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Getting that Frequency Analyzer sound from a Heliotrope

V

Vibhas Patil

Supporting Member
Sep 9, 2010
199
37
#1
Hey All,

I have a Catlinbread Heliotrope and it's a neat little box with many quirky sounds. The one sound I have however struggled to get is a tone similar to the EHX Frequency Analyzer. Check out this clip ... that's the sound I am going for.

Any tips on getting this sound? I have messed around the pedal quite a bit and can't seem to get that tone. I am playing a 50's P bass btw.

Cheers!
 
#2
Did we just catch two pros mispronouncing Moog/Moogerfooger?? :eek:

One thing to remember is that the Heliotrope is a bitcrusher and the FA is a ring mod. Similar but definitely different
 
#4
bonga_rascal said:
Oh so there's a big difference between a bit crushed and a ring modulator!
Click to expand...

Well, there's a huge difference in terms of what the two devices do to your signal...and then a slightly-less-huge difference between what the audible results of those signal processes sound like.

They both generate additional signals that are not related harmonically (in the musical sense) to the pitch of the input signal. A bit crusher generates quantization artifacts, a ring modulator generates sidebands that are the sum & difference of the input signal plus a separate carrier frequency.

Since neither is related musically to the input signal they can both have a similar effect timbrally. But because the ring modulator's effect is related mathematically to the input signal, it is literally a very different effect than a bit crusher.
 
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#6
Here's the deal. The Heliotrope isn't a bit crusher. Real bitcrushing (and sample rate reduction) is a digital process and the Catalinbread is analog.

The Heliotrope is trying to sort of simulate bit crushing. A pedal like the BugCrusher does this by using a sample & hold filter run at audio rates.

But the Heliotrope does it with a ring mod like approach mixed with fuzz.

Unlike a normal ring mod which uses the sum and the difference of the input and the carrier frequency, the Heliotrope just uses (I believe) the difference. So without the fuzz added it will sound a lot like a ring mod.

So why is it different than the sounds Tim gets with the Frequency Analyzer? Part of it is just that without the second tone (input + carrier) it isn't as full. Part of it is that the EHX is a "cleaner" sounding ring mod. But (to me) another big difference is the sub switch on the FA which makes a ring mod (which often sounds thin on bass and requires a blend to not cut all the low end) sound massive.

To me the Frequency Analyzer is the most usable ring mod for bass. The Moogerfooger is MUCH more versatile and the Randy's Revenge is great with sine and square waves and a really useful tone knob. And both of those have expression control (frequency only on RR, lots of parameters on the Moog) and both also can do tremolo sounds but just in terms of basic ring mod sounds the Frequency Analyzer is the best I've tried.
 
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#7
I have three ringers lol
Ehx Frequency Analyser: best sound, just smoother and "natural". But has a slight volume drop.
Ehx Ring Thing: it can do all that the big Moog can do, expression control and presets. Can get close to the FA in sound but only close.
I use it as tremolo, ringer, pitchshifter and sub octave.
Moog mf Ring: can be run with battery, expression control and very nice sound. Slightly different to both Ehx ringers and much simpler than the big Moog ringer.
I can only say i like them all...
 
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