When Old Blood Noise Endeavors released the original Float V1, it disrupted the filter landscape by rescuing digitally controlled analog filtering from auto-wah cliché and turning it into a stereo textural playground. With Float V2, OBNE completely overhauls the design while preserving the core duo of 2-pole (12dB/octave) state-variable analog filters built around the high-grade SSI2164 chip.
What Stays the Same
Float V2 maintains the organic interplay between LFO modulation and dynamic envelope tracking that made V1 a favorite for guitars, synths, and bass. Both independent filter engines retain dedicated controls for Cutoff, Resonance, Volume, LFO Rate, Depth, and Shape, alongside bipolar Sensitivity that lets your picking dynamics sweep either the cutoff frequency or the LFO speed.
What’s New in Float V2
Rather than a simple refresh, V2 delivers massive operational, digital, and mechanical upgrades designed for complex studio rigs and live pedalboards:
- Expanded Routing & Presets: Upgrades from basic stereo/parallel to four distinct routing modes: Mono Parallel, Mono Series, Mono-in-Stereo-out, and True Stereo. It also introduces onboard preset storage (3 presets locally, up to 127 via MIDI).
- Full MIDI & USB-C: Adds comprehensive MIDI I/O with MIDI clock sync and full CC control over every parameter, plus USB-C for firmware updates.
- Expression & Tap Tempo: Expression control moves beyond single-knob assignment, allowing you to map the expression input to any combination of knobs simultaneously per preset. A third AUX footswitch provides dedicated tap tempo (with 1/4 to x4 subdivisions) or quick preset cycling.
- Reworked Voicings & Sync: Expands filter selection to seven combinations of Low Pass, Band Pass, and High Pass, with LED indicators showing active modes. The LFO’s random shape is now split into smooth and stepped variants, while a new central SYNC feature offers hard-sync locking (binding Filter 2’s cutoff directly to Filter 1) alongside adjustable phase offsets and inverted envelope tracking.
- Hardware Hardware Upgrades: Adds true bypass operation alongside multi-function footswitches supporting both standard latching and press-and-hold momentary engagement.
By combining expanded digital memory and MIDI control with deeper analog filter routing, Float V2 turns a niche modulation effect into an uber-creative tone-shaping anchor.
Old Blood Noise Float V1
A dual filter pedal packed with creative features, the Old Blood Noise Float is a breath of fresh air in an effect niche that too often only caters to funk guitarists – while historically filters are at the basis of electronic music.
OBNE’s first digitally controlled analog pedal, Float is a stereo textural machine that features two independently controllable filters and sewveral ways to get them in motion through synched or interlacing LFOs, linked reactive elements, classic envelope filter sounds, auto-wah as well as more subtle modulations closer to harmonic tremolo and phaser.
The two filters have separate controls for type, cutoff frequency, LFO rate, envelope sensitivity, LFO shape, resonance, and volume, and the output can be routed in different ways to work in full stereo or parallel mono. Under the hood switches allow extra tweaking of LFO phase and envelope reaction speed.
An Expression output allows to externally control the Cutoff or Rate for each filter.
Here are the first videos of the Float, it looks and sounds inspiring!
Old Blood Noise Float, Builder’s Notes
Turning our predilection for parallel signals toward the world of filters and widening out to full stereo, we are pleased to unveil OBNE’s first digitally-controlled-analog pedal.
Float boasts two independently controllable filters and copious capabilities for motion. Utilizing the two filters in tandem can create stereo movement, linked reactive elements, and modulations that approach harmonic tremolo and phaser, as well as classic filter sounds.
Float features:
• Two independent filters, each with control over filter type, cutoff frequency, LFO rate, envelope sensitivity, LFO shape, resonance, and volume
• True stereo, parallel mono, or series mono operation via top-mounted jacks
• Min/max toggle for precise sculpting of LFO and envelope range
• Sync toggle to link the LFO or envelope elements of Filter 1 to Filter 2
• Expression jack to externally control Cutoff or Rate for each filter
• Soft touch switching with true relay bypass
• Hidden settings for LFO phase and envelope speed
• Pedalboard friendly size
• Requires at least 100mA 9VDC center negative power
