The controls
The Funk Filter gives extra control through four knobs: Frequency, Depth (which works as the sensitivity), Blend and Volume1. Frequency sets where the filter sits in the spectrum, Depth sets how hard your playing drives the sweep, Blend mixes the filtered sound with your dry signal, and Volume sets the overall level.
The toggle switch on top of the pedal activates an onboard preamp that adds a little extra boost to the tone1.
"The toggle switch on top of the pedal activates an onboard preamp that adds a little extra boost to the tone."
Analog design
Seamoon describes the current Seamoon Funk Machine as an "All Analog Envelope Filter w/Sub Harmonic"2. The Funk Filter, announced at NAMM 2020, is a recreation of that pedal1, and it also carries an onboard preamp: the toggle switch on top of the pedal activates a preamp that adds a little extra boost to the tone1.
Funk Filter and Funk Machine
The two pedals are closely related, and it helps to keep them straight:
- Seamoon Funk Machine: the original envelope-controlled filter effect from the 1970s, packaged in the form of an envelope-controlled effect, later reissued by Seamoon FX with a sub harmonic generator23
- Seamoon Funk Filter: the 2020 recreation of that pedal, fully analog, with the same four-knob layout plus an onboard preamp engaged by a toggle switch1
How it compares
Other envelope filters take different approaches to the same effect. The Modtone Funk Filter Enveloper is an analog multi-mode filter with controls for Lowpass, Midpass and Highpass filter modes; its reviewer in Delicious Audio found "this analog multi-mode filter sounds really musical and warm"4. The Ashdown SZ Funk Face Twin Dynamic Filter goes further by pairing a filter with drive; MusicRadar's review team found that combining the drive and wah leads to some interesting sounds which, if used sparingly and tastefully, can give a standout bass flavor for soloing and heavily featured bass passages5.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Seamoon Funk Filter analog or digital?
It is fully analog. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described the Funk Filter as offering the same fully analog tone as the original Funk Machine it recreates. The modern Seamoon Funk Machine is likewise described by its maker as an all analog envelope filter, so both versions of the circuit run without digital processing.
What does the toggle switch on the Seamoon Funk Filter do?
The toggle switch on top of the pedal activates an onboard preamp that adds a little extra boost to the tone, according to Delicious Audio. It sits alongside the four knobs: Frequency, Depth, Blend and Volume.
What is the difference between the Seamoon Funk Filter and the Funk Machine?
The Funk Machine is Seamoon's original 1970s envelope-controlled filter effect, which has been reissued by Seamoon FX. The Funk Filter, announced at NAMM 2020, is a recreation of that pedal with four knobs and an added onboard preamp toggled from the top of the pedal. The current Funk Machine also adds a sub harmonic generator.
Can the Seamoon Funk Filter be used with bass?
Yes. Delicious Audio noted that the original pedal, despite a very spartan look, became very popular among guitarists and bassists for that signature auto-wah funk sound, and the Funk Filter carries the same circuit approach.
Sources (5)
- New Pedals: Seamoon Funk Filter, Delicious Audio, 2020-10-19
- Funk Machine, Seamoon FX, 2026-10-07
- Knight School Filter DIY Kit, Catalinbread Effects
- Pedal Review: Modtone Funk Filter Enveloper, Delicious Audio, 2012-12-12
- Ashdown SZ Funk Face Twin Dynamic Filter review, MusicRadar, 2018-04-06
