ENVELOPE FILTER PEDALS
An envelope filter works by filtering out specific qualities of the audio signal either to add or remove high or low frequencies. An envelope filter also reacts to the dynamics and attack of your playing enhancing the intensity when plucking hard or decreasing it when playing softer.
The word “envelope” refers to different EQ curve “shapes” of the guitar or bass tone. The curve changes, starting from the moment that you play the note and until it fades out, or until you play the next note.
What’s also special about envelop filters is that they use resonance in order to emphasize desired frequencies. This way, some frequencies that passed through the filter are way more pronounced than others near them.
Micro Q-Tron Envelope Follower
Funk Face Twin Dynamic Filter
For guitars and bass guitars, you get that voice-like or vowel-like tone with each played note. To put it simply, it often resembles the tone of those old school synths.
You can often hear them in funk music, or any music that features funky elements in it. There are no strict rules for genres where you can implement envelope filters, and you’re always free to experiment.
How Envelope Filters Work
Envelope filter pedals do their magic by filtering specific frequencies in your tone and letting through specific desired part of the spectrum. It is done “dynamically” since the EQ curve changes over time after the played note.
Little Wonder Envelope Filter
Spectrum Intelligent Filter
The most famous example of a filter pedal is a wah-wah. Whether an automatic or a controlled version, wah pedals have a sweepable peak frequency that’s filtered out. As you rock the pedal, the frequency changes, the whole EQ curve shifts, and you get this impression of a voice-like tone.
There’s usually a sensitivity knob that determines how the pedal will interact with the initial part of your signal. However, the sensitivity relies on the strength of the signal that’s fed into the pedal.
This means that the overall effect will depend on what you do with your volume pot on the guitar or any pedal that comes before it in the signal chain.
Endeavours Float Dual Filter
This also means that any envelope filter pedal is sensitive to your playing dynamics. With most of the other effects, you set the desired parameters, and they alter the tone statically, like phasers, choruses, or flangers.
Behringer Filter Machine
ERYUE Envelope Analog
With a filter pedal, the speed and the depth of the effect depend on the dynamics. When you play it forte, the effect is deeper, faster, and more intense. And if you’re gentle with your strings, the output is smoother and less pronounced.
Keeley Neutrino V2 Classic Envelope Filter
Walrus Audio Kangra Filter
Alexander Pedals Superball
Filter pedals have an option to make the “opening” or “closing” sounds. Opening sounds start with a narrow frequency scope and then widen it, whereas the closing settings do the opposite – they start with a wider spectrum and then narrow it down.
Fender Pour Over Envelope Filter
MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter
Both auto wahs and envelope filters can fall into the same category, as both are the effects that filter out certain frequencies. It’s just the way they affect the EQ curve, and, in some cases, we have automatic wahs that change the tone periodically instead of dynamically.
Envelope filters are generally a better option for certain lead sections, synth-ish bass lines, and specific riffs where notes are played one at a time.
Malekko Heavy Industry Sneak Attack
Where To Place Envelope Filter In The Signal Chain
The pedal placement has been one of the most often discussions since the invention of guitar pedals. While there are no strict rules, it is recommended to place envelope filters near the beginning of the signal chain.
If you put them after the distortion, the tone might get too chaotic. Any kind of filters usually go at the beginning of the chain, right after tuner pedals.
Sweeper Dynamic Envelope Filter
Dynamic Wah Envelope Filter
Depending on the effect that you want to achieve, EQ pedals can go before or after, but this is something that you’ll have to experiment with and find the most suitable placement for your needs. You should just always bear in mind that envelope filters are directly impacted by the kind of tone you feed into them.
Another question is whether you should put them before or after compressors. Since compressors alter your dynamics, you’ll lose a great portion of dynamic control over your envelope filter.
At the same time, placing filters after compression may make your overall output less dynamically compressed. The general idea is to have it before compressors.
Although it’s rare, some may prefer to use both filters and wahs turned on at the same time. This is also something that you can experiment with as different placement gives different results.
Sweeper Dynamic Envelope Filter
Recommended Envelope Filter Pedals
Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Plus XO Envelope Follower
Envelope follower effects loop. Like the original with added Effects Loop and Attack Response Switch. The Effects Loop lets you place an additional effect between the Q-Tron ‘s preamp and filter section without changing the envelope drive. The added Response Switch selects between a slow, smooth, vowel-like attack and the fast, snaked response of the original Q-Tron.
Pigtronix Resotron Envelope Filter
Pigtronix Oscillate Resotron Tracking Filter Pigtronix Resotron is an analog filter that brings the sound of 70s keyboard synthesizers to the world of envelope pedals for guitar, bass and beyond. The filter at the heart of the Resotron is based on the SSM2040 chip found in the legendary Prophet 5 and Octave CAT synthesizers.
Electo-Harmonix Enigma Q-Balls Envelope Filter
Electro-Harmonix Enigma Qballs Envelope Filter Bass Effects Pedal
Xotic Robotalk 2 Envelope Filter
The Xotic Robotalk 2 Envelope Filter pedal sports two individual envelope filter channels. Each channel isindependently voiced and can be preset for different playing style; slow acoustic-like attack,percussive, high speed open-close and many more.
Dr. Scientist Dusk Analog Low Pass Filter
At its heart is an analog 24dB/Octave low pass filter based around an old-school integrated circuit called an Operational Transconductance Amplifier or OTA. The OTA runs off of split +/-9V rails for great audio quality and a deep filter sound. The digital side brings a whole bunch of convenient and powerful features like controlling the filter setting, tap tempo, MIDI, 6 LFOs, and a platform for all the best filter modes in one small pedal.
A bass envelope filter works similarly as a regular guitar envelope filter by processing the signal adding or removing frequencies for a vocal esque tone. A bass envelope filter is designed to enhance the low frequencies of a bass guitar whereas regular guitar pedals enhance the mids of a regular guitar.
Kinematic Compressor/Filter
