Synth Bass Without The Synth: No Talking
I’m all about crazy pedal combinations. This is one of my recent favorites:
The Boss OC-2, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, Fuzz Imp Creature, Two Notes ReVolt Bass, and Earthquaker Devices Pyramids
I am in love with synth bass sounds, but haven’t quite landed on the one I’ve imagined for a while. This is a big step in the right direction, however, and I’ve achieved it with a collection of eclectic pedals from some very interesting builders.
The OC-2 is a classic that is responsible for starting me down this path. It’s dark, monophonic, and glitchy, but that is precisely where the charm lies. It’s only really got one widely used setting, but that’s only because that one setting is so good! The same sound can be achieved with the OC-5, so you don’t have to drive yourself crazy trying to find an old OC-2.
I got the MXR Bass Envelope Filter a couple weeks ago from Haggerty’s Musicworks in Rapid City, SD. I’d been hoping to grab one for a while and the time was finally right. I’m so pleased with it. It’s simple to dial in something useable immediately, the tracking is great, the ability to run it in parallel means I don’t lose all of my bassiness, and it has been a pretty inspiring little guy during all of my recent jam sessions.
My brothers and I have been following Fuzz Imp for a while. I bought the Creature this summer because of its ability to go from completely normal and useable distortion to a self-oscillating blown out 8-bit mess was too close to my heart to resist.
The Earthquaker Pyramids is the ONLY flanger I’ve ever liked. It’s so musically expressive. The step and random settings are so different from any other flanger I’ve heard, and the controls are so detailed yet simple that I would consider it a must-have for any flange enthusiast.
Finally, the ReVolt Bass replaced all of my other bass preamps and DI boxes because it has the trifecta: a vacuum tube, an fx loop, and an XLR out. I don’t know why so few companies make products with these three features all together, but it is so handy to able to run my time-based effects after the preamp when I want a little more clarity. I also love not having to buy an additional DI box just so I can use XLR cables. All three channels are great, but the vintage channel has been my favorite to use in many scenarios due to the way it saturates my other drives and distortions.
Love it or hate it, let me know what you think of this sound and breakdown in the comments! #bassguitar #basspedals #twonotesaudio #earthquakerdevices #fuzzimp #mxr #bosspedals #fuzzpedal #flanger