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Envelope filter?

J

Jaydin Nathan

Sep 3, 2007
324
0
33
Sydney, Australia
#1
I have searched quite a bit, so none of that please :)
I've been looking for an envelope filter for a while now, and went to the shop today (I had my eye set on the Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II).
When I got there, I turned it on, and it was absolutely disgusting. I could not get a decent envelope filter sound out of it (I like just the generic envelope filter sound, not the weird synth bass sounds)!
Well anyway, the staff member brought out some more pedals, including the EHX Doctor Q, MXR Auto Wah and the Digitech BSW (among some other I can't remember, for good reasons).
The only one that good get a decent envelope filter sound was the Digitech!
So, is there a way to get the generic envelope filter sound out of the Agent 00Funk? And how is the EHX Q-Tron (Mini, normal, and '+') with the generic sound?
And is the Digitech True-Bypass?

Thanks!
 
#3
Some of the pedals you tried are actually pretty good but may have required some tweaking. I have owned a few different filters and the one that has remained on my board is the MXR bass Auto Q. Its really squelchy and funky and has a volume control which is key to setting it up in the mix properly. Its not perfect as its not true bpass but the bypass is pretty good and don't have to tweak it every time I switch basses, which drove me nuts with the Mini Q Tron.

I have not tried the Agent Funk but have been told that it takes a lot of tweaking.
 
#5
TheJaydin said:
I have searched quite a bit, so none of that please :)
I've been looking for an envelope filter for a while now, and went to the shop today (I had my eye set on the Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk Mark II).
When I got there, I turned it on, and it was absolutely disgusting. I could not get a decent envelope filter sound out of it (I like just the generic envelope filter sound, not the weird synth bass sounds)!
Well anyway, the staff member brought out some more pedals, including the EHX Doctor Q, MXR Auto Wah and the Digitech BSW (among some other I can't remember, for good reasons).
The only one that good get a decent envelope filter sound was the Digitech!
So, is there a way to get the generic envelope filter sound out of the Agent 00Funk? And how is the EHX Q-Tron (Mini, normal, and '+') with the generic sound?
And is the Digitech True-Bypass?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

With the exception of the Dr Q, you tested a good bunch of filters. If you liked the Digitech then go get it. I think you will also be happy with a 442 clone or the aformentioned DOD FX25

And just because an effect didn't meet your sound preferences doesn't make it "disgusting".
 
#6
I have two filters (Digitech BSW & DOD fx25) and a manual wah (Morley DBW) on my board currently. I love the sound of the fx25 with my passive pbass, but it's atrocious with my Schecter Studio 5. The BSW on the other hand is just the opposite.

That's the sole reason why I have two filters on my board, and I can see why people have 4 or 5 different ones.

Also, I've found the more complex the pedal (i.e. more knobs etc.) the longer the learning curve is. You need to spend some time with each pedal, turning this and that to get the sound that you're looking for.
 
#9
Every single envelope filter requires that you pay close attention to the dynamics of your playing; IME, it requires getting the controls of the device set so that you can then explore the limits of the sweeping via how hard or softly you play.
 
#11
ive used a few filters in my time, a EHX Mini Q-tron, a EHX Qtron+, a Boss Dynamic Wah, the Ibanez Synthesizer Bass, EHX Bass Micro Synthesizer. My advice is get something with a volume control, coz although i loved the generic filter sound of the MiniQtron but it was just too loud.

as far as generic goes, i guess the only thing more generic than a Qtron is a Mutron, and if you've got the cash for an original, then thats the way to go, but the Qtron was designed by the same guy (i think)
also the Maxon/Ibanez AF9 is meant to be very good and will get similar Mutron sounds.

on a budget id suggest the BSW (although ive never played it) or the Ibanez Synthesizer bass, although it says 'synthesizer' its just a envelope filter with optional distortion, although ive fallen out of love with generic filter sounds, this one will do what i want and its got a volume control, however as a warning: the switches can be temperamental (may not always switch when you tell them to) with all the Ibanez ToneLok pedal series, not saying that it'll happen to you, but it happens to me, so you gotta make sure u tread firm

if you want ill record some clips for you?

theo
 
#13
Try the Q-Tron (and/or Q-Tron+), it's a good filter, mainstream so they are usually available on the used market, and even new they're relatively cheap. There are much more tweakable units out there but it sounds like you want something a bit more "fire and forget", so the Q-Tron is probably a safe bet.

As for the Bass Auto Q: It's the only filter I've owned that never even received velcro it was on my board for such a short time. It just sounds too neat n' tidy to me. I think MXR pedals generally sound too well-behaved.
 
#16
I currently have the EBS IQ and a EH BAssballs pedal on my board. The EBS has a nice tone, a little tighter sound and has more options. The Balls has a cool sound and is easy to dial in (only one knob). As was previously mentioned, the biggest thing with any filter is controlling it with your attack. You really have to "play" the pedal, but once you get the feel for it, a lot of cool sounds and possibilities open up.
 
#17
I've had many, (it's a most useful effect), and the tops on my list are, 1) Pigtronix EP-1, though it's much more than a filter, the filter is subtle, natural sounding, and mwhaaa-ie. 2) Menatone MailBomb, anything but subtle. In fact, it screams. I use it with fuzz and it's as close to a real synth as I've heard yet. And, 3) MXR Bass Auto Q. This one's not technically a filter,more of an auto-wah, but it has characteristics of a filter,like mwhaa, and some sparkly modulation at the end. I didn't want to like it, didn't even want it on my board, but in the end, I had to clear a space for it, it's that cool.
 

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