#1788602 - 07/29/07 11:46 PM
Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
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Dave Sisk
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After picking up the MXR Bass Blowtorch, I think it's time to ditch both the Digitech GNX4 and the Zoom B2.1u multiFX pedals. One sound I want to add to the analog arsenal is the "quack". Two candidates are the Pigtronix Disnortion and the Boss SYB-5 (please suggest others that you might know of as well!).
The Boss sounds pretty good from the clips of it...go here, pick the SYB-5 and take a listen to the first sample: http://www.bossus.com/interactive/compact_pedal_demo/
However, I think I've heard some folks say this SYB-5 doesn't track particularly well (or was that the older SYB-3?). Regardless, I'd imagine I can find one locally to try myself.
The other candidate that actually produces a very similar quack is the Pigtronix OFO Disnortion. This might be more appealing since it's all analog, and has some other nice sounds in it that might be useful. Go here, and take a listen to the clip called "Booty" at the bottom of the page. (Not sure I'm diggin' the other clips all that much, but Booty is a kickin' one soundwise IMO.) It starts with presumably the Fuzz section activated, and the second has some quackin', which I'm presuming is the Octava section of the pedal? I'm liking both of tones sounds, actually. How well does the Pig quack without the Fuzz off and just the Octava on? (I'm hoping Sweet Willie might chime in here, since I know he has a Pig.  )
Actually, the MXR Bass AutoQ isn't bad either, although it doesn't seem to quack quite as nastily as these other two...here's that page, there's a sound sample on it: http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=256&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail
As I said, I'm open to any other suggestions at this point. I want my quackers and eat 'em too! 
Dave
Dave
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#1788608 - 07/30/07 12:39 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Stuart Clayton
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Dave,
The Boss SYB-5 doesn't track very well at all. The SYB-3 was much better, but still doesn't track terribly well, and this is a problem with many synth pedals. The SYB3 is better than the 5, but the best synth i ever found for tracking was the Akai Deep Impact. Good luck finding one though!
Cheers
Stuart
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#1788702 - 07/30/07 07:46 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Stuart Clayton]
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Dave Sisk
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Hey Stu:
Really? The older SYB-3 actually tracked better? Do either of these Boss pedals do any tone-sucking while bypassed?
I've heard good things about the Deep Impact's sound, but also some pretty bad things about it's longevity and reliability.
Dave
Edited by Dave Sisk (07/30/07 07:46 AM)
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#1788704 - 07/30/07 07:49 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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music-man
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Emma Electronics Discombobulator.
Willie has one too - and I think he posted some clips at one point. It's clean, it's solid, and it doesn't eat your tone.
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#1788710 - 07/30/07 07:56 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: music-man]
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jeremy c
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Emma Electronics Discombobulator.
Willie has one too - and I think he posted some clips at one point. It's clean, it's solid, and it doesn't eat your tone.
Second the motion.
This thing quacks up a storm.
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#1788728 - 07/30/07 08:14 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: jeremy c]
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_Sweet Willie_
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The Disnortion is an overdrive/fuzz/octava. It makes dirty sounds, and then makes them even dirtier. It's not a quacker effect. It kicks arse into an envelope filter, creating the fuzzy side of a fuzzy quack.
Pigtronix makes a phase/filter pedal. It's supposedly rather bad-azz, but I have no personal experience with it. I think that's the OFO.
Like music-man, I have an EMMA DiscumBOBulator. It brings the quack and then some. The EBS BassIQ does this, too. My BOB took a mini-tour out west and visited with Jeremy and Bumpcity, so they can comment, too. There's a thread somewhere that I started soon after I got BOB, and it does indeed have a soundclip link somewhere. Bill Leigh also reviewed BOB in a past issue of BP mag (maybe two summers ago?).
Peace.
--SW
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#1788750 - 07/30/07 09:09 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: _Sweet Willie_]
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Dave Sisk
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Thx SW. Oh, so there's no quack from the Octava on the Disnortion? So, that clip called Booty must be the Disnortion plus Pigtronix EP-1 or something then?
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1788752 - 07/30/07 09:18 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Dave Sisk
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Digitech has a bass synth pedal too...much cheaper than the Boss, but I think I've heard stories of it not tracking particularly well either. The sounds aren't bad...here's a URL:
http://www.digitech.com/products/xseriesflash/BassSynth.html
I should be able to find the Boss and the Digitech locally at Sam Ash...may try to give these two a whirl today...
Dave
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1788820 - 07/30/07 12:44 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Stuart Clayton
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Dave,
The Digitech Bass Synth Wah is the worst synth pedal I've ever heard. It's got a mean octaver on it though.
Stu
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#1788854 - 07/30/07 01:50 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Stuart Clayton]
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C. Alexander C.
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If you want quack or squelch I'd avoid synth pedals and look solely at envelope filters. The EBS BassIQ is good though what I've heard of the DiscomBOBulater is even better. The Maxon looks a good choice too.
IMO the fewer the number of controls the more likely you are to get a good sound with an envelope filter. Your playing has such a huge effect on how the pedal responds that too much switchery and tweakery is a distraction.
Alex
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#1788860 - 07/30/07 01:58 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Stuart Clayton]
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Dave Sisk
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Dave,
The Digitech Bass Synth Wah is the worst synth pedal I've ever heard. It's got a mean octaver on it though.
Stu
Hey Stu...worst in what sense? Tracking?
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1789424 - 07/31/07 02:02 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Dave Sisk
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So, I played one of the Digitech Bass Synth/Wah pedals in Sam Ash this afternoon...it wasn't as bad as I expected based on everything I read. Maybe 2-3 of the 7 or so different "voices" seemed to track pretty well with my playing...the rest didn't track worth a darn, but I'm not sure I can hear using those particular voices anyway. The 2-3 with a strong "quack" or "drip" seemed to track OK. The octaver does sound pretty good, and seems to track adequately well. If I stumble across one of these dirt cheap it would probably be worth picking up...definitely wouldn't think about buying a new and paying full price though.
Surprisingly, they didn't have the Boss counterpart in stock...
Dave
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1790192 - 08/02/07 07:50 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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_Sweet Willie_
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Yo, 0-9, do you still have my BOB soundclip hosted on one of your sites? If so, would you be so kind as to re-post the link?
Peace.
--Dub $$
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#1790250 - 08/02/07 09:19 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: _Sweet Willie_]
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Dave Sisk
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Thanks SW...I searched for your prior post on BOB, but didn't get any hits.
Just for reference, Ibanez has an inexpensive bass synth pedal too...the SB7. Clips don't sound too bad, although I haven't listened on anything other than laptop speakers.
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/world/products/effects/page/sb7.html
Dave
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1836551 - 11/06/07 12:27 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Dave Sisk
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Hey folks:
I snagged one of the Ibanez SB-7 bass synth/autowah pedals off ebay for dirt cheap. It just came and I played through it for about 30 mins, and my first impression is pretty good, especially considering the price (< $40 used). I got some pretty good quacks out of it, and a few other pretty good synth sounds. It seems to track quite a bit better than the Digitech BassSynth pedal that I tried in a local store. Considering this is something I expect to rarely use, this *might* serve my needs well enough. I'll post additional details after I've tinkered with it a bit more.
Dave
Edited by Dave Sisk (11/06/07 12:28 PM)
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#1940661 - 05/11/08 11:28 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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Dave Sisk
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Figured I'd update this thread. I've used this Ibanez SB-7 bass synth/autowah pedal several times since I made the last post. Give the price and the infrequency with which I actually use it, this is a keeper. It tracks quite well. It takes some futzing to get some decent tones out of it, but there's at least a couple or so in there. It's not true-bypass, but I don't know how much tone-chopping it actually does because I have it in a mix-loop on my pedalboard (blended with my unaffected bass tone). Anyway, as far as cheap autowah/bass synth pedals go, I'd rate this better than the Digitech (and probably better than the Boss, which alledgedly doesn't track very well).
Cheers,
Dave
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- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1940672 - 05/11/08 12:02 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Dave Sisk]
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jeremy c
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If it's an envelope filter you are looking for, make sure you try all of these:
EBS Bass IQ
Emma Discombobulator
ElectroHarmonix Bassballs (the Russian one)
Xotic Bass Robotalk
Chunk Systems Agent 00-Funk Mark II
Mu-Tron III
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#1940785 - 05/11/08 05:17 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: jeremy c]
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Bumpcity
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If it's an envelope filter you are looking for, make sure you try all of these:
EBS Bass IQ
Emma Discombobulator
ElectroHarmonix Bassballs (the Russian one)
Xotic Bass Robotalk
Chunk Systems Agent 00-Funk Mark II
Mu-Tron III
All that and the Moog Moogerfooger MF-101 Low Pass Filter. I have the MF-101 and it rules hugely. When you throw a bit of overdrive on as well... watch out.
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#1940792 - 05/11/08 05:41 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: thebassdude]
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jeremy c
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I had one of those. It pales compared to the Mu-Tron III, but if it works for you, that's a good thing!
I've owned many envelope filters, I'm now down to three, having sold my Seamoon Funk Machine last year.
Edited by jeremy c (05/11/08 05:43 PM)
Edit Reason: lost count of my effects pedals
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#1940796 - 05/11/08 05:48 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: jeremy c]
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thebassdude
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The Q-tron was designed to sound like the mu-tron
(in the manual it tells you how to get the sound) and have more options
But hey it's all good
and funky especially when played on a Jazz bass with flats for the real old school flavour
Edited by thebassdude (05/11/08 05:49 PM)
Edit Reason: I can't type (type-o)
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#1940804 - 05/11/08 06:09 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: thebassdude]
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Dave Sisk
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Definitely some good stuff on the list. For me though, I might actually use a tone like this once every 2-3 months, so I'm perfectly pleased with an inexpensive autowah/bass synth pedal that 1) tracks well and 2) has a couple decent sounds in it. Having a $200-300 specialty pedal that I use once every few months would just drive me crazy (or make that, crazier!). I'm actually quite pleased with this Ibanez stompbox, so if you're after a dirt cheap one that's decent, this is the ticket.
Dave
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Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs.
- Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006
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#1941055 - 05/12/08 09:34 AM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: jeremy c]
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Tom Capasso
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... having sold my Seamoon Funk Machine last year.
Gasp !! A classic ancient pedal like that.... oh how could you let it go? 
(I know - just fork over the money)
Tom
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#1941739 - 05/13/08 04:52 PM
Re: Makin' it quack...Pigtronix Disnortion, Boss SYB-5, ?
[Re: Tom Capasso]
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jeremy c
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There are classic pedals that are collectible and then there are those that are collectible and will get used on gigs. Years ago I actually gave a Fender Blender pedal which I though made absolutely ghastly sounds. Now they've reissued it. What do I know?
Recently I bought another classic pedal: A Boss DC-3 Digital Space D pedal.
Now I'm looking for a Boss Slow Gear pedal.
And saving up for some modern pedals like the Zvex stuff or Death by Audio.
It's a disease and I don't want to be cured.
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