The Maestro Parametric Filter is a filter pedal from the 1970s that boosts a frequency of the player's choosing. Premier Guitar described it as "a clever, clunky filter pedal that a resourceful player could use for everything from simple EQ to total fuzzification" of the signal1. The design later inspired the Stone Deaf FX PDF-1, whose control names Premier Guitar noted are identical to those on the Maestro MPF that inspired it1.
Controls
The pedal's three controls shape a band-pass filter, each with a distinct job2:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Freq | Controls the center frequency of the filter |
| Height | Controls the amount of boost of the selected frequency |
| Filter Bandwidth | Selects the width of the band-pass filter, with Overdrive settings Sharp and Med and Natural setting Broad |
In practice, a player dials in the frequency they want to emphasize with Freq, sets how far it is pushed with Height, and decides how narrow or wide a slice of the spectrum is affected with the Bandwidth control2.
History and players
The pedal dates to the 1970s, when, as Premier Guitar puts it, "more adventurous manufacturers were giving players even greater power to shape their distortion"1. Among the players who put it to work, the magazine names Alex Lifeson and Josh Homme, writing that these "6-string adventurers... have used the Maestro to sculpt their tones"1.
Related pedals
The Maestro name covers other filter designs as well, including the Maestro Filter Sample/Hold and the Maestro MPF-1. The MPF-1's control names carried over to later designs: Premier Guitar noted that the Stone Deaf FX PDF-1 uses "each of the curious control names... identical to those on the Maestro MPF that inspired the PDF-1"1.
Videos
LN-Studio
Florian Z
501chorusecho
Questions
What do the controls on the Maestro Parametric Filter do?
The Freq control sets the center frequency of the filter, the Height control sets how much that frequency is boosted, and the Filter Bandwidth control selects the width of the band-pass filter. On the Overdrive settings the bandwidth choices are Sharp and Med, while the Natural setting is Broad.
Who used the Maestro Parametric Filter?
According to Premier Guitar, players including Alex Lifeson and Josh Homme used the Maestro to sculpt their tones. The magazine described it as a clever, clunky filter pedal that a resourceful player could use for everything from simple EQ to total fuzzification of the signal.
Sources (2)
- Stone Deaf FX PDF-1 Pedal Review: Ultimate Guide, Premier Guitar, 2011-02-15
- Maestro MPF-1 Parametric Filter (B-STOCK), Godlyke Distributing, Inc.
