• 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.

SYNTH PEDALS... WHERE ARE THEY?

Yep, it's a fantastic box, maybe a little ahead of it's time, and the user interface doesn't help with moving units. Well worth the time invested to learn though.

Couldn't agree more. The manual is a beast. I think I wore the free tee shirt at first more than I used the pedal because the user interface is a friggin' mess. More buttons please! (It's still the best out there, though.)
 
My issue with the Mark Bass super synth is the attack time. you cannot get a fast enough attack time to get a passable sound for dance music in my opinion.
And I tried a lot. Using a PC and the app it comes with.
Had to send it back.
I play in a party dance band and I use a Zoom B3 at the moment for Synth. Works pretty well.
 
Did a little track with the Octavius Squeezer today, it's doing the wubsy sounds. Some hippy art rock stylings. Mostly a stock patch but adjusted for tracking and a little tweaking on filter response. I love the low end resonance on the filter, really thick. It kicks in noticeably about 40 seconds though it's there the whole time. Also, all the soloing is bass through the Octavius, you can hear some tracking glitches, I call that character, lol...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I play in an originals trio, and the synth bass sounds I use have become identified with our band's sound. So, yeah, the few gigs we get, we get partly because of that sound. I've had people come up to me after gigs and tell me how they've never seen a bass make all those sounds before. And 95% of the time I'm just playing bass with overdrive. Those short synth passages leave an impression.

I have the Behringer BSY-600, which is cool, but mainly I use the Digitech Bass Synth Wah. As cheap as the Digitech pedal sells for, it's a no-brainer for anyone who wants to experiment with synth bass.
 
To me, most synth pedals all seem shoot for the same sound: that buzz saw synth sound. While that is definitely A synth sound it wasn't MY synth sound. Compounded with tracking issues, I gave up on a single box solution. The modular approach makes more sense to me. It's easier to experiment. It's easier to use bits and pieces for other purposes. Plus I feel the bass retains more of its character. Just my opinion though.
 
I play in an originals trio, and the synth bass sounds I use have become identified with our band's sound. So, yeah, the few gigs we get, we get partly because of that sound. I've had people come up to me after gigs and tell me how they've never seen a bass make all those sounds before. And 95% of the time I'm just playing bass with overdrive. Those short synth passages leave an impression.
This sounds oddly familiar to a lot of my experiences.:)
 
I've made this suggestion before on another synth thread but I think putting a source audio envelope filter with a source audio bass distortion works well for people. I haven't done it because I don't have the money and want to fill out my analog collection first. But I hope to some day, sounds good on Mike Gordons boogie on reggae woman. Worth a looksee at the very least.
 
I would love to try one of those ^^^^^

Anyway, I have tried a lot of different things, and still go the modular approach, even when using modelers. The thing that has worked the best for me is the Source Audio Bass Distortion Pro and Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter Pro combo. I recently added a Line6 M5 for modulation.

Just this week, I received my Zoom MS-60B, and it does a really good job, though admittedly, I am still using the filter/fuzz/modulation/compressor modular approach with that, and it seems to be doing what I need. I will know more after this weekend when I will test it out with the band. The synths in this thing seem to track fairly well, and have plenty of options to play with, though, they just aren't doing what I need for my band. I particularly like the StdSyn and Z-Syn. If I were start anywhere this would be the pedal I would buy or recommend to start with since there is a lot of bang for the buck.
 
Roland GR-55 synth kills them all... Raaaahhhh !!!!
A serious amount of features in one box, effects, instrument and synth modelling, and two independant PCM synths.
Mix the whole lot together for some really messed up sounds.

Next bass build will likely include one of those pickups installed for future adaptability.