continued

To be honest – I’m going to get serious and mod an old wah pedal because I think I’ll be using this as a Wah live. I don’t know if the price for the Enigma ($190) plus the cost of modding a beat up wah pedal – is worth it for just a live tool. BUT for recording, this thing is great – from regular up and down filter settings, to a percussive dub drum machine sound, to slow attack synth filter types. I can replicate so much. sure it’s not a BMS – but it incorporates the START and STOP freq settings which I think is a hallmark of that pedals synthy versatility.

I’m a big OD/Dist/Fuzz kind of guy and the pedal’s lack of an effects loop or trigger really has me bummed for live use. but then, with a little experimentation – I could find a sound that is perfect for live use. I played it through my marshal clone into a 215 today and I got some great doomy sounds just with the amp, my octaver, and the enigma. So it’s possible.

I like my sounds dirty, synthy, an a bit extreme. And this pedal delivers. But if you use the controls judiciously, and really pay attention to the Q – you can get some nice subtle sounds as well.

I guess it’s dissappointing have a pony with some many tricks ony really be able to do one or too live.

So my final word for now.

PROS:

Lots of versatility in the envelope and sweep via the attack, decay, Start and Stop freq controls
Decent sized form factor (same as Qtron and Qtron+)
Distortion is switchable and in some settings it adds just enough to make two sounds – or just enough to make one sound useable – great for a synth in a box.
The Clean Blend work beautifully – very effective at taming a big LP resonant envelope and bringing the lows back into a HP or BP setting.
Can be powered by a 9V power supply (EHX says 200ma) so no strange voltages – just a bit current hungry
All the mechanical parts are easily replaceable – in case a switch breaks

CONS:

No master volume – you have to use the Q and the Blend to control the overall volume the pedal puts out.
NO effects loop – you have to play “roll you own” in working with fuzz and OD either before or after the pedal.
NO trigger input – the pedal changes in response to what is put or turned on in front of it.
Stock LED aren’t bright enough – for me at least – so i changed out the bypass LED for a bright one.
The dry output is almost pointless – unless you run a biamp rig, but it might be nice for a recording environment
Not especially Plug and Play. Some of the setting changes are so minute that you may find yourself taping them in place.

EDIT: working with fuzz before the filter AND the Distortion circuit

I read a little bit about putting a fuzz before the filter. So I took one of my muff clones and put it between the Octabass and the Enigma.
I did a series of clips using the good old p-bass with flats.
Clean – Enigma – add Octabass – add Muff – subtract Octabass

I did this four times two clips in LP mode (fully wet) and two in BP mode (blend at noon) and each of those with the enigma and with the enigma+distortion.

Here’s what I got

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/LTsequenceLP.mp3

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/LTsequenceLPwithDist.mp3

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/LTsequenceBP.mp3

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/LTsequenceBPwithDist.mp3

Any one of those tones – I’d use live. and that represents only one type of filter sweep using the START/STOP and ATTACK/DECAY

PPS. here’s a clip of me trying to cop the same settings as Brian Tyler’s Favorite 3Leaf Groove Regulator setting from the video on the website. clean – LP full wet – then LP 50% wet. I didn’t go for the gurgle though.
http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/Btylerfav.mp3

For those of you that are interested – here’s a link to the thread

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=565753

another clip and setting

ok so this is the kind of fun you can have with a quick attack and decay with a LP down filter where the start and stop are almost equal and on the low side of things. the blend is at 2 o clock but can be dialed back for the faint of heart.

P – flats (still yeah I know I’m working on it) – Octabazz – Muffy McClone – Enigma with the Dist on. and a drum track – because I’m tired of playing with myself.
First part all effects MINUS the Enigma – second part – the money shot.
http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/thumpysynth.mp3

it can get pretty intense – and with bass guitar it’s a good idea to keep the Q low and work your way up than the other way around.

I’ve found that the four sweep setting knobs (attack, decay, start and stop) have an intermingled relationship with the sensitivity. So while those knobs may have to all be moved if one needs to – the Q can almost move independently.

Also it is imperative to know what your bass’s clean frequency signature (“tone”) is uneffected (or if you have a preamp) because if you play a bass with flats – like me – then using a large Q applied to a deeply focused sweep is just asking for big volume trouble – and it’s also going to be harder to coax higher filter sweeps – so a high Q is necessary.

almost – you can definitly get a “gurgle” going here – but it’s still a subtle oscillation

Same HP down filter as above but this time it’s set to 100% wet!

I switched out the fuzz for my modded DS1 and heres the result

clean first – boss second

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/ds1funkymetal.mp3

AND VERY FAINT….SELF-OSCILLATION!
brought about by the DS1
http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/selfoscillation.mp3

OK so – I’m now just completely committed to the Enigma.

there’s no going back.

and thankfully – this pedal has led to something that I’ve never had in 13 years of playing

a pedalboard.

Octave. Fuzz. Envelope. Chorus. Delay.

that’s the formula for this clip

http://www.marysmonster.com/enigma/pedalboardsim.mp3

It’s supposed to approximate if all the pedals were on – 550ms of delay, stereo chorus and then all the other usual suspects plus a cabinet sim of my 215.

So in addition to the Enigma, my board will consist of the EBS Octabass, a fuzz of my design, the Enigma, an old Ibanez CS9, and an EHX Memory Toy.

First part is with the fuzz, second part – fuzz is off and the enigma distortion is on.

I’m going for full on synth sounds – minus LFO.

I’m so excited because i’m finally getting the sounds that inspire me to really do my own thing.

Good Luck to everyone else out there who are waiting to get their Enigma’s.

Embrace the synth aspects of this pedal. Go beyond what you’d normally use an envelope filter for. and really think about the rest of your chain – including your fingers.

this pedal may NOT give you fantastic results if you expect to be off and running, plug and play. But if you spend some time – i’ll guarantee that you’ll be finding filter sounds you’ve never heard before – much less for this price.