The Adventure Audio Mother Tongue is an envelope controlled modulated formant filter, a pedal that applies vowel-like effects to a guitar signal and follows how hard you play. It came out earlier in 2021 and was created in collaboration with designer Josh Owen.1
Formant filters are rare on pedalboards. The Mother Tongue sits in the wider family of filter pedals, but where a standard envelope filter or wah sweeps a single band, a formant filter shapes the signal the way the human voice does. Paolo De Gregorio, writing at Delicious Audio, described it as giving players "an abundance of options to apply vowel-like effect" to their playing.1
Where it comes from
Delicious Audio places the Mother Tongue "following in the great lineage of envelope controlled devices going back to the 1970's," building on automated tracking wah designs. Those circuits listen to the dynamics of the incoming signal and use them to drive a filter, which is the core of the funk envelope sound. The Mother Tongue extends that idea with a set of controls that simulate the way the human voice works, including the dynamics of tongue action, the filtering effects of the throat, and the vocal cords' range.1
The Inflection circuit and modulation
Alongside the envelope control, an "Inflection" circuit adds a modulation element, with 8 LFO options and a rate controllable via tap tempo. A 3-way toggle switch lets you apply the envelope filter to the modulation's depth, the LFO, or the rate, which changes what your playing dynamics push against: how deep the modulation goes, which LFO shape is at work, or how fast it runs.1
Delicious Audio's verdict was that the Mother Tongue "adds a range of vocal-sounding modulations to the dialogue, mixing in a powerful array of controls," producing textures for percussive rhythms that had not been found before in one box. On the formant filter niche specifically, the same review concluded that "it's unlikely anyone will find a stompbox that does a more comprehensive job at it than the Mother Tongue."1
Videos
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Questions
What is a formant filter?
A formant filter shapes a signal to emphasize the frequency bands that give the human voice its vowel sounds. On the Mother Tongue, the controls simulate the way the voice works, including the dynamics of tongue action, the filtering effects of the throat, and the vocal cords' range, so a guitar can take on vowel-like, talking qualities.
How many LFO shapes does the Mother Tongue have?
The Inflection circuit in the Mother Tongue offers 8 LFO options. A 3-way toggle switch lets you apply the envelope filter to the modulation's depth, the LFO, or the rate, which is how the pedal produces its vocal-sounding modulations for percussive rhythms and textures.
Can the Mother Tongue rate be set with tap tempo?
Yes. The rate of the Inflection circuit's modulation is controllable via tap tempo, alongside its 8 LFO options, so you can sync the vocal-style modulation to the rhythm you are playing.
Who designed the Adventure Audio Mother Tongue?
The Mother Tongue was created by Adventure Audio in collaboration with designer Josh Owen. It was released earlier in 2021.
Sources (1)
- New Pedals: Adventure Audio Mother Tongue, Delicious Audio, 2021-10-27