the 3leaf seems like the hottest filter around, but i voted for the MXR cause it seems to be just as sweet.
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Envelope Filter: which one should i buy?
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The Subdecay Prometheus is the best filter I've used, for my needs. It may not fit your needs. I've tried the DOD, EHX Bassballs, WMD Fatman, and settled on the Subdecay. I don't need any funky, cheesy, over the top sounds. I like the Prometheus because it does it's job without changing the fundamental tone of my bass (unless I ask it too) and it has a lot of fun modes with a lot of possibilities.
Anything is better than the dod!
I am not familiar with the groove regulator but the other two listed were just ok to me.
I am surprised nobody mentioned the Moog MoogerFooger lowpass. Its got a great tone but you kinda need to run your amp pretty flat or risk speaker damage! Though with the blend knob you can tame a bit of that. Its also a bit annoying that release is a switch(slow-fast) and not a knob. But it has all that CV stuff you can hook up to other moog pedals, synths etc. The ehx doctor q is really nice and croaky. It is also very simple with 1 knob, one switch. The qtron, well it isn't as good as mutron but I suppose it is cheaper.
I think it bears mentioning that different basses will behave a lot differently with the same pedal. Also some folks like a really fast choppy release, other guys (me) like a long release. So in the end, as usual, you gotta go try em!
I am not familiar with the groove regulator but the other two listed were just ok to me.
I am surprised nobody mentioned the Moog MoogerFooger lowpass. Its got a great tone but you kinda need to run your amp pretty flat or risk speaker damage! Though with the blend knob you can tame a bit of that. Its also a bit annoying that release is a switch(slow-fast) and not a knob. But it has all that CV stuff you can hook up to other moog pedals, synths etc. The ehx doctor q is really nice and croaky. It is also very simple with 1 knob, one switch. The qtron, well it isn't as good as mutron but I suppose it is cheaper.
I think it bears mentioning that different basses will behave a lot differently with the same pedal. Also some folks like a really fast choppy release, other guys (me) like a long release. So in the end, as usual, you gotta go try em!
TOTALLY loving the combo of my MuTron III and my Mooger Fooger! They work great together and one at a time. JOY!!!!
ok, thanks for all your opinions & votes ... i think i will go for the 3Leaf Groove Regulator and in regard of minimizing my effects-board i will get rid of my other 2 envelope filters (DOD FX25B & Exar Pignose), less is often more.
Good choice on the 3Leaf. I have a bunch of filters, including EHX Bassballs, a DOD FX-25 (vintage), and EHX Enigma Qballs, a Subdecay Promethus and others I won't even mention. If I could keep only one, it would be the 3Leaf for the great sound, lack of volume spiking and ease of use. The Prometheus would be my second choice, but I use it for wild, "spacey" sounds and the sample and hold.
I chose "other" as the pedal I use is somewhat obscure... Mad Professor Snow White Auto Wah, but it sure is sweet.
How is the 3 Leaf compare to the Enigma Q-balls? I have the the Enigma, get some great sounds out of it, but man, it takes some time to dial them in with all those nobs. Can the the 3 leaf do Q-tron quacky wet?
Other:
1 - Lovetone Meatball: very very versatile and good sounding
2 - Musitronics Mutron III (not HAZ): wet dirty envelope sound
3 - EHX Enigma: versatile
4 - Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II: very very good sounding (only if you use a passive bass)
1 - Lovetone Meatball: very very versatile and good sounding
2 - Musitronics Mutron III (not HAZ): wet dirty envelope sound
3 - EHX Enigma: versatile
4 - Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II: very very good sounding (only if you use a passive bass)
I have no personal experience with the 3leaf, but it's known on TB as one of the best subtle filters out there. All the sound clips of the 3leaf have, indeed, been very subtle.
One of the reasons I bought the Enigma was because I wanted something that was NOT subtle. If you want something that sounds very wet, like a Qtron, with tons of tweakability, the Enigma is going to be tough to beat IMO.
Have you had problems with the Chunk and active basses? All but one of my basses are active and I've never had any problems or issues with tone/action/sound etc.
To me it's just a matter of dialing back the sweep a bit.
I've owned the DOD (FX-25?), EH Q-Tron, Boss Auto Wah, and an EBS BassIQ. I also tried several others in stores and rejected them out of hand. The only one I own now is the EBS.
DOD- Not enough control over the sweep nor the output volume.
Q-Tron- Takes up a lot of real estate, flimsy construction, special power supply, really inconsistent set-up (I had to tweak settings ever gig), and no way to control output level.
Boss- Noisy, thin sounding (didn't pass bass), noisy, touchy controls, noisy, and too hard to get it to "burp". Did I mention it was noisy?
EBS- Sounds like I want it too, easy to set the trigger level and it stays there, standard stomp-box size with 9VDC supply (so I can power the whole board with a single One-Spot), and rugged. Perfect for moi.
John
DOD- Not enough control over the sweep nor the output volume.
Q-Tron- Takes up a lot of real estate, flimsy construction, special power supply, really inconsistent set-up (I had to tweak settings ever gig), and no way to control output level.
Boss- Noisy, thin sounding (didn't pass bass), noisy, touchy controls, noisy, and too hard to get it to "burp". Did I mention it was noisy?
EBS- Sounds like I want it too, easy to set the trigger level and it stays there, standard stomp-box size with 9VDC supply (so I can power the whole board with a single One-Spot), and rugged. Perfect for moi.
John
I've played it with a Yamaha BB NE2 and MusicMan Sterling for about 2 hours: couldn't get the dynamic of the envelope without any of these basses (it seemed to work as it was a static filter)...
With you on that one. Tweakable right to the end.
I hardly even use it as a traditional filter... how?
* Alternative distortion. Q @low to mid, high sensitivity with distortion on - growly, menacing - especially in LP mode.
* Faux reverse - yep, for all your fake backward guitar sound needs! Slow attack and low start range.
* Sludge destruction - again in the "down" mode (ie - start high, stop low) distortion on, sens at max. Walls of swelling distortion and volume into an already driven front end!
Finally I've sold my Lovetone Meatball and bought a EHX Enigma: after one year of playing with, I've found that the Metaball is best suited for guitar/keys than for bass.
I've found the Enigma great for bass (I also like the distorsion switch).
IMHO
I've found the Enigma great for bass (I also like the distorsion switch).
IMHO
All true. You can do all that, distortion-wise, and if you find it's cutting your lows due to they way you've configured it, you can re-blend your clean (or distorted elsewhere!) bass with the Enigma's own blend knob. It's awesome. The only reason I don't use it as pure dirt more often is that I already have three dirt pedals, and it's not too comfortable to re-adjust all eight switches in the 'nigma, mid-gig.
