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Envelope Filter Users, which one do you play with?

#42
1kinal said:
I really like my EBS bass-IQ. It's pretty versatile so I can use it in many different settings (bands). It's probably the pedal I use the most after my VT.
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i bet it sounds great together with the VT as well!

super funk sound in hi-Q mode with moderate to fast attack (think mutron). deep, dark rock sound in up mode with moderate attack (think bottom rocker). boomin + bloomin dub tone with slow attack (think fx25 or even moogerfooger LPF), and the list goes on
 
#44
Just got my ModFactor in today. It's also got a pretty awesome set of filters in it. Doesn't do some of the things that other filters do, but it can cop the bassballs (add your own dirt) as well as do awesome sample and hold things. There's definitely a TON of things to go through on it still, but from what I have gone through already I'm pretty happy with it.
 
#45
I have owned and sold off the following filters:

Digitech bass Synth Wah - decent octave sound, but not a great filter. its a good pedal to try in a store to hear what the difference is between filter-synth-auto wah and octave but this pedal doesn't do any of these effects very well.

Mini Q Tron - This is the older large box unit. It was true bypass, simple and sounded gorgeous. But the volume boost was too much and the sensitivity drove me nuts. It had to be set just right to sound good and worked a lot better with some basses then others.

Micro Q Tron - just plain disappointing. Same big volume spike when turned on, bland sounding, no personality and no where near as good sounding as the Mini Q tron.

Ashdown filter (the purple one) - really disappointing. I could barely get the filter to open and had to max out the input which caused it to clip and distort like crazy. The VU meter was a joke, completely inaccurate and more of a gimmick. I wanted to find some reason to like this pedal as I thought the design was really neat. In the end it was simply junk.

I currently own the following:

MXR Bass Auto Q - marketed as an auto wah, its very much a filter and has a lot of good things going for it. It has a volume control, its very squelchy and prominent, and can be tweaked a lot. Only real downside is that is kind of flattens the overall tone and is considered a little bland by some. I still really like it but realize there are much better sounding filters out there. This pedal is underrated.

3 Leaf Groove Regulator. Just received this baby a few days ago. Its pretty much perfect. No volume drop or spike, great rich drippy tone, not subtle, funky and wet and just the right amount of tweakability. I will be using this pedal a lot. When a/b'd against the MXR, it retains the original tone of the bass much better and is not as nasal sounding as the MXR.

Xotic Robotalk2 - still en route. I should have it by tomorrow or Monday and will post a review. This pedal was only released this year and there isn't much in the way of bass player feedback so far. I am really itching to compare it to the groove Regulator. The feature set looks really cool with the internal dipp switches and dual chanels. We shall see!
 
#46
i use the old lime green DODFX25. its a great pedal, but its not so generic bootsy sounding, wich is what i sometimes want.

the filters on my korg AX3000b are really great, too.

others i'd reccomend are the EBS bass IQ, or, unfourtunately, i hate to say it but - nothing will sound more like a vintage mutron, than..a vintage mutron..
 
#49
primus150 said:
thanks guys. the micro q-tron seems to be my best bet for the price range. but i'm still taking all options into consideration. but what makes envelope filters so much more expensive than, say, a chorus pedal?
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That is very subjective. There are many factors that play into the price of a pedal. Availability/quality of parts, amount of time spent making the pedal, licensing fees for making clones, etc. There are chorus pedals that can be very expensive as well. For instance, the Stereo Analogman Bi-Chorus with depth switch that I own cost me $370.
 
#51
Micro Q-tron user here. I think that some people exaggerate the volume boost on the Micro a bit. If you give the internal trim pot a little turn and spend 5-10 minutes dialing it in I think it's the best filter in it's price range no doubt. I run a Stingray through it so it's not like I'm just running a passive bass either. I'd definately recommend it.
 
#52
Just received the Robotalk2 in the mail and its freakin amazing. For the price, it should be. Very prominent and wet with lots of control. having 2 separate channels is basically like having two pedals in one. I'm really impressed with this one so far.
 
#55
I think the Q-Tron gets a lot of undeserved grief around here. Yes with the "boost" switched on it's a pain to set, but it sounds as good as any filter for funk purposes.

(I'm talking about the old Q-Tron - I haven't tried the XO and wouldn't assume they're the same after my experience with the XO Bass Micro Synth)
 
#56
I did like my old silver Q-Tron.
The only qualms that I had with it were the bypass (easily fixed if you wanted to bother with it), the size (it's a pedalboard eater!), and the 24v wall wart (which, admittedly, I've had to go back to with the ModFactor... for now... :ninja:).
 
#58
Believe it or not, I picked up a Boss SYB-3 bass synth a month ago and I'm really getting off on it as an envelope filter. Really fat with a strong wah that makes it through a mix like nothing else I've tried. And it's tame-able as well.
 
#60
I used to have a Q-Tron+ XO and liked it, but ended up selling it because it distorted/peaked too easily and I couldn't tweak it to where I wanted it. For a while I was just going to use my Dunlop 105Q when I wanted a wah sound, but eventually decided I wanted to try a filter again and just bought a Robot Factory Meatwad off the classifieds. I'll post my thoughts when I get it.

FWIW, I also had a Maxon AF-9 a while back but didn't really like it because it was too subtle for me.
 

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