SOURCE AUDIO
SOUNDBLOX BASS
ENVELOPE FILTER
BY E. E. BRADMAN
Of all the strange and crazy implements that find their way onto pedalboards,
few are as fun to imitate with the human
voice as the envelope filter. Try it: Whether
you replicate the sound with a “bwow,”
“bwoop,” or a slow-motion “yaaaaar,” an
envelope filter is a blast to mimic. But
they’re even more fun to play. And there’s no
doubt that the sound of an envelope filter—
especially on bass—will make folks smile,
bob their heads, and move their hips.
Although instrumentalists in every genre
have used the envelope-filter sound— “What
I Am” by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
and U2’s “Mysterious Ways” are two famous
pop-rock examples—it will always be most
closely associated with funk and disco. A short
list of great envelope filter-based hits and hooks
includes “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder
played a Hohner Clavinet through a Mu-Tron
III), “Release Yourself” (a hit for slap pioneer
Larry Graham), and “Funkify Your Life” (a
New Orleans funk staple, thanks to Meters
bassist George Porter, Jr.). But the patron saint
of the envelope filter is undoubtedly Parliament/
Funkadelic bass icon Bootsy Collins, whose
contributions to the “wow” bass cannon
include such classics as “P- Funk (Wants to
Get Funked Up)” and “#1 Funkateer.”
The key to any envelope filter is how it
reacts to your playing. Instead of the effect
being controlled by a footpedal, as with a
wah-wah, envelope filters react to the volume
of the input signal. Play the same bass line
with your fingers and then more intensely
with your thumb, and you will trigger wildly
different sounds, even on the same preset.
Envelope filters respond in such an interac-
tive fashion that you change the sound of the
effect by making even slight adjustments to
your technique, and what happens when you
do this is a big part of the thrill.
The Soundblox Bass Envelope Filter,
brought to us by the folks behind the
21 filter presets Hot Hand input Active analog bypass
Soundblox and
Soundblox Pro products
(including the acclaimed
Multiwave Bass Distortion), offers
the standard elements of envelope-filter
goodness while adding a couple of unique
features of its own. And if you’re a bass player itching to add extra flavor to your playing,
the Soundblox has the means to do it.
Purple Reign
Unlike the instantly identifiable Bootsy,
the Soundblox BEF flies its freak flag on
the inside. The knobs and lettering are
strictly utilitarian and the plastic enclosure
eschews vintage pedal styling clichés for a
tech-influenced look. The Frequency knob
allows us to choose which frequency to,
well, freak. Sweep Range controls the direction and breadth of the filter sweep. Speed,
meanwhile, allows you to control attack
and decay times simultaneously or choose a
fast attack while varying the decay.
The Hot Hand motion sensor, which
has its own input on the Soundblox, allows
you to modulate speed and depth with a
ring you can wear or put on your headstock.
And then there are the 21 presets (seven
2-pole low-pass filters, four high-pass filters,
two single-peak filters, four triple-peak
filters, two peak-and-notch filters, and two
phase filters) that all produce related, but
distinct variations on that “wow” sound
you’ve heard in a thousand funk jams. The
pedal also has thoughtful touches like an
active analog bypass that routes the bypassed
signal around the digital signal processor.
Filtration System
I started my envelope-filter excursions by
plugging in my Jazz Bass-style Sound Trade
5-string, choosing a random preset, and letting my fingers fly with a freaky, wet sound
that would be instantly familiar to any funk
fan or dance-floor regular. I also experimented with longer vowel-ish sounds by
opening up the Sweep range and keeping
the Frequency knob tilted toward the low
frequencies for some bottom-end emphasis.
