Guitar players like Jerry Garcia popularized the classic “wah” sound in their guitar playing and solos, and it captured the adoration of fans and guitar enthusiasts for generations. Even John Mayer continues to use the effect in his solos today!
The wah effect can best be achieved through envelope filtering, and the Agena Envelope Filter is Maestro’s offering to the market. We recently received one of the Maestro Agena Envelope Filter pedals to review to discover if it deserves a spot in your pedal rack or music studio.
So, let’s dive in!
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WHAT IS THE MAESTRO Agena Envelope Filter Pedal
The Agena Envelope Filter Pedal is a classic envelope filter pedal that offers two different modes of functionality. This is standard across all the Maestro pedals and allows for a ton of extra flexibility with just a simple switch of a button. These two options (Hi/Lo) offer two different types of frequency options for the pedal.
The “Hi” mode hones in more on the higher frequencies of the signal, allowing for a bit more crystal-clear attack on the signal that punches through the mix and adds more energy and bite to your music. I found that this mode works great on solos and lead sounds.
The “Lo” mode focuses its modulation on the lower frequencies of the mix, producing a far more classic wah sound that is low, funky, and chuggy. After experimenting a bit with this pedal over the last few days, I found that the “Lo” setting worked well on rhythmic elements like chords and synth stabs that sat deeper in the mix.
Either way, the Agena Envelope Filter pedal helps you achieve whichever sort of modulated wah sound you are after, in a compact and durable little box.
Learn More About My Favorite Pedals To Use On Synths Here
FAVORITE FEATURES OF THE AGENA ENVELOPE FILTER PEDAL
After playing with the pedal on a couple of my synths and my Fender guitar, I came to find there was a lot to like about this pedal. So here are my favorite features of the Agena Pedal.
Its Sound
I’ll start out with this one, as I believe that it is this pedal’s strongest feature and also its biggest shortcoming (but I’ll get to that in a second).
This pedal has an awesome sound, regardless of what mode you have selected. It changes the timbre of the sound in a nice but not overly-affected way, which can easily turn generic guitar tones and synth patches into a modulated and beautiful riff.
This pedal has a specific sound that, when used in moderation, can get that iconic Jerry Garcia-like wah sound. But, with a more heavy-handed approach, it can give you more aggressive filter-sweeping effects on whatever instrument you use it on.
It Forces You To Produce Differently
This is a fantastic pedal to use right out of the box for guitar players, but as a producer first who loves using hardware synths and VSTs over guitars (though I do include guitars on occasion in my tracks), I had to think outside of the box on how to use this thing in my dance music productions. This is always a good thing, as I believe limitations and restrictions like this can be the secret sauce in the creative process.
After a fair amount of experimentation, I was able to dial in a couple of settings that worked really well on my synth stabs and rhythmic plucks that sounded pretty cool when using the “Lo” mode. Conversely, I discovered some decent settings using the “Hi” mode that added an extra whisper of modulation to my pads and sustained instruments.
It takes some experimentation, which the pedal forces you to do, to get the good results you might be after. When you find those settings, I can promise you, you’ll be floored.
It’s Easy To Use
I take filters very seriously, maybe a little too seriously sometimes. And with any type of filter that has a ton of options and parameters, I tend to spend way too long dialing in just the right settings on each to get the sound that I want.
But the Agena pedal has only four parameters that you can change, which means your options are paired down to only the most essential ones. As such, you can really hop right into the best parts of sound design with this pedal and create tones you want to use in no time at all.
WHAT I WASN’T THAT CRAZY ABOUT
After using the pedal for the last few days, I discovered that I really loved the sound of the pedal on my guitar playing and jamming around in my studio. But it presented one larger hesitation that I should share.
It Has A Specific Sound
Getting the classic wah filter bite to the sound that was popularized by artists like Jerry Garcia and modernized by the likes of John Mayer is this pedal’s bread and butter. It does this classic sound extremely well, and those looking for that in their live performances and studio guitar setups will find a powerful tool in this pedal.
But, stepping outside of that effect takes a bit of work and familiarizing yourself with the pedal. Once you do, that wah filter sweep isn’t as commonplace in the majority of dance music genres (in which I know many of our readers work).
So while the sound of this pedal is one of its most defining positive qualities, as mentioned earlier in this article, I can also see that exact quality making it not the perfect tool for some producers’ arsenal of devices.
SPECS ON THE AGENA ENVELOPE FILTER PEDAL
- Pedal Type: Filter
- Analog/Digital: Analog
- Inputs: 1 x 1/4″
- Outputs: 1 x 1/4″
- Switches: Hi-Lo Switch
- Controls: Sense, Attack, Decay
- True Bypass: Yes
- Power Source: 9V DC power supply (sold separately)
- Power Usage: 26.6mA
- Batteries: 1 x 9V
- Height: 2.50″
- Width: 3.45″
- Depth: 5.04″
- Weight: 1.23 lbs.
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Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
