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Best Envelope Filter

Favorite envelope filter?

  • MXR M-82 Bass Envelope Filter

    Votes: 51 19.5%

  • Electro-Harmonix BassBalls

    Votes: 11 4.2%

  • Electro-Harmonix Enigma Q Balls

    Votes: 10 3.8%

  • Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron (Micro/Regular/Plus)

    Votes: 17 6.5%

  • 3Leaf Audio Proton Envelope Filter

    Votes: 19 7.3%

  • Source Audio Soundblox Bass Envelope Filter

    Votes: 50 19.1%

  • EBS BassIQ Triple Envelope Filter Pedal

    Votes: 11 4.2%

  • Aguilar Filter Twin

    Votes: 12 4.6%

  • Musitronics MU-TRON III

    Votes: 19 7.3%

  • Pigtronix EP-1

    Votes: 2 0.8%

  • Boss AW-3 Dynamic Wah

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II

    Votes: 7 2.7%

  • Xotic Robotalk 2

    Votes: 5 1.9%

  • Moog Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter

    Votes: 17 6.5%

  • Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe

    Votes: 28 10.7%

  • Other (Post in comments)

    Votes: 42 16.0%
  • Total voters
    262
#41
I personally find the Aguilar Filter Twin the most usable and musical as it even fattens up my sound. It's not the wildest but I find it the most usable in a band without it being uncontrollable.

A/B'ing to the GR1, my non-instrument playing vocalist friend said "the Aguilar doesn't make me feel like the beat is gone. I can still keep dancing. The GR sounds good but there's this drop in pulse."

I was amazed by the Source Audio BEF as well, and I loved it's flexibility, but in terms of space and practicality and simplicity, I still opted for the Aguilar.
 
#42
My filter paradigms fall into two basic categories. On the one hand is a 70s BassBalls. For my fretless bass it just some amazingly slurpy things with a great gargly tail. On the other side is a 70s Univox Funky Filter Mutron Clone. It just has a great feel and vibe to it. However, like all original Mutron designs, the gain structure sucks.

So, these days I have a WMD Super Fatman, that for some reason I don't really like all that much, and a 3leaf Groove Regulator, which I like a lot. It's not the BassBalls or the Funky Filter, but it is pretty satisfying. I'd like to try the Proton and see how close it gets to the FF.

On another tip, the SoundToys Filter Freak is pretty cool. Lots of options to do some really weird stuff. I'd like to go to a laptop effects rig, but my laptop does too much other stuff at enough gigs to not be the way to go.
 
#44
I really wonder how some of these companies stay alive producing pedals when you get less than 10 responses. I know its a sampling but still I'd think at 200 a pop you'd have to produce a lot of pedals in a highly competitive market to stay alive. Somebody like EHX I can see but others, i dunno. Oh, yea I voted for the Qtron
 
#47
Question for you guys that own multiple envelope filters:

Do you ever engage more than one simultaneously? Or do they just get used individually for whatever particular flavor they excel at?

I've never owned more than one at a time, and aside from a few years in the 70s when I had an original Mutron III I've been using the same Ibanez AF9 since the mid-80s. It never occurred to me to look at another unit because the AF9 is so versatile...but, if cool things can be achieved by stacking multiple envelope filters, I could probably justify buying another that also did something the AF9 does but better.
 
#48
I wouldn't engage two at once unless they are in parallel. For example Bootsy uses several parallel channels of processing, with a different filter/effect on each pickup.

Another thing though is that if you like filters, you might like having two very different-sounding filters on your board.
 
#49
Roscoe East said:
Question for you guys that own multiple envelope filters:

Do you ever engage more than one simultaneously? Or do they just get used individually for whatever particular flavor they excel at?

I've never owned more than one at a time, and aside from a few years in the 70s when I had an original Mutron III I've been using the same Ibanez AF9 since the mid-80s. It never occurred to me to look at another unit because the AF9 is so versatile...but, if cool things can be achieved by stacking multiple envelope filters, I could probably justify buying another that also did something the AF9 does but better.
Click to expand...

bongomania said:
I wouldn't engage two at once unless they are in parallel. For example Bootsy uses several parallel channels of processing, with a different filter/effect on each pickup.

Another thing though is that if you like filters, you might like having two very different-sounding filters on your board.
Click to expand...

I agree w/ Bongo here. I've tried using two together many times, after eading about Bootsy using multiple filters, and it's never worked well. The parallel processing of his multi-pickup bass makes some sense in explaining how he did it.

I use two now for variety. At the simplest level, one filter goes up, and one goes down, to cover those two basic filter tonal distinctions. But one could be a quick "quack" while another could be set to a slow wet gurgle, etc etc.
 
#52
EHX Zipper (not the tube one):

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#60
AlvarHanso said:
Funny you say that. I like to sometimes use the BEF Pro in up sweep with a really different setting and add in my 3Leaf GR-2 in down sweep for a nice full feeling. But not that often. Usually the GR-2 is used for specific tones or when I'm using the BEF Pro as a phaser.
Click to expand...


No exactly an envelope filter, but I do sometimes run my Oxide into my SA-BEF (set to mimic a bassballs) and then use my Dunlop 105Q to produce sounds ranging from ambient to controlled feedback.

Big fan of the SA-BEF.
 

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