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What is the most forgiving envelope filter?

#22
jumblemind said:
Envelope filters are a persnickety lot. I hear awesome tones in recorded songs, on YouTube demo's (usually solo'd jazz bass), even at some live concerts, but it in my own live use, they can be hard to use with my heavy hand and usual P bass preference. So which ones are more "forgiving" for a club gig, where you don't have to concentrate too heavily on technique or have additional volume boost to get a good, noticeable sound?
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Bassballs. Great both live and recorded.
 
#23
The MXR is pretty straightforward, as a bandpass filter with a clean side channel it should keep your volume up well.

The FilterTwin is cool but a bit subdued in action, it is a bit atmospheric in that sense.

You tried a MuTron III and didn't love it? Was it a Musitronics III or Haz III+? They look basically identical but in function are miles apart.

I would say a TruTron 3x, but that is very similar to the MuTron III (the Musitronics one). I just got an Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe v2 and really love it. The 4 pole filter on fast is the wettest, squelchiest filter I have. It also has separate output volumes for filter and clean so dialing in a slight boost to make sure it speaks in the mix is no problem.

I will say that you need some upper mids and highs to really get a filter to speak, and some slight transparent OD and/or treble boost going into the filter can help a lot.
 
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#24
Where do you guys try your pedals (the non mxr, boss and zoom) before you buy them. I'm pretty happy with mine which I use almost never.... Mxr. Are there brick and mortar stores that carry boutique stuff for bass or do you just roll the dice and buy direct (or used from someone who bought direct)?
 
#25
HolmeBass said:
You tried a MuTron III and didn't love it? Was it a Musitronics III or Haz III+? They look basically identical but in function are miles apart.
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Haz. I actually like its sound fine and should have held onto it. The size was just impractical for my board.

The MXR was just unusable for me. Even with sensitivity maxed I couldn't get it to respond much to my passive bases.
 
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#31
MXR BEF's just a one trick pony (that's all it is)
But it turns that trick with pride.



jumblemind said:
... All the demo's I see of the Proton seem to lack the "bass foundation" thing. If I were playing a jazz bass all of the time with funky stuff and a band that slotted well around me, that'd be great. But I play with a heavy hitting drummer and fairly dense guitars.
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Something like an LS-2, but with a Low Pass Filter on the clean signal, would help retain the booty and still let the rest of the signal be as quacky as you wanna be ducky.
 
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#32
I have the 3 Leaf Wonderlove and the Aguilar Filter Twin.
Although I've gotten some great sounds with the Wonderlove, I find the Aguilar Twin much easier to get a usable sound live that works well in a mix. Can even slap it without it getting out of control. Has a great bass response so it still sounds like a bass not a keyboard or a toy. More of an effect for bass rather than a synth sound.
 
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#33
The Source Audio filters are super forgiving. IMO consistency does not go with mojo - I use an FX25 when funk or dub is the thing. My SA BEF Pro shines for synthy stuff though, especially because it can go anywhere in the chain and still behaves consistently. If I had to guess, it might not be an envelope follower but a gate-triggered filter - almost certainly what the OP is looking for.
 
#34
Well... for me it was a flip of the coin between the Aquilar Filter Twin and the EBS Triple Bass IQ. I have not owned either but I just purchased (today) the Bass IQ based off YouTube demos for 'what I think' will fit the music I like (r&b)with a leap of faith and GC's return policy- both seems to be easy tweakers and not wild and both seem to have a reputation for quality based on owner's reviews.
 
#36
jumblemind said:
Haz. I actually like its sound fine and should have held onto it. The size was just impractical for my board.

The MXR was just unusable for me. Even with sensitivity maxed I couldn't get it to respond much to my passive bases.
Click to expand...
Ok, that makes sense! If all you've tried is the Haz, you haven't tried a *real* MuTron III. Trust me. I would suggest a TruTron 3x if you can get a hold of one.
 
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#37
Ant Illington said:
Where do you guys try your pedals (the non mxr, boss and zoom) before you buy them. I'm pretty happy with mine which I use almost never.... Mxr. Are there brick and mortar stores that carry boutique stuff for bass or do you just roll the dice and buy direct (or used from someone who bought direct)?
Click to expand...
In eastern Canada, there is a store called "Moog Audio," and they carry all kinds of boutique pedals and stuff. There's not much bass-exclusive stuff, but there is a lot of stuff that one can try that might be useful in figuring out which effects might work with ones rig. Other than that, it's just a roll of the dice, as you say. It sucks - I'm currently stuck with two very cool (and expensive) but useless-to-me pedals because I wanted to try them and took a chance. It's hard to sell locally because nobody's ever heard of them (and the $$$ thing), and everybody here is looking for the BBD.

Anyway, bassically I'm saying that it's a risk but you might want to take it anyway. If it's something like a wonderlove or a sgfx beta you'll be able to turn it around fairly easily. If it's something super boutique or complicated, it'll be a lot harder, in my experience.
 
#38
superheavyfunk said:
In eastern Canada, there is a store called "Moog Audio," and they carry all kinds of boutique pedals and stuff. There's not much bass-exclusive stuff, but there is a lot of stuff that one can try that might be useful in figuring out which effects might work with ones rig. Other than that, it's just a roll of the dice, as you say. It sucks - I'm currently stuck with two very cool (and expensive) but useless-to-me pedals because I wanted to try them and took a chance. It's hard to sell locally because nobody's ever heard of them (and the $$$ thing), and everybody here is looking for the BBD.

Anyway, bassically I'm saying that it's a risk but you might want to take it anyway. If it's something like a wonderlove or a sgfx beta you'll be able to turn it around fairly easily. If it's something super boutique or complicated, it'll be a lot harder, in my experience.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thanks.
 
#39
"FX25 IS ALIVE!" :smug: It's a flamin' festival of funkiness :hyper: For starters, just a clean boost > EF > comp - ride the sensitivity a little to suit the axe and then the bass' tone knob on the fly, if needs be, to reel it back in and you're in like Flynn :cool: Then throw any number of things in between whenever the mood takes you. It can get really dirty, sometimes :wacky:
 
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