Edgy stompbox manufacturer 3 Leaf Audio has been quiet for a while as far as new pedals are concerned, which is why we are excited to see it return with an intriguing take on the filter pedal: the Chromatron.
This effect was probably one of the reasons behind the small company’s lack of releases: it’s the result of TEN years of “tweaking, refining and re-imagining the state variable filter circuit.”
The filter is optically-controlled, and a switch allows you to trigger it through an envelope control (like an auto-wah) or through the classic foot-controlled treadle via an expression pedal.
The envelop control is mostly where this pedal’s innovation resides: the envelop detector (i.e. the device that gets the filter to respond to the guitar’s signal) is an original design that opens up a wide spectrum on sonic options ranging from the classic to the “synthy,” in combination with a very thorough filter section featuring Range, Mix, Resonance, Band and Boost controls.
Check out the brief videos of the Chromatron, below.
The Chromatron is the result of 10 years tweaking, refining and re-imagining the state variable filter circuit. It is an optically-controlled analog filter that can switch between envelope control and manual control via expression pedal with the push of a button. The envelope detector is an original design, producing a musical filter response that spans a broad range of tones from vintage quack to future-synth psychedelica.
