Synth9 vs M5/FM4 synths

[fldrvr]

I understand these are slightly different animals, but am interested in hearing the opinions of those that have experience with these monsters. Thoughts?

[echorec]

Strictly between this grouping, I would go with an M5. (best price, most total sounds)

I wasn't impressed by the Synth9. I do have a Mel9, though, which has less than 3 hours of desktop time, and no longer passes an affected signal (awesome, right?). I had a C9 before that and the tracking wasn't great---I liked 1-2 banks and not because they were accurate emulations, but because they sounded weird.

Personally, if you want filtered sounds for $200 or below, I'd be looking at the Source Audio Stingray. It has some nice sounds, which will blend smoothly with modulation and delay.

[rfurtkamp]

If you want filtered synth silliness, find an old Boss ME-6B.

Thank me later.

[fldrvr]

I guess I'm interested in whether the M5 csn cop the same kind of tones as thr s9. I'm also not super into env filter so being able to reduce/dial out is ideal for me. Thanks- me6b looks interesting

[Teej212]

I dont really love the synth tones on the m5....monophonic, not much control over the parameters. I am warming up to the boss SY300 however. its oscillators are harsh, theres a bit of menu diving, but overall its a pretty amazing pedal. Definitely the king of synth pedals....steep price tag though.

[echorec]

I just plugged in the M5 and the MS-70 for about an hour to reacquaint myself with the synth engines. As Teej said, the best synth tones on the M5 are monophonic, which is quite limiting. The poly banks are wahs/sequence filters. To answer your question, no the M5 can't mimic the Synth9.

With the MS-70, you could mix and match harmonizers, detuning, modulation, and filters to create synth-like tones. So if you wanted to experiment, then I guess I'd actually have to give the MS-70 the edge over the M5. I like the M5 as a fill-in tool, but not so much as a synth stand-in (it's got EQs, a poor man's Goatkeeper, and some cool reverbs, but is limited in synth territory).

The SY300 might be a better way to go, budget-permitting. Of course, the Hologram Infinite Jets would be something I'd also consider. It's somewhat difficult to really replicate the power and versatility of synths, unless you're going to get into multi-fx and rack gear. I've owned 3 EHX Micro Synths, and although fun, there's not much variety there. Then of course you've got a world of sub-octave drive units, which can mimic synth bass lines, but they're not going to give you Dave Smith/Waldorf in a box. Good luck.

[fldrvr]

Ok cool. Thanks for the input!

[ck3]

I wasn't impressed by the Synth9. I do have a Mel9, though, which has less than 3 hours of desktop time, and no longer passes an affected signal (awesome, right?).

Did you accidentally use the dry out instead of the effect out? The Mel9 is decidedly far from perfect. Mine sometimes doesn't boot properly when powering on and doesn't pass sound until power cycled a 2nd time. I have the same issue with my Synth9.

It has been a while since I owned an FM4, and I have no experience with the M9. I recall the Line6 synth emulations sounding fairly plastic and enjoy how EHX algorithms respond to playing nuances, though I agree the tracking can still be a bit wonky at times.

[echorec]

I wasn't impressed by the Synth9. I do have a Mel9, though, which has less than 3 hours of desktop time, and no longer passes an affected signal (awesome, right?).

Did you accidentally use the dry out instead of the effect out?

Nope. I unboxed it, plugged it in, and couldn't get any affected signal. I adjusted the pots with no luck. Then I switched out the cables, but still couldn't get any sound. Next I tried the dry out and was finally able to pass signal through the Mel9. I unplugged everything and tried it again later that day and still couldn't get any signal. The pedal has literally been sitting in a box for weeks---it's never been stepped on, dropped, shaken, or anything. Since I don't play shows, all my pedals are desktop pedals and because I have so much gear, 90% of my stuff is in boxes when not in usage (so no excess dust either). It went from working to non-working, while being idle in its box. So I'm quite peeved with EHX.

[ck3]

Major bummer, echorec. If it's still under warranty, EHX offers tech support ... though (as far as I could tell) their idea of repairing a nano Small Stone I recently sent back to them for noise issues was to simply insert a new battery, lightly tweak trimpots, and ship it back to me. I would hope they would be more thorough with one of their digital pedals.