MXR MB301 Bass Synth

It has been a long search but worth it in the end. Some time ago I purchased my first synth pedal which was a now discontinued Dirty Robot by Digitech. I had fun with it but obviously it was a pain to actually dial in decent settings that could be used for a pro stage performance. Since then I have come across many pieces of gear, but none of them convinced me enough. The closest I got to having my bass produce powerful and clean synth tones was with my HX Stomp which works miracles. But there was always this 'not quite there' feeling that has left me endlessly tweaking and sacrificing its capacity, so I was so excited when I saw the announcement by Ian Martin Allison in late June that he was working with Dunlop to create the ultimate compact synth pedal we all have been waiting for.

I placed an order almost instantly after seeing it available on Thomann, and I didn't mind having to wait for a few weeks. I just KNEW this was gonna be a game changer just by hearing the demos and that is exactly what you get - out of the box! There's a ton of options but somehow the built-in presets make you not wanna change a thing because of how good they all sound.

The tracking is great but also unforgiving, which means that you really have to adapt your playing style and think of your bass as more of a monophonic synthesizer in terms of precision and tone muting. Also, don't forget to set the tracking mode (4-5-6 string) to suit your instrument. Have fun!

This pedal is a dream, it’s everything Ian Martin Allison says and shows, and more. It’s so well thought out, they didn’t miss anything. Make sure you get the MXR tap tempo footswitch to scroll through the presets (holding the switch scrolls backwards too). The presets are perfect, worth the price of the pedal alone. And a power supply is included, which is great. There’s a 30 minute video tutorial by MXR on YouTube, make sure to watch it. Have fun!