Bass Pedalboard Tour: Synthy Sounds

You know when you build a big expensive well-planned pedalboard for a specific project, and then… the project fizzles?
You probably don’t. But I do! This video is a tribute to this board I really like, that didn’t get to do very many gigs. Grab a beverage and come hang with me while I make some weird sounds.
Pedals on the board are:
Cog T16 x2
Iron Ether Subterranea
Digitech Whammy Ricochet
IE Frantabit
Chase Bliss Brothers
IE Xerograph Deluxe x2
MXR Analog Chorus
TC Flashback II
DOD Rubberneck
TC Hall of Fame II
Chase Bliss Gravitas
Red Panda Tensor
TC Spectracomp
TC Polytune 3
Source Audio Reflex
CIOKS DC10 Link (power)
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[@inkrebel1136]

That was a whole bunch of sounds that I never knew I wanted to make. Saving this for later when I can justify buying more pedals..

[@MrTheWimmer]

That tape stop on the flashback triggered my GAS! Edit: Just ordered one.

[@ampthebassplayer]

Tuner at the end gang! People give me such a hard time for it, but I love it.

[@henrychinaski2890]

Right on time for friday morning breakfast! Thank you Josh.

[@garrybayford5734]

I don't know why your band split up but I want to hear what they were playing based on that pedal board alone.

[@ampthebassplayer]

Same! I'd love to hear what kind of crazy music he was making with this incredible board.

[@JeffSmithbureau13]

Came here to say this exact thing. C'mon Josh time to get the band back together or at least let us hear some tunes!

[@BillOnBass]

Incredibly informative and very creative. You’re a very talented young man and I enjoyed this video. For me, an old guy who still sees an electric can opener as high tech, I just got a C4. For me it’s just far easier to use one of the 3000 presets, then tweak or create my own sound with the Neuro app. While I was touring with The Miracles I didn’t need too many effects but now I’m finding just a ton of uses for synth type sounds for studio sessions and live playing. Definitely worth the time as a bassist to get into this a bit.

[@BARTFUNKBASS]

Source Audio C4 Synth is a game changer in synth pedal category.

[@judih.8754]

I like the T16's and TC Flashback. Cool pedal board. I can tell you enjoyed this!!!

[@DolemiteSammich]

That is a beautiful peavey!

[@mtdawgy]

Thanks for sharing Josh!

[@neoLover23]

This is awesome - please make a follow up

[@TheLordcasio]

I have the Reflex...it's like the MOOG MP-201. Both are discontinued, both are rather expensive on the used market. I think the functionality was too ahead of its time. Source Audio should reprise it. To build upon your "make it sound like a synth" analogy, this is your LFO and Mod Matrix....for anything that accepts MIDI or CV. Great video.

[@ObviouslyNotItalian]

There's a lot of really amazing tones in there, I'm kinda sad that we are never going to hear the project this was made for. Would you consider doing an improvisation video with this setup before dismantling it? It's been a while since you made one and I really enjoy those:) Also, how do you plan a pedalboard like that? Starting from scratch, what is the mental process you go through to build these kind of sounds? Do you toy around with pedals you already own and see what comes out and expand from there? Or do you have a clear tone in your mind that you try your best to achieve? How do you choose what pedals to try/buy? It's a very interesting topic that very few people talk about!

[@joshfossgreen]

Yeah, it really depends on the project. The music dictated the palette of sounds I needed pretty clearly for this project (it was all prewritten by the bandleader), so I just worked with the pedals I had to start with and then accumulated more to fill in the gaps.

[@KaltOhm]

Wow, this was fun!

[@JasonFilippou]

Well, I'm broke now. Thanks Josh!

[@joshfossgreen]

:P

[@bajoypedales8992]

I know that im not the only one who has a lot of synths and filters in a bass pedalboard ,,,, those octaves are amazing and Iron ether and chase bliss are the future orf the pedals ....

[@wayneanderson2866]

Josh you are destroying my weekend....😜😂.... gotta get out my Markbass super synth now to keep me from buying more gear🤯👊🏼

[@Ishkybibble]

I should have headed the warning…GAS GAS GAS!

[@rodrigovazquez1292]

Thanks a lot, Josh! Now I want more pedals 🙄 (Great video! I really enjoy both channels)

[@duard8652]

Nice tip on Filter. I had a lot of trouble setting up my SA Manta, but I always tried to dial it with dry signal. I will try drives, since I have them before in chain already.

[@deafprof]

Good video Josh. I could talk pedals all day too! :D

[@joshfossgreen]

Hard to stop once you start. :)

[@thirtyinthebin]

Why didn't I know that you have a Josh channel not just BassBuzz? Hah. Sacré bleu.

[@diegom3339]

Awsome sounds and awsome pedals. I love synthy basses but in my band i don't have much chances to use them 😢

[@SeSalauyou]

It’s so inspiring. Thanks! Can you tell about differences in tracking (holdings low notes and open strings) between t16 and oc2?

[@firstbass45]

Awesome stuff! ... You need a Source Audio C4 on that board.

[@joshfossgreen]

Still need to try one of those! I was avoiding actual "synth" pedals for this board cuz I wanted to build the sounds myself, but I could probably haul a less gear if I surrended and put a C4 and an H9 on the board. :P

[@michaelanthony9068]

Great point about the end-of-chain compressor, what about another compressor at the beginning of chain?

[@snfak5974]

I'm super late to the party, but great vid! Could you share your spectracomp settings?

[@Jojo270573]

Anyone knows how to get a fast Moog-Synth bass sound like on the original Ain't nobody by Chaka Khan?

[@thedulaneygamingchannel3568]

This was a great video I would love to see something like a sound-like video just sayin.

[@bodymovin-calisthenics]

Hi Josh, Great video. Cool pedalboard. Just one question. Is your compressor always on at the end of this signal chain for these pedals?

[@KenanLeB]

Hey Josh, thanks for the amazing video, and that's a late comment I'm sorry. I would love to know what is the Tone Print you use with your Spectra Comp, I don't really understand compression so I'm having difficulties setting it up... I started using pedals to get that synth sound recently and your work has helped me a lot ! Wish you well.

[@bassclefconnoisseur]

In order to have GAS, one must first have MAS......... Money Acquisition Syndrome. 😕

[@rome8180]

Fortunately for me, you can't find most of these pedals anywhere.

[@michaelanthony9068]

I’m full of questions, but if I could ask just one… how is the expression pedal controlling functions on more than one effect? Thank you for this informative and inspiring video. I’m already subscribed and I love all your videos! Thank you! -- Oh, at end of the vid, you talk about OUTPUTS of the source audio pedal. Is that what connects to multiple fx?

[@tonytwotone8056]

I came to the comments looking for an answer to this. The Source Audio Reflex pedal has 3 expression outputs, so I assume you can link up to 3 pedals to it.

[@jamesmarkham7489]

I just built my first board. So far i have a tuner, compressor, preamp pedal, and looper. For a person who plays rock, jazz, and musical gigs. Is there anything you'd rec? The weird sounds aren't something i've ever had call for. But ever youtuber says you MUST have an octave pedal.

[@8Junio76]

The ricochet is a tone sucker for bass and also add a soft compression….and you can notice it with your tone, it is not ballsy,

[@mute_cebu_]

Great video! Only a little GAS. Is the "Low Cut" on the MXR Analog Chorus the same as the crossover on many bass chorus pedals (MXR, Boss CEB, EHX Bass Clone), just put to a knob?

[@bassmonk2920]

Where do get those big buttons to stomp on.....thanks

[@TheSchtrogull]

how do you connect 2 differents pedals on the same expression pedal !!? I need to know !!! 😢

[@miguelfernandes333]

Do you have the Low Pass filter into the overdrive or the overdrive into the low pass filter to excite the vowl sounds?

[@armandolopez8726]

Is that expression pedal control volume as well?

[@MrBasslust]

Love that! Nice toys ;-))

[@stevenbrennon9284]

Hey Josh fine job on the pedal board I am a beginner bass guitar player what would be the best pedal s to start out with ?I do country and gospel songs write my own music I do play the guitar too reason I switched to the bass guitar was I thought it would make me a better guitar player I do o have songs on KZbin check them out .let me know what you think so keep up the fine work will look forward to hearing from you have a great week and take care.

[@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer]

Any idea what's going on with Iron Ether? Are they making pedals any more? Their site is up but nothing available and no updates. Same story with Cog when I searched their T16 and the R65. Any info or anyone who has suggestions for alternatives would be much appreciated. Looking for something that can do what the T16, Subterranea/Dubteranea and Xerograph do.

[@DIDHEJUST]

20:18

[@cubeinside]

Do you think the Spectracomp can be used in place of a high pass filter? I'm concerned about blowing speakers from using octave and fuzz effects. I've been reading that a hpf could be very useful for that and other things. I already have the Spectracomp and there's not much more room on my board.

[@8Junio76]

The hpf in the compressor is only affecting the compression trigger and not filtering the signal.

[@cubeinside]

@@8Junio76 Thanks! I'm not really sure what that means but I ended up just getting an always on HPF and put it under the board. Now the question is, where to put it in the chain and to what frequency should I set it? I've personally found the toneprint editor to be quite cumbersome and frustrating with all the parameters and what not. I still am using the spectracomp default toneprint with auto gain makeup turned off. Turn it to 9: 00, seems to make me louder; but honestly I don't know if it helps my sound or not.

[@simonperry8569]

Holy shit, you need a degree from NASA to work that thing. Seems like overkill.

[@sandyoeznur8124]

2 xeros on a board... I can't get my hands on ONE for over a year xD But wait.. is it really digital? I bet many people including me didn't know.

[@joshfossgreen]

Hey Sandy, yep, it's a DSP pedal, I emailed with Taylor from IE a while back to confirm because I couldn't tell from the page. Here's his email FWIW: "Hey Josh, the XD is DSP-based, actually. When I was designing the original, I tried a lot of different approaches to get the sound I was after, and landed on this design because I could get all the filter stages in perfect tune with each other across the full frequency range. This has a lot to do with the characteristic sound of the Xerograph rolling through and accentuating specific harmonics, and it's something that isn't really possible/practical in an analog filter. It also allows for some "special sauce" processing that keeps resonant peaks from getting to speaker-damaging levels but without losing bass - another shortcoming of many analog filters when increasing resonance. The frequency range is from about 30 Hz to 6kHz."

[@sandyoeznur8124]

@@joshfossgreen Thanks for the mail! That's some useful information for me!

[@silkyb9869]

You rich

[@willmurph6691]

comment

[@DeltaLimaBR]

Nah...

[@switchbladeporter]

it was prob Nerve