Al Krow

Switched the desk wifi on our CQ18T from 2.4Ghz to 5.0 Ghz at our gig tonight.. The personal mix apps on the band members' phones worked flawlessly with no drop outs for the first time.

I've used it as standard on pretty much all my patches for live use, to tighten up the low end. Cut bass at about 50Hz.

1 hour ago, EmmettC said:

I think the tracking low down is a little better on the MXR (that might just be imagined), latency is completely fine on both, nothing that would be distracting in any of the sounds I used. The only difficulty I had with the C4 was how sensitive the input gain was, particularly for dirty Moog kind of sounds. I'd set it at home and it would be perfect, but then on a gig I'm digging in a bit more, and it would't like it, adjusting mid-song was hard because you can't actually see where the input gain is on any sound, so you can't just nudge it up or down. I'm not really sure how the input gain works on the MXR, but I used 2 basses last night and the Musicman is quite a bit louder than the McIntyre, and it didn't seem to be an issue at all using the same IMA preset with both instruments - that would have really caused issues with the C4. No recordings from last night, but I'll try and get some clips tonight (fewer deps tonight, so it should sound better too).

Thanks for that - hope the gig goes well tonight and look forward to your clips!

PS that's a seriously impressive pedal board!

4 hours ago, EmmettC said:

Decided to just dive straight in and use it on my wedding gig, I'm just home and it was a huge success (as in no one else noticed). I took the C4 off and but the MXR on. I had to make a sound for I Wanna Dance With Somebody, but it was really intuitive, and even though it took 5 minutes, I think I liked it more than the C4 patch that took hours. I also made a sound for Blinding Lights, again a 5 minute job, this wasn't as good as the C4 sound I got from the Source Audio site, but it was still very passable, and I think I can improve on it with a little bit of time. I used the synthadelic IMA patch (based on Flashlight by Parliament) for a couple of things - mostly for my own amusement and used the "live setting" to entertain myself during We Got the Love.
I'm very pleased, though I was also happy with the C4, the biggest gain is how easy it is to adjust on a gig and how intuitive it is to use.

Great to hear such a favourable report from a function gig! Did you get any clips of you guys playing live?

What's the latency/tracking like vs the C4?

On 20/06/2025 at 21:36, soulstar89 said:

Question. What are the EQ frequency settings of the bass,mids,treble on the Yamaha bb734A. 
 

I have looked on the Yamaha website and it doesn’t state. Internet doesn’t come back with anything either 
 

Cheers

 

The preamp EQ frequencies for quite a few bass brands seems to be something they keep close to their chest!

Just now, tayste_2000 said:

Add your 20% vat and you get a good chunk of the way to the difference.

Shipping and import duties will account for another sizeable chunk of the rest.

2 hours ago, tayste_2000 said:

Yeah this one is mental, examples like “I can’t see a way when using the jack for expression that the same jack could be stereo….. what a failure, I 100% need all these features all the time.”

 

“Bought the pedal this morning, it arrived, it makes a terrible coffee, it’s going back. It’s basically ruined my life.”

 

I’m exaggerating but I’m also not 😂 it’s a pedal, useful maybe, fun sure, necessary 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

Yeah it's mad!

This is a potentially stunning new piece of kit that's been 18 months in development; appears to have fab tracking for 5 string basses, has some totally usable bass synth sounds straight out of the box and a very compact form factor. Not surprising that it's making so many go weak at the wallet! 

Sure usb, midi etc. would be really nice to have - but I guess we've got something to look forward to in a Mk2 in 3-4 years time. In the meantime, is it going to give a bunch of us bass-players, who aren't also part-time keys players (and very likely have no wish to be!) a better synth sound?

Just maybe 😅 

30 minutes ago, SumOne said:

You're right - I am keen on this pedal!

 

I'll try to have a bit of self control though (both for buying, and for selling once something else shiny and new gets my attention). That restraint probably won't last long though!

 

Like others have said, this looks like MXR have hit quite a sweet spot gap in the market of useful bass synth sounds, tracking (hopefully), functionality, hands-on editing, presets, size.

 

Feels a bit pricey, but I must be getting old as I think everything is pricey nowadays!

That's 'cos everything IS pricey these days! 

Comprehensive run through of the features from MXR:

14 minutes ago, Byo said:

The tracking seems like a great selling point, plus the preset option and no need to connect to a laptop to edit or enter submenus.

And the size... perfect for a small board or as a one-stop shop on a bigger board if you need a few synth-like sounds at he gig.

+1^^ to both of those which, as you say, are great selling points.

I've always struggled with the tracking / glitchiness of one or two of the leading synth pedals, which meant they didn't work for me live. I ended up with a Boss SY200 which has fabulously tight tracking, but doesn't have the quality of synth tones of e.g. a FI. This pedal seems to deliver the best of both worlds. That really is quite a feat, well done MXR/IMA!

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Excellent, that is on my 'buy second hand when someone gets bored of it' list!

Sorry I won't be able to help you out on that dear chap this time around...but I'll happily join you on the 2nd hand waiting list!

(And I've got first dibs on any kit coming onto the market from @SumOne under our long term 'gear' supply arrangements 😅).

Wow! This thing is already shaking up the market - just checked what's been recently listed in the FS section and quite a few synth pedals! Clearly a lot of folk (understandably IMO given how good this thing appears to be!) seem to be wanting to make the switch.

7 minutes ago, mattpbass said:

Yeah I get that not everyone needs loads of sounds, but looking at the manual and seeing that you have to hold the foot switch down to get it into preset change mode, then cycle through presets with just a little light to say what you preset you are on, and then it will timeout of preset mode etc… I would definitely mess that up live. 😅

Haha fair enough! For those needing to scroll through several patches mid set and not during a break between songs, then there is the option of using an external foot switch - I guess similar to what many folk use with their multi-fx? Midi capability would have been a very nice touch.

26 minutes ago, mattpbass said:

Yeah agreed (well, sort of, I’ve tried most synth pedals and concluded that they are all too compromised/ impractical as well). I’m sure this will sell and hopefully work as well as it seems to in the videos, for home playing it looks fantastic, just can’t see it being very giggable. 

I think if you are needing a synth bass sound for just a few songs in your live set, this looks great! 

2 or 3 very usable different synth sounds which track tightly, together with a usable filter, would certainly meet the needs for my covers band in a given 2 hour live set for filter/synth, I certainly won't ever need more than 8 at any one gig.

I guess in the same way as a couple of dirt/drive/fuzz options are plenty for many of us for live use; we don't need loads - just a few really good ones.

One thing I would miss on my SY200 is the arpeggiator, which gets use on a couple of live tracks. But layering this with the SY200 could be pretty cool!

It's going on the birthday wish-list!

This is an actual synth rather than a "synth emulator" like the Boss SY1 / 200?

If so, the tracking / lack of glitchiness is incredible - check out IMA's clip above at 12.44 playing a low D on the B string, and (12.55) pulling off onto the low E - effortlessly tracked.

1 hour ago, paul_5 said:

Want!

+1 ^^ 😅

1 hour ago, warwickhunt said:

 

@Al Krow It's actually going to be an X32 Rack but we'll have a splitter in front of it; 1 feed to 'our' X32 to mix as we see fit and a 2nd feed (dry) to the FOH.  

 

Sure thing. I thought you also had a A&H CQ12, but I might have got that wrong? And was thinking that you would have an easy option using that.

If you set your A&H CQ monitor feeds on pre fade won't that give your IEM mixes isolation from whatever the sound engineer is doing with the FoH mix, and problem sorted? Or am I missing something obvious?

2 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

I tend to rotate my basses so whether playing at home, recording or gigging, each one gets treated the same. I can't justify having nice kit if it isn't getting used. An unused bass is a holiday that I can't go on because the money is tied up in an unused instrument. 

I'll happily forgo a fancy holiday for a lovely bass I will treasure for a life time.

Each to their own eh?

26 minutes ago, itu said:

If I start fiddling with anything irrelevant over sound, I need to stop gigging. 

 

I use whichever bass is suitable for the gig. It may be possible a meteor destroys my bass (and me), but every instrument is meant for playing. 

Question for everyone:

Is a bass only "properly played " at a gig? If you choose to make music on a bass at home is that not "playing" it? Why would that be true for a bass but not a piano?

Doesn't that kinda assume that a bass player can only ever play his instrument as part of a live band? What if you're not in a band?

For me, there's a false hierarchy to say that playing an instrument in one setting (e.g. a gig) is more righteous than playing it another (e.g. at home). I think it's possible to get enormous pleasure from an instrument wherever it's played.

I've got a particular bass that seems to be my goto for gigging these days - it's a decently high-end bass (Elrick) which I bought a while back from @Sibob of this parish and am very much still loving it. It now has a few knocks to testify to the very many gigs it's faithfully done for me.

I do have one bass that I would hesitate to take out to a pub gig specifically, as that was a 'treat' bass and I suspect I'd be quite upset if it got damaged. Part of the joy of that bass, for me, is the craftsmanship that went into making it and I think it's possible to appreciate the design and craftsmanship in an instrument, as well as other objects in life, that can make it be worth something more than being just 'a tool', albeit an excellent one, to get a job done. 

The rest of my basses yes, absolutely, would be happy to gig them at pubs as well as function venues. 

6 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

We can’t really use the stick, so what's the carrot?🥕 

Great question! Maybe turn that one around - what would make you want to join a band and really commit to it and to work hard at keeping your place in it?

It's going to vary for everyone, but I suspect it will include some or all of the following?

• Regular decently paid gigs (covers band)
• Love the music that the band is playing / get a say in song choices
• Talented musicians to work with 
• Fun crew who you enjoy hanging out with
• Good band atmosphere and minimal drama
• Feeling valued
• An opportunity to be creative (maybe more for original bands?)
• An opportunity to grow and develop as a musician

16 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

having kinda done that... the key is working out what things work best in a HX stomp or equivalent and what doesn't. 

And then what doesn't but you can accept the compromise. 

Yup! Use the multifx for everything it does really well or well at least well enough e.g. modulation - all types (chorus, flanger, phaser, delay etc.), dirt, compression (if you're a fan), tuner and then buy a dedicated pedal or two to fill any gaps. In my case, that's now down to multifx + synth for my little gigging board. Nice and compact and as @Jack has spotted, actually not too bruising on the wallet, particularly if you buy used.

2 hours ago, David Morison said:

 

Yeah, it's a little counter-intuitive, for sure.

 

Your last line has it right - basically, all of the input channels feeding each mix can be pre-fade, but as the FX come post fade before they reach the IEM mix, they would remain post fade.

So, if you turned up the vox in the main mix, the level of the dry vox would remain the same in the IEM, but the level of the vocal reverb would still increase in the IEM.

Given that you hopefully don't need to make massive adjustments to vocal levels once the show is underway, and that the preferred reverb level is hopefully several dB lower than the dry vocal level in the first place this is unlikely to be a deal breaker, but it's an easily overlooked quirk that's worth being aware of.

 

HTH,

D.

 

That sounds like a best of both worlds scenario, thanks!

So to summarise:

By switching to pre-fade setting for aux out:

(i) singers will get consistent IEM volumes irrespective of what's going on with FoH volumes / adjustments;

(ii) singers will still get fx (reverb) in their IEMs, but based on FoH volumes, as fx is applied to the post-fade signal.

Is that a fair summary?

Not sure this "made the original" by Stevie W, but great cover right?