Synth pedal for non-weird tones?

[4Mal]

I have absolutely no use for non rhythmic sounds/noise. Maybe the cinematic/sound scape guys do. I just want to shake butts...

The sounds I'm after are all represented by

Hancock's Chameleon - C4
Bowie's Let's Dance - Future Impact
Gary Wright's My Love Is Alive - Future Impact

Boogie On Reggae Woman - Not quite there yet. Maybe FI is closest. That line was done on a HUGE modular synth. Tonto ? I've heard guys attempt it on a Mini Moog with varying results. None really nailed it. Maybe a sound that floor boxes won't really be able to nail...

Other 80's synth pop Pet Shop Boys, Daft Punk, Blondie... Each one of those pedals gets a shot...

If I had to pick one, the FI and a simple midi controller wins. It has a MOOG like quality to it that I find appealing for my style.

The C4 is a close second it does an ARP like ADSR that I have not yet found in the FI. Chameleon depends on that. If I find that ADSR in the FI, the C4 is gone. I'm not in love with this many devices on my board... In my world, simpler is better if I can achieve the same results

The Spectrum is interesting to me as it is more like stacking separate envelope, octave and dirt pedals with one huge advantage. 128 presets via midi and so one button...

The envelopes and synths in the HX are a joke... The modulation, reverb, dirt, IR hosting and amp sims are not though... The synths live in the EFX loop of the HX.

 

[halcyo]

I always thought this was a really informative video. Obviously, with synth sounds, every sound can be totally different. There's not necessarily a "one stop shop for everything". I think Ian is a great player and a presenter, and his examples in this video get you really in the mindset to achieve those most used type of bass synth tones that can get you very close in most situations.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

I’ve tried just about all of them and kept the Boss SY-1 for its sequencers, the Dedalo Byte, for rush type stuff but those are for sp critic things they have stayed on my board. I took the plunge on a Future Impact v3, without a doubt the F.I. Is the king, you can access all of the presets on the pedal, unlike the C4 you would need to buy an external controller. I have a Spectrum and love it for envelope filter stuff.
I would say either part it out and get individual pedals or spring for a F.I. If you think about it in that context the F.I. Is pretty cost effective. It also allows you to not have all those pedals dedicated to making synth tones stacked up. So less knob fiddling on individual pedals.

 

[Killing Floor]

C4. You can use it for octaves and a little grit. It has great envelope filter function if you want that. It's fun to make crazy arpeggios and patterns but that isn't useful very often. Check out some of the demos that are more serious, you'll find a lot of usefulness.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

SourceAudio C4 allows for just about any imaginable synth sound, but also require of you to do some work

Yep. And it's worth it. I'd say if the OP has a very specific tone in mind, this is the way to go. Plug & play style pedals are typically very limited....either it works for you or it doesn't.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

Bowie's Let's Dance - Future Impact

Right up my alley.

I just want to shake butts...

Same. Just here to vibrate people.

I always thought this was a really informative video.

Yes, I saw that video after reading a thread on here about an INXS track that turned out to be a Prophet-V, and that's the inspiration for the thread. Good stuff.

Most of the samples of most of these synths fall under the category of "weird." I guess the answer is probably to get a super-robust one and dial in a few usable tones. Here's some bass tones I dig...

 

[4Mal]

I always thought this was a really informative video. Obviously, with synth sounds, every sound can be totally different. There's not necessarily a "one stop shop for everything". I think Ian is a great player and a presenter, and his examples in this video get you really in the mindset to achieve those most used type of bass synth tones that can get you very close in most situations.

For me, this approach is a complete waste of time and money. This is how I did it in the 90's and early 2000's. A Spectrum or Future Impact or C4 and a Midi controller is like $500 or less... and you get actual synth tones from the C4 and FI...

 

[ruju]

Source Audio multiwave bass distortion .

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I tried an SY-300 and sent it back - anything that samples a standard mag pickup for polyphonic processing will have latency on bass and the SY-300 is no exception even though it is pretty quick, but that slight latency and the processed feel of everything was too much for me. I'm of the opinion that basses with onboard hex output are really the best option i.e. Godin, Lightwave etc.

 

[bassbrad]

@CallMeBlind the EHX BASS MONO SYNTH is exactly what you are looking for. It is loaded with classic sounds, easy to use and affordable. You only need to play precisely to trigger the notes on and off. The big knobs make it easy to change sounds on stage.

As much as I love the C4 and other solutions it does not sound like you are one to put in the dedicated time and effort for set up, creation, editing, programming and control those units require. Correct me if I may be wrong.

 

[bertthebassist]

On the C4 or FI, once I complete the painful process of finding/ creating the sounds that I want, can they be set as presets on the pedal? Can either unit be set with 10 or so very easy, and quick to find, presets, so no time is lost in-between songs? I don't want to be fiddling with my computer or iPad to find the sound again.

Very few things will kill the mood of the crowd faster then a long delay between songs while the musicians twiddle with there settings.

 

[bertthebassist]

If you are looking for a certain sound in a song, do the C4 and/ or the FI offer a search where you can give them the name of the song and band, and it will give you 1-4 setting options which are really close?

 

[TonyP-]

View attachment 4231575
I have absolutely no use for non rhythmic sounds/noise. Maybe the cinematic/sound scape guys do. I just want to shake butts...

The sounds I'm after are all represented by

Hancock's Chameleon - C4
Bowie's Let's Dance - Future Impact
Gary Wright's My Love Is Alive - Future Impact

Boogie On Reggae Woman - Not quite there yet. Maybe FI is closest. That line was done on a HUGE modular synth. Tonto ? I've heard guys attempt it on a Mini Moog with varying results. None really nailed it. Maybe a sound that floor boxes won't really be able to nail...

Other 80's synth pop Pet Shop Boys, Daft Punk, Blondie... Each one of those pedals gets a shot...

If I had to pick one, the FI and a simple midi controller wins. It has a MOOG like quality to it that I find appealing for my style.

The C4 is a close second it does an ARP like ADSR that I have not yet found in the FI. Chameleon depends on that. If I find that ADSR in the FI, the C4 is gone. I'm not in love with this many devices on my board... In my world, simpler is better if I can achieve the same results

The Spectrum is interesting to me as it is more like stacking separate envelope, octave and dirt pedals with one huge advantage. 128 presets via midi and so one button...

The envelopes and synths in the HX are a joke... The modulation, reverb, dirt, IR hosting and amp sims are not though... The synths live in the EFX loop of the HX.

Yep, I get this all the way.
I have never found one synth pedal work for me in the music situations that I’m in. Filters and modulation yes but never a standalone synth pedals.

 

[el murdoque]

It's got a learning curve and you gotta spend some time bonding with it via software... But the SourceAudio C4 is a pretty versatile and capable beast.

That's only partly true. I have a C4 and one item on my list is to dive into the software to build my own presets, but I've not managed to do that yet.
You can simply browse the vast and ever expanding library of other users' builds and pick your sounds there, transfer them from your phone and play. The range goes from simple synths to more bleep-blop than you thought possible from a single pedal.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

I think what I'm looking for is "synth trying to be a bass" not "bass trying to be a synth."

It's hard to go through all these demo vids because the sounds are 99% the bleep-bloop I'm not looking for. Maybe what I'm looking for is too simple, and people don't demo it. I just want the kind of synth bass tone from my prior post above, as a starting point.

I'd love to hear a few good samples of NON-WEIRD patches from any of these stomp boxes.

 

[SlowpokeJoe]

I tried an SY-300 and sent it back - anything that samples a standard mag pickup for polyphonic processing will have latency on bass and the SY-300 is no exception even though it is pretty quick, but that slight latency and the processed feel of everything was too much for me. I'm of the opinion that basses with onboard hex output are really the best option i.e. Godin, Lightwave etc.

I’ll have to disagree here. I find the SY-300 to have very little, if any latency and pretty much every review I’ve ran across agrees.

The biggest problem with the SY-300 is the very high complexity of the possibilities and the absolutely abysmal and incredibly useless presets the pedal comes with.

With a bit of patience, practice and some idea of what sounds you want to end up with, I fell that the SY-300 is a great at what it does and is a heavily undervalued pedal right now and a bargain in the used market.

This demo of the SY-300 has the best step by step layering approach to building a sound I’ve found online:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-gkML5f7ZqE

VGuitarForum’s user “BROCKSTAR” has some of the best SY-300 presets out there and really highlights what it’s possible with the pedal:

SY-300 - BROCKSTAR SY-300 VOLUME ONE

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I’ll have to disagree here. I find the SY-300 to have very little, if any latency and pretty much every review I’ve ran across agrees.

The biggest problem with the SY-300 is the very high complexity of the possibilities and the absolutely abysmal and incredibly useless presets the pedal comes with.

With a bit of patience, practice and some idea of what sounds you want to end up with, I fell that the SY-300 is a great at what it does and is a heavily undervalued pedal right now and a bargain in the used market.

This demo of the SY-300 has the best step by step layering approach to building a sound I’ve found online:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-gkML5f7ZqE

VGuitarForum’s user “BROCKSTAR” has some of the best SY-300 presets out there and really highlights what it’s possible with the pedal:

SY-300 - BROCKSTAR SY-300 VOLUME ONE

Maybe I'll try another - it was back when they first came out (2016?)

 

[jobu3]

Source Audio C4. It’s got a learning curve and is a rabbit hole but can do anything.

 

[jobu3]

Combining modulation, octave, and various distortions will give you quite a variety of synthy sounds too.

 

[Natropath]

I've had a BUNCH of synth pedals and I like the C4 and the SY-1 the best. (I've played a Future Impact, but not live). I like the C4 for "standard" bass synth sounds and the SY-1 for lead and chord stuff. My biggest issue with synth pedals is always hearing them in the context of a band. I had a Mothership 2 and an Meris Enzo that I tried to make work but couldn't hear them over other band members (I had the same problem with a couple of the EHX pedals and returned them after using them once.)