Do you use heavy compression before and after your synth pedal?

PaulYeah

PaulYeah

Mar 1, 2004
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#1
I've found that synth pedals tend to be both overly-sensitive to your input volume to get the sound that you want, and that I have difficulty controlling the output volume.

Is this a common problem when using synth pedals? How do you deal with it besides putting a compressor before and after the unit?

My main synth pedal is a Source Audio C4 which I absolutely love, by the way.
 
#3
I occasionally use a limiter after my synth pedals, C4 and FI, if I have created a particularly dynamic patch. I like playing with the input dynamics to get variations on the sounds. With the C4 and my other SA pedals I will use either the comp in Ultrawave or one in the Zoom MS60B. I'm using a MS70CDR or + with my FI pedals.
 
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#4
PaulYeah said:
I've found that synth pedals tend to be both overly-sensitive to your input volume to get the sound that you want, and that I have difficulty controlling the output volume.

Is this a common problem when using synth pedals? How do you deal with it besides putting a compressor before and after the unit?

My main synth pedal is a Source Audio C4 which I absolutely love, by the way.
Click to expand...

Are you switching frequently between basses, or if not, are you adjusting the volume pot on the bass as you play? If it's more about switching between basses, something like a BBA from Broughton at the front of your chain will allow you to easily adjust the volume hitting the rest of your board, and compensate. Plus it filters out subsonic (below 20Hz) and supersonic frequencies (above 20kHz), and is a buffer stage, so it brings more to the party than a simple active volume pot.

I use a limiter at the end of my board, and while it's just on all the time, it's primarily for catching big volume spikes once I get into either the synth stuff (which I do a lot), or the super distorted kind of tones (happens much less often). The limiter definitely keeps everything under control, but with a light enough touch to not ruin playing dynamics/sensitivity.
 
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#5
I don't switch basses, but do I have a couple of problems:

1. Some synth presets are just far too sensitive to the input volume, and they're a bit like envelope filter where the tone produced varies a lot based on the input volume. If my volume isn't incredibly consistent, Iget "bum notes" occasionally. I need my volume into the pedal to be incredibly consistent to get a consistent synth tone out.
2. Output volume varies wildly between different presets. There doesn't seem to be a goal with most presets for the output volume to match the input volume, or just to have a standard volume level. I like your suggestion to put a limiter at the end of the board to handle this, and I obviously need to go through all the presets to normalize the output volume based on how I play.

I'm going to check out the Broughton BBA right now.
 
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#7
PaulYeah said:
@sloppy_phil, is there a limiter you recommend?
Click to expand...

Well, any compressor pedal can be used as a limiter, provided it has the ability to set the ratio and threshold quite high. It's all very personal which comp works for which person, and whether you want something transparent-sounding or coloured. Some comps off the top of my head which I know work very well for this specific purpose:

Keeley Bassist
Walrus Mira
Boss BC-1X
Boss LMB-3
Broughton Omnicomp
 
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#8
I'm starting to patch my wife's Eurorack stuff into my pedalboard and have run into this. I use an Alma comp as a sweetener and mild compression, but now I'm wondering about squeezing the signal way tighter upstream of the Eurorack to give her a way narrower signal to work with, and then putting the Alma after everything else to smooth things out.
 
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