Which HPF?

[Bar Band Bassman]

I have an FDeck HPF. Many on this forum sing it praises. I have become one of them. I put it in the FX loop and set it to where it makes my ears happy. Quick and easy. No dial markings doesn't bother me. It's a sound thing, not a sight thing. Stays on throughout the performance. May tweak it once or twice as crowd size changes. It has had the single most profound impact on my enjoyment of my "sound" of any device, including basses and amps. Thanks, Francis!

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[mmbongo]

Broughton HP/LF. Done.

I didn't like the RFE as it altered my sound too much. I just wanted basic filters and I feel the HP/LP does much better at that. BUT you might like what the RFE does. But for me it took away the tight/focused sound that I like.

 

[superheavyfunk]

I truthfully do not love my Broughton HPF - I don't plan on replacing it, it sounds fine, works well, but I don't like that the knob goes from 25Hz to 190Hz but that I can't tell, specifically, what Hz I have it set at.

I feel the exact same way. Have thought many times about just taking a hacksaw to the thing and cutting off the knob so I can stop worrying about it changing position on me once I finally get it set… and then I reach over to tweak something else or check a cable and accidentally swipe the stupid thing again

I’m looking forward to trying out the thumpinator or something similar to that and replacing the Broughton.

 

[bass12]

I’ve had both the Broughton (HPF/LPF and standalone HPF) and the Fdeck. Both do the job well. Obviously the Fdeck is out if the OP wants both a high pass and a low pass in one pedal. I have an older Broughton without any frequencies indicated. The more recent ones have several frequency points indicated. I find it pretty easy to go by sound though (or by learning the frequency range and then approximating) but, again, this isn’t an issue with the later models.

 

[Wfrance3]

Thumpinator (HPF) and Tone knob on a bass (LPF). I had a broughton LPF for a bit and sold it. It is superior to the tone knob, but not enough that I felt compelled to keep it.

 

[GreyBeard]

I think these things either work or they don't. I have the Broughton that you mention. It is very easy to use and it does what it is suppose to do without coloring the sound.

 

[J.Wolf]

RFE can be used as a standard HP/LP filter - see the quote in post No. 9 above…

so on the RFE, in its -3db position on the HPF, it does what the Broughton HPF pedal does?

 

[silky smoove]

so on the RFE, in its -3db position on the HPF, it does what the Broughton HPF pedal does?

Correct

 

[packhowitzer]

I have the Broughton HPF/LPF and the FDeck HPF-3. To my ears the FDeck sounds more pleasing. But its form factor is a little awkward on my pedalboard (I think it was meant to be strapped to an Upright bass). Also the Fdeck doesn't have an on/off switch or status light the way a traditional pedal would. Not a deal breaker for me, but lately I've had the Broughton on my board.

 

[J.Wolf]

I have the Broughton HPF/LPF and the FDeck HPF-3. To my ears the FDeck sounds more pleasing. But its form factor is a little awkward on my pedalboard (I think it was meant to be strapped to an Upright bass). Also the Fdeck doesn't have an on/off switch or status light the way a traditional pedal would. Not a deal breaker for me, but lately I've had the Broughton on my board.

My Fdeck S3 mini just came in today and lordy is it a lot more pedalboard friendly than the regular S3.

 

[okabass]

This is very good, but it is a kit. It has DI, LPF, HPF and a booster. Can use battery or adapter. High voltage (± 9 VDC I think) =good headroom.


I had a Thumpinator, don’t recommend. PoS. It broke two times in less than two years.

VONG-Filterung – Schalltechnik_04

 

[wolffire99]

so on the RFE, in its -3db position on the HPF, it does what the Broughton HPF pedal does?

why would they have -12db in a position that is labeled -3db? Talk about confusing lol.

 

[Zbysek]

so on the RFE, in its -3db position on the HPF, it does what the Broughton HPF pedal does?

exactly

 

[kleinenenten]

My Fdeck S3 mini just came in today and lordy is it a lot more pedalboard friendly than the regular S3.
View attachment 5221983

Is that a new offering of his? Color me intrigued! I LOVE the v3, and have one for each of my amps. This one doesn't have a volume knob? I occasionally use mine as an easy master volume. Anyway, the original v3 is perfect in that it does what it does effectively and quietly, without affecting tone in any way (that it's not designed to). I use mine more as speaker protection, and it certainly limits speaker movement! It also cleans up muddy bass and allows my amp to be louder because it's not trying to amplify those incredibly low frequencies. Per the OP's question, it does NOT do LPF, but it's absolutely amazing for an HPF, and affordable to boot.

 

[Zbysek]

why would they have -12db in a position that is labeled -3db? Talk about confusing lol.

It’s not confusing after you do some reading on (high pass) filters.

High pass filter creates a slope. The steepness of the slope is measured in Db/octave. Broughton high pass filters create slope of 12 Db/octave.

The Common practice for variable HPFs is to label the frequency at -3db. It means that if you set your HPF at 80hz, it will be -3db at 80hz. Because of the steepness of the slope (12db), it will be -15 Db (3+12) at 40 hz (one octave lower) and -27 Db (3+12+12) at 20 hz (two octaves lower).

If the steepness of the filter is 6db/octave, HPF set at 80 hz would be -3 Db at 80 hz, -9 Db (3+6) at 40 hz, and -15 hz (3+6+6) at 20 hz…

 

[HolmeBass]

why would they have -12db in a position that is labeled -3db? Talk about confusing lol.

You are confusing the 12 dB/octave slope of the filter for the resonance control at the cutoff point. The knob sets the resonance of the filter at your chosen frequency - below that (for HPF) the filter cuts -12 dB/octave no matter what your resonance is set to.

 

[mcnach]

why would they have -12db in a position that is labeled -3db? Talk about confusing lol.

It's very clearly explained in the description. The -3/+15 is for the resonant filter, not the HPF/LPF slope.

 

[djmay]

I have an Alembic SF-2 Superfilter, which is unique. It is not a pedal. It has 2 variable state filters, each of which can be selected to be high pass, low pass or bandpass. Filters can be in parallel, series or stereo. It has a mixer with which one can mix the dry bass signal with the filters. Each filter has frequency control, Q control and gain. They are also hard to find; they seem not to be in production.

I have been looking at alternatives and decided to go the DIY path. It had been 25 years since I had done soldering. I bought kits from musikding.de.

The first was VONG-Filterung - filter kit, 33,00 €. It was a success. It contains a HPF, LPF each with frequency control plus volume. Works great.

I just finished the Pro-Filter kit, 38,50 €.
This has one variable state filter, with concurrent mixing of high pass, low pass and bandpass. It is not as intuitive as the other two, however I am beginning to understand it. It is quite versatile. It works very well together with the VONG-Filterung. So far, it does not seem to be a substitute for HPF/LPF but an enhancement, such as resonance, tone control and wild sounds, which I would not use.

 

[_Tay_]

Been using a thumpinator for 4 years now and it's a great piece of kit. Never used the Broughton though.

 

[butterfingers1]

why would they have -12db in a position that is labeled -3db? Talk about confusing lol.

The RFE had three different things going. High and low frequency filters, resonance at these two set frequencies, and an unrelated mid eq.

The bottom row is the frequency filter, which progressively kills signal at a rate of 12dB per octave starting from the frequency you set.

The top row is the resonance controls. These adjust a signal bump, in dB, at the frequency of the filter set in the bottom row. All the way counter clockwise is no signal bump (indicated as -3dB) so it’s just the regular HPF/LPF working. As you turn the resonance dial clockwise, it increases the volume (signal bump, up to +15dB) of the frequency set on the HPF/LPF dials on the bottom row.

The two center dials are just a mid frequency eq, nothing to do with the rest.