source audio c4

Welcome to the party!!!

 

This is probably a dumb question, but, here goes!

Does the C4 do a good job (tracking/tonewise) performing a simple OC2 Octave sound?

 

Very much so, it's my most used patch on my C4 and it pretty much nails it every time. I use 3 OC-2 clone patches. A pure octave wet only sound with the expression pedal set for the wet / dry signal. This is easily my most used patch on my C4. I have a 2nd patch that does a similar sound, but I have a Fuzz on control 2 and an octave up on Control 1...that's a really nice patch and very versatile. The expression controls the wet / dry. Then my 3rd OC-2 clone patch is similar to my first patch but it has an additional quaky filter that is controlled by the Expression pedal.
I used to have a MXR Bass Octave Deluxe on my board for about 5 years and It could do a pretty convincing OC-2 sound when dialled in. But that got kicked off my board about a week after getting my C4. The MXR BEF went too.

 

I agree with @GMC - OC2 sounds in the C4/Spectrum are plentiful and sound great. Despite all the other waveform options, I end up using the mono sub-octave the most (maybe just because it’s so familiar). They really nailed the response on that waveform.

 

I've got a question regarding the Output Balance. The manual suggests turning the knob all the way to left if I'm using Output 1. Is that how most of you run it when you are using Output 1? A lot of the presets on the app seem to have the balance at noon, some are slightly bumped one way or another. So far I have just left it at noon when creating a sound. Are that many people running a stereo setup or am I missing the concept of the "Output Balance"? Thank you!

 

I think noon is just the default setting when making a new sound and so alot of people don't mess with it. I don't think it makes much difference at all whether its on noon or panned all the way to Output 1 when you are using a mono patch. You see all sorts of interesting stuff in community patches, like wild voices and filter settings that are disengaged. It can be fun to mess with those and see where people have been messing around

 

Ok thanks! I can see that.

I just spent a couple more hours on the Editor - I did notice some difference with the output balance panned all the way to the left. A couple of my patches seemed to have less volume and were less full in the CCW position and much more defined in the noon position.

My actual output volume position tends to be rather low (around 10:00) for most patches, would moving the output balance to the CCW position allow me to have more volume on the individual patch? Would that even be necessary?

EDIT: yes, it makes a HUGE difference to pan the output balance all the way to the left for a mono output. Holy cow. I went back and changed all of my patches. Much more even between patches now, more usable volume. The mix knob has more range, its not just wet or dry. In fact it seems like there is more range to all of the knobs now. Super cool!!

Very glad I RTFM and followed it (for once).

 

Interesting. If pan law were applicable, I would think that tilting to one side would simply result in a +3dB gain shift. But maybe it's different with balance vs pan, i.e. you might be getting a whole lot more info in one side when balanced mono?

 

Maybe, i'm not really sure. this is from the manual..

"Output Balance: Balances the level of the wet signals going to Output 1 (Left) and Output 2 (Right). Set the knob to 12 o’clock for an even stereo split to both Outputs. Turning the knob left shifts the balance to Output 1 and turning the knob right shifts the balance to Output 2."

I went with that. The volume did decrease but I was able to turn up the individual voices more, the master depth was more usable, the range of each knob felt more natural, etc... I don't know enough about the pedal yet - it just worked. I will mainly use it live, this really made the final "tweak at the amp" a LOT easier. My lady said she noticed a difference between the same patches she's been hearing for the last week, lol. She said they sounded more even and not so "extreme".

I tried it while scrolling through community patches, adjusting that first - it didn't feel like my speakers were gonna explode on every third patch.

EDIT: it should be stated that the difference I've noticed is with patches I've created myself, going from noon to CCW. Some community patches are obviously designed for stereo so you don't get the same effect by changing the output balance.

 

I've decided to give the C4 another go on my board. Had trouble the first time, seems like I just wasn't putting enough time into the editor. One sound I have been super interested in trying to get is the low synth sound from No Doubt's song Hella Good, but I am not sure what the best starting point is.

For reference, best heard in the ending here.

Are there any patches that hit this, or would be a solid starting point?

 

Good sound to learn with. Two slightly detuned saws should go a long way. Filter is quite open so you could set the frequency high, or not switch it on at all. Choose an envelope with fast attack and set the decay fast too. This sound will love distortion. There are lots of patches in this ballpark, maybe search for 'reese'.

 

Is there a reason why people tend to run their C4 into the effects loop of their HX Stomp? I've just got mine at the beginning of the chain, running into my Stomp. Should it be placed within the effects loop? I've never used it before lol

 

In the loop means you can place helix effects becore & after C4. (e.g. Helix EQ- C4 synth - Helix chorus) or do things like run it in parallel with helix effects.

 

Ah ok thanks for explaining. I think in terms of the C4, because of how much it completely changes the sound, there's not much point having it after the HX Stomp. The C4 needs a strong constant input signal anyway, so having it at the beginning of the chain makes the most sense to me.