Review: AKAI SB1 Deep Impact Bass Synth

Construction: 8/10: not bomb-proof, but plenty adequate for the stage.
Ease of use: 9/10: much tweaking is required, but tweaking is easy.
Sound: 10/10: as funky as you can imagine!
Overall: 10/10: extremely well thought out..

When I got my hands on a Boss Bass Synth pedal, I fell hard for the raw, pure tones of genuine analog synthesizer bass. For certain songs, there’s just nothing like it. The Boss pedal was the keystone of my effects setup, but I struggled with some of it’s limitations. Because it had no input or output level controls, it could wreak havoc on my signal level with some basses. Also, it wasn’t really practical to crouch down and change highly-sensitive settings with those tiny knobs. Onstage, the Boss was pretty much a one-trick pony.

Enter the Akai SB1 “Deep Impact” pedal. The concept is similar, but the designers seem to have telepathically read my concerns about the Boss pedal and addressed them with this unit.

First of all, there’s the input and output level knobs. This is a great help on a unit like this! Unlike the Boss, the Akai works well with a wide range of bass signals. Input LEDs help find the ideal level for triggering, then the output is easily adjusted to match the bypassed signal level.

Speaking of bypass, the Akai features “true bypass”, which means that if the power supply is interrupted, your signal still gets through. After having a crucial performance spoiled by a dying battery, I’m always happy to see that. The Akai comes supplied with an AC adaptor; there is no battery compartment (to which I say: good riddance!). The power supply is the 9V DC tip-negative type, compatible with most Boss and Ibanez pedals.

The biggest advantage with the Akai is that it’s programmable. There are 9 different programs you can edit and tweak to your taste, then recall onstage. There is no “save” button; the settings are memorized as you make them. The Akai has a few more parameters than the Boss. They are:

The other settings add higher octaves, lower octaves and even fifths, sometimes all at once. These settings are good for goofing around at home, not so good for laying down bass. Manual control over the number and tuning of oscillators would be incredibly cool, but the few good presets still go a long way. Tweaking with the resonance, dynamics, attack and decay yields a good variety of sounds.

Speaking of sounds, the Akai “Deep Impact” is highly addictive. The synth sounds are so clean, with such a phat envelope attack, I found it painful to hear my bass in bypass mode. With a slower attack, the “Dark Bubble” mode has a wonderful vowell-like quality. With the input level set properly, the pedal tracks flawlessly all the way down to the low B. It even captures double-stops, when played very carefully.

The Akai sounds subtly different than the Boss. It’s darker, cleaner, more refined. It also actually responds to the dynamics of your playing, which is something the Boss doesn’t do. (You can maximize or minimize this with the “dynamics” parameter.) With both units, careful tweaking of sounds and levels is necessary to be potent, onstage. Once you get it right, though... watch out!

The Akai feels well-built, with a robust metal body. The metal bottom feels a little thinner, but it should hold up just fine unless you plan on putting your pedal in a hydraulic press. The large knobs feel very firm and inspire a lot of confidence. This unit is definitely worthy of stage floor use.

With the solid construction, good tracking, clean sound, easy programmability and reasonable price, the Akai should be an irresistible package for anyone wanting to add synth bass sounds to their tonal arsenal.