Frostwave Funk-A-Duck

Many are saying this is a tricky pedal to tweak -- but within a few minutes of use, I figured out how to dial in just about any sound I wanted. About half the knobs are "set and forget", while the rest require sensitive adjustment. The manual is a single page, more of an overview than anything. I recommend writing down your favorite settings because there are a lot of possibilities and it can take some tinkering.

I'm running an Epiphone Dot (dual humbuckers) into a Fender Blues Junior. This pedal produces zero noise. I use it at the beginning of the chain although at toward the end it can be used to filter out noise, as it is a low pass filter.

All of the sounds on low-pass mode are quite beefy and full -- in fact, some are so strong it tends to fuzz out get a little muddy. But otherwise 90% of the settings are amazing -- funky, squelchy, phat, hollow, edgy. Can emulate classic auto-wah or do some crazy sweeps. With resonance up high it turns into a laser blaster, resonance down low it can just add a little warmth to your sound.

It seems well built and dependable; still running fine after a few months. However, the switch between high pass and low pass mode is kinda flaky -- sometimes there's static, sometimes it cuts out completely and has to be jiggled to get it to connect. This is only a minor issue as I don't use the switch a lot, and if I needed to I could just replace the switch.

I've emailed the maker, Paul Perry and got a prompt and helpful response. I think dealing with a smaller company like this usually means better service.

This unit is incredibly versatile. I can fit it into just about any style -- though I suspect it's most at home in the funk world. I chose it over the Moog MF-101 low-pass filter because it has just a little more flexibility. It would be nice if it had a control jack for the cutoff frequency like the MF-101 though, to enable control via expression pedal. For most songs I don't need to adjust anything -- there's enough response from playing technique.

It's a bit expensive but the sound is high-quality, juicy analog, and it's a very useful musical tool.

I'm giving this unit 8/10, as of all stomp box effects, envelope filters are notoriously tricky, and this unit aint no plug and play, but a little time and experimentation it has yielded great results. It's easier than a Lovetone Meatball, but tougher than a Mutron III (I've owned both!) and I guess this sits somewhere in the middle.

I prefer this pedal to both of them! Small, compact, built like a tank, with clear instructions on the interactive controls. Mine didn't come with instructions (bought second hand), so I don't know if a new one comes with them.

I would like to see a printed blue print of the controls, as with a Meatball, that you could photocopy to mark various favourite settings, but this is a minor consideration.

My only two concerns is that there's no indicator diode, which I think is essential with an envelope filter, and that the unit is powered by 16-18v AC and not DC current, therefore requiring a specialised power supply. If these two factors were sorted, this unit would be perfect.

Holy mother of Mary! I'm a bass player, using an Ampeg PB 250 head and 1x12" cab. This thing can self resonate, unique on any filter pedal I've ever come across. The tones generated are earth moving through to bat ear shattering! I can honestly say this little pedal rocks in every sense.

It's also subtle, producing wah-like, chunky, funky, sloppy tones to bird twittering, synthetic, edgy sounding tones. I love the noises this thing produces. As the controls are interactive and sensitive, you could use it live, but you'd need to have a damn good idea what your doing not to blow the house PA!

The best sound quality I've heard from a stomp box sized envelope filter.

Built like tank, very solid construction. Clear layout. Good knobs too! (See comment re; indicator light and power). Very compact design also.

I emailed Paul Perry in Oz and got a reply straight away. He's also happy to help with an questions. Frostwave also offer a 30 day trial and return policy on new purchases. Quite amazing really.

As I said I've owned a Mutron III and a Lovetone Meatball (two actually) which I've subsequently sold. I'm hanging on to the Funk-a-Duck. I've fallen in love with this little unit. I've played bass off and on for twenty years, and along with my Demeter Compulator compressor, this is my favourite pedal.

Without a second thought I'd replace it if it went missing. The score would be ten if there was a light and it was DC. A fine product.

If you understand envelope this pedal isn't really that hard to use. I will say however that it can do some unpredictable things if you aren't vareful.

I use a Warwick corvette standard 5 and a slew of other pedals and a Ampeg SVT4 Pro head and ampeg cabs. This pedal is great it sounds awesome even on real low notes. Th only thing is if you are running a lot of scales or are all over the neck the sound changes drastically with the frequencies you are playing.........the frequency knob is reall touchy/precise. A little octave abd some distortion it's super funky!!!

i have only had it for a week but its a tank i dont see it being a problem.

no clue

i play a strange variety of music. If it were stolen I would try to replace it. I wish it had an LED. It was self-osicalting really slowly once and when i turned on my delay it started mounting like crazy and let out some of the most hanous sounds I have ever heard. Thank god it didn't hapen on stage. Overall this is one bada** Envelope "follower"

easy onese you read the 1 page photo kopyed manual,

ohh yeah baba!

this is solid and so is the sound , solid , i would say i would use it on any stage anyware

i havnt talked to them yet,

i think this ones to stay for ma great great grandkiddies, pual kould get some dsent pakigin & maby some merhendise (stikkers ,t-shirts etk..)i like to touh it , i like to look at it ,and most of all i like to play it , it makes my dx27 playable & my kasio toy keyboard fonkay! i will be bying the ms20 klone 4sure. did i mention a very resonable prise , this serkitury is exxselent! (u have to forgive my keyboard for not typing seas!

I think 99% of effects are no brainers to learn, but this one has a defitite learning curve. The control dials are self descriptive enough. Output Level,Envelope up or down, Input Range, Res (controls the amount of the resonant filter), Frequency(controls the initial starting frequency), and speed(controls the speed of the released filter sweep, and a toggle switch for either low pass or high pass filter. These controls are highly interactive with each other, it takes awhile to learn how each control interacts with each other.

This is by far the most fun I've ever had with an effect! I usually run this into the front end of a Bogner Ecstacy, Using the res control at 2:00 with high gain will accent rythym playing like a whacked touch controled (but outta control)pitch shifted banshee. You have to watch your speakers though, because when the frequency dial is set really low, the bass frequencies this box puts out could rip your speaker cones to shreds at loud volumes. I let a bass plyer friend play with this, and even at low volume levels, it put out such extreme bass frequencies, that we were getting physically ill! This easily has 3 to 5 times the frequncy response over other envelope filters. I've used the Q-tron, Meatball, and Maxon AF-9, and I do prefer this over all of them. I find that I can really tune into the low to high frequencies That I want the envelope to operate in with more ease and accuracy than the Meatball. The Speed control is great also because it goes from that abrupt Bootsy quick release, to practically seconds of release. The only thing I liked in my other envelopes over the Duck is that it doesn't have quite the easy, watery playability of the AF-9, but once you've played through this it's obvious that it's a different beast from any other envelope.
This can leave your signal sounding untouched, or nothing remotely like your original tone, depending on how its set. True Bypass also.

I've had a footswitch go out on it, and an adapter fried on me, which is the most trouble I've ever had withan effect. Other than that, it's builty very well.

Paul Perry, the owner of Frostwave, is without a doubt the coolest guy on the planet! When my footswitch died, he sent me two switches free of charge, and when my adapter fried, he had one sent to me for $10.00. He always answers every e-mail personally, and usually with alot of great insight and cool converstaion to boot! I'd give him a 100+++

I'm giving this a 9, only because I don't think any effect covers all the bases, but I would give even the Meatball a 7. I usually use this for playing space rock,funk, and even use it instead of a wah for straight ahead rock stuff. I've gone on a major G.A.S. run the last 4 years,and I've seen about 20 boutique pedals come and go from my pedal board, but this one will stay forever. Even after using it for 3 years, I find it to be a pedal that inspires different things.

this is a follow up to the previous review (by me). i got a new duck sent to me. as it is not broken i have managed to achieve more wah-like sounds. it is also easier to use.

excellent! cheers ben.

at first this is very difficult to work. this is true of most similar pedals. with the interactivity it takes a while to work it well. the controls are: input vol; output vol; resonance; lp/hp filter switch; envelope; frequency; speed; on/off switch.

it is well worth the wait! fat filter sounds to self-osillating thermal screams to high pitched squeals to lo-fi type noises with resonance set low. this box seems to do everything. my favourite settings are on the down sweep with a slow attack time (it sounds a little like an arpeggiator). i put keys, drums, guitar, vox, anything through this. on the bad side: it isn't easy to get settings where it is easy to play normally: you have to change your style when you turn it on; and it is very difficult to trigger it with the treble strings. this is more like a sherman filterbank than a wahwah. if that is what you want, buy a Q-tron or just a wah. i think it is worth having a wah, auto wah and this. quiet unless there is a flanger or something similar after this when u get crackling etc. but i love this sound, especially when set to sound lo-fi. if you want to combat this noise, put something like a mild phase inbetween. sounds amazing with an echo and tremolo.
my setup: RICKY 360/ TELE USA >>> FUNK-A-DUNK >>> COLORSOUND WAHWAH >>> EHX SMALL STONE >>> RAT 2 >>> ROLAND SPACE ECHO RE-201 >>> VOX AC15TBX.

it no longer works, though it never worked very well, so i think this is a one off. anyway, with 3years warranty, who's complaining? the switches are the problem for me.

quick replies, helpful etc.

this suits my experimental space rock well, i also do N.A.M. i've used this on alot of recordings. i've been playing 10yrs and am 16. i'd buy it again as it is a fraction of the price of a sherman filterbank and mutronics mutator (used by radiohead in paranoid android lead). #140 including delivery etc. for all of the sounds available its great. i think it is TRUE BYPASS, if not it doesn't damage my pure tone like my Boss FLanger. it makes the worst sounding autowah sound better when put after it (eg.DODFX25)this is about 6.5/10 as an autowah, but 10/10 as a sonic tool. i now need to buy a Q-tron. if you think you can use thess types of sounds buy it! simple.

If you are familiar with envelope filters, the Funkaduck with yield incredible sounds immediately. If you are new to envelope and synthesizer filters -- this a great purchase at an excellent price. The funkaduck is very versatile -- it has a much wider palette of sounds than others on the market. There are settings on this envelope filter will cut all of your input source, and others that will wake the neighbors -- so there is a bit of a learning curve, though its flexibility and range of sounds is well worth it.

The funkaduck sounds incredible. I have nearly 20 envelope and synthesizer filters at my disposal -- the funkaduck has become a new favorite. I especially love the envelope drive _knob_ which allows one to dial the amount of drive up or down, and sweep in between. This is the only filter is know of that has this feature, which I find particularily great for percussion. The funkaduck also has a speed (attack / decay) knob which in combination with the envelope knob really sets its sounds apart from other filters.

The funkaduck seems very solid. I would definitely use it on a gig without a backup.

I've emailed the manufacterer Paul Perry several times with questions, and always recieved a response within hours.

The funkaduck that I ordered arrived to the US from Australia in less than a week.

I make music with modular synthesis and guitars, with PC multitracking and modulation. The funkaduck is a welcome and active addition to my setup. My favourite feature is the envelope up/down knob, as opposed to a switch that the mutron iii and lovetone meatball employ. I wish it had an effect on/off light, though for my setup this is not a problem. If stolen or lost, I would definitely repurchase the Frostwave funkaduck that same day for its unique sound sculpting abilities.

This may seem like a low rating but in this case it is good as I wouldn't want it to be too easy to use. (see other reviews). It takes a while to get used to and a lot of tweaking but it is a versatile pedal. (I don't know if I could get the same exact sound twice.) The AC-AC power source may be difficult to find if I ever need to repace it, but then again I haven't checked.

I am a Music Therapist Board Certified, as well as guitar teacher/performer. I play many styles but am currently useing this pedal with my Ibanez S470 and Roadstar II guitars to a Mesa-Boogie DC-3. I also use a SKB pedal board with rack spaces (power conditioner, rocktron replifex; boss comp., fuzz, noise gate, eq; earnie b. volume, dunlop wah)
So far with the exception of machine noise (which the boss noise gate gets rid of) This pedal is great! I tried it in several combinations with other pedals and have found that(This will sound a little crazy considering it is an envelope type pedal) if I can boost my guitar signal to the duck via my compressor or by useing my fuzz box as a boost I can control the sounds better. If I don't do this I pretty much have to crank the input on the duck wide open at all times. If they ever decide to upgrade this pedal I hope they will consider adding a gain or signal booster after the input. I haven't found much use for the high pass filter switch yet. I've also found certain settings send extreme treble or at times extreme bass to my amp but I can use my boss eq or the amp's eq to curb this when necessary.
I'm not too experienced with analog drum sounds however, my band is currently recording a Christian rock praise/worship CD. I told our engineer about the pedal's function with drum machines. Since he digs adding drum loops to some of the songs he and our drummer tried it out and loved the warmth it added to the DR-770.

It's built tough almost like a RAT pedal(heavy metal casing, sturdy switch). One problem I've had is that the power input doesn't "grip" the adapter very well and sometimes when I stomp on (the duck) the connection slips off resulting in horrible pops and stuff. This is cumbersome live as I have to keep reaching down and plugging the power cable back into the pedal creating more noise as the pedal shorts on and off. I think I can fix this by duck tapeing the adapter chord to "the duck"(lol). This problem may just be with my particular pedal. I'm not too concerned about it.

I purchased this over the net. It took about two weeks to get it (from Austrailia). I've had it a couple weeks. These people are way cool. Professional yet unpretentious (a hint of tannin and a strong bouquet). ROCK and ROLE DUDES!

I play many styles and have been playing a score or so. When I bought this I was looking for something unique and different. I tried out some Eventide pedals which were pretty cool but was able to "mimic" some of their sounds with gear I already had. I was pleasantly surprised at the uniquity of this pedal. It's not something I would use all the time but it adds a lot of spice and flavor with its duck- like sqwaks and squirks. At times it sounds like its "gonna" swallow the entire room. I would replace it if I lost it. One last comment... The cheese and groove factor on this thing is tremendous. A bright yellow, medal, Austrailian pedal called "the duck". It may not make me a better guitar player but definitely a "cooler" player(lol). All my guitar player friends say oooh aaaah. :)

Okay, let me get this out of the way. This pedal is not as easy as your standard 3-knob, 1-footswitch, plug-and-play effect pedal, but it isn't that difficult to use either. It just takes a little practice. To quote the Frsotwave website, "When designing an effect unit, there is a choice: make it fool proof and boring, or else allow the user to do anything they want. Naturally, we at Frostwave take the latter approach." It takes some work, but keep playing with the settings and you'll get it.

This pedal has 6 control knobs (Input Level, Output Level, Envelope, Resonance, Frequency, and Speed) a flip-switch for high pass or low pass mode, and, of course, a footswitch to turn it on. It runs on either a 16v or 18v AC adapter (i use the 18v.)

The real key to it is having the res and frequency setting right so they don't conflict with each other. The only improvement I'd like to see with this pedal is a led light so you can tell when it's on.

I'm using this with an Ibanez RG350dx and a Line 6 Flextone HD thru a Marshall 1936 2x12 Cab. It does have a slight amount of noise, but nothing that can't be dealt with.

Okay, here's an important bit of info. When you first power up the pedal, it doesn't seem to be working, but try adjusting the frequency and then readjusting it back. For some reason, it seems to need to 'warm up' before you get it to sound right (I have a EHX Small Stone that does something similar), but once it does, it's a great sound. If you gig with it, you'll wanna get it 'warmed up' before the show.

I wasn't going for any other guitarist's sound with this pedal. I wanted something that was unusual and unique. This pedal provides a great envelope filter sound without being boring like most of the others. While I consider myself a 'semi-minimalist' (I think I just made that word up :)) when it comes to effects, I can see incorporating this effect into lots of my stuff (so I'll prolly have to restraint myself from using it all the time :))

Frsotwave makes good, sturdy pedals. I haven't had mine for that long, and I'm really careful with my equipment, but I don't think you could do any extreme damage to them unless you were trying to. As far as gigging without a backup goes, I'd do it if I had to, but I always prefer having a backup, because accidents will happen.

This first one I received had a problem--awful static squeal, but I'm sure it was just a bad pedal and not any kind of post-production damage. I have since received a replacement and it has given me no problems at all.

As I mentioned before, the first one I received had a problem. It kept making this constant static-squeal sound. I emailed Paul Perry at Frostwave and after trying some things he suggested, we determined that I had a bad pedal, so he shipped a replacement out right away. I didn't even have to return the bad pedal until I had a working one. How's that for service! 10+ all the way!!

I play an 'anything but country' style of music. I try to be very flexible in my musical tastes and I can fit this effect into almost any style I choose. I have several different effects and this is one of my favorites. I'm very attached to it, so if it were lost or stolen, I'd have to replace it.

When looking at envelope filters, I was either going to get this one or a DOD. I choose this one because of it's great sound and flexibility. The only thing it's missing is a led light to let you know when it's on, but that's a small loss. This is a great effect that everyone should at least try out.