Best Synthesizer Pedals for Bass Reviews (Updated Nov 2024)
Bass synth pedals are a great way to add extra texture, tone, and even octaves to your bass sound. They can also be used for adding drums or other sounds to the mix. In this blog post, I’ll go over what types of pedals exist, how they work, and which ones might fit your particular needs.
Best Synthesizer Pedals
Reviewed and Compared
| Picture | Name | My Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Source Audio C4 Synth Guitar Effect Pedal | Adjustable | Check Price |
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BOSS SY-1 Guitar Synthesizer Pedal | Easy to Set Up | Check Price |
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MXR M287 Sub Octave Bass Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal | Value for Money | Check Price |
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VALETON EP-2 Passive Volume & Expression Guitar Bass Keyboard Synth Synthesizer Workstation EXP Pedal | Perfect | Check Price |
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Fender Downtown Express Electric Bass Guitar Multi-Effect Pedal | Multiple Effects | Check Price |
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Electro Harmonix Bass Mono Synth Effects Pedal | Classic Sounds | Check Price |
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Zoom B1X FOUR Bass Guitar Multi-Effects Processor with Expression Pedal | Classic Sounds | Check Price |
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MOOER E7 Polyphonic Guitar Synth Effects Pedal | 7 LED Indicators | Check Price |
1 - Source Audio C4 Synth Guitar Effect Pedal
- It makes some great gear
- It has become a staple in people's rigs
- The synth sound is adjustable
- It helps make it sound like an acoustic instrument or a string orchestra after tweaking some settings
- The volume knob can adjust the volume level of individual notes and chords on a single-coil setting, making it easy to mix on stage with other musicians
- It uses batteries
- Pedals can become clogged when stomping on it with one's foot for extended periods, also known as floor-pedaling or "stomping," due to debris in the pedal pressing against the membrane inside
- It isn't easy to connect
Source Audio C4 Synth Guitar Effect Pedal is a MIDI bass synth pedal. The pedal can use dry signals, wet signals created by the pedal, or external control sources. External control includes FX-1 Expression Pedal/Foot Controller for use with auxiliary footswitch input on the Trochord II RS MIDI Bass Synthesizer.
Bass pedals reproduce various bass sound effects electronically by using an amplifier and speakers. These bass pedals are very popular among electric guitarists and some keyboard players during live performances. They are used to provide low-frequency sounds to fill in their full sound spectrum, which keyboards or guitars themselves cannot obtain without the help of these tools.
2 - BOSS SY-1 Guitar Synthesizer Pedal
- It can generate a wide variety of guitar sounds
- It has a built-in octave effect that you can use to turn your bass into a synth or other sounds usually played by a guitar
- It has a variety of analog-style synth sounds
- It fits high speed and complex chords
- Easy to set up
- Difficulty in achieving fluid, fast finger movements
- There is too much latency
- Setting are too dark
The Boss SY1 synth pedal lets you transform your guitar into a complex bass synthesizer capable of generating over 300 tonal and rhythmic effects. It's excellent for creating electro basslines, futuristic soundscapes, and anything in-between. The pedal features both musical instruments' input/output connections on the right side of monoaural 1/4" TS jacks. In contrast, effects output connections on the left side are stereo quarter-inch TRS jack inputs.
3 - MXR M287 Sub Octave Bass Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal
- It has a high-pass filter that lets you dial in the pedal to one of two sub octaves
- You can also turn off your bass or guitar's volume and use it as a synth, adding the lines you like over the bassline instead of hearing chords
- It reproduces frequencies below middle C (C4)
- It has fuzz and octave control
- Value for money
- The MXR M287 Sub Octave Bass Fuzz Guitar Pedal is not technically an effect pedal because it doesn't modify any frequencies
- Its lights are too bright
- It does not sit flat due to the battery cover
MXR’s M87 Bass Distortion & Fuzz Pedal will add a new dimension to your bass playing, with effects that guitarists love. Create the fat string sound on basic chords, dig deep into your tone with quality distortion and fuzz effects, and get plenty of sustain from the octave effect.
MXR M87 Bass Distortion & Fuzz Pedal has a proven 5-band EQ plus a bright blue status LED, which lets you know when it’s powered up. It also features an onboard three-position gain switch which you can use to tame some of its drives while still retaining some fuzziness for that signature MXR tone.
4 - VALETON EP-2 Passive Volume & Expression Guitar Bass Keyboard Synth Synthesizer Workstation EXP Pedal
- The EP-2 cuts through the mix like a knife, giving your playing plenty of definition - an often overlooked quality in bass guitar performance
- Active volume pedals work pretty well
- Ideal for any player who needs to tune their rig without missing any of the nuances in performance they've worked so long to create
- It also features an expression pedal input that acts as a MIDI controller
- Its size is perfect
- Expensive
- Terrible transition sweep
- It does not have a gradual volume increase
The VALETON EP-2 guitar bass keyboard synth is a low-cost pedal format mass production product for all musicians. Built-in sound synthesizer with four-note polyphonic precision generates the sounds on the fly. Connect lots of pedals to your guitar or other instruments and make new sounds on the easel! All you need is some imagination.
It's not only for guitar players but also owners of drums, keyboards, etc. Stompbox on steroids meets multi-playback. The EP-2 provides up to three different ways to finely tune your output thanks to MIDI, CV/gate inputs as well as its internal tuner. A bit like owning three instruments in one box!
5 - Fender Downtown Express Electric Bass Guitar Multi-Effect Pedal
- It provides a surprisingly wide variety of synth sounds that can take any bass player from playing "root notes" and into a new, concrete world
- It has led-illuminated knobs
- It has multiple effects
- It has a direct output
- It has an Order toggle switch
- Higher volume levels produce undesirable noise
- It is heavy
- It does not have a tuner
The Fender Downtown Express Electric Bass Guitar Multi-Effect Pedal is a bass synth stompbox. It's designed to help you create your signature tones and effects with its 9-band graphic EQ, single sweepable mid-frequency, overdrive circuit and distortion circuit, independent controls for input gain and output level, and more.
This pedal was designed to help you go from vintage 70s tones to thick 80s funk to modern EDM using the tone-shaping capabilities built right into it. If you're looking for something that can easily give you the high end of a fuzz bass sound combined with the low end of a synth sound all rolled up in one package, this is it!
6 - Electro Harmonix Bass Mono Synth Effects Pedal
- It creates the sound of an old mono synth bass machine
- It completely recreates five classic sounds all in one box
- The design is based on our popular POG2, which has added an octave down/up button for complete bass control
- This pedal also expands on what made that pedal so good by including REV1 (a vintage filter with 12dB low-pass and 24dB high-pass settings)
- It is easy to use
- Its effects only apply to one signal
- Other bass synth pedals have more features
- It does not give you new creative options like other pedals do, though, because it's single-track based
Electro Harmonix Bass Mono Synth Effects Pedal. This pedal works by shifting the sound of a bass to a synthesized sound of electric bass from the 80s - reminiscent of bands like The Cars, Missing Persons, and Duran Duran.
Electro Harmonix Bass Mono Synth Effects Pedal is for synth guitarists that crave a vintage bass tone on their instrument. Thanks to this compact pedal, it's possible to achieve significant, deep riffs without giving up your guitar's natural tone! Emerge with musical signature identity through this fashionable accessory's all-black design and sleek black simplicity.
7 - Zoom B1X FOUR Bass Guitar Multi-Effects Processor with Expression Pedal
- An SD card electronically controls it
- It has a bass synth pedal function for creating your bass sound using "virtual" pedals
- It has distortion and volume pedal functionality
- It allows you to simulate real-life effects such as chorus and flanger that traditional pedals cannot replicate
- The LEDs on the front panel will show what type of effect you're putting on your sound - even if it's just a basic volume increase
- There is no way to bypass the effect and use the amp straight
- There is no off switch
- Quickly drains battery when wires are attached to it even when not in use
The Zoom B1X has various effects but is well-known for its bass synth pedal function. There are more variations on the sound of this synth type than any other guitar amp effect. This is because it pays homage to one of the most popular sounds ever-the humbucker bass guitar tone.
The Zoom's supple range encompasses all types, including Hip Hop, Pop, R&B, and EDM tones, without adding too much low-end clog. What makes it so powerful, though, is its wide range of tones that resemble everything from Roland TB-303 acid trips to faithfully recreated classic downbeat - that's intelligent compression with plenty of diffusions!
8 - MOOER E7 Polyphonic Guitar Synth Effects Pedal
- It can generate bass, electric guitar, and lead synth sound all at once
- The richness of the classic Roland synth effect-pedal, but with all analog dry out
- It synthesizes tones when you strum, eliminating the need for a guitarist to use their fingers to produce an accompaniment sound
- It has 7 LED indicators
- It is a lot of fun to use
- It is not a bass synth pedals
- It has a limited setting for bass
- You don't have access to any other instruments' sounds unless they are already present on your instrument
The MOOER Poly E7 features organic pedal effects such as distortion, envelope follower, overdrive, fuzz, low boost, and flange available from the expression control knobs on top of the unit. You can add an expression or sustain pedals to introduce these effects in real-time by pressing the footswitch assigned to them while playing.
This is a bass synth pedal since it does not have any ability to interface with external MIDI controllers. Like other pedals in this category, this product may be limited when put into use within a band setting due to the lack of versatility these products provide beyond boosting volume levels.
If you're interested in learning more about the different types of bass synth pedals, please leave a comment below. We'll do our best to answer any questions or concerns that arise!