the MXR, as the Subterrograph is also a combination of synth waveform generator running into a filter (the same filter from the Xerograph). I haven't owned the Subterrograph, but I did once own the two modular elements that made it (the Subterranea and the Xerograph Deluxe) and that would be a tough call between those and the MXR. For the price difference and the fact that the Subterrograph is very hard (if not impossible) to get, I think the MXR is well worth a shot.

I have the XD and the Sub, and it's a killer combo - unlike anything that I have ever used. But like the man says, the Sub is very hard to find.

If you're looking for something now, I'd giver the Pigtronix Mothership 2 a shot, along with your choice of synthy envelope filter. The XD is great, but pricey. I'd look at the Subdecay Prometheus (any version), the EMMA DiscumBOBulator, the Artisanal effects Meathead, etc.

 

[theunknowndude]

I have the XD and the Sub, and it's a killer combo - unlike anything that I have ever used. But like the man says, the Sub is very hard to find.

If you're looking for something now, I'd giver the Pigtronix Mothership 2 a shot, along with your choice of synthy envelope filter. The XD is great, but pricey. I'd look at the Subdecay Prometheus (any version), the EMMA DiscumBOBulator, the Artisanal effects Meathead, etc.

Just to add to that, if you can’t find the thing you want I prefer old school combine the best of both worlds.. add kangra fuzz filter to the above as another option with your preferred synthy generator / fuzz

With expression pedal can do good fake wah and in auto Wah pretty synthy sounds

 

[AElfes]

If people are keen on a Subterranea, Iron Ether has a batch for preorder up now

I have the XD and the Sub, and it's a killer combo - unlike anything that I have ever used. But like the man says, the Sub is very hard to find.

If you're looking for something now, I'd giver the Pigtronix Mothership 2 a shot, along with your choice of synthy envelope filter. The XD is great, but pricey. I'd look at the Subdecay Prometheus (any version), the EMMA DiscumBOBulator, the Artisanal effects Meathead, etc.

 

[Vibhas Patil]

haha sorry! I merely assumed that because it was a MXR pedal, it would be readily available! Alas, I seem to be ill-informed!

 

[moon-bass]

If people are keen on a Subterranea, Iron Ether has a batch for preorder up now

If I didn't already have one, I'd jump on this!!!!

 

[GMC]

The C4 has everything the Spectrum has (filters, octaves, distortions) PLUS added synth voices, so there is no reason to have both unless you prefer to keep the Spectrum as a dedicated filter. The only thing the Spectrum can do that the C4 can’t is that it has additional programmable secondary functions under each of the two standard programmable hardware knobs of the C4. They couldn’t add that feature to the C4 because the extra C4 features used up all the extra processing power.

I have both too. My C4 is early in my chain and has a maxed out set of patches. My C4 is loaded with mostly octaves and synths. Next, I have compression, then dirt and then my spectrum. This is loaded with filter only patches. Then into modulation and ambience. This approach allows me to filter my clean, dirt, compressed or synth / octave sounds.
So I have both for flexibility. Some patches could be dialled into just a C4, however I’m limited by the internal dirt and I like a compressor in the chain too.

 

[Vibhas Patil]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I ended up ordering the MXR Bass Synth. My Sweetwater rep has told me the following over email, "expected around mid-September, but we don't have tracking on any shipments headed our way as of yet, so those ETAs are still subject to change barring any delays. "

Fingers crossed! I hope I get it soon enough. If not, I will ask them to give me credit and swap it out for the C4. Truth be told, I'm a little sick of deep diving into menus and custom options on my laptop or on my phone. I get enough screen time during work and the last thing I want to do in terms of playing music is go back to fiddling with an app on my phone or work on something on my laptop.