Electro-Harmonix Bass Mono Synth User Manual

WARNING: Your Bass Mono Synth comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-

200BI power supply (same as used by Boss® & Ibanez®: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The Bass
Mono Synth requires 125mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. Using the wrong
adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage your Bass Mono Synth and void
the warranty.

BASS MONO SYNTH

Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix Bass Mono Synth. The
Bass Mono Synth allows you to transform your bass guitar into one of eleven
different synthesizers, from vintage synth emulations, to thick stacked voices, to
deep pulsing sounds for an array of sonic landscapes and textures. The Bass Mono
Synth was designed to work on your bass guitar without any modifications or
special pickups. Plug in your bass and immediately join the synth race!

GETTING STARTED

Connect the supplied power adapter to the 9V power jack. Plug your instrument
into the INPUT jack. Connect your amp or other effects pedals to the SYNTH
OUTPUT jack. Set the DRY knob to minimum (fully counterclockwise) and set the
other top row knobs to 12 o’clock. Select a TYPE and step on the BYPASS
footswitch to turn on the LED. Play your bass and adjust controls to your liking.

ONE NOTE AT A TIME

The Bass Mono Synth is a multi-oscillator monophonic instrument. It synthesizes
one note at a time per oscillator. The oscillators have been pre-tuned for each
synth type—only the synth type SPECTRE allows for user control over an oscillator.
Additionally it can handle only one note from your bass at a time. It does not work
properly when chords or two note intervals are played. The Bass Mono Synth
behaves unpredictably and erratically when it receives more than one note at the
INPUT jack.

1. LASER – deep, pulsating synth.

2. X-FADE – multi VCO synth with some dry signal added to the filter sweep.

SYNTH TYPE DESCRIPTIONS

CTRL: this knob adjusts the attack and decay times of the filter envelope.

As CTRL is turned clockwise both the attack and decay times slow down.
EXP: the expression pedal controls the cutoff frequency of the filter and
sets the jump-off frequency for the envelope sweep. As the pedal travels
from heel to toe the filter frequency goes from bass to treble.

SENS: sets filter sweep envelope follower depth and synth volume.
CTRL: adjusts the decay time of the filter envelope.

EXP: controls the cutoff frequency of the filter and the base of the filter

envelope sweep.

3. ACID – fast decaying synth reminiscent of the TB-303.

SENS: higher settings make for wider filter sweeps.
CTRL: adjusts both filter resonance and sweep depth of the filter

envelope. As CTRL is turned clockwise, both resonance and filter
envelope frequency range increase.
EXP: the expression pedal controls the filter envelope’s decay time, which
is triggered by pick attacks. Decay time increases as the pedal is swept
from heel to toe.

4. COSMIC – bright and aggressive synth with subtle pitch modulation.

CTRL: sets the decay time of the filter envelope.
EXP: controls pitch modulation depth.

5. SUB – round sub-octave synth for adding low end.

CTRL: controls the volume of the sub-octave oscillator.
EXP: controls the cutoff frequency of the filter.

6. GROWL – percussive, punchy synth.

SENS: adjusts filter sweep depth.
CTRL: sets the decay time of the filter envelope.
EXP: controls the filter envelope’s sweep depth or frequency range.

7. WUB – pulsating synth with a modulating filter.

CTRL: sets the speed of modulation.
EXP: controls the filter’s center frequency.

8. UNISON – the huge sound of stacking voices on a polyphonic synth

CTRL: sets the decay time of the filter envelope.
EXP: controls the cutoff frequency of the filter and the base of the filter

envelope sweep.

9. TWIN – A throaty synth sound.

SENS: higher settings make for wider filter sweeps.
CTRL: adjusts the attack and decay times of the filter envelope.
EXP: controls the filter envelope’s sweep depth or frequency range.

10. SPECTRE – multi VCO synth with an added adjustable pitched note.

SENS: higher settings make for wider filter sweeps.
CTRL: adjusts the filter’s cutoff frequency.
EXP: controls the pitch of the added note in half-step increments. The
pitch ranges from -1 octave—at the heel—to + 4 octaves—at the toe.

11. OBLIVION – big, lush, warm synth tone with a warbling modulation effect.

CTRL: controls the rate of modulation.
EXP: controls the resonance of the filter.

CONTROLS AND I/O JACKS

DRY VOL Knob

The DRY VOL knob controls the volume of the untreated bass signal present at the
SYNTH OUTPUT jack.

SYNTH VOL Knob

The SYNTH VOL knob controls the overall volume of the synthesizer sound at the
SYNTH OUTPUT jack.

SENS Knob

The SENS knob (short for sensitivity) adjusts the gain of the input signal before
the signal hits the Bass Mono Synth’s (BMS) trigger block. The BMS trigger block
generates synth notes that match the pitch of your instrument and also resets all
envelope sweeps. It only triggers new notes when the input signal exceeds its
threshold. Lower settings of SENS will require louder notes to trigger the
synthesizer while higher settings of SENS might trigger new synth notes with every
note you play. The LED lights orange when the input signal to the synth engine
exceeds -4.6dB. Use the LED as an aid when adjusting the SENS knob. Setting the
SENS knob so the LED lights orange on your loudest notes is a good place to start.
Please note: the LED does not indicate when the input signal has triggered a new
note; it lights only to indicate the loudness of SENS. If some of your notes do not
trigger the synth, then turn up SENS. If you hear many false triggers or retriggers
without playing a new note then turn down SENS.

For all BMS synth types, the gain set by SENS also changes the synth volume over
a small range. For some synth types, SENS also adjusts the sweep range of the
filter’s envelope. Higher settings of SENS yield wider filter sweeps and typically
more volume. Check the SYNTH TYPE DESCRIPTIONS on the previous pages to
see which synth type filters are directly affected by the SENS knob.

CTRL Knob

This knob can be used to control a specific parameter for each synth type. See
the SYNTH TYPE DESCRIPTIONS on pages 1 and 2 to learn more.

INPUT Jack

Plug your instrument or the output of another effects pedal into this ¼” jack. See
Tips 1 & 2 on Page 7 for more on connecting your Bass Mono Synth.

DRY OUTPUT Jack

The DRY OUTPUT jack is hardwired to produce a buffered version of the signal
present at the INPUT jack. In either EFFECT or BYPASS mode, the dry signal is
always present at the DRY OUTPUT jack. The DRY knob does not change the
volume of the signal at the DRY output jack.

SYNTH OUTPUT Jack

The SYNTH OUTPUT jack produces the mix set by the DRY and SYNTH volume
controls. In BYPASS mode, SYNTH OUTPUT outputs the buffered bypass signal.