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Envelope filters.


danny-79
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Just having a general ask about Envelope filters, who uses them an what model do you use.
Ime currently useing an Ashdown bass envelope filter, i picked it up secondhand of fleebay quite cheeply when at the time i was looking at getting a BOSS auto-waw
So the question is , what do you use? an how does it rank?
Much thanx Dan...

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For convenience of size I'm using a modded Electro Harmonix BassBalls Nano. The mod adds external controls for the frequency centers of the the envelope. Makes it a lot more usable for lowend, IMO. Otherwise hands down I just love my Electro Harmonix Mini Q-Tron, especially after I had a mod done, adding an external trimpot to balance the effect signal to the bypass signal. This pedal is just plain stanky. Soon as Bigwan stops fruiting about on his honeymoon I'll be asking him nicely to rehouse the Q-tron into a smaller box.

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An old design (big enclosure) EHX Q-Tron after an old version of Octave Multiplexer.
Q-Tron isn't the best EF around, but I like it & I think it has some good funky sounds for the price.
It will do me, until I finally get round to building a Meatball clone, which will hopefully be over Christmas break.

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Er... Well there's the filter on the Bass Micro Synth but that's more an ADSR-style sweep than envelope-following, interesting though and it sounds like no other filter I've used. I've also got a Bassballs that I usually use in conjunction with the BMS to make it sound dirtier and more gutteral.

My main filter was a Meatwad and I still use that for manual sweeps with an exp. pedal or as a static low-pass filter, but it got superceded for envelope duties when I got my Octavius Squeezer. The Meatwad sounds great, but there are so many different things I use filters for that I ended up just programming a ton of patches into the Squeezer and using that instead.

That's it for me - I managed to get down to four filters and all my filter GAS is gone. :)

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I'm not sure if it's me but I've never heard one that retains the low end enough. I posted a thread previously, asking what Louis Johnson might have used on the track 'Get The Funk Outta My Face.' To me, that's the ultimate EV sound, but obviously, it would have been EQ'd, compressed etc. to sound good on record.

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I use a Moog MF-101 with an expression pedal in one of the CV gates & a TRS cable from the env out back into one of the other CV gates, just now it's in the cut off, but sometimes I put it in the Resonance or amount, depending on the song (or sometimes it sends to the MF-105b & into either the LFO/Sweep or the envelope amount).

I love the fact that if you keep the resonance to near minimal & the cut off at @ 9-10 o'clock you get an amazing amount of subby bass.

Apparently it sucks tone in bypass, but this I haven't noticed. Might mess about with that now & see if I can tell the difference.

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I use a 3-leaf Groove regulator, amazing filterm it's a trimmed down meatball clone, it preserves your original tone, the main advantage of this is it's useful at all settings, where as some more extreme filters like the mutron and various clones, and even the original meatball have a habit of killing speakers if you're not careful. The GR sounds amazing with a fuzz, and it has an effects loop so you can use fuzzes that might clip it if you put it before it

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[quote name='Pete Academy' post='679424' date='Dec 9 2009, 07:20 PM']I'm not sure if it's me but I've never heard one that retains the low end enough. I posted a thread previously, asking what Louis Johnson might have used on the track 'Get The Funk Outta My Face.' To me, that's the ultimate EV sound, but obviously, it would have been EQ'd, compressed etc. to sound good on record.[/quote]

I use a MAxon AF9 and that has buckets and buckets of low end.

Also have an MXR auto-Q nice sound, just the one and very different from the Maxon, so much so that both together is also very cool.

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[quote name='dudewheresmybass' post='679749' date='Dec 9 2009, 11:46 PM']Micro Q tron, but i also have an fx25, fx25b, bottom feeder, and Digitech BSW
i find the EHX to be the greasiest filter i have tried.[/quote]

Yeah for that up-sweeping funk filter sound, the Q-Tron is right on the money. I still miss mine a bit but TBH the filter in the Squeezer does a pretty good job of that too. Although the envelope follower has a steeper fall-off, a bit like the way the DOD FX-25 feels.

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[quote name='51m0n' post='679622' date='Dec 9 2009, 09:58 PM']I use a MAxon AF9 and that has buckets and buckets of low end.

Also have an MXR auto-Q nice sound, just the one and very different from the Maxon, so much so that both together is also very cool.[/quote]

+1. I've owned both in the past (Auto Q twice!) and they're both fantastic pedals. If I'm ever in a state where money is no object I'll probably get both, or a Prometheus as this can do everything both units can, just not at the same time.

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I use a BYOC Envelope Filter which I call the Dirtbomb. Great fun to make. You need to set it carefully and differently for each instrument. I don't use it much - intro for Car Wash and a couple of others. Never tried another so can't compare sorry.

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[quote name='JHBASS' post='680458' date='Dec 10 2009, 05:54 PM']Heya,

use the ashdown just like you do...and i love it! whats your verdict on it? I think it sounds amazing with a bit of a trebley sound put through it...or even a big muff....really weird synthy sounds!

Hope you like the pedal![/quote]

Im pretty happy with it , brought it s/h of ebay at a very low price so for what i got cant complain, its nicly built in the respect that the controls are out of the way so cant be accidently moved, (the ??? output ?? meter lol, well o.t.t but ok :)) just find it a bit to trebly... but sounds good with a chorus infront of it)
on a whole its a good pedal

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I have purchased many envelope filters over the last couple of years and I have posted my findings on one of the many other threads on the forum about envelope filters. I am currently using the EBS Bass IQ, Chunk Systems Agent 00 Funk Mark II into the Chunk Systems Brown Dog for some awesome synth bass type sounds and also a Subdecay Prometheus which also has some cool filter and synth type sounds.

I found the Q-tron, DOD FX25B, Maxon AF-9 and the Haz reissue of the Mu-Tron III to be lacking a lot of what I wanted from a filter and that was a really dirty squelch!!

Mark

[quote name='danny-79' post='679370' date='Dec 9 2009, 06:48 PM']Just having a general ask about Envelope filters, who uses them an what model do you use.
Ime currently useing an Ashdown bass envelope filter, i picked it up secondhand of fleebay quite cheeply when at the time i was looking at getting a BOSS auto-waw
So the question is , what do you use? an how does it rank?
Much thanx Dan...[/quote]

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Tonefactor / Mojo Hand 442 Red is favourite for me too, it sounds fabulous, and very easy to control.

The Prometheus is phenomenal (there aren't many bandpass filters around, and almost no sample & hold type controls), but it's quite finicky... (hours of fun though :) )

I've got the EBS BassIQ, but only use it for reverse (aww, rather than wahh...) sweeps - it's a bit 'quacky' for me in 'normal' mode...

Digitech BSW is fabulous for 'special FX' - good octave down too, but it wouldn't be my choice for an envelope filter (alone).

Boss AW-3 is good if you want or need tap-tempo wah, and some of the 'vowel' filters work quite well, but it just sounds a bit 'dead' to me somehow in the 'standard' modes.

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  • 1 month later...

I don't use an envelope filter at the moment - but when I did I was VERY partial to the Boss AW-2. I tried the Maxon AF-9, but it didn't inspire me.

You can hear the AW-2 (together with a Boss OC-2 octaver and Sovtek Big Muff) on a cover of Robert Wyatt/Phil Miller's "Nan True's Hole" on myspace page. Don't expect hi-fidelity - it was recorded using only two small condenser bugs in the rehearsal studio....

www.myspace.com/meanwhilegardens

Get the idea?

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I thought the Micro Q-tron sounded pretty cool, especially for the price, I just couldn't deal with the volume spike. I'm considering getting one again and putting it through a bypass looper with a volume pot.

A bit pricier, but I rather liked the MXR Auto Q (it has a level cut/boost!), could perhaps do with being a tad wilder though. Would definitely use again, if I could get one cheap.

Before I revisit the Micro Q-tron though, I think I'll be going the BYOC 440 clone route next. From what I remember, they supply parts to build it to Bottom Feeder specs if required. Plus I love the sound of the fixed wah option the BYOC has.

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