1590A Bass Synth?! Banana Effects MATRYOSHKA

#13
Somnambulance said:
Have you heard a bass synth pedal demo that you liked?
Click to expand...

To be honest? Not really.

The Dirty Robot sounded sorta useable to me - for some things.



And I like what Mike Hermans was doing with the Fairfield Circuitry ring mod in the video below. But I'm not sure how well it would translate to bass. (That's also Mike Hermans playing it. He could get a great sound out of a popsicle stick if he had to.)



The Roland GR-55 guitar/bass synth gets a really good synth sound. But that's because it is a synth, with its own oscillators for the sound sources. And I think I'd just opt for a keyboard synth if I were to go that route. An Arturia Mini Brute is a phenomenal little synth that only costs $399 new. If I were shopping for a synth sound right now, that's probably what I'd get. Keyboards aren't that hard to learn for playing your basic lead and bass lines.

 
  • Like
Reactions: ThrewSilver and Somnambulance
#14
40Hz said:
To be honest? Not really.

The Dirty Robot sounded sorta useable to me - for some things.



And I like what Mike Hermans was doing with the Fairfield Circuitry ring mod in the video below. But I'm not sure how well it would translate to bass. (That's also Mike Hermans playing it. He could get a great sound out of a popsicle stick if he had to.)



The Roland GR-55 guitar/bass synth gets a really good synth sound. But that's because it is a synth, with its own oscillators for the sound sources. And I think I'd just opt for a keyboard synth if I were to go that route. An Arturia Mini Brute is a phenomenal little synth that only costs $399 new. If I were shopping for a synth sound right now, that's probably what I'd get. Keyboards aren't that hard to learn for playing your basic lead and bass lines.

Click to expand...

Dirty Robot is a really fun pedal and has a few good synth sounds in it. I get what you mean though, why get a synth pedal when you can just get a synth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 40Hz
#15
Somnambulance said:
Dirty Robot is a really fun pedal and has a few good synth sounds in it. I get what you mean though, why get a synth pedal when you can just get a synth.
Click to expand...

Seriousy, right?

Bob Moog worked out the minimal configuration for a workable synth back in the 60s. You need:

  • At least two audible waveform audio oscillators (VCOs) with at minimum a square and triangle wave. Sawtooth, ramp, stair step, and sinewave would be nice to have too. The ability to sync and detune one of the VCOs to the other is also a major plus.
  • A white (and optionally pink) noise source.
  • A LFO
  • A VCA
  • A VCF
  • An envelope function generator of some sort. At least an AD but preferably an ADSR or better.
  • A control voltage source.
That's a lot of functions to jam into a pedal - which would also need some sort of volume and pitch-to-voltage converter (to read the notes you're playing along with the dynamics) and some compression and filtering to keep the input in check.

So most 'bass synth' pedals just opt for a far easier approach and go with some fancy filtering and modulation and try to fake it. But at the end of the day, they're still just filter and modulation pedals. So I hesitate to call most of them "synth" anything.

But that's me - real hardass. ;):laugh:
 
  • Like
Reactions: wmmj, Scott Lynch, ugly_bassplayer and 4 others
#16
For me, the "synth" sounds you get with this or the SubT and the like are specific to some sounds I want.

Otherwise, yes, the GR55 is the most versatile way to go.

But for deep dive analog synth the Brutes are great!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Somnambulance
#17
40Hz said:
Seriousy, right?

Bob Moog worked out the minimal configuration for a workable synth back in the 60s. You need:

  • At least two audible waveform audio oscillators (VCOs) with at minimum a square and triangle wave. Sawtooth, ramp, stair step, and sinewave would be nice to have too. The ability to sync and detune one of the VCOs to the other is also a major plus.
  • A white (and optionally pink) noise source.
  • A LFO
  • A VCA
  • A VCF
  • An envelope function generator of some sort. At least an AD but preferably an ADSR or better.
  • A control voltage source.
That's a lot of functions to jam into a pedal - which would also need some sort of volume and pitch-to-voltage converter (to read the notes you're playing along with the dynamics) and some compression and filtering to keep the input in check.

So most 'bass synth' pedals just opt for a far easier approach and go with some fancy filtering and modulation and try to fake it. But at the end of the day, they're still just filter and modulation pedals. So I hesitate to call most of them "synth" anything.

But that's me - real hardass. ;):laugh:
Click to expand...
This.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Somnambulance and sillyfabe
#18
40Hz said:
Seriousy, right?

Bob Moog worked out the minimal configuration for a workable synth back in the 60s. You need:

  • At least two audible waveform audio oscillators (VCOs) with at minimum a square and triangle wave. Sawtooth, ramp, stair step, and sinewave would be nice to have too. The ability to sync and detune one of the VCOs to the other is also a major plus.
  • A white (and optionally pink) noise source.
  • A LFO
  • A VCA
  • A VCF
  • An envelope function generator of some sort. At least an AD but preferably an ADSR or better.
  • A control voltage source.
That's a lot of functions to jam into a pedal - which would also need some sort of volume and pitch-to-voltage converter (to read the notes you're playing along with the dynamics) and some compression and filtering to keep the input in check.

So most 'bass synth' pedals just opt for a far easier approach and go with some fancy filtering and modulation and try to fake it. But at the end of the day, they're still just filter and modulation pedals. So I hesitate to call most of them "synth" anything.

But that's me - real hardass. ;):laugh:
Click to expand...
I'm still planing on getting the banana synth pedal after I get a tr08 :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonny5bass
#19
Somnambulance said:
I'm still planing on getting the banana synth pedal after I get a tr08 :D
Click to expand...

Good man!

Just because I don't like the sound or see a good way to use it doesn't mean nobody else can.

Be interesting to hear what you come up with. Be sure to post some clips if you do get it.

There's also the new Alexander Pedals Syntax Error bit crusher glitch generator that seems to do that old 8-bit Commodore/Atari sound chip thing I love particularly well. That could be really cool for some stuff.



Of course the big question remains how well it would work with a bass beyond very basic stuff.

Because:


IMG_2648.JPG
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: wmmj and Somnambulance
#20
40Hz said:
Good man!

Just because I don't like the sound or see a good way to use it doesn't mean nobody else can.

Be interesting to hear what you come up with. Be sure to post some clips if you do get it.

There's also the new Alexander Pedals Syntax Error bit crusher glitch generator that seems to do that old 8-bit Commodore/Atari sound chip thing I love particularly well. That could be really cool for some stuff.



Of course the big question remains how well it would work with a bass beyond very basic stuff.

Because:


View attachment 1200828
Click to expand...

Indeed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back