21 century

F0URwordLETTER · #1 03-10-2008, 11:12 AM

Just wondering if anyone new what effects is Flea using on this song.
thanks

Higgie · #2 03-10-2008, 11:13 AM

It's an envelope filter. Probably a Q-Tron.

cathal · #3 03-10-2008, 12:04 PM

im pretty sure its the q-tron

but he does have the bass crybaby and bass balls on his board

phatbass30 · #4 03-10-2008, 02:01 PM

he's using a q-tron AFAIK, but i could get that sound on my AF-9 as well. IMHO.

jesus_tequila · #5 03-10-2008, 06:05 PM

Huh... A few clarifications may be needed at this point, just to avoid any misinformation

Indeed, Flea used his Q-Tron on 21st Century, just like any other RHCP song that have featured an envelop filter sound, since 1998, in the studio or during live shows.
He used the Dunlop Wah only once on a song called How Strong, written during the Californication sessions in 1999. Though, he kept the pedal on his pedalboard for the subsequent tours in 1999 and 2000.
The Bass Balls was just used only one time in 1994 while jamming on Coffee Shop in rehearsals. But as the pedal broke down just before the band went to cut the track in the studio, Flea used a Boss FT-2 Dynamic Filter on the record, so the Bass Balls never made its way on an album, nor on his pedal-board.

JanusZarate · #6 03-10-2008, 06:12 PM

jesus is right on-track.

His Stadium Arcadium pedalboard, last I saw it, had the following (in no particular order - I'd need to find the photo again to find out the chain order):

- EHX Big Muff (USA Reissue)
- Dunlop Bass Crybaby (105Q)
- EHX Q-Tron+
- MXR Micro Amp
- Boss ODB-3

Vic Winters · #7 03-10-2008, 06:16 PM

It sounds like a manual sweeping wah in Coffee Shop from 2:07-2:14.

Higgie · #8 03-11-2008, 04:25 AM

Nope, it's an Auto Wah. I think the FT-2 does that. I used to use an MXR Auto Q in it's Shimmer mode. Lovely pedal, that.

Ryan Mohr · #9 03-11-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgie

Nope, it's an Auto Wah. I think the FT-2 does that. I used to use an MXR Auto Q in it's Shimmer mode. Lovely pedal, that.

Maybe me hooked up an expression pedal in manual mode because as far as I know its an envelope filter.

jesus_tequila · #10 03-11-2008, 03:34 PM

The FT-2 is a classic envelop filter. The manual mode allows to use an expression pedal to operate the FT-2 as a real wah pedal.

The Boss AW-2 is on the contrary an auto-wha, a different animal than the envelop filter. BTW, Flea had both the FT-2 and the AW-2, along with an ODB-3, an MXR Micro Amp and a Proco Rat on his pedalboard for the One Hot Minute tours in 1995-1997.