Compelled To Get Longwinded, I wrote:
Yes, Godfather. I remember free weekends. Barely. My point with the ‘variety pack’ here is to show some different ways to attack a particular ‘problem’. That’s the beauty of this kind of system. There are common parameters among many of the algorithms. So a transferrable skill set. But each algorithm brings its own unique strengths & quirks. So, instead of sticking with one hardware envelope wah, you have a half-dozen or more ‘flavors’. A go-to E-Wah, synth-like variations, E-Wah plus Auto-Wah, E-Phase-Wah, vocal, mellow, …
So, SCULPT. Yes, that’s right. Digital distortion. We just won’t use the distortion components.
I adjusted every parameter here for the desired effect, so I’ll detail that below. The peaking filters here are throaty & vocal-like. Not quite a Q-WAH formant envelope, but getting there.
- MIX I left in some dry signal for the pick attack.
- BAND MIX Equal distribution.
- XOVER Midrange. Seemed about right.
- LOW-DRIVE None.
- HIGH-DRIVE None.
- COMPRESSOR Tied to an expression pedal. Rounds out & lengthens the envelope, dynamically.
- GATE OFF Don’t want to choke the envelope off.
- LOW BOOST Smooths out the low end [POST DIST]
- FILTER-PRE Reinforced both filters in tandem; set to sweep fairly high [~2600 Hz.]
- FILTER-POST Reinforced both filters in tandem; set to sweep fairly high [~2600 Hz.]
- ENV-FILTER Works for me @ SENS 35. Tweak to taste.
- OUT LEVEL I had to double the amplitude to get near unity gain.
No doubt we’re drifting away from the original Tiny Desk sound now, but there’s something delicately special going on here. Playable. Nice range & balance of dynamics and sweeps. Of course distortion is going to accentuate the filters even more, but I’m sticking with the clean variations.
The variable compression is ‘transparent’ in this config, but it smoothy affects the filter envelope. The EQ CURVES view below shows the expression pedal at full toe:
