Al Krow

Just now, LukeFRC said:

H90 would 

£££spendy though? I picked up my SY-200 £175 used. 

15 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Doesn’t Enzo do some arp stuff?

Tracking on their latest release is very disappointing from online reviews.

11 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

I didn’t doubt it for a second. 

Well the:

- better display;

- arpeggiator (which we use on a couple of our cover tracks as @Kiwihas also mentioned);

plus historically:

- MUCH better "tracking" / lack of glitchiness;

- more compact form factor

Are usps that have made the SY-200 much more useful for me as a gigging musician. Sure YMMV etc.

Given that FI are now saying the tracking is much improved on v4 and are offering a more compact form factor, the very significantly better synth tones the FI offers, make it a very attractive proposition. But for some reason I thought it now also had an arpeggiator function given that it does so much else, but my bad for misunderstanding that.

The SY-200 is the only programmable bass synth pedal with arpeggiator I'm aware of (unless the C4 also provides this)?

Ah ok, thanks. Looks like my Boss SY-200 is gonna survive for a while yet on my little gigging board.

Looking forward to finding out more!

What is the arpeggiator like on F1-4. Any clips? It's one of the features that's keeping me tied to the SY-200 currently

14 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said:

I couldn't find this in the thread but for me this is a cracker of a cover. The Stones version I can take or leave but Beverley Knights makes me smile. What a voice and the way it builds and keeps on building!

 

For me, one of the very best female singers the UK has ever produced! Love her!

4 hours ago, oakforest5961 said:

I'm reading Stuart "Woody" Wood's autobiography, "Mania", at the moment, from which I learnt that the Bay City Rollers' "Bye Bye Baby" was actually a cover of that by The Four Seasons from 1965. I prefer the BCR's version.

 

Going to have to give that a careful listen to: it's not everyday that someone says the tartan crew trump the Four Seasons! 😅

On 13/07/2025 at 15:30, Maude said:

Allow plenty of time to set up so you can chill for a bit before you start, or help out a bandmate who's having issues. Nothing worse than rushing to set up and then having to launch straight into your set without being happy.

Nerves are good but don't let them get the better of you, it's supposed to be fun. If you find it particularly difficult then take on the role of a character, then it's your character up there doing it, not you. 

Play the rock star (to a degree), look confident, have a bit of swagger. Move more than you think you should, movement needs to be exaggerated to be noticed on stage, (a video of you will prove this). 

If you mess up, keep going. People really don't notice as long as things keep flowing. 

Try to relax and make a conscious effort to keep to rehearsed tempos. Once the adrenaline kicks in your 45-50 minutes of material will end up as 30-35 minutes. 

Keep any messing about between songs to a minimum. If the singer is good working a crowd then fair play but band members looking at each other, constantly asking "are you ready?" looks bad. Agree that you will launch into the next song unless someone says they have a problem. 

Above all, enjoy it. Energy flows both ways. If you (the band) look like you're having fun then so will the audience. If the audience look like they're having fun then that will feed your confidence and make you perform better. The energy continues its circular flow. 

 

Fabulous advice!

I've pulled together four live clips all using the RCF 932As (with no sub) for one indoor and 3 outdoor gigs, recorded through a Rode stereo mic into a Sony s6300. Compared to my previous 912As (which I've held onto as a very capable back up rig) I think the 932s do let the vox shine whilst maintaining a meaty low end. Let me know if you agree?

On 16/07/2025 at 22:21, Stub Mandrel said:

Bendricks Rock: classic rock,  all eras from late 60s. Tends to the heavier end.

 

Fortunate Sons: 60s/70s rock, more chart hits. Still to debut with them as missed my first gig due to being ill.

 

Bluesfire: blues rock 'power trio'. Guitar prodigy

 

Fractured Persona: originals somewhat gothy/punky. With a bit of an art-rock element. Got our songs, working on arrangements. More a recording project than great live ambitions, but our gig plans would suit Alice Cooper...

Which one of those are you spending the most time with? Any more details you can share (e.g. line up / how often you're out gigging / how long the band has been going etc. ?)

3 minutes ago, Sibob said:

Anyway, no-one asked me to monologue lol. 
YMMV.

Haha, you and me both!

I guess having owned and tried really hard to love the FI multiple times (I've had five attempts from v1 onwards!) over the years and never quite managing it, there's definitely an element of "if they could just do that" e.g. decent tracking, form factor, make it accessible by loading with popular 'known' patches, replace the numerical display with something that displays words (Boss 200 series, many midi pedals do this). But András and crew, to their credit, are definitely getting there and there's been more progress with the FI than a lot of the competition - remember the Markbass Super Synth anyone?!

Getting us back on topic: the trouble for FI/C4/Boss et al. / good news for us bass players is that MXR Synth has arrived on the scene and is already providing a great deal of what we want in a synth pedal and is rightly causing a stir.

16 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

That’s already the case to some

degree: the latter patches are given over to

delays, choruses and reverbs. 

Sure. I guess my angle is coming at this from an accessibility / marketing stand point. 

Having popular synth bass patches in 1-10 or 1-20 is going to be a great start. 20 such patches => already 12 more presets than the MXR. But then making it clear that:

• Bank 3 is for delays / choruses and reverbs??
• Bank 4 for octaver, pitch shift??
• Bank 5 for arpeggiator & more esoteric fx??
• Banks 6-10 free for 49 user created patches (which is more than enough for 95% of bass players methinks?)

Now that v4 has apparently cracked the tracking and glitching that plagued so many of us with the earlier iterations, and which is very much one of the MXR's selling point, the rest of the FI's capabilities should make it really shine, not least given it's a similar price point: FI "synth-multifx" vs MXR "synth". Multifx users are very used to getting their hands dirty when it comes to PC patch editing. For sure, there are some who are content to grips with the FI editor on a standalone basis, but the moment you label the FI a "mutlifx", it's suddenly then emotionally worth investing the time for whole additional bunch of potential users, because there are a plethora of different usable patches rather than it being just about tweaking a few usable synth bass sounds?

I've  mentioned having a better display elsewhere (e.g. Boss 200 Series type) to display patch names rather than numbers (who want's to have to take a notebook with reference numbers to a gig: "damn, which number was the MJ patch again?") - which they've been doing for a few years now on their pedals. That would also set the FI apart from the MXR and C4 competition.

Just a few thoughts - I'll leave that all with you!

14 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

interesting how this thread ended up talking about the Fi4 - and the US version ended up talking about the C4 ... !

Well the FI is the much more home-grown product over here and vice versa for the C4? 😊

I've added in midi to the FI additional capabilities list on my earlier above.

25 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Polyphonic pitch detection is very difficult, requiring lots more resources than monophonic tracking. That’s not to say it couldn’t perhaps be done as one of the two currently-unused apps in the pedal.

 

Polyphony/paraphony has already been under discussion (for MIDI-triggered uses).

 

I’d like to push the idea of on-pedal patch management as that will benefit all users.

Sounds good!  I think where I'm heading is that the FI with 99 presets is capable of being much more than "just" an excellent synth pedal. Why not have banks dedicated to some of the commonly used fx that the FI does well e.g. Bank 2 modulation - chorus, delay etc. Bank 3 octave and pitch shift etc.? It then becomes a synth / multifx.

Maybe a complete non-starter, but was thinking that given that synth pedals have to track pitch, would pitch shifting, which a lot of pedals struggle to do well (even dedicated pitch shift pedals!) be something they could be set up to do? Basic pitch shift would be excellent in itself, but there's then maybe the possibility of chords too?

On 16/07/2025 at 12:03, Quatschmacher said:

Partly lack of marketing, partly not loading it with cover band patches. Even if not using the editor, with a few properly tailored presets, the V4’s onboard controls would give you way more control than the MXR (apart from the lack of a compressor) and without recourse to hidden secondary functions. 

The other obvious advantages of the FI over the MXR:

- input gain

- 99 presets, in banks of 10 (sure, I get that is overkill for many)

- two stomp switches

- display

- midi

The FI v4 VIP has a pedal-board friendly format not too far off what the MXR delivers

My tuppence worth, if I may, if Andreas wants to stay in the game with the advent of the MXR

Three improvements to suggest:

- improved display. Boss stole a lead on this some while ago - please check their 200 series => can label patches with words and not just numbers. "Chaka Khan" is so much easier to remember than "#06"!

- load patches 1 - 10 with popular cover band patches

- arpegiattor (currently only available on Boss SY series of mainstream bass synth pedals)

Marketing:

Why aren't there any decent YT clips of bass-players using the FI v4 VIP live in a band in the way that Paddy has just posted?

The thing about a live clip with a band, which is partly why @knicknack / Paddy's clip is a really excellent demo of this pedal's potential, is that you get to hear it in the context of the rest of the instruments and vox, which is what many of us are hoping to use it for, but also (and here's the rub!): you get one take to nail it. 

I loved Nate Navarro's honesty when he reviewed the Boss GM-800 saying that he'd had to do multiple takes to get some decent recordings (and he made it sound seriously lush btw). If anyone tells me that was because he's got poor synth bass playing technique...

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

Damn it!  I had been getting quite comfortable just using my Boss GX-10 that has decent enough Tuner, EQ, Compressor, Drive, and modulation and delay effects - enough that I wasn't really after any indididual pedals. It is convenient and means I can get all my Amp + Cables + Bass stand + Effects etc. in one single relatively small bag for gigs. 

 

.....But I've just received an Octamizer in a part exchange - and nothing on a multi-fx quite gets that same analogue octave sound, and the GX-10 (or other multi-fx) don't quite get the analogue analogue filter feel of something like an MXR Bass Envelope Filter so I'd been eyeing up them again. And now this MXR Bass synth (and @knicknack's excellent video) is enough to tip me over the edge! The GX-10 is more of a stand-alone thing as it is a bit big to incorporate into a pedal board so it puts me on the path of selling it and getting individual pedals yet again!

Yes, I agree,  Paddy's clip was a perfect demo. I can't easily recall clips of other bass synth pedals being put to such effortless good use in a band setting? But if any BC'ers do have any such clips to hand, please do share them?

 Btw when you decide to go all-in-one (again) with the latest multi (or head back to the comfort of the excellent GT1000 Core?) you know exactly who to contact to pass on your second hand "rubbish" at a knock down price 😅

Always a huge treat to be playing at the London 10k and we couldn't believe our luck with the change of location we found ourselves moved to for this one! 

We'd had a late one at a function gig the night before, so an early morning start to arrive to set up at 8pm meant just 4 hours sleep, but it was one of those gigs that the adrenaline gets you through! In some ways our own mini marathon - playing for two hours solid with no break, but we all loved it.

A sweet moment for me right at the close when a local London lady, who had an ice cream van set up behind us, thanked us all for providing the music and offered us each a free ice-cream!

A little clip from the race: LA Mixtrax - London 10k

9 minutes ago, 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...

IMG_7881.mov 35.16 MB · 1 download 

Damn, that sounds good! Nicely played & classy band!

A live clip like that is worth a thousand words, and puts to bed any lingering doubts for me at least!

Great basses! 

My Elrick Expat Evo 5 quickly became my goto gigging bass after I acquired it from @Sibob of this parish (who is a far more capable bassist than me!) back in 2021. Not sure I would have had the confidence to acquire one new back then, given the cost, but was keen to try one out as, on paper, it ticked so many boxes for me and being able to buy one used was a godsend! I've been really delighted with it and won't be parting company with mine any time soon! 

Little clip of the bass in action at a recent outdoor gig - set on neck pup in active mode with tone knobs flat, with preamp EQ duties being handled by my GT1000 Core pedal:

LA Mixtrax - Bletchley Park

4 hours ago, kiat said:

Who's got one of these Valeton GP-5? I'm looking at getting one, partly because of the 9 FX chain (my Zoom B3 "only" does 3). More basschatter feedback would help me decide!

Oooh what have you got in your 9 block chain?

Someone needs to be first up in the BC collective, looking like this one could be you (I was very quick out the block with the Zoom B1-4, Valeton OC-10 and Boss SY-1 so I've done my bit!) 😅

3 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Choked are doing more! good thing I didn't mention my jazzyfunkblues band too - The LD7...

Yeah, thank goodness eh!? 😅

1 hour ago, Merton said:

Katy’s been doing the singer/songwriter thing since she was a young teenager. About 2016 she put an ad out to find a band to back her, and at the same time a band I occasionally depped with had decided they wanted to find an original singer to work with. So the band started 2016; I’m bassist number 3 having joined in late 2022, but have known the guitarist for 11 years and the drummer for 20.

We’ve just finished up a small UK tour supporting her debut album release (which should have come out in 2020 but Covid put paid to that so it’s been waiting to go for 5 years!) and we have a few festivals etc lined up still. Tonight we’re playing the official opening night at Rodeo’s in Birmingham, it’s gonna be a hot one!

Lovely thanks! Hope it goes well tonight!