Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter PRO  Sound Samples and Patches



DISCLOSURE: I was selected by Source Audio to BETA test this product. I was provided a free pre-production unit and documentation, I tested various firmware, and was happy to be able to help suggest product improvements and report bugs.  While important to note that, I do not believe that adds any bias to  my comments about the product. It's also important to note I've owned the non-Pro version of this product which I purchased factory new from an authorized reseller like any normal consumer would do.

Note I'm a self-taught, intermediate bass player. While I lack formal training, I do have a fair amount of experience with wide variety of hardware and software filter products from pedal effects, multi-effects, and expensive rack filters such as the Electrix Fitler Factory and MAM Warp 9.  My personal use of filters has been for basic touch-wah sounds and heavy manipulation for electronica, including beat synced filtering, but not a lot in between like funky slap bass envelope filtering.  I'd like to think that my desire for electronica friendly filtering has helped to greatly shape the functionality and capability of the Pro version of this pedal over the non-Pro version.

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First, some improvements of the Pro version over the non-Pro version:
  • Ability to save 6 user presets.
  • Wider Range control to provide a greater breadth of sweep to the filters.
  • Wider Frequency control to let the filter dive deep, deep, deep into the sub-bass frequencies.
  • A resonance / Q control. This can drastically change the voice of the filters. You can go from speaker-blowing resonance, to chirpy, to thick-and-mellow all on the same filter voice. I find myself turning the resonance down a couple notches most of the time, it removes some of the chirpiness/peaking from the high end of the filter and smoothes it out a bit.
  • The ability to use a pure, 100% wet filter output with no clean or lo-retain blend at all, unless you want it.
  • Volume control per patch.
  • Multi-band EQ which can further alter the voice of the filter. Want all of the peaking resonance but want to simply cut out the highs? Want to use the filter to sculpt out the highs for dub but still hear some highs? A powerful EQ is at your disposal.
  • LFO with a lot of great waveforms including all of the basics, some stepped waveforms, sample and hold (random) and a programmable 16 step sequencer!
  • Tap tempo and MIDI Clock sync.
  • Native expression control. And a lot of it! You can control up/down range the expression controls, and choose a ton of filter parameters to apply the LFO and/or expression to. Note that you can add a DIY jack to the non-Pro to gain expression control over the frequency controls, simply contact Source Audio for a well written PDF on how to do the modification.
  • Expternal MIDI PC and CC control.
  • Supposedly there will be a Windows application to let you create and save patches via the MIDI IN port. This will also facilitate the ability to share patches with other users as long as you physically create the patch with the software. Note that I have not seen the software at the time I write this but it holds a lot of promise.

My quick review of the unit.

  • Pros: Arguably this is overall the biggest bang for the buck in a pedal filter; a seriously HUGE amount of filtering functionality in one fairly small footprint pedal; native expression pedal control over most of the filter paramters; beat synced LFO options; MIDI control options for those users that need it (synth player wanting a hardware filter perhaps?), fully programmable 16 step sequencer LFO waveform, theoretically a software editor to help you program/share/get presets if/when it is released.
  • Cons: Most of the cons are minor in comparison to the huge amount of features and possibilities this pedal provide; due to Source Audio reusing their current Pro chassis and interface there are only 6 presets that can be saved at any time (which seems very limiting considering the huge amount of cool filter sounds this box can generate); only one (1) 16 step sequence can be saved to the pedal at any time though you're able to customize it as you please from 1 to 16 steps and anything in between; expression pedal can typically only control a single parameter at any given time; sweeping beat synced divisions is currently only available while syncing via MIDI Clock but not via tap tempo (at least using the firmware available to me at the time I write this); I have not personally found a good use of the downswept envelope mode with electronica as feeding  the filter a heavily effected tone reduces the filter reset thus you feed it octave+fuzz and play super fast as the filter just sticks open, a lot of the functionality is buried in the Backpage mode which is often difficult to use due to columns of sometimes hard to read LEDs to control the paramters so you'll sometimes find yourself counting knob turns to know if you're setting the expression control to #9 or #12 though that's nitpicky assuming you aren't trying to change those values on a live stage; overall there's a lot of advanced functionality provided which will possibly confuse novice users who aren't familiar with the various filter terminology, and specifically regarding the expression controls and LFO options.


MP3 Patch Download
(right-click and choose Save As)		 Description Instrument Used Interface Used Notes
n/a 16 step sequencer Lakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, pick BOSS GT-10B USB Basic octave>fuzz tone into the BEF Pro using a custom 16 step sequencer LFO which is beat synced via MIDI Clock, then into some delay/chorus/verb. Also, towards the end of the clip I use an expression to sweep the Range (depth) of the filter. Then you can hear the base tone at the very end of the clip after I bypass the BEF Pro. It should give you a great idea of the complex tone shaping fun the BEF Pro offers via LFO.  Note this was recorded on May 13 using an older, now outdated, version of the firmware that had a more restrictive Range and Frequency control.
n/aEnvelope with low resonance (Q)Lakland Dude Pit Limited II, Darkstar pickup, LaBella flats, fingerBOSS GT-10B USBWith the newly added control over resonance (Q) you can seriously tame the filter voices to the point where they no longer sound at all like they do in the non-Pro version. In this example I use Filter #1 to create a reasonable fretless or double-bass mwahhhh type sound. Played with the fingers close to the neck, tone rolled off heavily, and the BEF PRO with the following settings: Range=9:30, Freq=10:00, Speed=Max, Mix=Max, Q=Min, Mod=Envelope, EQ cutting 500/5K heavily and 2k/4k slightly. At the end of the clip I turn the resonance to default which should emulate a similar sound to the non-Pro version, then I bypass the BEF Pro entirely so you can hear the clean tone for comparison. Note the GT-10B has no effects other than some mild hall reverb applied - but no amp sim, EQ, noise gate, etc. the tone is all the bass and the BEF Pro. I would think further tone shaping may potentially make the sound more convincing.
n/aElectronica wobble via LFOLakland Dude Pit Limited II, Darkstar pickup, LaBella flats, fingerBOSS GT-10B USBQuick sound clip to demonstrate some of the possibilities for those users looking for that electronica beat-synced wobble sound.I start with the basic signal, then go into the BEF PRO LFO fun. Signal is BOSS OC-2, GT-10B compressor, BOSS VF-1 bit crusher and BEF Pro in the FX LOOP, BOSS limiter to the recording. I whipped through this so I'm unsure on the exact settings, but it's a triangle LFO with the resonance turned down about 1/2 way. I believe I started on Filter #3 and then cycled through ALL of the filter voices and ended on Filter #2.

Note that as with most resonant filters there's a LOT of potential for monstrous, speaker killing sub-bass, or ear splitting peaking resonance.  In the real world you'd really need to setup each patch for individually for resonance/volume/frequency/etc to ensure there's no unwanted spikes.
n/aAll LFO waveformsLakland Dude Pit Limited II, Darkstar pickup, LaBella flats, fingerBOSS GT-10B USBDemostration of the available LFO waveforms and how range affects their sound. Bass into BOSS OC-2, GT-10B bass fuzz, then a low gain Ampeg SVT sim, then into the BEF Pro and into the DAW to illustrate the typical octave + fuzz + filter sound to achieve bass synth tones. I think you'll agree that the LFO gives a lot of SERIOUS electronica possibilities.

BEF Pro is set to Filter #3, 100% wet, a fairly low frequency, and resonance / Q reduced 50% or so. I then start with a Range about 9:00, start the first waveform, slowly raise range to nearly max, then return range to 9:00 for the next waveform. When I get to S&H and the 16 step sequencer I reduce the tempo rate as they are very complex waveforms and sound more articulate and definted when the waveform period has a longer time to bop through it's steps. I also play with frequency and range further for the sequencer waveform. Also note that I believe the 16 step sequencer used is a different sequence than heard in the first clip above. You have the ability to load any sequence you want from 1 to 16 steps and anything in between. I end with the BEF Pro bypassed.
n/aManual wahLakland Dude Pit Limited II, Darkstar pickup, LaBella flats, pickBOSS GT-10B USBLeveraging the single peak filters set with very low resonance, range (sweep) set to 12:00 for a static filter, and expression pedal controlling the frequency. Depending on the settings this can make a good sounding bass wah effect. Note that even at low resonance the sub-bass frequencies can rumble as you will hear. Simply adjust the Frequency knob to the lower range of the sweep you want, then the expression can sweep upward from there. You have full control as to the maximum upward sweep of the expression pedal via the Backpage settings. Signal chain is a simple GT-10B Bass Distortion into the BEF Pro then into a GT-10B Ampeg SVT sim, clean tone is at the end.
n/aQ demonstrationLakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, fingerBOSS GT-10B USBBOSS OC-2, BOSS VF-1 Bass Overdrive (high gain fuzz), BEF Pro Filter #2 with an upward sweep and slight volume boost, GT-10B Ampeg SVT sim. I start with the default resonance (Q) control which should be giving a similar/same sound as the non-Pro version. Then I drop the Q down -50%, then down -100% (relative not absolute control) to show how simply changing the Q can drastically change the filter voice. Then I repeat the cycle again. I personally think the default Q is too peaky most of the time for electronica, at least for my personal use, but sounds great with cleaner funk type bass sounds. Note the Q can also INCREASE in value which generally will induce speaker rattling sub-bass or ear piercing highs depending on the frequencies effected.
n/aMild vocal synth effectLakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, fingerBOSS GT-10B USBBOSS OC-2, BOSS VF-1 Bass Overdrive (high gain fuzz), BEF Pro Filter #6 and #17 both with a very mild up sweep and clean blend, basic "clean" bass amp sim, some mild reverb to liven it up. I forgot to note the other settings and have already overwritten the presets (that's the problem when you only have 6 presets and no way to back them up). Blending the "clean" signal with the filter gives it a mild vocal quality. Loop is clean, then three filter presets, then clean again for contrast. 
n/aTremolo like effectLakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, pickBOSS GT-10B USBClean bass into BEF Pro into BOSS GT-10B super flat amp sim. I cycle through two different tremolo like effects using Filter #2 with Q = Min, Freq = Min, Range  = Max, one using a sine LFO another using a square LFO, then another round using Filter #11 and sine LFO which gives a much more definted auto-wah filtering sound. Lastly, I add in a 12 stage phaser, panning delay, and verb to give an example of some sort of lush, ambient bass sound you could construct using the tremolo type sounds possible with the BEF Pro.
n/aAd-Hoc NoiseLakland Duck Dunn P bassRoland GR-55 USBClean bass into BOSS GT-10B used purely as a looper. Held 12th fret A string, looped that (basically a totaly held note), into BOSS OC-2 OCT1 soloed, into Octavious Squeezer for fuzz, into the BEF PRO synced via MIDI CLOCK, into my Roland GR-55 used for a basic amp sim, overdrive, chorus, delay, and verb. Really, the BEF PRO is doing basically everything here. Each track was recorded in real time, ad-hoc one over the top of the other. I'm simply knob twiddling in real time. The only post processing was the volume automation in the very beginning of the clip to let you hear each individual track more clearly, I didn't even apply any compression or limiting. 

Track1 Percussion- square LFO and various parameters to create the percussion track which also does the obnoxiously loud resonant noise towards the end of the track, very light overdrive to help soften/clip it which is really what turns it from a clicky LFO into something more resembling a kick drum. I toggled a panning delay a few times in there to help give the "percussion" a tiny bit a variety. Track2 Synth Noises - random LFO and various parameters with Q=Max to push it into squelchy high pitched territory, add some distortion via the GR-55 to help further focus the sound, some chorus and delay. Track3 Bass Synth - standard wobble type bass sound, really just a basic filter wobble into hexachorus, nothing particularly interesting there.
n/aStatic LPF sweepLakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, fingerRoland GR-55 USBClean bass into BOSS OC-2, Octavius Squeezer using my custom "sputtery fuzz" patch, then into the BEF Pro set to Filter #9 with Q=Min for a manual cutoff sweep, into the Roland GR-55 using a basic bass amp simulator. Then applying the Super Filter LPF for a manual cutoff sweep. I give you a "clean" non-filter tone, then the BEF Pro, then the Super Filter, then back to the BEF Pro real quick. I'm not pitting one against the other as a suggestion one is better than the other. Just as an illustration for some typical manual cutoff sweep sounds different gear can make. 
n/aStatic LPF sweep with EQLakland Duck Dunn P bass, Lindy Fralin pickup, DR Fatbeam strings, fingerRoland GR-55 USBBasically the same thing as above with the addition of two patches with two different EQ schemes (using the graphic EQ on the BEF Pro) applied so you can hear how the EQ can modify the base filter sounds. No Super Filter voice in this demo, and I start and end with the original non-EQ BEF Pro patch used in the previous sound clip immediately above.






Last updated 09-21-2011  

 

  
 
 

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