How in the world did I miss this?!?!Posted samples of the Walrus Audio Kangra and the Frostwave Funk a Duck. Used my Fodera YYS for these.
Public - Google Drive
The Kangra is more of a filter/fuzz than just an envelope filter, but it has the standard controls that a typical filter would have, and then add fuzz! To me, it seems like it's a Bassballs deluxe, in that it shares some features. namely the limitations on the amount of fuzz that you can dial in (like the Bassballs, the fuzz is either "on" or "off."). It's relatively inexpensive, and that's a good thing as I can't say that I was overly thrilled with it - TBH, it seems like it's geared more towards our thin stringed brethren - it's a good filter, but I prefer mine to be thicker and juicier. In other words, with the fuzz off, It's a good filter that doesn't get overly greasy - more subtle than say, a Mutron - but it does have good response. If you're looking for something a little less funky and in your face, this would be a great choice. It's surprisingly versatile with the fuzz turned on, however, and this is the strength (it *is* a filter/fuzz after all). Messing with the resonance gives surprising variations and some pretty cool results - i managed to get a good dub-fuzz sound out of it as well.
It also has an expression pedal input for the filter control, so it can do triple duty as a wah pedal. I'm a filter first kinda guy, so it's not for me, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I were looking for filter/fuzz with wah capabilities.
Next up is the Frostwave Funk a Duck. Man oh man oh man, this one is an enigma. I kinda describe it as "what would happen if a Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk and a Mutron had wild, sweaty, funky sex and one of them popped out a funky-ass little kid." It is stanky, quacky, juicy, thick ... all of the things that one would want in an envelope filter ... almost.
Just listen to the sound sample - this one is a little longer than most because I was having fun and I also did a little knob tweaking. It just oozes funky goodness - it's like I need a cigarette after I did the sampleIt's versatile, it's responsive, massive headroom - and I didn't have any crazy spikes like others had, so I didn't worry about blowing my speakers. Side note on that tho - when I ran a fuzz into it, the pedal's volume dropped for a few seconds - it seems like there is an overload protection circuit into it, because when I adjusted things correctly (i.e. non-speaker blowing levels) it worked fine. So I'm not sure what the deal is, but I'm guessing that later versions have an overload protection of some sort. I mean, super cool!
I played thru this filter a lot, and I frickin' love it - but in the end, i have to bite the bullet and realize that it's not for me due to my playing style. If you listen to the faster passages, you'll notice that the envelope doesn't close fast enough for it to trigger on every note. For most players that's fine, but one of my joys in life is playing fast staccato notes thru an envelope filter.
That being said, I have it up for sale but I'm still going to mess with it and see if I can get a better response, and if I can it's going off the market. It's just a really, really, really nice filter, up there with my other favorites. I'm also going to see if I can somehow mod it to add a release knob to allow for faster release/trigger. If I could somehow address that, this would be in the top2-3 filters. It's that good!
And ... that's it for now! After about 50 filters that I've recorded (plus I dunno, maybe 10-15 that I had prior to starting this thread), I've had a ton of fun doing this, and it's helped with my hand rehab as well! I still have a few on my list - the 3 Leaf Wonderlove Deluxe and the Chromatron, an original Meatball and the upcoming Thorpy Meatball, and possibly a Maxon AF-201 are all on my GAS list - the Thorpy will most likely be the next one up, and of course I'll make some samples.
I'll still be on the lookout for cool filters to try - it seems like many of the newer filters are some variation of the MuTron or they have a bunch of capabilities that I won't use (i.e. LFO). I am also going to try to whittle my "collection" down a bit further, but I gotta say I have some damn fine filters, and it's going to be a tough row to hoe if I wanna trim things down a little further.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is speaking like a true addict
Your written reviews, and the Google Drive link, are nothing short of public service resources for us envelope filter lovers. Thanks for posting!
