Envelope Filters + Very low reggae bass sound

ba$$ · #1 09-20-2010, 03:08 AM

Hey all.

Long story/explanation turned into a simple question.

I play reggae style bass - thus, I use pretty much as low a tone I can get out of my bass and rig. I've found that my envelope filter reacts very poorly to this tone, as opposed to a more trebly or evenly rounded sound.

Any suggestions in regards to EQ, bass settings, etc? Or do envelope filters just not work that great on extremely bassy lines?

I'm using the new Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter, if that helps. Any feedback or thoughts would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Mark Olson · #2 09-20-2010, 03:14 AM

One of the typical ways to use an envelope filter in a reggae style context is to set the sensitivity very low so that the filter doesn't actually open, actually giving you a permanent low dubby sound.

If you want the filter to open and "quack", you're obviously going to need the frequencies the filter sweeps through in your tone to make the effect apparent. No way around that.

ba$$ · #3 09-20-2010, 03:17 AM

Makes sense. Thx

kevteop · #4 09-20-2010, 04:25 AM

Think about it: What a low-pass filter does is cut out the high frequencies. If you've already filtered all the high frequencies out of your sound then you won't hear much effect from your envelope filter.

frianbisher · #5 09-20-2010, 07:03 AM

Qtron works great for this, put it on low pass mode and turn the gain down. You will get the envelope to trigger just a little bit for a subtle woosh or breathing type sound but it sounds great for dubby stuff indeed.

Floridabwoy · #6 09-20-2010, 07:10 AM

I use old faithful, an FX25 set with settings all the way down. Works like a charm, and really beef's the lows, but it also looses some definition.

rnilson · #7 09-20-2010, 07:10 AM

Moog Low Pass Filter.....
It can do everything you want and sound damn good doing it.
A bit pricy but for the sound you want there is no alternative.

Swimming Bird · #8 09-20-2010, 10:01 AM

The OP isn't trying to use an envelope filter to get a dub sound, he's trying to trigger an envelope filter while he already has a dub sound.

OP - what's your whole signal chain?

If your dub sound is always on, my bet is that you just need to increase the sensitivity on your filter.

faceinbass · #9 09-20-2010, 10:30 AM

The EHX Ring Thing can be set up for extreme dub filter motion.

I can't recommend that unit enough.

Albibass · #10 09-20-2010, 11:26 AM

What setting do you use for that if i might ask off course?

ba$$ · #11 09-20-2010, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

The OP isn't trying to use an envelope filter to get a dub sound, he's trying to trigger an envelope filter while he already has a dub sound.

OP - what's your whole signal chain?

If your dub sound is always on, my bet is that you just need to increase the sensitivity on your filter.

Dunlop 105Q Wah > Grande Fuzz > SA Soundblox Bass Envelope > MXR Carbon Copy

Ya, sorry I didn't specify the original question. I was initially seeing how to get the "auto-wahesque" sound with that low of a tone. Mark Olson answered my question right away. I messed around with my bass settings and just simply by bringing the treble from 0 to 10 on the songs I want to use the BEF, it triggers the filter much better. I appreciate all of the recommendations as well! I am going to mess around with the "dub" sound settings. Any additional comments are appreciated. Thanks again, talkbass.