The Daft Punk Pedal

The Digitech Bass Synth Wah is a curious artifact from the early 2000's. They've long since been discontinued, but they've remained popular with fans of Muse, Buckethead, and of course, Daft Punk.
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[@FooVines]

Can you please do more gear roast videos like the t-bird, o-bass or this one. you have such a great sense of humor and i would need to make sure i am not eating or drinking while watching to keep my surroundings safe... xD

[@ampthebassplayer]

I would love to, but I don’t think any companies are brave enough to send me gear anymore, and I don’t have enough money to buy stuff myself at the moment.

[@AdamNeely]

1:18 nice i've had the digitech bass synth wah for the past 12 years, and that #7 setting is still my favorite 8ver, if you turn off the pew pew.

[@ampthebassplayer]

For a long time, this was my dedicated octaver and is still the best tracking one I’ve ever used.

[@citizenbxtr883]

Bass.... sorry Adam, it's compulsory or the meme gods will smite me

[@citizenbxtr883]

I do have a soft spot for this pedal. A mainstay on my board for years in combo with other weirdness

[@RCAvhstape]

Same.

[@HerbieBancock]

It's great to learn how all that music I never listened to was made.

[@EricRShelton]

Dammit. Now this pedal’s gonna get the Bad Monkey treatment.

[@Pedalbored]

I hope so I got like six of them

[@2wdr5]

Dude it's 150 up it pretty much all ready got the bad monkey treatment

[@zpacula]

Wait? Human After All was seen as a bad album? Good thing I kept away from the social media back then.

[@5roundsrapid263]

Social media wasn’t really a thing yet. I think it was just MySpace then.

[@zpacula]

There was myspace, there was grono and nk. I think even early, stupidly useless (compared to the others) facebook was already there. My friends were really impressed by the picture tagging, but that was it.

[@timothynelsonmusic]

It was under appreciated at first and I think part of Alive 2007 was them going out on the road to prove people wrong.

[@TheZynMan]

​@@timothynelsonmusic Alive 2007 was the best. Got to see them on that tour. So awesome.

[@enginerdy]

It’s definitely a lot more minimalist and repetitive than their previous work. It has good hooks, but yeah, it’s not as good overall as the previous two albums. That’s what I thought at the time when I bought it.

[@VSPhotfries]

I guess I'm in the minority here, because I love this pedal. The lack of (terribly noticeable) latency and responsiveness is way better than other synth pedals I've used - guitar and bass alike. It sounds good too, at least depending on your rig and/or if you DI it (and if you know what you're doing mixing). It's not terribly versatile, but neither is a 303, but that's still used in thousands of tracks. I also like the sound of the envelope follower mode. It's not "classic" or "smooth" by any stretch, but that's sort of the point if you ask me, and I'll take character over expectation (most of the time, at least). Is it for everyone? Heck no. Can sound good when properly used? Yup. Is it fun? Hell yes!

[@RCAvhstape]

As a bonus, it also looks cool with that green finish.

[@Mecler]

There's a replacement rubber piece on the battery door (laying horizontally) so you can replace the rubber when it wears out. This way you don't need to add glue to the end

[@ampthebassplayer]

You got me all excited, but I just checked and I don’t seem to have that on mine. 😞

[@riddmkidd]

Does anyone know the length of that rubber piece? I, too, am missing it on another digitech pedal and would love to get it back in action.

[@backlogbuddies]

I know for digitech they're all the same length. I have a few of their pedals and you can pull out a good one and just measure that to replace the stopper

[@BassStuff]

Thanks for the shout out my friend 👋 I didn't knew the lore of this pedal before I got one. As a huge Daft Punk fan, my head exploded when I tried it 🤖

[@JoshZanders]

I've wondered for SO long what FX chain Daft Punk used for those bass tones... I would absolutely make use of this pedal, for exactly those kinds of tones.

[@Aeon_Replicant]

they modulate a moog filter with an audio osscillator and then put different type of envelopes on osc, filter and vca. But the pedal can do the trick.

[@nunyabusiness6691]

They just sample entire songs from bands nobody has ever heard of and slightly alter them. It's ok though cuz they give them credit in the liner notes

[@stephenmcgrathbass]

Dude I own two of these both picked up for 50 euro before it became a bit of a cult pedal. While it is very janky my god is it epic for that one part of a two hour gig where you get to use it.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

Dammit, I sold mine to Guitar Center for relatively cheap... don't do drugs, kids!

[@stephenmcgrathbass]

@@scramblesthedeathdealer they were on drugs when they cooked up this pedal

[@johncollins5552]

​@@stephenmcgrathbass they worked , kind of.

[@cody.meadows]

I've sold every pedal I've ever owned except this one. I literally only have this pedal. I call it the funk blaster.

[@Mentalocrity]

This was cool to watch! My first pedal I ever bought was the non bass Synth Wah and while I've never figured out a good use for it, it does remain a very cool pedal. Nice to have someone talk about the way they've used it.

[@slashvanyoung]

I love that thing… setting 6, control up, range downand added dirt after that for absolute subbass synth destruction ❤

[@ampthebassplayer]

I’ll have to give that a whirl!

[@TIMExBANDIT]

Hell yea man, the POG isn't the best octave pedal, but THAT'S the sound. It's so iconic. Sometimes 'better' isn't better.

[@Dreyno]

Digitech’s scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.

[@fredericgirard599]

Cool Donny Benét shirt you got there!😉

[@martinbjorck]

Everyone should listen to Donny Benét!

[@thecommondingus]

Got mine because of Daft Punk and Buckethead 🖤

[@viktorbjorkman5632]

Oh, cool! I bought one about 10 years ago and it usually lives in my closet because it's TOO funky.. But once every two years it comes out for about two weeks and I jam the hell out of it!

[@GaryRuschman]

I bought this years ago just so I could play "You Dropped a Bomb On Me". Did the trick.

[@chrismorris3897]

But will it Pew Pew?

[@t.j.meechan682]

Surely it djents.

[@codigoceropokemmo]

No but it *human human human human human human human after all*

[@rainbowslushy223]

Yeah it does pew pew

[@rainbowslushy223]

@@chrismorris3897 5mil second delay with with the synth wah on the synth 2 with control knob at 10/11 a clock and the range maxed out and you got starwars blaster sounds enjoy

[@DeirdreSM]

Thank you for reminding me why I have one of these!

[@Antonio_Ortiz]

You demonstrated the main effects in the first 2 minutes. Earned a sub.

[@donewithmodernlife]

I’ve had the guitar version for years. Running it into an Ibanez FZ7 or Z-Vex Fuzz Factory gives me the biggest, nastiest guitar synth sound ever. By itself on bass it’s garbage. On guitar into a fuzz it’s experimental awesomeness.

[@SonicProvocateur]

Ive had an FZ7 and this pedal for years and knew they were absolute secret weapons forever. Monster guitar tones.

[@rickdicoulus4728]

I got mine in a pawn shop, they charged me like 10 bucks for it and I love it.

[@ampthebassplayer]

What a steal!

[@malegria9641]

Btw if you guys wanna get a talking synth effect on anything, not just bass, all you have to do is add a lopass filter, no attack, medium delay, high resonance, and then add a bitcrusher.

[@apoplexiamusic]

I bought one in 08 or 09 and loved it. Such a unique sound

[@miggymystic]

I have one of these. Never used it to record ANYTHING, but it’s fun.

[@caley2000]

Nice Donny shirt. Oh and it's a good review too, love this pedal and setting 7.

[@Gulaschguenter]

I use this pedal live for over 10 years now. Sneak it in from time to time in some songs. The audience reaction is priceless. "Where did that come from?!" The volume increase is an issue live. Otherwise fun pedal. Never knew about the cap sim, gotta try that!

[@bari_tones]

Came here for the content, stayed for the Donny Benet shirt. And also the content.

[@ToneSherpa]

(plugs bass into amp with no ground) "Whatever happens.. happens."

[@thebreakfastmenu]

I'm so pleased to see that Donny has reached critical "youtuber wears his tee shirt" level of recognition.

[@jyriluostarinen8356]

I use this pedal with the effect driven to PA via DI box. Great way to make a "wall of sound" effect when you have fuzz and other effects coming from amp and synth coming from PA.

[@nojuanatall3281]

This is a badass pedal.

[@skoobie2962]

I have the guitar version and I love it. It has a sound that you can only get with that pedal.

[@agustinporatti9578]

name of the pedal?

[@skoobie2962]

@@agustinporatti9578 Digitech Synth Wah Envelope Filter

[@DeusExNihilum]

Human After All was such a fantastic concept album but I can agree that after the masterpiece of Discovery it did seem like a rapid 180...until they incorporated these tracks into their live shows at which point all of them, too, became their own masterpieces

[@brentheathersimons7042]

Still a favorite of Glenn Hughes. Nice demo vid AMP thanks!

[@gwugluud]

I like that pedal myself. Having unusual effects available is nice. Although mine actually is not the bass version, but it does work fine on bass.

[@MadMagicPaul]

I have 3 of these. Amazing pedals.

[@HansyPants184]

That's commitment lol

[@5ch3nk]

I've always suspected they used something like this on Human After All. I got a Boss AW-3 around 18 years ago and on it there's a setting called "Humanizer." Thought it had to of been that or something along the lines.

[@MrMaclovin]

❤ the Donny Benét t-shirt

[@cookcraigfan20]

Mad respect for the donny shirt

[@itsgoldn931]

This is my favorite pedal! I got it for $40 at Guitar Center years ago. I’ve used that setting in metal bands in place of a octave pedal to add some low tune craziness to breakdowns!

[@rev.leonidasw.smiley6300]

Great broadcast!

[@jeremywhitsett1947]

Had this pedal given to me for free from another bass player that thought it was just too crazy for them. If you spend a little time dialing it in and use it behind your clean sound it's actually pretty smooth.

[@RCAvhstape]

It's cool for when you need a synth filter sweep like the beginning of Tom Saywer.

[@MichaelJ023]

This pedal take a bit of fiddling to get some great sounds. I usually use a compressor in front to level out the strange triggering of the envelope, plus just generally adjusting the envelopes to change as slowly as possible and reduce the depth. Then use the effected out through a fuzz to one amp (with a bit of chorus or phaser), then the dry out to another. It can sound amazing.

[@teddymilan]

for envelope filter 1, i can nail the cliff burton wah tone with sens at min and the other 2 at about 11oclock. add a fuzz and a little delay and bam

[@wbertie2604]

Having a dry and effected output is potentially useful in a live context IF the desk will accept two feeds and you don't have any other pedals. It allows the sound engineer to mix a balance between effected and clean as required and potentially on the fly to suit the venue. Unless you are playing bass in Daft Punk's live band it's unlikely any sound engineer is going to indulge you, though.

[@sonor72]

I always knew buckethead used this pedal, and i can’t believe it’s been years of knowing this pedal and having no idea it had the talking synth setting. LET ALONE THE FACT ITS ALL OVER MY FAV DAFT PUNK ALBUM. I can’t believe it.

[@johncollins5552]

Some great janky bassfaces I need to practice in the mirror, thanks for the inspiration.

[@NiskRanThawll]

I LOVE mine. it gets those gnarly les claypool synth tones super easy like "buzzards of green hill"

[@christravis8288]

I had the guitar version for years. It was great for recording, where you can really tweak and edit but live it was a nightmare. I seem to remember that different pickups would really make a difference too.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

This pedal I sold years ago...but re-purchased again before the prices went insane. Now I wont ever sell it. It's not a pedal I use everyday, but when I stomp on it, that pedal brings on the funk! Fun fact, it was also the bass sound on Nickelback's song " Too Bad" back in the day.

[@b0yl1x0]

Human After All on my point of view is the best Daft Punk album, with the best relation of the band with the concept of machines making music. I love it!

[@gwugluud]

I also have the “Dirty Robot” stomp, and one of the two modes it contains is actually this. I bet there are people who are very into synths, and yet they’ll hate something like this, because they’re “supposed” to. And last time I checked, rock & roll is kind of expected to be edgy, I mean…

[@kiezersosay49]

Napster was dope. 15-25 minutes(if you're lucky) and you got one song!

[@mikebreakwell3909]

The first pedal I bought was a Digitech digidelay from the same line as this thing. Looking back, these pedals had some features that were ahead of the times. The execution might not have been great, but the were some good pedals in the line up.

[@ampthebassplayer]

Completely agree! I would love to get my hands on some of the other pedals in this line because they are just so interesting.

[@FelixWheatfield]

Peter Gabriel reference SPOTTED

[@DevilAndSons]

I love this pedal. I had no idea they used it.

[@LukasHaydenOfficial]

I literally found one of these pedals on top of a trash can and found out why shortly after

[@ampthebassplayer]

😆

[@backlogbuddies]

Human after All was slammed when it came out? It was my intro to daft punk a few years after it came out and was one of my favorites. It's why i picked them up

[@podespault]

It's their best album imo ❤

[@Malum09]

I like the sound of HAA so I think this is cool

[@cmrdjn464]

I wish I had known this when they were cheap and everyone shit on them

[@Dwightpower88]

You can get a lot of these types of sounds with the boss bass multi effect pedal, forgot the model but it's currently available. I think it's 200 bucks new, but it has amp sims etc and an expression pedal

[@sierrawhiskey5144]

*adds another bass synth pedal to wish list.

[@DaveViner]

I've had the guitar version on my board for years. it's a weird pedal, but I will never remove it. Theres a couple of really cool sounds that i dont use often, but they're too cool to not have access to. I do wish it had a volume or blend control as its pretty fucking loud!!

[@madderbass]

Buckethead uses this exact same pedal. He uses the bass version on guitar.

[@ampthebassplayer]

I have heard that! Buckethead is awesome.

[@lobonapier]

You mentioned the rubber piece that pushes the bypass switch had worn down? If you look at the very top of the removable foot switch there's another piece of rubber mounted horizontally that you can use to replace the old one, You can see it in the video at 3.49

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

As someone who recently hyperfocused on this sound, this couldn't have come at a better time.

[@YMF1891]

"We have Boss at home" lmao

[@Omegasupreme1078]

If you put it in modes 2 or 7 and turn the sensitivity or range (forget which just now) all the way down, you get no filter sweep but a very strong, solid sub-octave. When the pedal first came out, a lot of people bought it for that because it was much better at tracking than the Boss OC-2 and a lot cheaper than the EBS (and there wasn't much else on the market at the time).

[@NEMESISISDEAD]

I had one of these and sold it i miss it

[@arlowolf1690]

So, my theory for the Digitech M.O. of putting amp sims in a lot of their pedals is that they were a company making affordable effects for broke losers, like myself, for a long time, and wanted to ensure you had an amp sim even if your board was only one, or two pedals. Just like Peavey basses, people realized there might be something to these affordable discontinued oddities, so the aftermarket prices have become exorbitant

[@GiovanniMinelli-i2f]

Humans after all is dance masterpiece!

[@erikavery1105]

My bass player uses the sheeeeiiiitt out of this pedal. He makes it go bbbbbhHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘😁

[@therobotFrom94]

I have a copy of this pedal! I uploaded a review of it, and a playthrough of Television Rules the Nation 11 years ago and it's one of only two videos from back then I still have

[@seahno9324]

A cover of Slothrust covering Ginuwine , nice.

[@dhauz___7855]

holy shit i've never been this early to any youtube video

[@whoguy4231]

Sounds good

[@HansyPants184]

I've got a synth mode on my 20 year old boss gt-8 and the tracking is no where near this good. It sounds good as a synth but gets overwhelmed and gives crazy artifacts without the tone knob turned down and anything faster than super clean whole notes.

[@stuartchapman5171]

Everything has a useful sound in it. It's a great way to get out of a creative. Grab a load of random gear, the stuff from the back of the drawer. Limit yourself to just using that gear, limitation, minimalism is key. Have fun, noodle try different patching, experiment with parallel patching (these twon out puts are great for that). Even if it yields nothing, or give you new ideas to try, you'll have a blast.

[@ampthebassplayer]

All good advice! Context is the key to making anything sound good!

[@Vinter2805]

I have this pedal and I love it! my main problem with it is the envelope filter, maybe I'm just dumb but I never found a setting that I enjoyed, even after mixing my clean signal with a ls-2

[@alanredversangel]

Totally didn't know (or forgot) about the cab sim. Also I love this pedal but honestly I struggle to use it on stage. Sometimes the levels are crazy and just in general it's not a sound you want to keep on for long.

[@floofthebassplayer]

Oh god, first it's B&W Ian now we have to have B&W AMP. What has the world come to! (great video btw lmao)

[@ampthebassplayer]

Gotta denote the trolls somehow!

[@tonycullotta8528]

You could do the Rush Tom Sawyer thing with this pedal or you can split your base signal run it into two bass amps and turn on the cab simulation

[@subtractivemusic]

Wow, I was expecting you to need to do a massive amount of post processing to get the sound of human after all, but no. This pedal is the entire album 😂

[@bentsound]

Bought one brand new long ago, not the bass version, used it at band practice w/ my bass, and the singer yelled at me!

[@gaboquintana3628]

Wow!:I want it, Wait, I have a Behringer BSY600 and kind of does the same.

[@halmycroft194]

I mean... I own this pedal and absolutely adore it, I thoroughly disagree that the envelope filters are bad or that it's particularly janky.

[@Eden_jasper]

5:17 honestly… i want this on a pedal to control at-will. I’ve been wanting to try out some crazier sounds; i really dig some of those out-there sounds (shoegazey or Modest Mouse type stuff). I’ve been toying around with getting a Bit Commander or maybe a voice sim pedal, but this seems honestly like a little bit of everything.

[@davidozab2753]

I miss my Synth Wah ( guitar version)

[@falconman407]

That was my first pedal.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

I used to own this pedal, but I sold it because I have OCD and it wasn't a Boss pedal. I'm looking at getting an old Boss SYB-3 now, as I'm going for a full Boss compact pedal collection.

[@sonojon0]

This was one of my first pedals. Loved it. Only used like 2 settings though 🤣

[@ampthebassplayer]

There’s a reason why Daft Punk only used setting 6.

[@matttorrence2900]

Sounds good to me.

[@VuotoPneumaNN]

OH YEAH THE PEDAL DAFT PUNK USED ON THE BASS ROBOT ROCK RIFF THAT THEY TOTALLY PLAYED THEMSELVES AND DID NOT SAMPLE FROM BREAKWATER

[@thasloyramos9278]

I've had this pedal for years and sold it for really cheap. Biggest regret I've ever had.

[@jeromevecina2810]

i see yamaha bb. i click subscribe.

[@LeahLangosta]

Sage words from a man who is clearly.... Experienced.