3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2

[aguacateojos]

Definitely excited to hear this thing in action. I've been thinking about replacing my v2 Wonderlove and this might do the trick...

 

[Matt Dean]

Sooooo...was the YT video recorded with a guitar? It was way high on the fretboard if it wasn't. It sounded very guitar-esque to me.

Guitar.

 

[cosmicevan]

So the expression pedal....sounds like it would mimic a wah?

 

[enjoi1018]

I’m interested to see just how different this is than the WL Deluxe. It’s more similar than I would’ve thought... that said, Spencer has never disappointed me!

Can’t wait for the phaser.

 

[SpcMnk]

Yeah, kinda disapointed.. looks are great, but don't see a reason to buy it. I've owned all models of all pedals 3leaf released, and still own the majority. I do not see this as that much better than the wl deluxe... which I love.
I'll wait for the updated version (there always is one).

 

[Bassheart365]

Yeah, kinda disapointed.. looks are great, but don't see a reason to buy it. I've owned all models of all pedals 3leaf released, and still own the majority. I do not see this as that much better than the wl deluxe... which I love.
I'll wait for the updated version (there always is one).

You might be right. It might not be that much better than the WL. But I went all in so I'll wait until I have a chance to use mine before I come to that conclusion.

 

[silky smoove]

Let’s not judge based solely on control layouts. The inner workings could be very different, yielding a different tonality (for better or worse).

 

[Bassheart365]

Yes, same control layout, but according to Spencer - inside is an "entirely redesigned circuit."

 

[overbybr]

Guitar.

It sounded super clean and very juicy, buuuuut I don't play guitar. Show it to me on bass doing the same things amiright?

 

[jasonbraatz]

I asked on FB specifically what the difference was, beyond "better"...

Having a significantly slower attack available would be pretty great, and the expression pedal input was always just sort of "okay."

 

[BurningSkies]

Cool and all, but similar in use to the IE:XD and that's only one pedal-space.

 

[silky smoove]

Cool and all, but similar in use to the IE:XD and that's only one pedal-space.

Those are two very different sounding filters to my ears, or at least that’s my take based on owning a Wonderlove Deluxe and previously having owned a GR1, both of which will likely be at least somewhat similar to the Chromatron. Also, I don’t believe the IE allows for an expression pedal input does it?

 

[BurningSkies]

Those are two very different sounding filters to my ears, or at least that’s my take based on owning a Wonderlove Deluxe and previously having owned a GR1, both of which will likely be at least somewhat similar to the Chromatron. Also, I don’t believe the IE allows for an expression pedal input does it?

Yep. Once you plug in the expression pedal, you get control over the top and bottom of the sweep ranges with the expression and frequency control pots. Not as extreme as I often get, but you can hear the XD with expression on this track:

 

[silky smoove]

Yep.

Oh, whoops. I didn't realize that. Nice playing on that track by the way. Very tight. Definitely a different sounding filter to my ears than what Spencer usually designs. Very cool, just different.

 

[BurningSkies]

Oh, whoops. I didn't realize that. Nice playing on that track by the way. Very tight. Definitely a different sounding filter to my ears than what Spencer usually designs. Very cool, just different.

I run mine pretty different than most. It's inside the HPF side of a Divaricator and I have a Frazz-Dazzler v2 running into it dialed with low voltage (around 5v). The LPF remains clean. We have another track that does this but also has a volume auto-swell, then several delays (octave/5th, and 1/4 note ghost) before some chorusing.

This also allows me to switch on/off multiple effects with one step in 'tight' song settings.

 

[Robertron]

There isn't enough data to react harshly to this pedal yet. We haven't heard it on any other instruments. 3LeafAudio's envelope filters have always changed for the better.
So they showed us a guitar teaser first. Chromatron just looks like a bigger step in the evolution of their line to allow guitar players to nail a solid envelope filter tone too.
An "entirely redesigned circuit" and slower attack sure excite me.

 

[silky smoove]

Chromatron just looks like a bigger step in the evolution of their line to allow guitar players to nail a solid envelope filter tone too.

To be fair, Spencer has always marketed to guitar players, and even synth players as much as bass players. I know a lot of local guitarists that use his Proton. It just seems that he has a greater hold on the bass community than those other lesser ones

 

[Snaxster]

Those are two very different sounding filters to my ears

Agreed. Based on only the first Chromatron demo compared to my Xerograph Deluxe use, I would say that I would never confuse the voices of the two.

Separately, as a synthesist who loves me some state variable filters in the Oberheim SEM style, for now I think of the Chromatron that 1. I have high hopes for it played with bass guitar, and 2. if I understand its features right, my only wish is that it implemented notch filtering (aka band reject).

The classic SEM filter design features variable notch between lowpass and highpass. This enables gorgeous, soft, fundamental-retaining phase shifter-like filtering as the center frequency is swept. So that would be nice for a bassist to have in an envelope filter pedal.

In any case, congratulations to Spence on his new circuit and brand designs. I fully admire and support Spence's work (from 3Leaf and Pike, I own Groove Regulator, two of The Enabler, Proton v2, Vulcan, and Vulcan XL). The Chromatron promises to be the latest example of why.

 

[winterburn69]

To be fair, Spencer has always marketed to guitar players, and even synth players as much as bass players. I know a lot of local guitarists that use his Proton. It just seems that he has a greater hold on the bass community than those other lesser ones

What about the Pike Vulcan and Vulcan XL? those are exclusively bass dirt. Also the Octabvre?

 

[silky smoove]

What about the Pike Vulcan and Vulcan XL? those are exclusively bass dirt. Also the Octabvre?

Pike is a separate bass-specific company, so that doesn’t really apply. The Octabvre is a combination of an OC-2 and a Mutron Octave Divider, neither of which are bass-specific, so the point still stands. I know of at least one guitar player using an Octabvre Mini, and one keyboard player using a Tim-tuned Octabvre.