Subdecay M3000

The Subdecay M3000 is a synth pedal for guitar and bass, the successor to the M3¹. Subdecay describes it as a "70s style three oscillator synth with modern enhancements," with an analog low-pass filter based on the Korg MS-20, MOD1 LFO waveforms including Triangle, Sine, Pulse and Random with variable duty cycle, and MOD2, a three phase LFO that can create arpeggiator like effects¹.

Where the M3 was optimized for guitar, with bass working for some players but not the design focus, the M3000 is billed as a Guitar and Bass Synthesizer with faster, enhanced tracking for both instruments¹². Delicious Audio, writing about the M3's oscillator architecture that carries into this design, said the three digitally controlled oscillators deliver "super fat synth sounds that never go out of tune"³.

A 70s-style three-oscillator synth for guitar and bass

The M3000's oscillator library draws on the voicing ideas of 70s monophonic synthesizers. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry on the M3 sums up the concept: the pedal "brings the sounds of 70s monophonic synthesizers without the modular complications"⁴¹. The oscillator variations include settings that reach beyond the 70s, though. One M3 oscillator setting, H (Major Triad), is described by Subdecay as "more of an ode to 90s electronic music than the 70s," while setting J pairs two square waves with an upper-octave fifth, a voicing Subdecay notes was a common synthesizer approach to bell, chime and electric piano timbres⁵. Settings D, E and F, labeled "Basses," mix lower-frequency saw and PWM waves⁵.

For a player, that means the oscillator library covers both the fat monosynth leads and basses of the 70s and brighter, stacked-voice tones closer to 90s electronic music, all without patch cables or modular know-how⁴³⁵.

Modes and controls

The M3000 offers three operating modes: EZ mode, DEEP mode, and Preset mode¹.

EZ mode is the quick path: pick a starting point with SELECT, choose an oscillator variation with PARAM, and tweak with PARAM 2 and PARAM 3. DEEP mode opens up more options for players who want to dig into the filter, modulation and envelope settings in detail¹.

Filters and modulation

The M3000 pairs two filters, both modeled on the Korg MS-20:

• Analog low-pass filter: Subdecay describes it as "the rich, warm sweep of a true analog circuit, based on the revered MS-20"¹.
• Digital high-pass filter: Modeled on the MS-20's filter¹.

Two modulation sections shape those filters and the oscillators. MOD1 offers triangle, sine, pulse and random LFO waveforms with variable duty cycle, routable to the filters, pitch vibrato, or individual oscillator warp; Subdecay compares it to what you could do on an MS-20. MOD2 is a three-phase LFO, three LFOs running in sync that can be offset by phase, which Subdecay says can be used to create arpeggiator-like effects¹.

Presets and the MIDI editor

The pedal stores 11 savable presets, with 24 available via MIDI¹. The browser-based M3000 MIDI editor, which Subdecay says works in Chrome and Firefox and can be downloaded and run offline, adds deeper preset management⁶:

• Presets 0 through 23 are user presets; presets 23 through 127 load factory presets.
• Presets 11 through 23 can only be recalled using MIDI.
• The CAPTURE PRESET button prepares parameter data to be saved, timing out after 10 seconds; SAVE CAPTURED then writes it to the most recently selected preset.
• Each editor section has its own dropdown presets, useful for quick starting points.
• Each preset can have custom assigned controls, which only work when the pedal's edit switch is set to PRESETS.

Playing it from a MIDI keyboard

The M3000 can also serve as a standalone synthesizer. Subdecay says you can plug in a MIDI controller and use the M3000 as a traditional synthesizer; bypassing the pedal returns it to guitar input mode¹. The MIDI SYNTH button in the editor enables or disables the MIDI synthesizer, and when a MIDI controller is being used as the MIDI interface, Subdecay advises turning MIDI Thru off⁶.

Compared with the M3

The M3, released in 2019, remains listed on Subdecay's site¹. Subdecay's own buying guide says the M3 is optimized for tracking with guitar, and that while some users found success with bass, it was primarily designed with guitar in mind². The M3000 addresses that directly with enhanced and faster tracking for guitar and bass, and adds the preset and MIDI editing workflow described above¹. Players weighing other options in the same category can compare it with pedals like the Boss SY-200, the Meris Enzo, and the Source Audio C4 Synth.

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