Filter/Synth opinions

[zeronyne]

Want to start a little quick survey.

 

Could you list all of the bass envelope filter and synth pedals you"ve tried and give an LEAST a yes/no for each. Please feel free to expound more, but I"m trying to find the ones I have yet to try.

[Danzilla]

I've only got 2.

 

Pigtronix Mothership 2. Haven't really woodshedded with it enough to do more than make annoying sound effects that piss off the band. But it SHOULD be cool, when set right and in the proper hands (or feet). So ... Maybe Yes?

 

Tech 21 FlyRig. the filter in it is also tied to the fuzz and octave effects, so it's a matter of trying the sample settings in the manual and going from there. It's pretty decent; using it on Joss Stone's "Fell In Love With A Boy and the band thinks it fits well. So YES.

[Mark Schmieder]

Too busy right now to list the ones I got rid of, but I kept the one from Aguilar as it retains the power relationships of notes in all frequency ranges and maintains articulateness.

[Winston Psmith]

If a Guitarist/Synth player can offer some opinions here -

 

Ibanez SB7 Bass Synth Pedal - An okay Filter masking as a Synth pedal. Qualified "Yes."

EHX Q-Tron+ - Didn't win me over. The first one I brought home was defective, but even a fully functional one didn't grab me. "No."

Digitech Synth/Wah - One of the better efforts at using a Filter effect to emulate a Synth sound, IMHO. There was both a Bass version and a Guitar version. "Yes."

Digitech Dirty Robot - Again, not a bad effort to use a Filter effect as a Synth sound. "Yes."

DOD Envelope Filter - I never got to try one of the original versions, but the 4-knob mid-90's version never hit it for me. More "quack" than anything else. "No."

Dwarfcraft Happiness - I felt like it really wanted to be part of a Modular Rig. LFO-driven, not entirely suited for Bootsy/Jerry Garcia-style Envelope Filter effects. "Yes," if you want sounds that are constantly in motion, "No," if you just want a simple Envelope Filter effect.

SubDecay Prometheus - Another Modulated Filter effect, almost emulates an Analog Sequencer-style sound. Qualified "Yes," as it's not easy to dial in a sound, but it can be a lot of fun. Better used as an LFO-driven effect.

Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler - A mixed bag. I loved the "Comet Trails" effect, and had fun with the "Slow Filter, and "Attack Synth" sounds; everything else was just okay, at best. FWIW, the "M"-series MFX (M5, M9 & M13) have all or most of the Filter FX from the Filter Modeler, with a display for all the Parameters, which the big 4-button Modelers don't have. Another qualified "Yes," as it does a few things no other Filter pedal offers.

 

The two Boss Bass Synth pedals, the SYB-3 and SYB-5, deserve special mention. Tricky to dial in, but the most satisfying of the Bass Synth pedals, IME, among all the alleged Synth pedals I've tried. They also work with Guitars, although they may drop the Synth pitch in relation to your first string. "Yes!" to both.

 

My current Filter effect if the Pigtronix Resotron, and so far, I'm very happy with it. There are a few cool features, including the "Oscillate" button, essentially treating the Filter as an Oscillator, a common trick with Analog Synths. The Pitch-Tracking feature is also very cool. Have not tried it with Bass, personally. One caveat - GC recently had a sale price of $130, but it's since jumped back up to $250 on the GC website, but Musician's friend still has them for the sale price. BTW, they also have that Mothership 2 that Danzilla mentioned, for that same sale price.

[Mark Schmieder]

I think of bass synth pedals as a different beast from filter pedals, as the latter don't necessarily synthesize any sounds in the traditional subtractive waveform way.

 

For those, I have owned two BOSS versions that were perfect when dialed in but highly sensitive to jiggling and awful if not in an ideal setting; too fussy for me!

 

The one I liked the best was the MAXON reissue of what likely was an Ibanez pedal. This is from memory! It had graphic EQ style sliders. Good sound, too fussy!

 

Otherwise, I am surprised to see stuff on Winston's list that I mostly have not owned or tried, even though I thought I'd used ALL the filter pedals at one time or another!

 

This means that none of the ones I have owned or tried and specifically deprecate, are on his list. Maybe I'll find time at some point to try to gather up that list anew.

[Winston Psmith]

I think of bass synth pedals as a different beast from filter pedals, as the latter don't necessarily synthesize any sounds in the traditional subtractive waveform way.

 

For those, I have owned two BOSS versions that were perfect when dialed in but highly sensitive to jiggling and awful if not in an ideal setting; too fussy for me!

 

The one I liked the best was the MAXON reissue of what likely was an Ibanez pedal. This is from memory! It had graphic EQ style sliders. Good sound, too fussy!

 

Otherwise, I am surprised to see stuff on Winston's list that I mostly have not owned or tried, even though I thought I'd used ALL the filter pedals at one time or another!

 

This means that none of the ones I have owned or tried and specifically deprecate, are on his list. Maybe I'll find time at some point to try to gather up that list anew.

 

I'm a Guitarist who fell in love with Synths way back in the Prog/Fusion days, and I currently have more Synths than Guitars, thus my extensive exploration of Filter pedals. To be honest, I tend to compare them with the sounds of my Synths, which is an unequal match, and part of why I've dismissed so many. Even now, I have three Analog MonoSynths, one of which is a Semi-Modular; I am not a well person.

 

I forgot to mention the RI EHX Nano DR. Q; it was a RI of the original Dr. Q in one of the modern enclosures. Extremely stripped-down, it had a Range knob, and a dip switch for Bass. Underwhelming at best, another "No."

 

That Maxon RI was the AF9 Auto-Filter, which Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead used on the tune "Estimated Prophet." I remember seeing one mounted above his FX rack in live shows. One of the best Envelope Filter pedals, IMHO, but not easy to find, even the RI.

 

One device that I always wanted to try, but could never afford was the notorious Sherman Filterbank; there was even a Filterbank 2. It came with a warning that it was not suitable for P&W applications, and the logo was a line drawing of a person holding their hands over their ears. Not for the timid . . .

[SteveC]

I use a Yamaha MODX6 for my synth needs. :-)