Ever hear an effect on a recording and not be able to place exactly what it is? Especially with songs from the 70’s, when funk and soul ruled the world? Well, there’s a good chance that what you heard was the classic Seamoon Funk Machine, a highly sought-after piece of gear that fetches crazy high prices on the used market. But have no fear! The Funk Machine has been resurrected by Seamoon FX and Neil Jason, session bass extraordinaire whose credits include Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Pavarotti, Keith Richards, Debbie Harry, Hall & Oates, The Brecker Brothers, Diana Ross, Kiss, John McLaughlin and many more. Let’s dive in and see what it’s all about….
The four parameter knobs may seem simple and not too flashy, but there’s a lot going on in this funky blue box. The ‘Freq’ knob sets the frequency spectrum that the effect operates in, from maximum sup-sonic bass to a supersonic high frequency when maxed. ‘Depth’ determines the impact of the envelope on the frequency shift, or how much the signal is affected by the funk. The always-welcome ‘Blend’ knob lets you seamlessly mix your wet and dry signals, going up to 100% in either direction, and ‘Vol’ adjusts the output the pedal provides, for perfect integration into any rig. There’s a toggle switch as well, which lets you either access or bypass the onboard Preamp, for further experimentation with your instrument.
There are more controls on the inside as well, if you really want to fine-tune the Funk Machine. There’s a switch you can slide to pad the input if you’re getting too much clipping, as well as a trim pot that has a few uses. If you’re in preamp mode, it sets the preamp gain; if you bypass the preamp, then the trim pot simply pushes the filter section as hard as you want it to. Both of these are great at helping to seriously dial in what you need from your funky little machine.
Bringing on board pedal designer Ben Fulton (of Red Witch Pedals fame), the Seamoon FX Funk Machine was made all-analog and exceptionally responsive, and it shows. From light, snappy funk to low-end, sub-driving, bass-engulfing madness, this pedal brings back vintage tones, but in a re-imagined and modern circuit and enclosure. It’s fantastic on bass, as you’ll hear in our demo below, but also works beautifully with guitar, horns and more. Cheers to Neil Jason and his crew at Seamoon FX for resurrecting a pedal that many of us probably didn’t even know existed, even if we had heard it a thousand times…
Keep The Funk Alive!!!!!!
Use this link to purchase this pedal on Amazon and support us: Seamoon Funk Machine-Mega Envelope Filter w/Sub Harmonic
GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO, SEE OUR LATEST DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE:
