Synth Pedals: Which has better tracking, Future Impact or CY Synth ?

[Bundy the wolf]

Hello, I have just recently joined the forum. This is my first post!! I've been playing bass for 20 years (original music) and never felt the need to use any pedals besides an overdrive/fuzz. Therefore, I am very much a rookie when it comes to effect pedals. I'm not in a cover band that plays a variety of music, but we cover some pop from different decades/eras. I'm looking for a SOLID synth pedal. I currently use the Electro-Harmonix Synth 9 (that I originally bought to use with guitar), but the tracking is poor (I also don't like how it only tracks up to a low-A). I have also tried the Electro-Harmonix Mono Synth Bass pedal, but I returned it; I felt the tracking and latency were terrible.
So, after endless research, I feel like my best bet is either the Future Impact (1?) or the C4 Synth. I'm not too worried about the editor software, all I care about is which pedal has better response, tracking, and latency. I have read through the forums, but I feel like I haven't gotten a straight answer. Please help. If anyone has any better pedal suggestions/solutions, I'm willing to hear them too. If it helps, I either gig with my Warwick Corvette or Schecter Riot-5 (both active pickups) through a SWR350 and Big Bertha cabinet (old school!).
Thanks!

 

[bassbrad]

Welcome @Bundy the wolf to TB. Both the Panda FI and SA C4 have excellent algorithms for tracking but then EHX has a pretty good one too. SA does offer some additional adjustments to fine tune to your bass and playing styles that do help quite a bit.

Some effects most especially Synth pedals really put your technique under a microscope and every nuance of your playing can cause latency or trigger false responses or glitches, not a criticism just an observation. I read elsewhere that you have a light touch and that may be a reason you have experienced tracking issues with the EHX pedals because they do like a pretty solid note attack or hit. The SA C4 definitely has an advantage here because of the set up for sensitivity. I have it set up to follow tap style playing on one of my basses so a light touch should trigger just fine.

 

[Bundy the wolf]

Welcome @Bundy the wolf to TB. Both the Panda FI and SA C4 have excellent algorithms for tracking but then EHX has a pretty good one too. SA does offer some additional adjustments to fine tune to your bass and playing styles that do help quite a bit.

Some effects most especially Synth pedals really put your technique under a microscope and every nuance of your playing can cause latency or trigger false responses or glitches, not a criticism just an observation. I read elsewhere that you have a light touch and that may be a reason you have experienced tracking issues with the EHX pedals because they do like a pretty solid note attack or hit. The SA C4 definitely has an advantage here because of the set up for sensitivity. I have it set up to follow tap style playing on one of my basses so a light touch should trigger just fine.

Welcome @Bundy the wolf to TB. Both the Panda FI and SA C4 have excellent algorithms for tracking but then EHX has a pretty good one too. SA does offer some additional adjustments to fine tune to your bass and playing styles that do help quite a bit.

Some effects most especially Synth pedals really put your technique under a microscope and every nuance of your playing can cause latency or trigger false responses or glitches, not a criticism just an observation. I read elsewhere that you have a light touch and that may be a reason you have experienced tracking issues with the EHX pedals because they do like a pretty solid note attack or hit. The SA C4 definitely has an advantage here because of the set up for sensitivity. I have it set up to follow tap style playing on one of my basses so a light touch should trigger just fine.

Thanks for the tips and for welcoming me. It's weird, the EHX Synth 9 is decent, but wont accept notes lower than the standard A (because it wasn't specifically designed for a bass). I thought the EHX Mono was awful. I understand what you are saying about how synth pedals put your playing technique/ability under a microscope, but I'm a journeyman bass player, so I'd like to think for me, it comes down to pedal quality. Good to know that the C4 can be adjusted to tapping, I like to dabble myself with my delay pedals and just get absolutely lost in the moment. It would be interesting to do this with a Synth (the EH Synth 9 can get a little sloppy when tapping, latency just doesn't seem the greatest). Thanks for your input.

 

[Feral Feline]

Welcome to the forum, Bundy the Wolf.

I get that you're an experienced player, yet you may still find that it may not come down entirely to pedal quality, or the technology still isn't quite there yet. I've got the FI, never tried the CY Synth, so I'm very interested if you're able to compare them.

I don't have your playing experience, but I've been driving vehicles of all manner for about 4 decades, even a few rather large multi-axle trucks with splitty shifters (for which I wasn't licensed, but youthfully exuberant "I can drive that, boss!" and so I did), but I haven't ever wheeled a tractor-trailer combo and wouldn't expect to climb behind the wheel of one and not knock out a few road-signs around my first few corners regardless of the quality of the rig I'm driving!

Have you considered something "synth-like" such as a combo of octave-pedal and square-wave fuzz. There's a number of good threads on copping a synthy tone without the synth, which may help alleviate tracking issues as well.

Also, have you checked out the Iron Ether FMeron? That may be another viable option.

 

[Phagor]

I have the FI and the C4. They both track great. The FI tracking improved with the last couple of updates.

I'd have to give a slight edge to the C4 which feels a little more immediate in how it responds to my playing. However for some bass parts, the FI tracks slightly better. Very small differences.

Both of them (and all pitch tracking pedals I've had) have some tracking issues which you can work around or compensate for. They both have trouble detecting legato octave jumps. I have to detach the notes a tiny bit for them to recognise the jump.

If you don't want to get into using editors, the FI has a bit more flexibility in editing sounds on the pedal and has more presets (99 vs 6 on the C4). The C4 editor and app make it easy to try sounds from the library though.

For me, the C4 wins on physical size, range of sounds (it can do great octave and filter sounds plus FM). But I'm hanging onto my FI for now...

Have a look at the Boss SY-1 if you want a simple, easy to tweak synth pedal.

 

[Nighttrain1127]

I also have both the C$ And the FI V3 and while they both track well I find the C4 tracks my lower notes on my % string a bit better. I have not notices any latency with either of them. The biggest advantage of the C4 is that with an additional midi pedal (about 120.00) it puts 128 patches at your feet and In the community on the Neuro editor there are hundreds of user made patches that you can download into the pedal with the simple click of the mouse. I am not much at programming stuff and the FI has some very good sounds pre loaded but the downloading of different patches was a bit over my head. Even with just the C4 and a laptop computer you can load in any patch you want in seconds. My choice for live use would be the C4

 

[rsmith601]

I also have both the C$ And the FI V3 and while they both track well I find the C4 tracks my lower notes on my % string a bit better. I have not notices any latency with either of them. The biggest advantage of the C4 is that with an additional midi pedal (about 120.00) it puts 128 patches at your feet and In the community on the Neuro editor there are hundreds pf user made patches that you can download into the pedal with the simple click of the mouse. I am not much at programming stuff and the FI has some very good sounds pre loaded but the downloading of different patches was a bit overt my head. Even with just the C4 and a laptop computer you can load in any patch you want in seconds. My choice for live use would be the C4

There are actually now over 1000 C4 community published presets at the moment.
Neuro Community by Source Audio
There are 73 Spectrum Filter presets which will also run on the C4.
Neuro Community by Source Audio

 

[Bundy the wolf]

Welcome to the forum, Bundy the Wolf.

I get that you're an experienced player, yet you may still find that it may not come down entirely to pedal quality, or the technology still isn't quite there yet. I've got the FI, never tried the CY Synth, so I'm very interested if you're able to compare them.

I don't have your playing experience, but I've been driving vehicles of all manner for about 4 decades, even a few rather large multi-axle trucks with splitty shifters (for which I wasn't licensed, but youthfully exuberant "I can drive that, boss!" and so I did), but I haven't ever wheeled a tractor-trailer combo and wouldn't expect to climb behind the wheel of one and not knock out a few road-signs around my first few corners regardless of the quality of the rig I'm driving!

Have you considered something "synth-like" such as a combo of octave-pedal and square-wave fuzz. There's a number of good threads on copping a synthy tone without the synth, which may help alleviate tracking issues as well.

Also, have you checked out the Iron Ether FMeron? That may be another viable option.

HA! Along with our bass playing, we share the fact that we both have our CDL/are super truckers (assuming you are now licensed! LOL).

Therefore, I like your point; well taken. I have never heard of the Iron Ether FMeron until now! It's almost like there is all these hidden gems (pedals) out there that you never hear of. And now I WANT THEM ALL. Regarding pedals, I've learned more under this forum than anywhere else. Still goes to show you that "word of mouth" is the best form of advertisement.. Anyways, your point regarding pedal quality. I understand your point. In no way am I sitting here saying I'm the best bass player in the world and it's the pedal's fault. I am simply stating that with the two synth pedals I've bought and one that I've tried out at the local music store (a used Digitech Bass Synth Wah, which I regret not buying), there is OBVIOUSLY a difference in tracking/latency/and general play-ability. For example, the Synth 9th that I currently have is okay, but seeing how it's not specifically designed for bass, any note played below an open "A" is super muddy. However, the Synth 9 tracks much better than the EH Mono Bass Synth pedal (which is crazy, because the Mono IS designed specifically for bass). The Digitech Bass Synth Wah tracked amazingly, which was a total surprise to me. Like I said, I should have purchased it!! The Synth 9 just had a little more of a "pop vibe" to it. Now though, my cover band has dove more into covering pop songs from different eras, so NOW I feel the need to upgrade to a better pedal with more options (plus I need the lower octave notes).
Maybe I'm just expecting too much??

Yes, I have tried experimenting with my octave pedal and my fuzz pedal. I appreciate the suggestion too! Although I can use it for certain riffs, it just doesn't quite fit the bill for certain sounds/songs that I need a true synth effect for. This was another reason why I didn't purchase the Digitech, I felt that I could "get by" with experimenting with my existing octave/fuzz/envelope filter.

I did just purchase the FIv3. I have never played the C4 Synth, so I cannot give you a comparision, but I ALMOST chose that over the FI. There's just something about the FI that intrigues me..

 

[Bassheart365]

I've had the FI since it came out. Purchased a C4 this year. The FI was updated to V.3 a few months ago, which resulted in a noticeable improvement in tracking. It is on par with the C4 IMO. Both are the two best synth pedals available. But a lot of C4 patches in the community are made for guitar, since it is not a bass-specific pedal like the FI. Those do not track well in the lower register. In terms of latency, I don't notice any on either pedals. I use the FI more than the C4 because I'm partial to moog-like patches, which the FI excels in.

 

[rsmith601]

Ha! The guitar community complains there are way too many bass presets for the C4, and it turns them off.

 

[Bassheart365]

Ha! The guitar community complains there are way too many bass presets for the C4, and it turns them off.

This is talk BASS. There can never be too many bass patches in the community!

 

[rsmith601]

There are probably 700 bass presets for the C4. I suspect that is the most presets for any bass effect in the entire history of pedals....by a mile.
And it grows more each day!

 

[Ryan L.]

There are probably 700 bass presets for the C4. I suspect that is the most presets for any bass effect in the entire history of pedals....by a mile.
And it grows more each day!

That’s part of what pushed me into getting a C4.

 

[FunkyYeti]

Keep in mind, the Future Impact is a large pedal. It's not the size of a Moogfooger, but it's also not the size of a Boss pedal. I sold mine because it took too much space on my board. I just got my Source Audio Spectrum this morning. Haven't had a chance to try it, but I'm already GASing for a C4.

 

[Feral Feline]

RE Space Constraints: A lot of people have rehoused their FIs into smaller enclosures.
It's on my "to do" list, but it's a pretty low priority for me as my FI is on my Toy Board which sadly is never allowed to go outside and play with the other gigger-board pedals.

@Bundy the wolf , I'll be keen to get your impressions on the FI, hope you enjoy it. Again, since mine is for at home use, I've never given a thought to latency etc, just had fun messing with it. There's a good community of patch-people here on TB either coming up with entirely new sounds or nailing "that sound from this song". [Aside: alas, still no class-1, moved to HK instead where I don't need/can't use it]


@Bassheart365 Thanks for weighing in on the tracking comparison; and others in the thread who've done so also.


Hopefully I'll get to check out the C4, but personally have no hurry to do so at the moment; and it would be an addition-to not a replacement-for the FI were I to ever buy one as each has pros and cons it seems...

One weird obsession I have is the Behringer synth pedal. No longer made, IIRC, but I'd like one of those some day, that and I've never got to try the Digitech Bass Synth Wah which begat the Dirty Robot, more or less...

 

[Bundy the wolf]

Update: I received my Future Impact (v3) on Monday. I LOVE IT.
As I suspected, tracking was MUCH better on this than the EH Mono Bass Synth and handles the low notes like a champ (my EH Synth 9 could not handle past an open A, but tracked "ok").

So, the pedal quality DOES matter to some degree. Probably as equally as playing clean (mono) notes.

I have briefly run through all of the presets and played with the parameters. I found some sounds that I can immediately use for live gigs, and others that I could see myself playing around with aimlessly for hours at home. Fun stuff.
I am looking forward to eventually playing with the editor software, but it looks like a ton of information to process, so I will need to set apart some dedicated time for it.

 

[Feral Feline]

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!​

 

[Sheffey Gregory]

RE Space Constraints: A lot of people have rehoused their FIs into smaller enclosures.
It's on my "to do" list, but it's a pretty low priority for me as my FI is on my Toy Board which sadly is never allowed to go outside and play with the other gigger-board pedals.

@Bundy the wolf , I'll be keen to get your impressions on the FI, hope you enjoy it. Again, since mine is for at home use, I've never given a thought to latency etc, just had fun messing with it. There's a good community of patch-people here on TB either coming up with entirely new sounds or nailing "that sound from this song". [Aside: alas, still no class-1, moved to HK instead where I don't need/can't use it]


@Bassheart365 Thanks for weighing in on the tracking comparison; and others in the thread who've done so also.


Hopefully I'll get to check out the C4, but personally have no hurry to do so at the moment; and it would be an addition-to not a replacement-for the FI were I to ever buy one as each has pros and cons it seems...

One weird obsession I have is the Behringer synth pedal. No longer made, IIRC, but I'd like one of those some day, that and I've never got to try the Digitech Bass Synth Wah which begat the Dirty Robot, more or less...

RE Space Constraints: A lot of people have rehoused their FIs into smaller enclosures.
It's on my "to do" list, but it's a pretty low priority for me as my FI is on my Toy Board which sadly is never allowed to go outside and play with the other gigger-board pedals.

@Bundy the wolf , I'll be keen to get your impressions on the FI, hope you enjoy it. Again, since mine is for at home use, I've never given a thought to latency etc, just had fun messing with it. There's a good community of patch-people here on TB either coming up with entirely new sounds or nailing "that sound from this song". [Aside: alas, still no class-1, moved to HK instead where I don't need/can't use it]


@Bassheart365 Thanks for weighing in on the tracking comparison; and others in the thread who've done so also.


Hopefully I'll get to check out the C4, but personally have no hurry to do so at the moment; and it would be an addition-to not a replacement-for the FI were I to ever buy one as each has pros and cons it seems...

One weird obsession I have is the Behringer synth pedal. No longer made, IIRC, but I'd like one of those some day, that and I've never got to try the Digitech Bass Synth Wah which begat the Dirty Robot, more or less...

I just saw the Behringer for sale used on Sweetwater... it was an old posting, but had not been taken down either...

 

[mam1862]

The Boss SY1 is a great pedal and very easy to dial in.

 

[Killing Floor]

I have an EH Bass Micro that tracks "ok" and a SA C4 that tracks as sharply as any pedal I own. It's a ton of fun. It's easy to get lost in the awesome madness but there is a boxcar full of useful features. If you get one you'll do yourself a favor by spending a while getting to know the control before you bolt it to your board. But it rocks.

I still keep the EH because their engineers swim in an aquarium full of Tang and LSD so they dial in tones a biped like me would ever think of. But I use the C4 more practically.