no simple affordable filter box around?

[stranded horse]

Why is there no simple filter box around, that could do a simple Moog shape switchable low/high pass filter, with just a knob for cutoff and resonance and a switch for LPF/HPF? Is there not enough demand for one so the big companies like Boss or EHX would do one?
I know about the Moogerfooger and the Iron Ether thing, but they're both pretty pricey and are only LPF but cannot be switched to HPF. But then again all the Moog stuff is really overpriced, and Iron Ether is a small company, and obviously can't do the same prices as bigger ones.
I could see a million applications for a box like this, specially nowadays that guitar music gets more and more influence from electronica.
I mean it's one of the most basic effects on synths, why shouldn't it be widely available for other instruments?

[warwick.hoy]

Soundblox® Bass Envelope Filter



~$120

[stranded horse]

Not talking about an envelope follower, just a simple filter. It's also not a HPF...

[drewfx]

Don't necessarily overlook EF's. On some you can adjust it so the filter doesn't follow the envelope.

[Wud]

I love me some filters, and Highpass filters are indeed not as common as the Lowpass, even in the Synth world.
Highpass Filters are not generally used on Bass guitar , as they inherently remove Bass so most Bass players avoid it.

[stranded horse]

Originally Posted by Wud

I love me some filters, and Highpass filters are indeed not as common as the Lowpass, even in the Synth world.
Highpass Filters are not generally used on Bass guitar , as they inherently remove Bass so most Bass players avoid it.

That's right, but there are still lots of other applications for HPFs, and the circuit is really similar to a LPF, I'm pretty sure it could be done with just a flick of a switch, and it would make the pedal more versatile and give it more appeal.

Originally Posted by drewfx

Don't necessarily overlook EF's. On some you can adjust it so the filter doesn't follow the envelope.

But they often don't have a resonance knob

[Wud]

I'm with you.

The software Moog for the UAD cards has a Highpass mode, so it would be nice of Moog offer a Multimode Resonant Filter in Hardware form.
If you like Highpass you should get a Korg MS-20, or some Eurorack modules.
Or ask Taylor at Iron Ether to build you summink

[gastric]

There's simply not a lot of hardware filters available in general, pedal, rack, or otherwise. And certainly none that are seriously robust with as many features and options as current VST filters. I keep waiting for something like FabFilter Volcano-in-a-Box. A boy has to dream!

MAM Warp9 rack filter has all of the options you want. Except no remote controllable bypass. And they're out of production. And they're impossible to find. And hard to program. But they sound good and have some really unique analog triggering features.

[Jared Lash]

The answer is exactly what you think it is - that there isn't enough demand for that sort of pedal to cause one of the big manufacturers to build one that would be widely available and cheap.

The vast majority of guitar players would have no use for either a LPF or a HPF without an envelope follower. A small percentage of bass players have use for a LPF (for dub, for manual sweeps to get electronica tones) with an even smaller percentage having a use for a HPF other than protecting their speakers from volume spikes caused by subsonic rumbles and many amps already include such a HPF.

Not even many boutique builders have attempted something like what you describe.

The closest I can think of is Mario's "Brain Freeze"
MS-20 Brain Freeze

which obviously doesn't meet your "affordable" criterion. You could probably shave down some of the cost by having Mario reduce some features, but it's still going to be a chunk of change.

I can't think of any other filters that are HPF/LPF switchable without an envelope follower.

[stranded horse]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

The closest I can think of is Mario's "Brain Freeze"
MS-20 Brain Freeze

Well this is exactly what I had in mind but why the hell does it have to be so pricey?

[Smurf-o-Deth]

It's one dude building a complex piece of equipment, and he has to charge enough to pay for his parts and to make it worth the time he spends building it. The reality is that only a select, small group of builders are catering to these types of tastes, and one is either willing to pay the costs associated with that reality, or not have the equipment (or, build it individually).

[sunbeast]

I have a Brain Freeze (actually- apparently the very first, when it was just a custom order from someone such as yourself!), and can attest to it being pretty awesome. I was specifically looking for something of a versatile Bandpass filter personally to replace my Morley Power Wah Boost (which I would always leave in a fixed wah position to great effect). It hasn't replaced the Morley (I realize now that the boost section of the Morley adds harmonics that give it a unique character that a filter alone won't cop), but has earned a place on my board alongside the Morley for tone-shaping.

I personally would never use the high-pass portion, but I do wonder why there aren't more similar pedals with a simple tweakable bandpass, as there are many people (mostly guitarists, admittedly) that use wahs as fixed bandpass filters for tone-shaping.

For what it's worth, I honestly probably wouldn't pay the new price for a Brain Freeze either, though I won't argue that it should be cheaper since I've not seen anything that does the same for less!

[cultrvultr]

Just hit a micro q-tron with a strong signal so that it consistently triggers. A fuzz or clean boost before the filter would work.

[edwinhurwitz]

Check out Craig Anderton's Super Tone Control in his first electronics projects for musicians book. It is a state variable filter that can be built pretty easily and includes a mixer so you can mix the unfiltered sound outside the filter range back into the sound. The one I built had a resonance control that was able to get the filter to self-oscillate. Like a maniac, I built it into my bass at the time and had a lot of fun getting some really crazy sounds.

PAiA - ELECTRONIC PROJECTS FOR MUSICIANS

[FilterFunk]

Frostwave Resonator The Frostwave Resonator Korg MS20 Filter Clone , but they're discontinued, and pricey on the used market.