Al Krow

Cheers - look forward to it. I think what's been particularly useful for me is to hear the difference in action on an actual "real life" synth bass line - makes the theory that you have previously articulated (loads of times I am sure) come alive / sink in. VERY useful thread side-track, thank you!

Cheers buddy - please do share your updated patch and let's give it a listen! PS what is it on the FI that is allowing you to get so much closer than the C4 on this one?

Haha - that was never in doubt, mate! In relation to your question on synth emulation vs synth waveform generation - well it's quite a significant point IMO. I'll leave our recognised gurus e.g. @Woodinblack or @Quatschmacher to go into detail if you're wanting any more on that point, as they will no doubt be able to explain it far better than me. Sadly I will likely be on my own on that one, if I do end up going for an SY-1000 as I'm not sure any other BC'er has gone down the SY-1000 route yet? But I'll hopefully manage to find the on-switch once I have RTFM 😎

Peter - your FI patch is REALLY good / close!! And I'm guessing that was just a "first stab", i.e. you could get even closer with a bit of tweaking. You're right that the FI trumps the C4 for this, which is good to know 'cos it's not an uncommon "classic" modern synth keyboard bass tone which is to be found on a bunch of other recent massive hits. Definitely making me reconsider getting an FI as this is the synth bass tone I've been looking for for a while.

Thanks Darren - and agreed. It's just that if you're buying this stuff new, then the cost of SA C4, Neurohub and midi pedal for scrolling through the patches starts to add up (£400+ ?) - I appreciate if you have several SA devices the cost of the hub and midi is a one-off. It does make the FI, which is pretty much "good to go" without the additional bells and whistles needed for the C4, other than a Roland UM-One Mk2 midi cable to connect to your PC for patch editing, surprisingly attractive in comparison in terms of both cost and pedal board real estate - particularly if it gets rehoused in your excellent bespoke casing - shameless plug! 😊 I guess it's kinda reminded me of why I went for the poor man's synth emulator of the Boss SY-1 at "just" £175 with the immediacy of dials, which can be relatively quickly adjusted between songs, / no PC editing, very decent octave down and arpeggiator; plus the ability to sustain the synth whilst playing over it. Completely admit that as a synth engine it's not in the same premier league as the FI and C4, but horses (or maybe mule in the case of the Boss 😁 ) for courses eh? Right, really must get my headphones on and listen to Peter's patches!...

That's good to know. I'm guessing that most folk are unlikely to want to access more than 6 usable sounds from the C4 for typical live sets: more likely a couple of decent up and down filters and maybe 2 or 3 synth sounds. Bit annoying if you have to fork out another £100+ for a midi pedal to quickly scroll up and down your patch selection though during a live set - or is that something that can be easily done on the pedal itself? But I guess you still need the midi pedal to tell you which patch you're actually on due to the lack of indication from any display? I guess that's where the FI does have quite a big live use advantage, with a built in display to tell you which patch you're on and the ability to store and scroll through 99 patches on the pedal itself.

Thanks for whacking these two clips out Peter, you're an absolute gem. I'm going to give them both a careful listen to in the morning. For @krispn's benefit, who is thinking of getting the C4, is it possible to edit that without the Neurohub and to store presets on the pedal, just via your phone? If you can do on your phone, then also possible to do the same via your PC using WiFi without the hub? Just thinking that the hub is another slug of cost, particularly if you're just getting one SA pedal.

Nope, just the the SY-1000, as it is basically the GT Core + capable synth engine (actual not emulation) under one bonnet, give or take.

Good luck! And what a great idea - let us know how you get on.

Yeah lots of love on here and TB for the C4. I've managed to avoid a C4 so far, but Ian (aka @dodge_bass) who is as much of a neo-luddite as me, is getting some great tones from his C4 and obviously @Quatschmacheris our resident guru. And, unlike me, I know you will roll up your sleeves and get down into the detail of the PC editor, whereas I'm preserving what little headspace I have for PC editing, for my multi-fxs. Kinda hoping the SY-1000 will kill two birds for me, being both a multifx and an actual synth ie it's basically a Helix & C4 all under one bonnet. Well that's the hope, anyway!

Nope, not that I've found yet anyway. As @Quatschmacher mentioned - it really needs a square wave generator ie be an actual synth rather than a synth emulator which the SY-1 and Helix are. But if even the C4 is going to come up short, that's a decently high hurdle.

Look forward to your next upload on the FI thread then...may have to consider getting another FI if it can deliver that tone! (Plus @GisserD's excellent compact housing, plus a replacement Roland UM-ONE mk2 midi cable...ok I may need to just check my budget first - haha!).

Guilty pleasure confession! Saw Mel C on Jools last night and thought I'd give her 2020 album, the creatively titled "Melanie C", a listen. It's pretty good! In terms of bass tone - a couple of classic keyboard bass lines on: "Blame it on Me" starting at 0.54 - wondering whether the C4 can deliver that @Quatschmacher, @dodge_bass? "In and out of love" at 0.08 - P bass plus flats get close here?

Anyone still after a BB414? This one, which looks like it's in reasonable condition, is currently on eBay for £80 posted with 3 days left on the auction. Suspect it won't end up at the price though, otherwise it will be this year's Yammy bargain! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-BB414-Bass-with-Ritter-Gigbag/293807745758?hash=item44684e6ade:g:4roAAOSwRkNfnITd

Enjoyed this little Zepplin-esque blues offering from our own @spiritchaser

Sold Oliver my spare Smoothhound wireless - v.smooth transaction and good comms throughout. Pleasure to deal with.

Great stuff - very pro! What's the fetish with baked beans? 😄

So is is it a noticeable step up from the BB 235 then?! On the pic uploading front - it's possible you may have used up your 488 MB limit. See "My Attachments" when you scroll down from your Avatar name on the top right of the screen. If so you will need to delete a few of your no longer relevant / older attachments to free up some space.

You are clearly more successful with diets than me! Although tbf I've had a much more restrained 2020 on the gear front and am only up one bass: a relatively modest used Yammy BB735A, which is a replacement for one I sold in 2019, the same colour and actually about the same age too - I guess that's about as "like for like" as it gets! In terms of my own 2021 wish list: a multifx upgrade over my recently sold Helix is top of my list. The Boss SY-1000 is the leading contender for me, but I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any surprises crawling out of the woodwork at (virtual?) NAMM 2021. Multis are getting better all the time as both chip processing power and their UIs, both on pedal and via PC editing, continue to improve.

Well if you will keep forking out for Overwater basses with your spare cash in the meantime...😁 That does sound like a good present!

I think Dave @dmccombe7 started a thread a while back which asked for views on the pros / cons of Bergs. Couldn't locate it with a quick search just now, but I'm sure he or someone else may recall where it is. Worth a little peruse.