Wrapping my head around the C4 Synth Pedal

[MovinTarget]

Trying to research this in laymans terms and perhaps that's my problem:

Can the C4 Synth pedal act as a multi effects system for bass?

My primary interests would include:

• Synth effects
• Chorus
• Flanger
• Octaver
• Auto-Wah

Would this pedal be overkill for these types of sounds even if they were possible?
Do I need a midi controller on top of this pedal to really tap into its potential (i.e. I'm really looking at more than a $240 investment?)

If it does reverb and/or echo, that's cool but much lower priorities.

It looks like a very cool system, however, it is a little like trying to drink from the hydrant when looking at the website.

tnx!

 

[bholder]

Trying to research this in laymans terms and perhaps that's my problem:

Can the C4 Synth pedal act as a multi effects system for bass?

My primary interests would include:

• Synth effects
• Chorus
• Flanger
• Octaver
• Auto-Wah

Would this pedal be overkill for these types of sounds even if they were possible?
Do I need a midi controller on top of this pedal to really tap into its potential (i.e. I'm really look at a $240 investment am I?)

If it does reverb and/or echo, that's cool but much lower priorities.

It looks like a very cool system, however, it is a little like trying to drink from the hydrant when looking at the website.

tnx!

You really need to plug it in to your computer (usb) and use the app to find your way around - the controls on the box itself aren't really adequate for understanding what it's capable of and getting it to do what you want.

 

[Sithian]

I am real curious too. Can you hear the sounds before deciding what to load onto the pedal or do you need to load them onto it and then plug in to hear them?

I like set it and forget it and wondering how easy or complicated this little bugger is to dial in....

 

[el murdoque]

Trying to research this in laymans terms and perhaps that's my problem:

Can the C4 Synth pedal act as a multi effects system for bass?

My primary interests would include:

• Synth effects
• Chorus
• Flanger
• Octaver
• Auto-Wah

Would this pedal be overkill for these types of sounds even if they were possible?
Do I need a midi controller on top of this pedal to really tap into its potential (i.e. I'm really look at a $240 investment am I?)

If it does reverb and/or echo, that's cool but much lower priorities.

It looks like a very cool system, however, it is a little like trying to drink from the hydrant when looking at the website.

tnx!

Maybe I'm wrong because my progress into the software has not been deep enough, but you don't get chorus or flanger effects. You do get all the kinds of synth effects you could ever wish for.
You can have it doing octave voices and you can make it wah, the filters are pretty good IMO and it does not stop at wah if you like.
You also have fuzz like distortion in there.

Without any other hardware on your board controlling it, you can already do a lot. There is a toggle switch that lets you recall three saved settings. And there is a shift button that expands the number to six.
You have two dials that you can freely assign in the software and the other two control four (shift button again) fixed values: sensitivity, input, output and dry/wet mix.

 

[bholder]

I am real curious too. Can you hear the sounds before deciding what to load onto the pedal or do you need to load them onto it and then plug in to hear them?

I like set it and forget it and wondering how easy or complicated this little bugger is to dial in....

It's incredibly powerful with tons of tweakable parameters, like any proper synth. I suppose you can just use it with downloaded presets, but you would be missing out on a lot. So yes, very complicated, but the graphical design of the app lays it out really well for easier understanding.

 

[bholder]

Maybe I'm wrong because my progress into the software has not been deep enough, but you don't get chorus or flanger effects. You do get all the kinds of synth effects you could ever wish for.
You can have it doing octave voices and you can make it wah, the filters are pretty good IMO and it does not stop at wah if you like.
You also have fuzz like distortion in there.

Without any other hardware on your board controlling it, you can already do a lot. There is a toggle switch that lets you recall three saved settings. And there is a shift button that expands the number to six.
You have two dials that you can freely assign in the software and the other two control four (shift button again) fixed values: sensitivity, input, output and dry/wet mix.

Yeah I haven't had mine out in months, but I don't recall there being any delay based modulation effects. Might be able to simulate with fancy filtering, not sure.

 

[MovinTarget]

You really need to plug it in to your computer (usb) and use the app to find your way around - the controls on the box itself aren't really adequate for understanding what it's capable of and getting it to do what you want.

Well, plugging it into my computer is a given, but once I do this, it sounds like I can export settings to the 6 slots on the pedal to use when not connected to a PC, right? I can switch between all 6 of these using just the pedal alone if I understand correctly, but if I want to access more on the fly I need to be plugged into a PC or a midi-doohicky that stores up to 128 presets. Is that right?

But it kind of circles back to having access to those effects (perhaps in some combination) listed above.

Is it just a matter of learning how to manipulate synth controls to achieve them or are any of them flat out unobtainable via the app?

EDIT: I just saw the response above about possibly not having a delay option and thats totally acceptable... If I can hit those primary 5 (chorus, flanger, synth (duh!), octaver, and auto wah) I'm interested. I think Synth, Octaver, and Auto wah are all feasible, I just don't know enough about what makes chorus and flange work to know if they are inherently "synth" effects or something different.

Thanks again for your responses!

 

[el murdoque]

I am real curious too. Can you hear the sounds before deciding what to load onto the pedal or do you need to load them onto it and then plug in to hear them?

I like set it and forget it and wondering how easy or complicated this little bugger is to dial in....

You get an app for your mobile device and connect the C4 via 1/4" to 1/8" cable to the headphone output.
Then you can browse a huge library of user created sounds. Sometimes they will provide audio samples, but more often than not, you'll get a text description and have to try for yourself. It works with the pedal active, so you can load that setting into a slot and play it directly.
You can also hook up your laptop / PC to the USB and dive into the finer settings, either creating your sounds from scratch or modifying the ones you downloaded.

I'm more of an all analogue fan when it comes to bass playing and I'm way too lazy to hook the C4 up often, but sometimes I enjoy spending half an evening with it, tweaking sounds.
I got the two synths I really need in there and those are kind of set and forget ones, but once in a while it's nice to have fun with the rest.
Sometimes you find something really weird that somehow speaks to you, so you modify it a bit and keep it in there, waiting for that opportunity.

 

[el murdoque]

Yeah I haven't had mine out in months, but I don't recall there being any delay based modulation effects. Might be able to simulate with fancy filtering, not sure.

AFAIK it can do different voices apart from octaves. Maybe there is a possibility to detune a voice by just a few cent and then blend that in and out to create a chorus.

 

[MovinTarget]

AFAIK it can do different voices apart from octaves. Maybe there is a possibility to detune a voice by just a few cent and then blend that in and out to create a chorus.

This is kind of what I was wondering... could it imitate chorus/flanger effectively?

 

[MovinTarget]

Can you browse the library without a C4? to see what's in there?

 

[el murdoque]

Neuro Community by Source Audio

 

[el murdoque]

This is kind of what I was wondering... could it imitate chorus/flanger effectively?

I have the neuro software on my laptop and left that at work because I was sure I would not need it at home, so I can't try it right now.

 

[Discount Bassy]

You might check in on the following thread:

Source Audio Sorcerers Society (S.A.S.S) Part 3

Great questions and examinations of Source Audio products. Great answers from factory reps, very knowledgeable TB contributors and the guy running the whole Source Audio shebang @rsmith601. If you can't figure out how to make a patch you are looking for, there are more than a few folks who would probably give a shot at making one to suit your needs just for the challenge. These are good folk who know what they are doing.

 

[smurfco]

I have one of these and it is a great pedal with nearly infinite tweakable options, but I would not think of it as a one stop effects processor. There are other things out there that do a better job of that from Zoom, Line6, etc.

 

[Killing Floor]

Not so much chorus or flanger or phaser. But definitely has a great envelope. C4 has the full functionality of the Spectrum pedal. Great synth and octave. Good tracking. Really a fantastic pedal.

 

[MovinTarget]

Neuro Community by Source Audio

Got all excited before I realized I had to filter by C4 patches, but still there were some cool/promising sounds there...

 

[HolmeBass]

I would not think of it as a multi effect pedal, but rather a bass synth with 6 programmable patches.

You might get phaser - the older SA envelope filters all had killer phaser settings - but no chorus or flanger, both of which have a time delay component.

I have the new envelope filter pedal, the Spectrum, and I don’t use the neuro app, I just use the stock presets. The pedal is harder to dial in than an analog envelope filter, but much more flexible.

 

[Gsnorgathon]

It's got a 1, 2, and 3-stage phaser setting, so yeah, phasing is there. You can set the pitch shifter to unison and then modulate it, so that'll get you something chorus-y. You can also set up one or two(!) slightly detuned pitch shifters for chorus-oidal sounds.

Flanging is the one that seems like it would be a stretch, though there's so much you can do (four voices! two filters! two LFOs!) that you might be able to come up with something flangy. No instant gratification on that front, though.

 

[rsmith601]

I don't think the C4 is a good place to start as a multi effect pedal. If you are ready to move on from an entry level multi effect in search of better filters, octaves and a few other treats .. .. we nail that.