Auto Wah / Envelop Filter on Pedal Steel

[John Larson]

I love Auto Wah on six string non steel guitar. Does anyone use it with pedal steel if so which units? (Mutron, DOD, Boss, etc ).

[David Gertschen]

I use one of the old green DOD 440 envelope filters but any of the major ones will get the job done. They work well with pedal steel and it's always fun coming up with different sounds.

[John Larson]

Ok I'll have to try the DOD style I built this clone a while ago and it's my go to when Im in the mood to jam some late 70s Grateful Dead.

[Richard Sinkler]

In the '70s, I used an MXR Envelope Filter. Recently I bought a Sonicake Cry-Bot pedal.

[Jack Hanson]

When Russ Pahl was still in the Twin Cities playing with the Sky Blue Water Boys back in the late '70s, he used an MXR unit on their showstopper Wood & Steel. I thought it sounded great.

ps -- I can't help but wonder whether or not that tune is still in Dan Lund's repertoire.

[Tim Marcus]

all the time! I have a 3 Leaf Audio Proton which sounds awesome. Slow swells sound like a synthesizer filter sweep and if you pick fast you can get some nice disco action going

for me I find that it works better just ahead of the volume pedal

[Jon Light (deceased)]

for me I find that it works better just ahead of the volume pedal

This is the heart of my problem with A LOT of different envelope filters I've worked with. Input sensitivity is extremely hostile to volume pedal variation. OTOH some units don't take too well to the full output of a steel guitar pickup. But my bottom line is that I'm too lazy to add one more layer of complexity to my setup by including a pre-vp dimension.

But now that we're talking about it, it's got my thinking again. That's never a good thing.

Some good ones I've used: Line 6 OttoWah (surprising!), a couple of Source Audio boxes, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, cheap SoniCake

[John Larson]

Thinking of getting one of these. The Mutron has more control and it's got the whole legacy behind it but it's over double the money of the Q tron. Only thing the Q tron severely lacks is having down or up sweep options.



This could be a contender.

[Dan Kelly]

Here is forum member Josh Yenne noodling with an Envelope filter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ZbmPW ... =JoshYenne

Carl Broemel does a nice job...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vgadW6iqKvo

[Scott Swartz]

I have been using the Mutron for a couple years, and the super clean optical tone and sweep range on low on the Mutron is great for steel.

I have tried a couple others that worked OK also but the Mutron just sounds right.

Also the level control is crucial for live playing, an envelope filter without this is not workable for gigs IMO, due to the frequency peak.

[John Larson]

I have been using the Mutron for a couple years, and the super clean optical tone and sweep range on low on the Mutron is great for steel.

I have tried a couple others that worked OK also but the Mutron just sounds right.

Also the level control is crucial for live playing, an envelope filter without this is not workable for gigs IMO, due to the frequency peak.

Agreed, my DIY clone of a Lovetone Meatball works great (as it does on every thing I've ever plugged into it). But the footprint is so dang big.

[Steve Lipsey]

Analogman seems to have the widest range of response up and down the fretboard, and handles input variation well...I set mine with sensitivity at 9 o'clock instead of the noon that is normal...I tried a bunch of them and settled on Analogman..
https://www.buyanalogman.com/Analog_Man ... velope.htm

[Jan Jonsson]

Hi,

I have been using a Mad Professor Snow White auto-wah (early version) for my pedal steel with quite satisfying results. In the following video I use it in a rendition of Zappa's "Son of Mr Green Genes":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMnyYfY5lOw

Best regards,
/Jan

[Mike Neer]

The best I have ever used is the Moogerfooger, but good luck finding one.
I’ve had many different ones including the original Mutron, which was also great. A real sleeper is the old MXR. I sold mine to Bill Elm years ago.
I also built the one in the craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Musicians book and it sounded great, but it was a speaker killer.

[Brett Lanier]

Another vote for the 3Leaf Proton! If you're set on having this effect after your volume pedal you're probably better off with a Line6 M5 or HX One. They're more forgiving with different input gains than an analog pedal.

[Gary Spaeth]

in the 70's buddy did a killer solo with one while playing with john anderson on acl. just knocked it out of the armadillo world headquarters. i'd love to see that episode again.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

I also built the one in the craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Musicians book and it sounded great, but it was a speaker killer.

Ha. I built that. Must have been in the 80's. At that time my soldering chops were so pitiful, it was a total failure. I had such high hopes but magical thinking is no substitute for actual ability.

[Mike Neer]

I also built the one in the craig Anderton Electronic Projects for Musicians book and it sounded great, but it was a speaker killer.

Ha. I built that. Must have been in the 80's. At that time my soldering chops were so pitiful, it was a total failure. I had such high hopes but magical thinking is no substitute for actual ability.

I remember sourcing all the parts from Mouser and I believe I even etched the PC board myself. Used to have a good electronics store nearby that carried lots of stuff that musicians could use, including quality connectors like Neutrik and Switchcraft and lots of good cable. I was tinkering too much.

Anyway, I housed it in some weird plastic box that made it look like a miniature 1980s pc, and I used a lot of plastic buttons and some switches from Radio Shack. I can’t remember why but eventually dismantled some of it where it just kicked around in my workshop until I just tossed. It did work pretty well though, but the range of it was pretty wide and speakers didn’t like it.

I also assembled the PAIA Fatman synth in one day! That was pretty intense.

[Brad Sarno]

One of the COOLEST things a pedal steeler can do with an envelope filter is to put it just AFTER the volume pedal. You can use the volume pedal to control how closed or open the EF pedal is which basically makes your volume pedal a wah-wah of sorts, but kinda different. Add a little overdrive AFTER the EF pedal. It's really cool once you have the EF sensitivity set just right. Very vocal, talky.

Try it! Does a great JG/NRPS "Dirty Business" but so much more too.


Brad

[Mike Neer]

Here is a VERY old recording of Freedom Jazz Dance that I used a Moogerfooger on. I was always a huge fan of Pat Martino’s Joyous Lake album and Mwandishi was one of my favorite cuts (great envelope filter sound).
https://soundcloud.com/ionahoopii/freedom-jazz-dance2

[Dennis Detweiler]

I have and still use an original MXR Envelope Filter. I use it between the guitar and volume pedal to maintain the setting that was used on Witch's Brew, Live At The Convention LP. It's effective along with the proper setting on an overdrive pedal. I use it on some rock and funk tunes.

[Andrew H. Brown]

Another vote for the 3 Leaf Proton! Also, I like the Keeley Neutrino better with my pedal steel than I do for guitar. Like Brad said, I like them after the volume pedal too.

[Chris Willingham]

I’ve got the Earthquaker Devices Spatial Delivery right afree VP into my fuzz and an Earth Drive, just as Brad said. It sounds killer and I absolutely love being able to open up the filter. Feels more vocal like than wah to me. Here’s some of me with it on during an intro of Waymore’s (and at red rocks!! What a night that was)

https://youtu.be/ddhFSBNWEhQ?si=gzG3wmvFfeNNGV4v

[Buell Wisner]

Analogman seems to have the widest range of response up and down the fretboard, and handles input variation well...I set mine with sensitivity at 9 o'clock instead of the noon that is normal...I tried a bunch of them and settled on Analogman..
https://www.buyanalogman.com/Analog_Man ... velope.htm

I have one of these (though it’s been on loan to a friend and is overdue). I’ve tried a number of others (Neutrino, Mu-Tron, Emma), and the Analogman is my favorite for guitar. All of the others were picky and hard to dial in, but the Analogman is chewy in virtually every setting and every frequency.

Maybe it’s not ideal for some applications (I.e., the deadheads who complain that Warren Haynes uses an Emma, for instance), but it gives me the chewy/bubbly sound I have in my head. It’s probably closest to the Emma in sound, but there aren’t any bad settings, and it has a significantly smaller footprint.

I haven’t tried in on pedal steel guitar yet, so I can’t speak to whether that easy-to-attain chewiness is readily overpowered by a PSG. That said . . .

Anybody know a tactful way to get my loaned-out equipment back?

Seriously, how does one ask your buddies for your stuff back? Say you need it for recording, maybe?

[Buell Wisner]

I’ve got the Earthquaker Devices Spatial Delivery right afree VP into my fuzz and an Earth Drive, just as Brad said. It sounds killer and I absolutely love being able to open up the filter. Feels more vocal like than wah to me. Here’s some of me with it on during an intro of Waymore’s (and at red rocks!! What a night that was)

https://youtu.be/ddhFSBNWEhQ?si=gzG3wmvFfeNNGV4v

That sounds great!