Envelope Filters

[Jonathan]

I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but I
need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now that
I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about what I
put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out for
myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and find out
which units can survive the stage.
I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just couldn't
dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I don't know
if they are any easier to control.
I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I want
to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks very
interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag over other
pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range, which
doesn't make it any easier to choose!
I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use for
soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to be
clean.
Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are using?
I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and found it
utterly worthless, by the way.
Thanks.
-Jonathan

[Lasse W. Wehner]

"Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> skrev i en meddelelse
news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
> want to try that one out as well.

I can highly recommend the DiscumBOBulator. Handbuilt here in Denmark and
very sturdy. Easy to use yet still fairly versatile. It has a very funky
tone and I do not miss any low end. Obviously good for funky grooves, but
also for heavier chords, in which case (with the right attack), it can sound
mildly distorted (in that good way).

- Lasse

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"Lasse W. Wehner" <lww_cardtrader@_REMOVE_hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4613903c$0$21933$157c6196@dreader1.cybercity. dk...
>
> "Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> skrev i en meddelelse
> news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
>> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
>> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
>> want to try that one out as well.
>
> I can highly recommend the DiscumBOBulator. Handbuilt here in Denmark and
> very sturdy. Easy to use yet still fairly versatile. It has a very funky
> tone and I do not miss any low end. Obviously good for funky grooves, but
> also for heavier chords, in which case (with the right attack), it can
> sound mildly distorted (in that good way).
>
> - Lasse


sigh......

Why do people from foreign countries communicate more clearly in English
than the president of the U.S.A.?

Lasse, would you like to be our next president?

[James Hart]

My fav is the 442 from Tone Factor

http://www.tonefactor.com/proddetail.php?prod=442red

[Nigel Goodwin]

In message <zoNQh.6144$ya1.4214@news02.roc.ny>, JoeSpareBedroom
<dishborealis@yahoo.com> writes
>Why do people from foreign countries communicate more clearly in English
>than the president of the U.S.A.?

I don't think it's Lasse that's particularly good (although he is!),
it's your president who's particularly bad! :-)
--
Nigel Goodwin
C.Farmer Ltd.
Matlock

[Neil N]

On Apr 4, 6:27 am, "Jonathan" <jonat...@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote:
> I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but I
> need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
> I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now that
> I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about what I
> put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out for
> myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and find out
> which units can survive the stage.
> I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
> nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just couldn't
> dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I don't know
> if they are any easier to control.
> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I want
> to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks very
> interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag over other
> pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range, which
> doesn't make it any easier to choose!
> I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
> happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
> something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use for
> soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to be
> clean.
> Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are using?
> I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and found it
> utterly worthless, by the way.
> Thanks.
> -Jonathan


I like the effect as well, but I don't keep one in my signal chain all
the time.
I have a cycle where I rotate between lots of toys, and purist
"straight wire"
Currently I've been in the "straight wire" phase for quite a while.

But I do occasionally use the EH Bass balls, and the DOD Fx25.
Dialing in just the right effect and level can be tricky, so I mainly
use them for an over the top solo, as opposed to building a groove
around them.

[Jim Carr]

"Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...

> I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now
> that I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about
> what I put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out
> for myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and
> find out which units can survive the stage.
<snip>
> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
> want to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks
> very interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag
> over other pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range,
> which doesn't make it any easier to choose!

Mel Brown had the BassIQ at the School of Bass. He was very fond of it and
said he had owned it for many years now. It looked well worn, but seemed to
work fine.

Ashdown recently introduced an inexpensive one. It looks to be built like a
tank. You can take a listen to it at
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?ID=154.

[Pavel Semyonov]

Jonathan,

AutoWah is a very subjective effect and no recommendations will work unless
you clearly know what you wonna get from it and how it must sound. My bass
teacher said that 'AutoWah is in your fingers and not in electronics..', he
is probably right, but not completely right from my point of view.

Below are my only feedbacks on several devices based on my feelings,
probably these will help you. I assume that autowah (envelope filter) shall
be used to highlight articulation (per requirement) when playing solos. The
highlighting must be very predicatable so you could control it. I have
looking for a long period and is still looking for a good device that will
generally not color my tone unless I'll make extra powerful pluck, whcih
must result in slight coloring to make it distinctive. I would expect that
it works stable across all strings. This is probably an 'ideal' device that
will never exists.

The most difficult to do issue for AutoWah is to finetune it for your needs.
And you must test it along some period and multiple tune to make sure that
it works for you personally.

I tried EBS IQ - not good, 'very stupid' one. ABsolutely unrobust across the
strings. The sound is very sharp.

I tried EH BassBalls. Very original, but not that I have been looking for
for all-time playing. However I own it and use it sometimes.

I have DIscumBobulator. Better, but 'passive coloring' is very string. I'm
using it some times.

Probably one of the best that I tried was (pls do not laught) is AutoWah
effect built into Zoom Bass 708II processor. Very stable and predicatble. I
use it mostly.

One more that I tried and I think that is very versatile is new Guyatone
Optical AutoWah:
http://guyatone.com/GstU05.php
I have not enough experience with it, so cannot give any recommendations,
but sounds very-very good. It can be used as pedal wah, oscillating wah,
etc. However, it is rather expensive ($425).

--

Regards,
Pavel


"Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
> I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but I
> need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
> I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now
> that I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about
> what I put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out
> for myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and
> find out which units can survive the stage.
> I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
> nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just couldn't
> dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I don't
> know if they are any easier to control.
> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
> want to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks
> very interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag
> over other pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range,
> which doesn't make it any easier to choose!
> I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
> happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
> something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use
> for soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to
> be clean.
> Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are
> using? I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and
> found it utterly worthless, by the way.
> Thanks.
> -Jonathan
>

[Mini]

> sigh......
>
> Why do people from foreign countries communicate more clearly in English
> than the president of the U.S.A.?
>
> Lasse, would you like to be our next president?

Sadly the president of the US has to be home grown as you know.
But what really bothers me - for all I know Mr. Bush could theoretically be
elected as the next prime minister of Denmark.

Note to self - advocate for change of Danish constitution.

Mini

[Mike Rieves]

"Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
> I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but I
> need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
> I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now
> that I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about
> what I put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out
> for myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and
> find out which units can survive the stage.
> I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
> nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just couldn't
> dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I don't
> know if they are any easier to control.
> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
> want to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks
> very interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag
> over other pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range,
> which doesn't make it any easier to choose!
> I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
> happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
> something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use
> for soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to
> be clean.
> Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are
> using? I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and
> found it utterly worthless, by the way.
> Thanks.
> -Jonathan
This may be a bit off-the-wall, but why not just use a real wah pedal?

[JoeSpareBedroom]

"Mike Rieves" <mriev@hotspam.com> wrote in message
news:CTYQh.2748$P04.1108@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
>
> "Jonathan" <jonathan@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
> news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
>> I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but
>> I need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
>> I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now
>> that I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about
>> what I put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out
>> for myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and
>> find out which units can survive the stage.
>> I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
>> nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just
>> couldn't dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I
>> don't know if they are any easier to control.
>> I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
>> good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
>> want to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks
>> very interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag
>> over other pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price
>> range, which doesn't make it any easier to choose!
>> I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would
>> be happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I
>> want something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to
>> use for soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass
>> has to be clean.
>> Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are
>> using? I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and
>> found it utterly worthless, by the way.
>> Thanks.
>> -Jonathan
> This may be a bit off-the-wall, but why not just use a real wah pedal?

Is that basically what an envelope filter is/does? Automatically (based on
the settings) cycle through the sound made by moving your foot on a wah
pedal?

[Jim Carr]

"JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborealis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5TZQh.6225$ya1.3528@news02.roc.ny...

>> This may be a bit off-the-wall, but why not just use a real wah pedal?
>
> Is that basically what an envelope filter is/does? Automatically (based on
> the settings) cycle through the sound made by moving your foot on a wah
> pedal?

In simple terms, pretty much, but not really. :-) It's interactive with your
playing. It does things that I don't think you could mimic with your foot.
It (usually) also offers a lot more control over what frequencies are
affected and how much. Here are some audio clips of a couple models:

http://www.maxonfx.com/9/af9/sounds.html - Listen to #4.
http://www.chunksystems.com/a00f2.htm

[Mike Rieves]

"Jim Carr" <newsgroups@azwebpages.com> wrote in message
news:Ap_Qh.399304$BK1.302954@newsfe13.lga...
> "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborealis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:5TZQh.6225$ya1.3528@news02.roc.ny...
>
>>> This may be a bit off-the-wall, but why not just use a real wah pedal?
>>
>> Is that basically what an envelope filter is/does? Automatically (based
>> on the settings) cycle through the sound made by moving your foot on a
>> wah pedal?
>
> In simple terms, pretty much, but not really. :-) It's interactive with
> your playing. It does things that I don't think you could mimic with your
> foot. It (usually) also offers a lot more control over what frequencies
> are affected and how much. Here are some audio clips of a couple models:
>
> http://www.maxonfx.com/9/af9/sounds.html - Listen to #4.
> http://www.chunksystems.com/a00f2.htm
>
What the wah and the envelope follower do are the same thing, both are
high Q filters that are swept across a certain frequency range. The wah's
frequency sweep is controlled by the foot pedal, and the envelope filter's
frequency sweep is controlled by either a LFO (low frequency oscillator) or
by the amplitude envelope of the incoming signal, thus envelope follower.
The filter sweep of either (in most models) can be in either an upwards or a
downwards direction and the base frequency can be "tuned". Each type has its
own advantages, the wah pedal can be controlled independently of how the
instrument is played, and the envelope follower can follow exactly what the
player is doing with his instrument. Both take some time and practice to
master. The envelope follower is very sensitive to the volume of the
instrument and the dynamics of the player. Proper settings are critical and
so is the dynamic style of the player. If you have good control of your
playing dynamics, the envelope follower will probably work well for you,
once you have found the proper settings. On the other hand, if you play with
a lot of dynamics, you may prefer a wah pedal. With either, each brand has
its own peculiarities, so you'll probably want to try several different
brands. Some envelope followers have the option of using a pedal to control
the sweep and these are the most versatile because you can use them either
way.

[frisbieinstein@yahoo.com]

On Apr 5, 9:09 am, "Mike Rieves" <m...@hotspam.com> wrote:
> "Jonathan" <jonat...@kelloggcreek.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
>
> news:euvuid0220m@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
>
>
> > I am thinking about taking my pedal board out to gigs this summer but I
> > need to add a good envelope filter to round out my arsenal.
> > I've had pretty bad luck with envelope filters in the past, and now
> > that I have a high quality bass and a nice rig I am very paranoid about
> > what I put into my signal chain. I know I just have to go try things out
> > for myself, but it would be great to get some opinions from others and
> > find out which units can survive the stage.
> > I owned a Q-Tron for quite a while and it was pretty frustrating, some
> > nights it would give me a big funky sound and other nights I just couldn't
> > dial it in. I haven't tried the Plus or Micro versions yet so I don't
> > know if they are any easier to control.
> > I am most curious about the EBS BassIQ, since EBS seems to make very
> > good quality units. My band leader is using a "DiscumBOBulator" and I
> > want to try that one out as well. The Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter looks
> > very interesting too, but I don't know yet if it's worth the price tag
> > over other pedals. There seem to be a lot of options in that price range,
> > which doesn't make it any easier to choose!
> > I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
> > happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
> > something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use
> > for soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to
> > be clean.
> > Any suggestions on units to try, or reviews of the pedals you are
> > using? I read the Bass Player "review" of pedals from a recent issue and
> > found it utterly worthless, by the way.
> > Thanks.
> > -Jonathan
>
> This may be a bit off-the-wall, but why not just use a real wah pedal?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

An envelope filter uses the volume of the sound to control the band
frequency of the filter, and the volume of a note changes much too
quickly to follow with a foot.

> > I'm not looking for a versatile pedal with a million sounds, I would be
> > happy to have one really solid funky tone that keeps the low end. I want
> > something to use under guitar and keyboard solos more than a toy to use
> > for soloing on my own. The low end has to be there, and the bypass has to
> > be clean.

One thing you can do is split the signal and run some of it through
the unit and the rest direct to the amp. I used to do that but had
two amps, one for high frequencies and the other for low. That works
great if you can afford it. Five piece band with a sax and I took
most of the solos nyuk nyuk nyuk. With a single amp you'd have to get
a mixer to recombine the sounds, I think.