Envelope filter feedback please!

[Tim Craig]

Hello TB'ers. I am thinking of buying an envelope filter for no other reason than they sound cool. I just tried a Chunk Systems Agent 00 Funk purchased new from MF. I tried every possible setting and couldn't get anything discernable out of it so I assumed it was defective and sent it back. I've seen some reviews on the WMD Fat Man and the AF-9 which is supposed to be similar to the old Mootron. I've tried the EBS unit it was OK. I would like to hear about your pedals, ease of use, likes, dislikes etc. Thanks in advance.

Tim C.

[Fishyfan]

Moog MF101 Lowpass Filter. It has the most tweakability of any pedal currently available commercially. Massive Mojo that comes from the wood sides and A Moog Filter.

[jufros]

I've been through a lot of them and the Maxon is totally doing it for me right now.

[SG-Jazz]

the 3 leaf groove regulator is the first analog envelope filter ive ever owned. It is pretty sweet, although ive havent had much experience with others other than a wah and a digitech bsw. It has a nice thick, lush, warm tone. You should check it out

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Fishyfan

Moog MF101 Lowpass Filter. It has the most tweakability of any pedal currently available commercially.

No it doesn't, not by a long way, but it does have a lot of control inputs (only one of which anybody ever uses).

O.P: It might be good to give an idea of what features you want and what price you want to pay. I love my Meatwad because it's so tweakable, I love my Chunk O.S. because it can recall presets and I get LFO, ADSR and Sample & Hold control over the filter. I love my BMS because the filter doesn't behave like any other I've seen, I love my Bassballs because it sounds gnarly after other effects, etc. But there are other filters I'd buy, even though I have all that choice already.

[Jared Lash]

+1 to kevteop's points on the Moog. I love mine, but as a straight envelope filter it wouldn't crack my top ten.

Money, how wet a filter you want and the music you play are all factors. The Maxon and 3Leaf are nice. On the subtler side is the EMMA DiscumBOBulator.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

+1 to kevteop's points on the Moog. I love mine, but as a straight envelope filter it wouldn't crack my top ten.

Money, how wet a filter you want and the music you play are all factors. The Maxon and 3Leaf are nice. On the subtler side is the EMMA DiscumBOBulator.

does that mean that the 3leaf is a very wet filter? all the sound samples i've heard sound fairly subtle. but everyone seems to think its one of the top filters.. i've always been interested in one.

[tomhanzo]

I just got a EHX Tube Zipper the other day. I havent got to play with it on my rig much at all, because it has been in our practice space/friends apartment. I hope to get to try it out this weekend and give a full review.

From what i have seen so far it is cool. It can do a lot of weird sounds and some awesome stuff with the oscillator flipped on. The one thing i did notice is some low end loss, but this may be fixed by some tweaking of the knobs.

keep an eye out for the reviews

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by tomhanzo

I just got a EHX Tube Zipper the other day. I havent got to play with it on my rig much at all, because it has been in our practice space/friends apartment. I hope to get to try it out this weekend and give a full review.

From what i have seen so far it is cool. It can do a lot of weird sounds and some awesome stuff with the oscillator flipped on. The one thing i did notice is some low end loss, but this may be fixed by some tweaking of the knobs.

keep an eye out for the reviews

some settings will kill your low end - others will BOOST THE LIVING HECK OUT OF IT

[takfar]

Well, I've had my Enigma for two days, haven't been able to use it much. Huge tweakability tho, great response, great sounds. Give the samples on the Enigma Review thread a listen.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by groooooove

does that mean that the 3leaf is a very wet filter? all the sound samples i've heard sound fairly subtle. but everyone seems to think its one of the top filters.. i've always been interested in one.

I haven't tried the 3Leaf, but it seems a bit more tame than the original Meatball which I would call wet but not super wet. But of course all of these things are subjective. I remember when I was looking for a new set of flats and I asked about the tension of the DR Hi-Beam flats. I get answers from "they're as stiff as the LaBella Jamerson set" to "they're the lowest tension other than TI's". And on that note, I've had people tell me they think the Maxon AF-9 is too subtle which I can't believe.

So all that said, I think the original DOD FX25 is among the absolute wettest filters ever, with the EMMA as one of the most subtle. Which isn't bad. I think the EMMA sounds great and it retains a lot of your original tone which a lot of people like.

In between those two would be the Maxon and the 3Leaf with the AF-9 being a bit wetter, IMO.

I made a post a long time ago proposing a filter chart. I'll have to see if I can find it.

[Jared Lash]

Found it:

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

A homebrewing expert named John Palmer made the subjective chart of beer styles shown below. It was his attempt to classify beers for the uninitiated.


I've started thinking of envelope filters in a similar manner. Except instead of Fruity to Malty, this chart would have Subtle to Wet. And instead of Bitter to Sweet, it would have quacky to warm. At least that's how I would do it.

The Q-Tron would be fairly far on the wet side, but also fairly quacky. My new Robotalk would be in the middle of wet and subtle and a bit closer to quacky than warm. The Emma is indeed very warm, but it is also very subtle. The DOD FX25 is warm and wet, though it is too warm for me. The Pigtronix EP-1 is also warm and wet, but just a little closer to the quacky side which is what I wanted.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Dude, that list isn't complete. I don't see Zima ANYWHERE on it.

[TOOL460002]

my favorite is the ehx qtron+. i have never used other ehx envelopes, so i cant attest to their quality. the qtron had volume spikes and clipping issues, but it was otherwise perfect. it pisses me off that it wont play well with my stingray, even when i used an mxr 10-band eq before it, so i could totally lower the volume, and adjust it in so many ways. that friggin makes me want to punch ehx in the face. it really pisses me off.

i have a chunk os, and its got the 00funk rolled into it. i think it sucks. its not wet enough. it sucks. sorry chunk. your env sucks.

i now also have a maxon af-9. its great. its quite close to the qtron. its maybe not as wet, well its definitely not as wet, but i really like it. its also got a colume spike, but no clipping. that also pisses me off.

ive heard the subdecay prometheus is super wet and plus its got some crazy features the qtron sure as shatt doesnt have.

then theres the vintage mutron III (and not the III+). those are awesome. they also need a power strip.

my personal favorite envelope sound is an mxr 10-band eq with a mid cut into a robot factory meatbwad into a qtron plus. i had the meatwad on 90-100% wet, and it cut enough bass where the qtron compensated with its crazy boost. that dual envelope action was friggin insane.

so... get a qtron+ for cheap and then see what works from there. i may get another and buy something to cut its gain, or just custom mod it to do so. ehx owns that wet sound.

[Jared Lash]

The 00Funk isn't wet enough for you?

I guess this is another example of people having different tastes/definitions.

I would consider this wet:

Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3

[Clark Dark]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

The 00Funk isn't wet enough for you?

I guess this is another example of people having different tastes/definitions.

I would consider this wet:

Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3

he said "he" couldn't get any discernable sounds from it. maybe he had the clean control turned up and the wet sound wasn't out front like he wanted it to be. I like my 1st generation 00Funk just fine, even better than the new version.

[3toes]

I am QUITE fond of my EHX Enigma after having owned a Mini Q, Q+, and Micro Q.

[Han Solo]

Looks like I'm the only one who thinks this is a good idea. How about you try a DOD FX25 Envelope Filter. You can get them for peanuts and it'll give you a taste of what low pass filters do and how they behave. Once your familar with the character of the filter sweep, you'll have a better idea of what features and options you want to capitalise on.

Aside from that, it may be a one trick pony, but it's a good trick. It was good enough for Sir Psyco Sexy, and will definitely feed your appetite for the time being. You might want to run a wet/dry channel too if you have two parrallel effects loops to allow you to get the most out of it. Personally, I've out grown mine in search of better technology. But that doesn't mean its left my board. I'll probably always have a use for it.

Better yet, get a DIY clone from BYOC if you want to learn even more about how they work.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Han Solo

Aside from that, it may be a one trick pony, but it's a good trick. It was good enough for Sir Psyco Sexy, and will definitely feed your appetite for the time being.

It was an old Mutron with dying batteries for Sir Psycho Sexy, not an FX-25. Still a good-sounding envelope though

[Jared Lash]

I think getting a cheap filter to start with is a good idea, but a couple minor things:

1 - The DOD is a bandpass filter

2 It was a MuTron with dying batteries on Sir Psycho