Yes I suspect the Spectrum is easier for using live tha the C4. The C4 has more options and sounds but if you are more interested in the envelope filters sounds you might be better of with the Spectrum (?).
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Source Audio Spectrum Inteligent Filter!!!
- Thread starter OhulahanBass
- Start date
Yes I suspect the Spectrum is easier for using live tha the C4. The C4 has more options and sounds but if you are more interested in the envelope filters sounds you might be better of with the Spectrum (?).
This is one of the reasons I'm interested in the Spectrum vs the C4, while I have a Groove Regulator and LOVE the Envelope filter sounds it produces, I find I very rarely use my MXR octive (the lease used pedal on my board). With the Spectrum having an octive plus some cool synth sounds it sounds like just the ticket. From what I've read I will need a midi-switcher to access almost any thing live on the C4 but the Spectrum to me seems a bit more user friendly.
To be fair, you will probably want a midi controller to unlock all the potential of the Spectrum also.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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Depends on what you're looking for. If you're a player who is really 'playing' the dynamics of the filter (you hit softly to have it not open or not open as far) and you're enjoying the fact that you can make the envelope do different things depending on how you attack the strings...put your compressor after.
If you're a person who wants the envelope to be more consistent and open the same way no matter your attack (or at least to operate within a generally similar range) then put your compressor before. I run my compressor (also a Cali 76CB) and my Opto-Limiter (LA-2A circuit) both before any envelopes.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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The 'face controls' would be a bonus if you're someone who will need to access and save settings pretty regularly. Both the Spectrum and the C4 have a one-up on the AfterShock, where if you want to use more than the handful of sounds the pedal holds, the presets end up on the Hub and you can't use any of the face controls to adjust/resave those and you're really at the mercy of one of the editors.
deepestend
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- Feb 21, 2003
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I’m going to take the plunge. Sounds like it can be the phaser/octave/envelope I need. I love the manta but it just needs an octave.
deepestend
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I definitely will. Haven’t tinkered with the pedal board in a while, so hoping this is an upgrade. Just out my manta in the classifieds.
Do you need to do MIDI/computer stuff to get to the down sweep on this pedal, or is it onboard? So far, all the demos I've seen for this pedal that manipulate the onboard controls only feature up sweep, except for some of the octave/synthy tones.
If you compare the Spectrum to some of the best analog envelope filters like Moogerfooger, Qtron, Mutron or Proton etc. Do you think it sounds as good as these pedals if you use the Spectrum only for classic envelope sounds? Do you think the Spectrum sounds too digital/modern or can it compete with these analog pedals in terms of sound ?
deepestend
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I can only speak to the Manta and the older Bass Envelope Filter. I felt that the Envelope sounds were just as good. The bonus was that the pedals gave you more options to fine tune to the band mix so that your sound actually comes through. My issue with playing classic envelopes is that it's so hard to get them to sound right in the mix with others. Maybe they sound fine in the bedroom or a recording mix, but when it's just you jamming with some other players, it's hard to get it to sound like you want it to.
- Apr 19, 2001
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I’ve had it side by side with a MF-101 and have used many other filters in the past. The Moog has some more ‘extreme’ setting quirks but for a ‘regular’ filter setting the spectrum is just as good. I easily sidelined the moog when the spectrum came.
rsmith601
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We have all the classic analog filters in house. It is interesting that most of them (Meatball in particular) are really hard to dial in. I remember Nathan doing some testing, and even a guy at his level found it difficult. And then, they drift over time and temperature. In comparison, digital envelope filters are the complete opposite. In this regard (predictability), one could make the argument that digital envelope filters offer a superior experience than their analog counterparts.
You’ll need to edit the pedal using the neuro phone app or Neuro desktop app over USB. Then save that preset to one of the six selectable patches. A midi controller allows you to access the full 128 patch array, it’s not used for patch editing.
I think the days of digital vs analogue sounds are well and truly over. SA have been pushing out digital models of trad analogue domain pedal types for a few years. My Aftershock is a digital revelation as to how analogue sounding a digital dirt pedal can be. Likewise with the IF/C4...totally analogue sounding filters and octavers....plus all the other good stuff...totally nailing the analogue synth sounds of the 80’s and 90’s
I agree. My question was not so much an analog vs digital debate. But I just want to know if it can compete with the classic envelope filter sounds of the best envelope pedals that we know and if the Spectrum is more a modern sound. I am not talking about the extra stuff like fuzz phasing and octaves and so one. That's nice but for me the classic envelope filter sound is the most important.
deepestend
Commercial User
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That's a good question. I tend to use the classic sounds more as well. At least on the manta, I felt like I could get them.
And to plug a couple of less-appreciated things: the tracking and the octave tones in it are fantastic. As long as you keep your playing monophonic the tracking is fast and accurate, and I don't think I could tell the octave apart from an OC-2 in a blind test. As much as I love my new H9, it can't come close to the tracking quality of the Spectrum.
The only thing I haven't been able to figure out with the Spectrum is how to get those super-squelchy tones, a la P Funk:
For everything else filter/octave-related, it's a swiss army knife of awesomeness.
The only thing I haven't been able to figure out with the Spectrum is how to get those super-squelchy tones, a la P Funk:
For everything else filter/octave-related, it's a swiss army knife of awesomeness.
Try increasing the filter Q for maximum squelch! I think one of the XD or Moog MF-101 patches with increased resonance could get you there.
