Help Me Find an Envelope Filter

[Planet Boulder]

I too was looking into the BassIQ until recently. Now im set on a digitech bass synth wah. Ive heard it used in a live setting (the mars volta, juan alderete) and i like the way it sounds. A lot funkier than the bassiq, and cheaper.

With all due respect, I disagree in regards to the "funkier" comment.

I have, and use, both the BassIQ and BSW and, while they are different balls of wax, I find that the BassIQ has a more vintage, analog funk vibe to it than the BSW. the BSW seems to cop the "wetter" envelope filter feel, which is great in certain situations for me, while the BassIQ just seems to be more "organic".

I love the BSW for its versatility, but I prefer the BassIQ for its vintage funk envelope filter vibe. It has been worth every penny I plunked down for it.

To each his/her own, though.

 

[BassyBill]

Received the MXR-188 Bass Auto Q today. After messing around with it for a while I would say it is not a true envelope filter. It is not attack sensitive.

It is, actually - or input level sensitive. Sometimes it triggers, sometimes it don't, depending on the note level. Thing is, the sensitivity isn't adjustable, which is the only thing I don't like about it.

Try playing a few notes with the volume of your bass on full, then backing off a little. You should get to a point where the amount of wah you get varies with the dynamics of your playing (assuming full volume on your bass is sufficient output to trigger it all the time - mine all do). In fact, this effect more than any other is worth spending some time on as it responds a lot to changes in your other settings and your playing style. I'm still experimenting with mine. I love the sounds it can put out, but I do wish it had a sensitivity control.

Try it out and let us know what you think

 

[henryjurstin13]

I have played through several... Q-tron+, Flip Funky Box, Emma DiscomBOBulator, and Chunk Agent '00' Funk. The Agent '00' Funk is by far, the most sensitive. You can find many sounds in this pedal, but it is hard to find & kinda pricey. The tron & funky box are best suited for guitar... the Emma DiscomBOBulator (although I purchased it for my guitars) is a fantastic bass pedal. Very smooth, and just the right amount of sensitivity. You can get as funky as you want with it & more.... I vote for the discomBOBulator!!!

 

[SFjonstarr]

I have spent time with a good number of envelope pedals and have found that they are good at different things. If you're looking for a really drippy wet kind of sound, kind of like Les Claypool in the last couple of years, the Digitech BSW would be a good choice. The Chunk unit has a great sound and is very dynamic but is somewhat harder to dial in. It would be a great unit for the studio, but live I think it's a bit too sensitive. I spent some time with the Emma Discombobulator but didn't much care for it. It's like the attack was too aggressive or something, I couldn't get a sound I was happy with. I much prefered the Maxon AF9. It has a nice Mutronish vibe and responded more smoothly. As for the Flip Funky Box, I thought it was more of a guitar pedal too, until I started experimenting with it. For that pedal you need to drive the front end with a clean boost of fuzz or anything that can get a hotter signal into it to get the tube going. I use my Studio Electronics Wolftone Chaos pedal (kind of like a growly fuzz)for the job. Then you need to tame the strong peeks coming out the back end. I find that the MXR M-80 brings the dynamics back without messing up the sound. The end result is one of the nastiest envelope sounds I've EVER heard. Super growly. Sounds angry. Probably not what most of you guys would be looking for in an envelope filter sound but I would recommend picking one up if you can find one and spend some time with it. It's made me wonder about how some of the envelope filters I've tried that didn't respond very well would sound with more gain in the front end. I'm curious to try a Lovetone Meatball or Electro Harmonix Bi-Filter, as they include attack and decay controls that would be very useful in dialing in sounds. Plus the Bi-Filter has two filters off the same envelope with separate controls for each one, so you can run them in opposite dirrections or parallel at different frequencies. Have any of you guys spent any time with the Bi-Filter on a bass? I am quite curious to see if it works well with bass as its' controls are quite comprehensive. It's just too expensive to purchase without having played through it.