What’s the best Bass Envelope Filter Pedal you have tried? I’m currently using the MXR. Price not an issue ...
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Best Bass Envelope Filter Pedal ?
- Thread starter Sayclean
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- envelope filter
Price not a issue ?
Tru-Tron or vintage Mu-Tron
Every bit as good depending on taste but far cheaper:
Mu-Tron III, Josh Wah, Proton, Wonderlove, Chromatron.
Haven't tried it yet but Artermis looks amazing.
Tru-Tron or vintage Mu-Tron
Every bit as good depending on taste but far cheaper:
Mu-Tron III, Josh Wah, Proton, Wonderlove, Chromatron.
Haven't tried it yet but Artermis looks amazing.
Depends what you're after. If you need to recall a wide range of sounds that include filter FX, I'm finding it hard to beat the combination of a Source Audio C4 combined with a Helix Stomp.
I run the C4 in the HXS's loop, so it can be placed anywhere on the Stomp's signal path—with or w/o dirt, comp, eq, other modulation FX. And if you want it, the filter sounds can be reside on A and/or B paths, recombined in the Stomp or kept on separate outputs.
Depending on what else the gig calls for, I'll sometimes add or swap in a Future Impact. Via MIDI, switching presets on the Stomp can call up the corresponding patch on the FI. (This also works with the C4, but with slightly more complicated cabling and MIDI host requirements.)
And if the gig only calls for a few envelope filter sounds (but minimal bass synth), then the Stomp offers plenty capable filters as a stand alone pedal.
I run the C4 in the HXS's loop, so it can be placed anywhere on the Stomp's signal path—with or w/o dirt, comp, eq, other modulation FX. And if you want it, the filter sounds can be reside on A and/or B paths, recombined in the Stomp or kept on separate outputs.
Depending on what else the gig calls for, I'll sometimes add or swap in a Future Impact. Via MIDI, switching presets on the Stomp can call up the corresponding patch on the FI. (This also works with the C4, but with slightly more complicated cabling and MIDI host requirements.)
And if the gig only calls for a few envelope filter sounds (but minimal bass synth), then the Stomp offers plenty capable filters as a stand alone pedal.
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I love envelope filters. My top five that I own in no particular order:
Vintage Mu-Tron III or Tru-Tron 3x - the vintage has a slightly dirtier drive which makes it sound filthy & funky, the Tru-Tron has a huge amount of headroom, with an added mix setting, a built in preamp. A very powerful filter, slightly cleaner sounding than the original. Both set the standard IMHO for how an envelope filter should quack.
Moog MF101 LPF - super warm, fat and synthy, and if you add an expression pedal and plug it into the cutoff then you can change sweep direction and get huge synthy sweeps
Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer (has the 00Funk MkII filter in it). Really wet sounding analogue filter, and on the Squeezer fully programmable with presets.
Frostwave Funk-a-Duck - a crazy resonant filter loosely based on a Korg MS-20 synth, slightly unpredictable and not the easiest to dial in.
And yes I'd include the MXR M82 BEF in there too. It's not a particularly fat sounding filter (as it is band pass) but it's super rubbery and is very reactive your how lightly or hard you play. The Decay and Sens controls are really interactive, and being able to blend in your clean signal is a killer feature. I run a MXR M81 preamp before mine on a passive bass which makes it sound more awesome.
Special mention to the EHX filters: the Enigma Q Balls is very flexible with a huge array of sounds and very interactive controls, the Stereo Talking Machine is something a little different, a digital formant filter, very vocal and can sound crazy, but with a more standard Wah and Bassballs too. You can also change sweep direction, add distortion and LFO etc, a really underrated filter on bass. Both the EHX pedals you can plug an expression pedal into and both have blend, attack and decay controls.
Also the Mu-Tron Micro-Tron III or IV is as close you will get to the original (though with admittedly less headroom).
I'm sure the C4 and Spectrum will come up many times as recommendations and I think SA have 100% knocked it out of the park with both these pedals, but for a simpleton like me, I like a standalone, tweak on the fly analogue filter.
Vintage Mu-Tron III or Tru-Tron 3x - the vintage has a slightly dirtier drive which makes it sound filthy & funky, the Tru-Tron has a huge amount of headroom, with an added mix setting, a built in preamp. A very powerful filter, slightly cleaner sounding than the original. Both set the standard IMHO for how an envelope filter should quack.
Moog MF101 LPF - super warm, fat and synthy, and if you add an expression pedal and plug it into the cutoff then you can change sweep direction and get huge synthy sweeps
Chunk Systems Octavius Squeezer (has the 00Funk MkII filter in it). Really wet sounding analogue filter, and on the Squeezer fully programmable with presets.
Frostwave Funk-a-Duck - a crazy resonant filter loosely based on a Korg MS-20 synth, slightly unpredictable and not the easiest to dial in.
And yes I'd include the MXR M82 BEF in there too. It's not a particularly fat sounding filter (as it is band pass) but it's super rubbery and is very reactive your how lightly or hard you play. The Decay and Sens controls are really interactive, and being able to blend in your clean signal is a killer feature. I run a MXR M81 preamp before mine on a passive bass which makes it sound more awesome.
Special mention to the EHX filters: the Enigma Q Balls is very flexible with a huge array of sounds and very interactive controls, the Stereo Talking Machine is something a little different, a digital formant filter, very vocal and can sound crazy, but with a more standard Wah and Bassballs too. You can also change sweep direction, add distortion and LFO etc, a really underrated filter on bass. Both the EHX pedals you can plug an expression pedal into and both have blend, attack and decay controls.
Also the Mu-Tron Micro-Tron III or IV is as close you will get to the original (though with admittedly less headroom).
I'm sure the C4 and Spectrum will come up many times as recommendations and I think SA have 100% knocked it out of the park with both these pedals, but for a simpleton like me, I like a standalone, tweak on the fly analogue filter.
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There are some great analogue filters, and there are some very advanced digital filters.
I think that the better ones have already been identified in this thread already.
EHX Enigma, Moog MF101, Subdecay Prometheus DLX, Source Audio C4/Spectrum.
I use a Source Audio C4 and a Sonuus Wahoo.
I think that the better ones have already been identified in this thread already.
EHX Enigma, Moog MF101, Subdecay Prometheus DLX, Source Audio C4/Spectrum.
I use a Source Audio C4 and a Sonuus Wahoo.
I've owned the C4, Proton, funk machine, and Fwonk Beta. All outstanding and all very different in circuit and tones. The C4 is the one I kept. I'll never fully utilize the C4 but I found what I needed in their Neuro Hub community.
Source Audio Soundblox 2 Bass Manta - you have a wide range of adjustability and can save two presets that are instantly available with the two footswitches. I sold it, but not because it wasn't any good - I just had to get rid of pedals I wasn't using.
I also favor the MXR. It’s just usable for everything. I always have filter after dirt, and this usually requires changing the filter for each type of dirt, but not with my MXR. They all sound great on the same settings! I think the dry volume is to blame, and I love it. I’ve tried a handful of well-regraded filters, but the MXR has won for me. It’s the right mix of flexibility and usability for me.
If price truly isn't an issue for me it's gotta be a Mutron iii. It's the sound in my head when I think of an envelope filter, I mean COME ON, it's what Bootsy used, it's what Jerry Garcia had his g****r modded for, it's what Stevie Wonder played his clav through on Superstitious. The Moog is a great studio tool but I had a chance to play a real Mutron once and that thing is the TRUTH.
My honorable mention goes to the one on my board right now which is a Mojohand 443. VERY natural, works well with whatever you throw at it (fuzz, octave, etc.), and has a range of sounds without ever sounding bad. Can get aggresive but I never leap out of my skin when I turn it on. I think it should get more love around here, I tried the MXR BEF, Source Audio BEF, HAZ Mutron, Aguilar Filter Twin, DOD fx25, Keeley Neutrino, EBS BassIQ, 3leaf Proton, EHX Enigma, DOD 440, and Mojohand 442 before landing on it.
My honorable mention goes to the one on my board right now which is a Mojohand 443. VERY natural, works well with whatever you throw at it (fuzz, octave, etc.), and has a range of sounds without ever sounding bad. Can get aggresive but I never leap out of my skin when I turn it on. I think it should get more love around here, I tried the MXR BEF, Source Audio BEF, HAZ Mutron, Aguilar Filter Twin, DOD fx25, Keeley Neutrino, EBS BassIQ, 3leaf Proton, EHX Enigma, DOD 440, and Mojohand 442 before landing on it.
Lovetone Meatball was the best for me but I sold them long ago and they are prohibitively expensive now. I have a Josh Wah and it’s been on my board forever. I think its the best all around filter out there, personally.
The hits keep coming. I will add the Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe v2. That one, plus the MXR BEF, are what is on my board.
The SA Spectrum is really good too. I have owned the BEF and still own a Manta and I think this new one is definitely the best of the lot.
I borrowed a Josh Wah from a friend and it is very good, but without any rehearsals or jam sessions I have not been able to really see how good it is.
The Tru-Tron 3x and EHX filters are great but a bit of a hassle at the gig, with special power requirements and big housings. But if I were to do some recording I could see how they would be very handy.
Like Bootsy realized, sometime you need two filters to really get funky. Stack ‘em in series, or run them in parallel (a dream for me still). The Aguilar filtertwin does this, but with no resonance or frequency controls it doesn’t get quite wild enough for me.
The Robot Talk also has two identical filters, they sound to be in parallel maybe, but no down sweep option on either.
But that MXR BEF is a super solid filter. I especially love holding a note out and letting that one close completely, just the right resonant bloom as the filter passes through the first harmonic of the note I am holding.
The SA Spectrum is really good too. I have owned the BEF and still own a Manta and I think this new one is definitely the best of the lot.
I borrowed a Josh Wah from a friend and it is very good, but without any rehearsals or jam sessions I have not been able to really see how good it is.
The Tru-Tron 3x and EHX filters are great but a bit of a hassle at the gig, with special power requirements and big housings. But if I were to do some recording I could see how they would be very handy.
Like Bootsy realized, sometime you need two filters to really get funky. Stack ‘em in series, or run them in parallel (a dream for me still). The Aguilar filtertwin does this, but with no resonance or frequency controls it doesn’t get quite wild enough for me.
The Robot Talk also has two identical filters, they sound to be in parallel maybe, but no down sweep option on either.
But that MXR BEF is a super solid filter. I especially love holding a note out and letting that one close completely, just the right resonant bloom as the filter passes through the first harmonic of the note I am holding.
My recently purchased SA C4 put my other filters (and octave) out of business. It isnt the most plug and play as it needs a computer app interface, as others have mentioned, but boy can you dial in some crazy stuff.
I’d get a C4 but I’m waiting for the espresso patch.
I think on the previous update , it would get you water bottles during soundcheck.
(Fingers crossed)
I think on the previous update , it would get you water bottles during soundcheck.
(Fingers crossed)
