• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Post your EHX Bass Micro Synthesizer settings

bassman314

I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process...
Mar 13, 2005
3,911
94
48
Bay Area, CA
www.facebook.com
Hey folks,

so I just got one of these bad kids and spent some time on it.

I figure if I can get a useful sound for every $60 I spend on a pedal, I've made my money back... I used a Lakland 55-01 Fretless -> BMS -> Fender Reverb -> Ampeg SVT3 Pro -> Aggie 1x15

Here's a few of the settings. I'd LOVE to post a sound sample, but I don't have a recording input for my iMAC yet..

Organy Synth:
Trigger: 8
Sub-OCtave: 6ish
Guitar: 7.5
Octave: 7.5
Square Wave: 1-2
Attack Delay: 5
Resonance: 7.5
Start Freq: 5
Stop Freq: 5
Rate: 0

On my bass, I run the 3-band EQ at mid level for Treble and Mid, about half-way to full for the Bass, and the Pick-up blend to Neck

Fast Decay (really 70's bad scifi sort of synth sound)
Trigger: 8
Sub-OCtave: 0
Guitar: Full
Octave: 5
Square Wave: 6ish
Attack Delay: 0
Resonance: Full
Start Freq: Full
Stop Freq: 6ish
Rate: 0

Bass Settings:
Treble: Full
Mid: 1/2 boosted
Bass: Middle
Blend: Middle

for a Bowed/String sound:
Trigger: 8
Sub-OCtave: 5
Guitar: Full
Octave: 0
Square Wave: 0
Attack Delay: 7.5
Resonance: 5
Start Freq: 2.5
Stop Freq: 6ish
Rate: Full

Bass Settings:
Treble: Middle
Mid: Middle
Bass: 1/2 boosted
Blend: Neck

For an Extreme Sweep sort of setting:
Trigger: 5
Sub-OCtave: 7.5
Guitar: Full
Octave: 7.5
Square Wave: 5
Attack Delay: Full
Resonance: 5
Start Freq: 0
Stop Freq: Full
Rate: 5

Bass Settings:
Treble: 1/2 boosted
Mid: Middle
Bass: Middle
Blend: halfway past middle to Bridge

for a semi-fuzzy 8-bit sound:
Trigger: 5
Sub-OCtave: 7.5
Guitar: 7.5
Octave: Full
Square Wave: 0
Attack Delay: 2.5
Resonance: Full
Start Freq: 7.5
Stop Freq: 7.5
Rate: 0

Bass Settings:
Treble: 1/2 Boosted
Mid: 1/2 Bboosted
Bass: Middle
Blend: half way past middle to Bridge

obviously YMMV, etc...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Elkins
One setting I found by accident that sounds freaking amazing, if you add in some flange and wah as your trigger the pedal:

Trigger: 5
Sub-OCtave: 7.5
Guitar: Full
Octave: 7.5
Square Wave: 5
Attack Delay: 2.5
Resonance: 7.5
Start Freq: 7.5
Stop Freq: 2.5
Rate: 3.75ish
 
Per request and bringing back the dead...
Been working on the Herbbie ARP Chameleon tone...
So far getting close with:
Trigger: 4
Sub-OCtave: 2
Guitar: 5
Octave: 8
Square Wave: 1
Attack Delay: 0
Resonance: 8.75
Start Freq: 7.75
Stop Freq: 1.25
Rate: 4

Anybody else getting the ARP tone?
David
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Elkins
when i had a BMS, it was always on the same setting... "broken"

seems to be a popular setting with EHX.

OK we get it, you had some bad luck with EHX pedals. Thanks for being on-topic and helpful. :rolleyes:



I don't have my BMS in front of me at the moment, but I usually keep mine somewhere around these settings:

Trig: 8
Sub: 10
Guitar: 0
Octave: 8
Square: 10
Attack Decay: 1 or 2
Resonance: 10
Start: 8 or 9
Stop: 0
Rate: 2 or 3
 
Trig: 5
Sub: Full
Guitar: 5
Octave: 0
Square: 5

Attack Delay: 0

Resonance: Full
Start: 5
Stop: 3
Rate: 0

Then I put some Bass Big Muff Pi (Tone and Sustain at full, Bass Boost engaged). Then, I play Invisible Kid. So freakin' metal.
 
my favorite setting is a kinda stevie wonder moog bass tone/herbie hancock chameleon tone.

trig - max (i have a light touch and play passive basses though)
sub - 0
direct - 6.25(midway between 5 and 7.5)
octave - 7.5
square - 3.75 (midway between 2.5 and 5)
attack - 0
resonance - 7.5 usually (anywhere from 5-7.5)
start - 7.5
stop - 0
rate - slightly under 2.5

enjoy, my BMS is my favorite pedal :)
 
I also love using this with all the sliders dimmed besides guitar and resonance (max them out) for a real dub-bass sound

Trigger: 0
Sub Octave: 0
Guitar: 10
Octave: 0

Attack Delay: 0

Res: 10
Start: 0
Stop: 0
Rate: 0

shake some booties
 
I run these settings into a chorus and then delay for some spacey / trippy noodling.
I drone notes with a EHX freeze and play over the top of it. This is usualy just self indulgent / jasmming with friends type stuff.

Trigger: 8 or 9
Sub Oct: 8
Guitar: 4
Octave: 5
Square: 3

Attack: 3

Res: 8
Start: 10
Stop: 0
Rate: 8
 
Invalid Link Removed

Anyone have a setting that will give me a synth sound like the keyboardist is getting?

That would be awesome.

Haha i've been trying like forever to get this kinda sounds but i found out the problem is that the synth used in moves like jagger is a sawtooth synth which means it makes a wave like this:
I\I\I\ (it's supposed to look like sawteeth :P)

the BMS is a square wave synth, it's type of distortion makes a completely different sound, square wave is the type of distortion produced by most non-synth fuzz and distortion pedals if i'm right :P

it looks like this:

_IIIII (like a square :D)

the aggressive synth in moves like jagger is produced by a sawwave which can't be reproduced with a BMS.
This is the reason why I'm gonna get me either a Markbass super synth or a Pigtronix Mothership for they have both sawwave options :)
(By the way any suggestions which of them is better for getting some nice synth sounds like for example in moves like jagger? :D)

But if you're not such a Audionerd like me who always hunts for the smallest bits of tonal originality, you can approach the sound used in Moves like jagger somehow like this:

Trigger: 5
Sub Oct:2.5
Guitar : 0
Octave: 1 or 2
Square: ALL THE MOTHERF****** WAY UP :D
Attack: 2.5 or so, which fits the speed of the song you wanna play :D
Resonance :10
Start : 9
Stop : 10
The Rate must be set so that the Stop Freq. is reached when the attack is fully there if you get what i'm sayin :B

Another helpful thing is that you should manipulate your eq to boost treble very much so that the tone gets aggressive and furry fuzzy and to keep mids on twelve or scoop them a bit..
bass boost will be necessary for the BMS square waves tends to loose a bit low end :)

Have fun experimenting, hope you'll like it :D
 
Invalid Link Removed

Anyone have a setting that will give me a synth sound like the keyboardist is getting?

That would be awesome.

I haven't had any luck with my BMS on that, been using the synth strings setting on my M9 with pretty decent results but I think the best result I had was a fuzz into a sweepable filter setting I made with my HOG. It kind of moves around, low in the verse, comes up a bit in the chorus so I ended up chasing the tone around for a while. If you're trying to do the song live I'd say just get as close as you can and don't worry if it's not perfect. If you're trying to copy the tone for other purposes, I'd say the BMS isn't going to be the pedal for it.