If you could only choose one filter pedal

[Quatschmacher]

On 21/10/2021 at 17:04, ped said:

I just tried a Proton IV but didn’t like it as much as my Wonderlove. I missed the ‘resonance’ control which makes the Wonderlove sound so wet, and although nobody talks about it, the band pass mode with some clean blend is amazing. The Proton sounded great, but it just doesn’t warble like the Wonderlove. 
 

Still interested in trying the Aguilar, their phaser is very good at least!

The “peak” on the Proton is the resonance control. I much prefer the envelope detector on the Chromatron (same as Proton 4) compared to the Wonderlove I had. 

[ped]

8 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

The “peak” on the Proton is the resonance control. I much prefer the envelope detector on the Chromatron (same as Proton 4) compared to the Wonderlove I had. 

Yeah, it just behaves quite differently. On the Wonderlove the higher the peak the more wobbly the filter gets, which I like. 

[51m0n]

On 17/10/2021 at 11:41, Al Krow said:

SolidGoldFx Supa Funk - creating a bit of a stir amongst filter and synth lovers! Currently £175 from Andertons - I'll definitely be looking out for a used one in due course!

 

 

 

Yeah mine is going back on Tuesday.

Its either a duff one or the pedal simply cant begin to handle an active bass. Clips all the time, no setting will tame the cheap and nasty mega distortion going on.

Consider me thoroughly unimpressed.

[ped]

3 minutes ago, 51m0n said:

Yeah mine is going back on Tuesday.

Its either a duff one or the pedal simply cant begin to handle an active bass. Clips all the time, no setting will tame the cheap and nasty mega distortion going on.

Consider me thoroughly unimpressed.

 

Yeah - mine clipped a tiny bit with the stingray with the 'colour' turned right up. The SB1 sent it into a frenzy (despite being passive it's the loudest bass I've ever had and tbh hardly any pedals can handle it!)

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, 51m0n said:

Yeah mine is going back on Tuesday.

Its either a duff one or the pedal simply cant begin to handle an active bass. Clips all the time, no setting will tame the cheap and nasty mega distortion going on.

Consider me thoroughly unimpressed.

 

That's super useful to hear, thanks Simon. Saved me getting one to A/B with my Proton Mk4, which lives to fight another day...although I must say @Quatschmacher's latest discovery of the GFI Rossie looks very interesting.

 

I'm guessing that GFI aren't any bigger than Source Audio, just based on my personal brand recognition, but they've included a visual display, which SA pedals lack but would make a big improvement IMO to their usability as a standalone pedal - apparently SA will be addressing at some point in the future...

 

20 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

This one’s new to me:

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Al Krow

[Bo0tsy]

this is another new one...I like the graphics on this, seems pretty flexible, but I'd like to hear a proper bass demo

 

[Al Krow]

4 hours ago, Bo0tsy said:

this is another new one...I like the graphics on this, seems pretty flexible, but I'd like to hear a proper bass demo

 

Looks phenomenonally well featured from the write ups. Analogue pedal with digital controls is getting into Chase Bliss territory and not surprisingly this has a hefty price tag albeit not straying into CB 'ultra-premium' pricing. It will be around £300 in the UK (VAT and Customs paid). However that's not particularly more than 3Leaf gear, so colour me interested. Not that this needs any more colour... 

 

It's been built with collaboration from the Sub Decay guys and has been compared to their Prometheus DLX Deluxe but with the addition of a volume and a mix knob, so I guess that would be a good place to start to get an idea of what it would sound like on bass until we get a few dedicated bass reviews.

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Al Krow

[lee650]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Looks phenomenonally well featured from the write ups. Analogue pedal with digital controls is getting into Chase Bliss territory and not surprisingly this has a hefty price tag (I'm guessing will be around £300 in the UK). However that's not particularly more than 3Leaf gear, so colour me interested. Not that this needs any more colour... 

 

It's been built with collaboration form the Sub Decay guys and has been compared to their Prometheus DLX Deluxe but with the addition of a volume and a mix knob, so I guess that would be a good place to start to get an idea of what it would sound like on bass until we get a few dedicated bass reviews.

 

Wow yes identical to my Prometheus Deluxe but with a vol and blend (although the BP mode on the Prometheus has a clean blend 50/50 like the old Qtron mix mode, accessible as an internal switch) obligatory funky paint job too 😂

[Al Krow]

45 minutes ago, lee650 said:

Wow yes identical to my Prometheus Deluxe but with a vol and blend (although the BP mode on the Prometheus has a clean blend 50/50 like the old Qtron mix mode, accessible as an internal switch) obligatory funky paint job too 😂

We do need to get your DLX review posted on here! 😎 

[lee650]

20 hours ago, 51m0n said:

Yeah mine is going back on Tuesday.

Its either a duff one or the pedal simply cant begin to handle an active bass. Clips all the time, no setting will tame the cheap and nasty mega distortion going on.

Consider me thoroughly unimpressed.

Well that's two votes of no, for the Supa Funk😂

Very glad! I was close to selling my Prometheus DLX to get one of these 😅

[ped]

15 minutes ago, lee650 said:

Well that's two votes of no, for the Supa Funk😂

Very glad! I was close to selling my Prometheus DLX to get one of these 😅

 

I have read other comments about it not handling a hot bass - I think one was a review on Reverb or some other shop. Whilst it was possible to get it to sound like a Bassballs, and it probably responded more evenly, it cut some top and bottom end, and I missed the 'distortion' on top of the vowelly sound which helps squelch things up in a live setting so nicely, despite sounding a bit thin on its own. 

 

It might work really well for some, but it wasn't for me - the graphics were cool and I like the soft touch switch, but the top row knobs were too big and the lack of a battery option is always a turn off for me personally (not many other people though it seems).

[Al Krow]

@ped in which case the Macrodose won't be for you either, as it also has no space for a battery (and is also at eye watering 3Leaf prices, although this one kinda feels better value given what it's offering); all the free space has been taken up by its crazy wonderful circuitry.

 

Maybe we need to club together and get you a little pedalboard and PSU for Chris - t - mas? 😁

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Al Krow

[ped]

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@ped in which case the Macrodose won't be for you either, as it also has no space for a battery (and is also at eye watering 3Leaf prices, although this one kinda feels better value given what it's offering); all the free space has been taken up by its crazy wonderful circuitry.

 

Maybe we need to club together and get you a little pedalboard and PSU for Chris - t - mas? 😁

 

I don't know why I'm so keen on battery power, but it's partly due to the way that I use pedals. Basically, for me they are fun 'toys' that I like to play with at home or when heading out to a jam (we alternate between a 'live' jam or a studio jam) I throw a couple that I'm currently enjoying in my kit box. I am not 'wedded' to any enough that I want to build a pedalboard and I don't want to add a PSU to my kit for powering them either. I really don't like miniturisation of objects that require on the other hand a bulky PSU which defeats the point (Ok less a 'thing' if you have several and use one supply) but I like it when designers apply themselves to maximising space and the 9v limitations to achieve a great sound in a small package, like E.W.S do with the 'Stormy Bass Drive', which ups the voltage internally whilst still only drawing something like 20mah from a battery in a box the size of any of those Mooer pedals. Oh and it sounds amazing which is also nice. Even the Original and Haz Mutron take batts, as do many of the older pedals of my youth. Nowadays people like Darkglass say they don't take batteries for 'environmental reasons' which I don't fully endorse when most of us have more power adapters then we can shake a stick at!

 

See, I told you it probably doesn't make any sense... but I suppose it saves me money in the long run? I use a 1spot at home for auditioning pedals at my desk which I often use whether the pedal takes batts or not, just for kicks

[ped]

Both born in 1983 (same as me!)

[ped]

Just tried an MXR M82

 

I do generally prefer the sound of Band pass filters. To me they have a more 'farty' bottom end when you dig in, rather than a whistle as the envelope opens. The MXR has a similar feel at the bottom to my fave pedal, but without as much growl. The top end is a bit less controllable and it can produce some spikes where my old FX25 will 'top out' at a pleasing frequency which isn't harsh or thin (even some of the next gen FX25s can sound a bit harsh)

 

I'll spend some more time with it, but I'm not feeling it so much at this. Maybe it's a bit clinical, I'm not sure. It kind of makes my different basses sound the same, unless you blend in some dry signal. 

 

Leave it with me and I'll be back with more useless thoughts

[GisserD]

9 minutes ago, ped said:

 

I'll spend some more time with it, but I'm not feeling it so much at this. Maybe it's a bit clinical, I'm not sure. It kind of makes my different basses sound the same, unless you blend in some dry signal. 

 

 

You really should be blending in the dry with a BP as by nature they are cutting all the BASS frequencies. i run mine at rouhjly 50:50 (maybe slightly more FX) then turn the resonance up to get the right amount of squelch

 

Funnily enough, all my controlls are at noon or nearby.

[ped]

6 minutes ago, GisserD said:

 

You really should be blending in the dry with a BP as by nature they are cutting all the BASS frequencies. i run mine at rouhjly 50:50 (maybe slightly more FX) then turn the resonance up to get the right amount of squelch

 

Funnily enough, all my controlls are at noon or nearby.

Technically yes, but I've never felt like I need any clean blend with my FX25 which is very tight and full sounding, but you do have to 'play' it in a certain way. Maybe it has wider band or the way the sweep works just happens to fill out the bass bit once dialled in it's a fat and squelchy as you could want, whereas some of the sparkle green ones I've had are all top or bottom and quite hard to use. The WOnderlove absolutely needs clean blend which works well as the wobbly filter sort of wraps around the affected sound so well, but I wasn't feeling that so much on the MXR - however I only had a quick play yesterday so I'll give it some time over the next few days, as it definitely has the right 'flavour' that I like.

[Quatschmacher]

36 minutes ago, ped said:

Just tried an MXR M82

 

I do generally prefer the sound of Band pass filters. To me they have a more 'farty' bottom end when you dig in, rather than a whistle as the envelope opens. The MXR has a similar feel at the bottom to my fave pedal, but without as much growl. The top end is a bit less controllable and it can produce some spikes where my old FX25 will 'top out' at a pleasing frequency which isn't harsh or thin (even some of the next gen FX25s can sound a bit harsh)

 

I'll spend some more time with it, but I'm not feeling it so much at this. Maybe it's a bit clinical, I'm not sure. It kind of makes my different basses sound the same, unless you blend in some dry signal. 

 

Leave it with me and I'll be back with more useless thoughts

Sounds wicked on a Stingray with flats. 

[Quatschmacher]

This is how I have mine set:

[GisserD]

Just FYI if you diddnt know, decay sets the point at which the filter falls to.  not the speed of the fall as on some other filters

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, GisserD said:

Just FYI if you diddnt know, decay sets the point at which the filter falls to.  not the speed of the fall as on some other filters

Otherwise known as cutoff frequency on many other pedals. No wonder folks get confused about controls when manufacturers don’t use the accepted terminology. 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Quatschmacher

[GisserD]

Hmm.... to me, cut off is the frequency is the frequency at which the frequencies begin to be cut. Easier explained with a static filter. 

 

This controll sets the frequency at which the sweep stops. 

 

The final cutoff position if you like. 

[Quatschmacher]

1 hour ago, GisserD said:

Hmm.... to me, cut off is the frequency is the frequency at which the frequencies begin to be cut. Easier explained with a static filter. 

 

This controll sets the frequency at which the sweep stops. 

 

The final cutoff position if you like. 

It’s usually the same thing once the envelope comes to rest as most envelope filters only have an attack and a decay stage.

[ped]

Playing with the M82 today with fresh ears. I have found that I like it with the Freq. set quite low and the Q at almost zero... turning up the Q enhances the rather unpleasing vowel like quality to my ears. At lower settings it sounds quite nice, less 'vocal'

 

The sensitivity knob has such a broad sweep and tiny adjustments make so much difference, but I think I have it dialled in now.

 

I'll give it a break then come back and play agin later.

 

It definitely has the sort of sound I like in there, it just took some finding...

[ped]