Al Krow

6 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Now I look its actually the Lekato set, but looking at them they are identical apart from the logo, so I assume they are the same thing

 

https://lekatodeal.com/en-uk/products/wireless-5-8ghz-microphone-system-plug-on-xlr-transmitter-receiver

 

They are available cheaper than that.

 

Also found out that if you leave them on so they run out (they don't auto switch off) and forget to plug them in before a gig, 25 minutes being plugged in (they have one of those 2 way charging leads so you can do both together) onto a USB power bank is enough to get you through 1hr and 20 minutes of the first set, without them getting to the flashing stage (not sure how much longer, we plugged them in during the 20 minute break and lasted the next hour and a bit).

 

I would say that the only downside that we have noticed is that they are slightly wider than most microphones, so if you want to take them out of a microphone stand while you are singing, you need to pull the mic out, rather than slide the mic up.

 

That's very helpful, also, thanks. I'm guessing the Joyo is the original and Lekato the clone? But they are the exact same product? 

43 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

The singer in my band uses my Joyo 5.8GHz wireless adapters and has for the last 40 or so gigs indoor / outdoor in a variety of environments - he walks around, dances on tables and goes outside of pubs still singing and hasn't had any issues, we did work out how far he could get at a big outdoor gig once though, but when they did cut out it was clean and came back as soon as he was in range, we also have a lot of other wireless stuff (at the outdoor thing, wireless guitar / bass / IEM / Mixer).

Also hasn't gone low on batteries on 3 hour gig

Bought once, haven't cried at all.

Brilliant, thanks Woody! Think I'll recommend she puts that one on her Xmas list then!

12 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

@Al Krow I think what you want out of "synth bass" and what I want are two very different things which is why I wouldn't have bothered with anything synthy for the example you posted in another thread and why I am not satisfied with any of the synth bass pedals because none of them will give the control, evenness and consistency of sound that I can get from using a keyboard synth, or even better by programming it in my DAW.

 

And I am a bass player. I just haven't limited myself to solely the bass guitar for producing bass sounds. I'm "lucky" in that I have enough technical ability to be able to choose the most appropriate tool for the job, and from experience a plucked stringed instrument is not always the best choice. And having said that my technical ability on all the instruments I play is pretty limited, so IMO if I can do it anyone can!

I'm not denying that any of us who can ride a push bike could learn to ride a motor bike, if we wanted to? Just like we could take up keys, or any other instrument for that matter, if we wanted to. 

And I suspect most musos already know that synth keys are the premium product in the synth-tone space? No debate from me on that, and respect to you for doing both.

But it's why when bass players ask about bass synth pedals on a bass forum I don't immediately jump in and suggest they take up keys! And very much also vice versa if I was ever on a keyschat forum or thread.

On 25/10/2025 at 19:34, JohnDaBass said:

So , what's your shortlist of recommendations @Al Krow ?

John - because you asked 😊

Synth pedal review.pdf

27 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

You have to consider the system as a whole, with today's digital equipment there are delays, latency, propagation delay caused by both ADDA conversion and the finite time that the signal passes through the digital stages, each gate that the signal passes through causes a delay by any other name as transistors, the basic building blocks, cannot switch instantly.  These delays happen in digital pedals, mixers, digital wireless systems for instruments and IEMs. The amount of latency that you can hear varies between people, and some chain to be able to hear 2mS. The is ballcocks, it is equivalent to one cycle at 5Hz. 

 

So latency adds any one component does not usually add an excessive amount. Analogue, as @Phil Starr says, has a compander, really a compressor, at the input and an expander at the output. This compresses the signal as it goes in to enable more channels to be used, and expends it as exactly as it can at the other end to rebuild the original system. Most analogue systems use UHF bands and frequency modulation FM.

 

In most cases, the better the design, the better the end result. There are really two rules of thumb before you buy anything wireless. Do not buy anything on the UHF 863-865MHz band, and do not buy anything in the 2.4GHz band. 

 

Finally, do not listen to Scott Uhl on YouTube. The rules in the USA are very different, and most of the UHF systems he recommends are illegal in the UK.

That is super helpful thank you. Singer started out with the Gear4Music SubZero UHF Wireless XLR (863–865 MHz Ch. 70) - so we will take that off the list! I had already suggested going for 5.8Ghz and avoiding 2.4 GHz.

Just as a rule of thumb it would be great to get a wireless bolt-on that comes to no more than 2/3 the price she is investing in the microphone itself, in terms of the incremental benefit of the wireless vs wired to her performance on stage, so that would suggest a budget of around £100.

Currently the JOYO 5.8 GHz looks like a decent contender that seems to tick quite a few boxes? If anyone has experience of this or similar, please do share. 

56 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

AKG, Sennheiser, Shure and others offer wireless adaptors. Not the cheapest, but you can be certain they will do the job - see Phil's comments above. Avoid 50 quid Chinese no-name jobbies. Buy once, cry once.

Hey Dan - don't be so quick to put down Chinese manufacturing! You do realise that the incredibly good value Behringer Bugera Veyron amps, which you and I both think are fab, are made in China? As well as, of course, some of the world's highest-end products such Apple iPhones?! They have just figured out how to do manufacturing really well. Apple have basically said they won't shift production back to the US because of the lack of skills there and fact that to make something of the same quality it would turn a $1k iphone into a $3k handset for the exact same product. They're very happy to pay the Chinese workforce less and keep the bulk of the profits for themselves in, err well actually, Ireland where they pay little or no tax...

Shure IEMs are widely regarded as overpriced (just head over to the IEM thread) and you'll find a LOT of BC'ers, including me, loving their KZ IEMs as being both better kit and considerably better value... and they're also made in China. And don't get me started on battery technology...

Looking for low latency too and analogue UHF adaptors seem to claim very low latencies, despite being very budget. Is that correct? 

Our singer has just upgraded her Shure SM58 to an AKG D7S which provides much better directionality and lower feedback.

She would like to add a really good wireless adaptor which is hopefully not massively expensive. What would you recommend?

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

And an actual keyboard synth will do the job even better.

And a motorbike goes faster than a push-bike. But not everyone wants a motorbike?

Some of us are very content with "just" being bass players!

16 hours ago, JohnDaBass said:

So , what's your shortlist of recommendations @Al Krow ?

John - you've got me thinking! I'm going to pull together a pros / cons summary of some of the current "best of the bunch" synth pedals which may be of interest to you and a few others.

22 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

I didn't find any usable synth sounds from my B3n. I loved mine too, but for synths, not much use. To be fair, my HX stomp is pretty useless for synths too.

+1^^

Not yet come across a multifx that does synth sounds well, despite having owned and gigged quite a few! 

Dedicated synth pedals definitely seem to do the job better.

Just updating this thread to say that, as many of us will have now figured out, eBay have not slashed fees, just shifted them from seller to buyer as obligatory "buyer protection". Buyers can look on other sites (e.g. Basschat) if they want to buy the same good without the additional costs.

Here's a worked example (excludeding P&P)

Old system - wait till you get 80% off variable fees before listing, and then the seller fee worked out at about 2.6%, so if you sold something for £500 you got £487

New system - buyer pays 10p plus 4% up to £300 and 2% above £300. So if they are looking to pay £500, then you would need to list it for approx. £484 (or if you list it for £500, the buyer will need to pay approx. £516)

It's a really intetesting question.

Are you "a doctor" if your training is limited to giving basic first aid?

Are you "a golfer" if you play for fun at weekends?

As someone who does decently paid pub gigs most weekends and a fair few functions throughout the year, I guess "working / part-time bassplayer and band leader" are labels that seem to fit.

I'm entirely self-taught on bass (online lessons and YT tutorials aside). I would hate for my doctor or car mechanic to be! I can't imagine most classical orchestral players, amateur or pro, being self taught?

I would, however, have no issues with any gardener or a pro muso eg Paul McCartney being. He's certainly been a fab artist on bass, as a musician and as a singer / songwriter. One of the very best!

4 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Ironically bass here is your enemy. almost anything below 80Hz (the 2nd harmonic of bottom E) should be left for the drums and even up to 160Hz you are in an area where you will be fighting with the drums to be heard. I use a 35Hz 24db/octave filter to remove all subsonics and shelve the bass response through the PA below 160Hz or thereabouts. Please don't take these frequencies as gospel for your eq though you still need to get 'your' tone but remember you are trying to get the balance right between bass and mid/treble. Turning the bass down and maybe edging the volume up is as valid a way of making the mids shine through as boosting mids. It's not a bad principle to start with everything set flat and then cut bass. The idea of using a decent pre amp isn't a bad one either, using a SansAmp transformed my sound with almost no effort from me.

 

One thing you should also be aware of is the equal loudness contours which I'll put in below. It's the opposite of the loudness curve you are deliberately putting in when you use your mid scoop. We are hyper sensitive to mids at low volumes but almost totally insensitive to bass frequencies until they get loud. We aren't great with low level high frequencies either. Turning up you volume control boosts the bass and treble contrasted to the mids which is why a mid scoop sounds good at home but not at gig levels. Going from 80db average levels at home to 100db in the PA might mean you need to cut 5db from the bass to get the same subjective sound. You can read that off on the graph but the message generally is don't be scared to cut bass knowing that you genuinely sound bassier simply by being louder. 

 

One thing that worries me is that you say you have no back line (which is brilliant) and you describe your PA but don't mention monitors. You are using monitors aren't you? You simply won't hear the mid/tops from your PA just a wooly bass sound. You absolutely need some sort of monitoring 

 

Anyway loudness curves

 

 

 

I normally would agree with most of what Phil says! But the "weight" of the bass IMO comes particularly from the 120Hz to 150Hz region so I would, if anything, boost that by +3db or so.

I think if you are agressively cutting bass below 160Hz that feels too high a cut off, and you'll risk ending up with quite a thin sound.

I'd personally recommend cutting from 80Hz to 100Hz to get rid of low end crud, and leave your mids flat rather than cutting them; and as you've already shared mid scoop can sound sweet solo'd but it's where you're losing yourself in the mix.

I really shouldn't be quite so chuffed with a £10 9V PSU. But this one has decent 2A capacity and, if you're ever gigging with single multi-fx pedal, this has a 2m cable! Bloody marvellous!

32 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

£305 online for vip version. I’m tempted! Though if you’re selling one secondhand in a few weeks I can wait…

And vice versa, haha!

Have the prices come down a bit recently, I thought they were closer to £340 inc P&P?

Great review, thanks Luke!

On 16/10/2025 at 17:12, Linus27 said:

I think my own view is I consider myself a Musician, if asked in what, then I would say a bassist. If I am writing music or basslines then I am being creative, if I am putting together a structure or how the song is to be played then I am arranging and if I am playing in front of people then I am performing but the over-arching title I would use is I am a musician.

Nailed it!

Great job on all fronts! Catchy 80's vibe and quality production by Haunting the Atom. Nice one!

Good price. Not going to deny also being a Zoom fanboi!

Remind us, Dave, what made you move it on last time and what's tempting you to get it back (other than the price)?

I'm in the market for a standalone multifx to gig with for some gigs that would be a lot easier for me to get to by public transport gigs (now the Elizabeth Line is connecting places like Reading to London!). But for another £110 Thomann are selling a B-stock Boss GX-10 with parallel processing, much larger touch screen and IMO significantly better PSU. 

Oh I hope you manage to find the cause of the issue pdq and it's not down to the pedal but something less expensive like a faulty cable or PSU!

Couple of further Qs if I may: what casing are you transporting your GX-10 in for protection & what's it like as a headphone amp? (My cheap-as chips Zoom B1-4 has a pretty doesn't one!)

On 03/06/2025 at 10:41, SumOne said:

 

The split path is good, can use as a simple A/B switch or as a blend, and the blend can add more complex stuff like dynamic sensitivity and cutoff frequencies for each path.

 

I found that it isn't really necessary for most compressor/drive/effects though as the 'x comp bass' is multiband compression (Boss like to confuse things and call it 'multi dimensional processing') and has a clean mix (Boss call it 'direct mix'). The same with distortion like the 'X-OD Bass' and in fact I think all the amps and all the bass effects have a clean mix so I often use the split path just as a simple A/B switch to make it visually easier to see what is going on to turn a few effects on/off together (which can be done without a split path).

 

The split path things is useful for the Royal Blood type separate Guitar/Bass amp split and I've found the split path and dynamic sensitivity things also useful for nerding out with effect stuff like slicer+delay etc. 

Hey @SumOne and @deerhunter113 did you hold onto your GX-10 and, if so, how are you finding it after a living with it for several months?

Was looking at the specs of portable multi-fx to save me removing/reinserting my GT1000 Core each time I want something smaller for use on public transport and this seems to be a much more capable piece of kit than many in a similar £300 price bracket e.g. Helix Pod Go with its ancient chip set!

Quite enjoyed this chap's review: 

58 minutes ago, cetera said:

Got my XS-1 yesterday. It's good, but not astounding, but then I think that's just the nature of these pitch shift pedals....

 

It does a reasonable job up to about a tone/tone and a half detuned then the artificial sound becomes too overbearing for my taste. I also have the Digitech Drop and that's as bad/worse. Under layers of distorted guitars it probably wouldn't be noticeable but solo'd it becomes a distraction imho.

 

Advantages of this pedal (beyond tuning down with a good sound to C#/D) are the extra ability to tune up/add higher notes, the octaver and the 'secret' chorus setting.

100% ^^

Fortunately for detuning we only ever need 2 or 3 semis for our alto singer. If we have a male vox it may sometimes be 5 semis, but that's usually handled easily enough by playing on a different string.

You keeping yours?

On 14/07/2025 at 13:06, knicknack said:

I feel like that video does the MXR dirty a little... as a pedal it does need a little practice to 'show' it the information it needs to generate the synth lines. The more I experiment the happier I'm getting, and whilst i still love my Moog, I'd have the MXR over a Novation BS any day already, and will leave the Moog at home now more than I would have!

 

Had a fun little dep at the weekend...

 

 

@BigRedX Paddy didn't seem to have too much trouble nailing a great synth sound! Ok he's a fab bass player, but it's still clearly possible with this pedal!

1 minute ago, eude said:

Oh, very cool. Is it useful to avoid having to detune then?

I personally don't de-tune strings mid set - too much "dead air time", so it's been a case of learning songs in a different key or using a pitch shift pedal, which I've generally tried to avoid until now as I've found they had too much warble/latency and the XS-1 certainly does a better job than my multi-fx. Hopefully opens up more of our set for our alto lead vox to have a crack at (the other two who front the band are mezzo sops).

22 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

Bought it on the way down the road to the SW Bass Bash on Saturday.  Tried it out in the Guitarguitar in Birmingham and really liked it so I decided to carpe that diem - not getting any younger!  Was too busy to do anything with it until I got home on the Monday - played around with it on the Monday night, put it on the board (replacing the TC Electronic Brainwaves) last night so I thought I should issue this update in the thread where people care about such things

 

Enjoy! I'm already liking mine a lot!

Have got it connected up to an expression pedal for a bit of whammy fun which doubles up as a more accessible on/off on my board.

I bought it primarily for detuning duties but, as others have said, it's very probably the best octave up pedal currently around (certainly for the price) and is opening up 8 string opportunities with my crew ("yeah you can stop doubling up the bass line now!") which should allow us to fill out the sound further.