Those are sort of the basic components of an envelope filter. But to break it down a bit:
(photos are from the earlier version of the editor, so some stuff isn't quite the same)
***Note, it helps if you've at least roughly set your sensitivity control so you can trigger the filters, even if you're not fully dialed. Use someone elses' envelope preset to do that first.
Start and end here:
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Input gain you set to your bass. Use the pedal and make note of what the setting ends up being (the numerical value)...start with that number ever time on your Input 1 Gain.
Master Depth With one filter you don't need to mess with this. With two filters it adjusts both but keeps them in scale. Feel free to ignore for single filter design.
Bass & Treble controls screw around with these AFTER you've designed your envelope filter.
Mix: Go all wet when you're designing your filter so you can hear exactly what it's doing...add in dry later, once you've got your filter tone designed.
Low Retain (now a knob): crossover control...split out the low stuff, keep it clean apply everything you're doing in your filter above that point. If your filter had a ton of depth, this may help you not swamp things. Feel like your filter is killin' your low end presence, use this control.
Output Volume: Seems pretty self explanatory. You'll want to adjust this when you're done. I like mine to be at unity or maybe little bit more so it can be present in a live mix in a band.
Next here Find your Voice:
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Set Voice 1 to ON (button top left)
-Mono Input 1 (where your signal is coming from). Other options are more for synth use or doing generated tones like octave pedal effects.
-Envelope; on or off, filter without envelope will open or close based upon signal but the envelope lets you shape the filter's opening and closing, fast/slow, swelled volume or ASDR options.
-Destination is where you're directing the signal. No distortion? Go right to filter. Distortion? set for Filter + Distortion
-Processor Pan: There are two processors (distortion/filters) the pan knob directs your signal to one, the other or both. Crank it all the way to the left (Processor 1).
-Level control I don't generally mess with until closer to the end when I'm figuring what levels I want signals to hit other stages.
Simple envelope filter?
Turn off ALL the other voices. Feel free to ignore them.
Next up clean or dirty:
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If you've chosen to get 'dirty,' this is where you're headed, otherwise skip this step. Make sure first off, it's ON. You'll see that voice one will have the full yellow bar in the little mixer window on the left, the others should have nothing. That's controlled from the PAN control in the Voice panel.
-Drop down: your pick...which distortion, fuzz, OD option do you want. They all sound different, some are brighter or darker or whatever so you do need to check em' with your bass. You may find that once you combine with a filter you like, you don't like it so much and you go back and try some others. Note, filters LIKE harmonic content.
You may find dirtying up your tone even just a little gives your filter something to 'grab ahold of' and give you more of what you want.
-Drive: The amount of distortion.
-Clean mix: Wait...this is just like using a distortion pedal, I know what that means.
- Output: Drive goes up (gain) output can come down so you're not blasting the next stage.
Next...the moment you've been waiting for...the filter:
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...also ON correct?
So...here's where MUCH of your sound design is going to come from. You'll still have that Voice 1 on the left hand side filled yellow (getting your voice one feed whether through distortion or not).
-Drop down: Filter types. A TON of options here. If you're replicating something it's good to know what the original design was. Most basic classics are 2-pole, many modern classics are 4-pole but it's well worth pulling through and hearing how they all differ.
-Invert button: Like that funky Bootsy reverse filter that dives? Click it dawg.
-Depth: how much sweep does your filter have. What's the width it will travel from open to close? Set that here.
-Frequency: Sets the overall frequency of the filter play and sweep and you'll find the place you want. It gives you the starting point of if you're going dark and swampy or something more mid-treble heavy. Remember it works in tandem with the Depth control, which will be how MUCH sweep you have.
Q: Resonant peak: This is where you get the filter emphasis. Soft and subtle or quacky or edgy/reedy. Sometimes you have to balance the filter type with the Q to get things to do what you want.
Destination (unknown): Make sure this is set to 'on' too or it's goin' nowhere. Where are you sending the signal when it's all said and done? Pick your outputs here.
Shaping the Envelope to your filter:
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Kinda makes sense, looking at it right? We know what the sensitivity control does. Work this with your bass to figure out how to trigger it best for your dynamics.
Drop Down: Audio Input: This is the actual pedal input you're using, most of us will use Input 1 unless you've got other routing things happening (stereo, loops, etc).
Drop Down: Envelope Types: There's a bunch of attack/release options and in name they tell you what the speed knob does. Some of them will control one or the other or both. Time to play around with 'em. There's also some other stuff like Swell (volume swell) and the ADSR (Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release) settings, which are more meant for the Synth stuff but CAN be used with the filters to fun effect. Play around with them and tweak at will.
Gate: Generally used for the Synth and keyed to help the oscillators' functioning.
...now go back to the general/universal controls and tweak. Fuss your wet/dry, adjust your output level. Play with that retain lows & the master bass/treble controls.
Done.
