If you could only choose one filter pedal

[burno70]

I recently bought a Solid Gold FX Funk Lite. It's really really good! Very quacky. It was either that or the Fwonk Beta but the demo for the Funk Lite sold it for me. Lots of easy to dial in funky tones. Highly recommended.

[CameronJ]

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1509541858' post='3399746']
I recently bought a Solid Gold FX Funk Lite. It's really really good! Very quacky. It was either that or the Fwonk Beta but the demo for the Funk Lite sold it for me. Lots of easy to dial in funky tones. Highly recommended.
[/quote]

Have to say the SolidGoldFX demos are great. Wouldn’t mind trying some of their stuff out.

[Al Krow]

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1509541858' post='3399746']
I recently bought a Solid Gold FX Funk Lite. It's really really good! Very quacky. It was either that or the Fwonk Beta but the demo for the Funk Lite sold it for me. Lots of easy to dial in funky tones. Highly recommended.
[/quote]

That's a great suggestion to try out, thank you. And I see it's got a nice touch of reverse sweep in its arsenal. Did you get yours directly from them or from a UK supplier?

I know the Mr Black Fwonk Beta is currently Cameron's goto filter and all has fallen before it in Cameron filter land! So be interesting to see how this stacks up on a head to head.

Btw - you moved your Ibby SR1300 on (seems to have disappeared from your footer)? I'm still totally enamoured with my SR1800 - can't believe what a great purchase this has been!

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1509548163' post='3399808']
Have to say the SolidGoldFX demos are great. Wouldn't mind trying some of their stuff out.
[/quote]

Tomorrow afternoon. Tottenham Court Rd if there's a store there that stocks it?

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='burno70' timestamp='1509541858' post='3399746']
I recently bought a Solid Gold FX Funk Lite. It's really really good! Very quacky. It was either that or the Fwonk Beta but the demo for the Funk Lite sold it for me. Lots of easy to dial in funky tones. Highly recommended.
[/quote]

Keep forgetting about that one. Sounds better then the full size version from the demo at least, and I recall SGFX confirming that the circuit was rather different and more than simply a cut down version of its bigger brother.

[CameronJ]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1509551233' post='3399845']
Tomorrow afternoon. Tottenham Court Rd if there's a store there that stocks it?
[/quote]

I’m not sure any shop in the UK stocks SolidGoldFX stuff certainly nowhere in London to my knowledge!

[GisserD]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1509558834' post='3399928']


I’m not sure any shop in the UK stocks SolidGoldFX stuff certainly nowhere in London to my knowledge!
[/quote]

Try coda music. I'm pretty sure they do

[Al Krow]

[quote name='GisserD' timestamp='1509573225' post='3400066']
Try coda music. I'm pretty sure they do
[/quote]

Good shout - indeed they do. They're[url="https://www.coda-music.com/solid-gold-fx-funk-lite-envelope-filter-sold-out-more-on-order.html"] selling them at £149[/url]

Speaking of £149 pedals(!) you were going to tell us all about your new Mad Professor Snow White - how are you getting on with it?

[CameronJ]

[quote name='GisserD' timestamp='1509573225' post='3400066']


Try coda music. I'm pretty sure they do
[/quote]

Amazing. Thanks for that!

[Quatschmacher]

The filter in this Glou Glou pedal is really cool. It’s not as resonant as some other filters I have or have tried (such as the Fwonkbeta and the Moogerfooger) but all the settings are useable without spikes (and it has a level control). The thing that’s exciting me the most are the highest three (of the eleven) discrete filter sweep speeds which make it sound really fuzzy and synthy. Cameron, I am pretty sure you’ll dig this a lot just for this bit.

A dry signal blend, expression pedal input and a loop would be welcome additions though. If they made the filter as a stand-alone unit I’d probably get that. The other side of the pedal is capable of some ridiculous sounds. The LFO can go into audible frequencies so can go all ring mod. When used as a straight vibrato or phaser it produces some lovely sounds. You can also use the envelope to trigger the phaser so get a kind of phase wah which is really sweet. Such a shame it’s €580. I’ve got it for two weeks so will see if I feel the need to sell a bunch of other pedals to get one. I’m looking forward to seeing what else this can do.

I’m really digging the sounds on the Future Impact but the fast note triggering issues are making it a less enjoyable experience than it could be. Maybe I should try with another bass and/or try a fret wrap or foam mute to see if that helps with cleaner articulation between notes.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Quatschmacher

[GisserD]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1509574636' post='3400080']


Good shout - indeed they do. They're[url="https://www.coda-music.com/solid-gold-fx-funk-lite-envelope-filter-sold-out-more-on-order.html"] selling them at £149[/url]

Speaking of £149 pedals(!) you were going to tell us all about your new Mad Professor Snow White - how are you getting on with it?
[/quote]

The short version is that it's the funkiest quackiest filter I ever played. I absolutely. Punchy attack that sounds fat and retains the quality of the signal somehow. love the sound of this thing when blended with some clean.
However, it's really sensitive on the controlls. Like really!! Especially the sensitivity. Really small movements make big differences to the sound. This makes it really hard to dial in. Especially if you move the nobs by accident by accident.
But even with that. I'm definatley keeping it.
If I find any time, I'll post a vid for you guys

Edited November 2, 2017 by GisserD

[GisserD]

On another note....Anybody tried the mxr M188 auto q??

[Hooch]

There's definitely a 'If you want me to stay' vibe to the snow white. It retains enough low-end to not disappear in the mix, and the tone pot is great. Sensitivity knob is tricky indeed, and the same goes for the pedal itself i guess. With passive fender like basses it's perfect but with hotter input, mine tends to slightly distort. Maybe it's only my pedal ?

[Al Krow]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]@Q: thanks for that feedback on the Glou Glou, Q, but as you say at around the £500 mark and the amount of real estate it's going to occupy on a pedal board, I suspect it's going to have limited take up.[/font][/color]

[quote name='GisserD' timestamp='1509604687' post='3400163']
The short version is that it's the funkiest quackiest filter I ever played. I absolutely. Punchy attack that sounds fat and retains the quality of the signal somehow. love the sound of this thing when blended with some clean.
[/quote]

That sounds good! Seems like there are three 'new kids on the block' Fwonk Beta, Mad Professor and [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Funk Lite who are challenging some of the more established envelope filter brands (MXR, Aggie FT, Emma etc)[/font][/color]

[b]Dry / clean blend[/b]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The ability to clean blend is [/font][/color]always[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] a positive additional feature to have in [i]any[/i] pedal IMHO but I note that is not an option on the, very expensive and otherwise feature laden, Glou Glou. In fact, other than the MXR, I'm not really aware of any of the envelope filters offering this?[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]@Gisser: you mentioned you were able to blend in some clean? But looking at the description of the Snowflake controls, it's not obvious to me how you are managing to do that? In particular, there is no explicit 'dry' on the Snowflake in the same way there is on the MXR:[/font][/color][list]
[*][size=3]SENSITIVITY: Sets the filter trigger level, tune this carefully to fit you /bass output and your playing touch. You can further change the sensitivity from your guitar volume knob while playing.[/size]
[*][size=3]BIAS: Controls the filter resonance frequency. When Sensitivity is turned fully off the Bias can be used as a sweepable filter.[/size]
[*][size=3]RESONANCE: Controls the sharpness or Q-factor of the filter.[/size]
[*][size=3]DECAY: Controls how fast the filter frequency falls back to resting point (that is set with the Bias control). This can be set fast (CW) so you get the wah effect on every note or slow for a more traditional auto wah sound.[/size]
[/list]

Edited November 2, 2017 by Al Krow

[GisserD]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1509613263' post='3400223']


[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]@Gisser: you mentioned you were able to blend in some clean? But looking at the description of the Snowflake controls, it's not obvious to me how you are managing to do that? In particular, there is no explicit 'dry' on the Snowflake in the same way there is on the MXR:[/font][/color]
[/quote]

I run a paralell dry loop for use with various other effects including mastotron and Beta.

[Quatschmacher]

@Al

There are a few pedals with a blend: Wonderlove, Qballs Enigma, Moog MF-101; the Qtrons have a “mix” mode which blends BP with clean, though at a fixed ratio (probably 50:50).

A way around those that don’t is to use a Boss LS-2 in mix mode.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Quatschmacher

[GisserD]

[quote name='Quatschmacher' timestamp='1509626185' post='3400388']

A way around those that don't is to use a Boss LS-2 in mix mode.
[/quote]

this is exactly how i do it

[chickenjames]

I just splashed out on the MXR BEF. It’s replaced a trusty and well-beloved Ashdown BEF, but honestly it’s completely head and shoulders better.
I found it was pretty difficult to get a duff sound out of it, and can’t wait to try her out live

[Al Krow]

[quote name='chickenjames' timestamp='1509655600' post='3400680']
I just splashed out on the MXR BEF. It's replaced a trusty and well-beloved Ashdown BEF, but honestly it's completely head and shoulders better.
I found it was pretty difficult to get a duff sound out of it, and can't wait to try her out live
[/quote]

Hey congrats. Much loved by a number of BCers and was very much also on my original shortlist - look forward to getting your thoughts when you've tried 'it' (rather than 'her' - surely we reserve that for beloved basses rather than pedals? ) out live.

I got introduced to a 'Bit Crusher' for the first time in bass playing life this afternoon by Cameron. The Malekko Scrutator. Rather than get a different filter pedal (I've managed to get an Aggie FT and a Source Audio Manta since the start of this thread!) for my soon to arrive mini board, I'm kinda really tempted to either get the Scrutator or something similar. It was kinda crazily great. Just wondering whether I can get away with a bit crushed version of 'Living on a Prayer'?

Edited November 2, 2017 by Al Krow

[chickenjames]

You are right, of course, about the she/it thing. Sorry.
I am ashamed to confess that I only have three she’s right now.*

It’s funny how you try a pedal in the shop, and you know that this is The One :-)



Fender USA P 2012, EBMM StingRay 4 2EQ 2010, Sire MM v7 2015

[Al Krow]

[quote name='chickenjames' timestamp='1509660138' post='3400734']
You are right, of course, about the she/it thing. Sorry.
I am ashamed to confess that I only have three she's right now.*
It's funny how you try a pedal in the shop, and you know that this is The One :-)
Fender USA P 2012, EBMM StingRay 4 2EQ 2010, Sire MM v7 2015
[/quote]

Yes, but you're a Markbass devotee so you can't be all bad

[Al Krow]

Apart from having a chance to A/B four excellent octavers at BG with you yesterday, just worth mentioning that Fwonk Beta is fun bit of kit but due to it's ability to go crazy in an overbearing way (a bit like a 6' teenager getting drunk for the first time) we pretty much could only use it in its most civilised setting. So, paradoxically, the Aggie FT (which Cam also has) which is already very well mannered (and knows how to hold its liquor) has scope for much greater setting variation and completely makes sense as a go to pedal on a gigging pedal board. So for me it was great to have a couple of my current (carefully considered and vetted!) pedals confirmed and I'm not going to even start thinking about how much time, effort and cost of having 6 or seven of my most desirable pedals under one roof to A/B saved me! In fact Cam came up with an excellent idea for a 2018 London [b]BC pedal bash, [/b]which depending on numbers I'd be happy to host and we could head over to Brick Lane for a curry after? If this sounds like a good idea we can explore it on a separate thread. We'd probably need to ensure that Dood "the dude" was free to join us and demo both his Line 6 Helix and his super mini board.

@Cameron - [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][b]Malekko Scrutator[/b]. Another genuinely crazy bit of fun but what a great synth sound!! Before I give in to a very unexpected bit of pedal GAS (I'll have to fess to never even having heard of Bit Crushers until yesterday!) how close can I get to this with a Source Audio Manta in your view and how much is just completely left field of what a Manta can do?[/font][/color]

[CameronJ]

The Manta is definitely no substitute for the range of control a dedicated bitcrusher will give you. However if you’re only using that sort of sound for a couple of tracks (I.e. Living on A Prayer which I think you were playing yesterday?) then you can definitely dial in something appropriate on the Manta. In fact, one of my current Manta presets may be more suited to this particular song than the Scrutator due to it having a reverse “vocal like” filter sweep which sounds pseudo-talkbox-esque.

Now if only the Manta was a One Series pedal I could simply upload my preset and send it to you! Alas...

Edited November 3, 2017 by CameronJ

[Quatschmacher]

Pedal bash sounds like a great idea, I’d be up for that. Are you in London now, Cameron? Relatedly, I’m there next weekend (going to see Chris Potter at the Barbican) and maybe some other gigs; if anyone is up for meeting up for some bass frolicks then that’d be cool. I could probably bring a pedal or two.

[Quatschmacher]

Are there any pedals out there which have exactly the same controls as the filter in the Minimoog model D? Specifically, cutoff, emphasis (resonance), amount of contour (how much envelope affects the sweep), attack time, decay time, sustain level. (The last one is the one I’ve never come across on other filter pedals as a direct control; it's usually achieved in conjunction with using the envelope to sweep the filter further to lengthen the time between attack and decay.)

Relatedly, are there any pedals which replicate the D’s loudness contour controls?

I wonder if this could be a mission for Mr. Broughton?

[Al Krow]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1509701951' post='3400928']
The Manta is definitely no substitute for the range of control a dedicated bitcrusher will give you. However if you're only using that sort of sound for a couple of tracks (i.e. Living on A Prayer which I think you were playing yesterday?) then you can definitely dial in something appropriate on the Manta. In fact, one of my current Manta presets may be more suited to this particular song than the Scrutator due to it having a reverse "vocal like" filter sweep which sounds pseudo-talkbox-esque.
[/quote]

Lol! I definitely WON'T be using a synth sound on any Bon Jovi material, however Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder stuff - now that is a completely different kettle of fish! I think I should probably start with the Manta and actually also my newly arrived replacement Zoom MS-60B (the first auction I've ever won on eBay, so I clearly must have paid too much!) and seeing where I get to, before parting with £200 on a Scrutator. And I should probably see I can borrow it from you, any way, for a couple of months when you're next on tour for the cost of a beer and decent burger (which is going to be cheaper than me renting it, even if it was available anywhere for rental, methinks? )

[quote name='Quatschmacher' timestamp='1509705482' post='3400986']
Pedal bash sounds like a great idea, I'd be up for that. Are you in London now, Cameron? Relatedly, I'm there next weekend (going to see Chris Potter at the Barbican) and maybe some other gigs; if anyone is up for meeting up for some bass frolicks then that'd be cool. I could probably bring a pedal or two.
[/quote]

Have something in the diary next Sat evening (which is when I suspect you're busy anyway), but otherwise happy to make time to meet up with you and Cameron if diaries permit. Btw forget bass, did you know that Cam has an amazing [i]singing voice[/i]?!

Edited November 3, 2017 by Al Krow