EHX Q Tron

Mattbass97 · #1 09-28-2011, 02:53 PM

What's ur opinions on this guy?

Swift713 · #2 09-28-2011, 03:37 PM

I love the Q-tron, it's exactly what I want from a filter, very flexible, very funky. Incidentally, there's one for sale in the classifieds

andvari7 · #3 09-28-2011, 05:07 PM

I tend not to get too attached to pedals, but I am looking to have my ashes stored in my Q-Tron when I die, assuming I can't be partially buried in the White House Rose Garden, in what looks like a brutal murder. I want my legacy to be that of making absolutely no sense, and throwing the non-believer off my scent.

cheapbasslovin · #4 09-28-2011, 05:15 PM

I believe that most peoples complaints about the Qtron are based on it's spiky volume characteristics. It sounds great and is dead funky, but it is easy to make your ears bleed if used incorrectly. Sometimes it can make your ears bleed if used correctly. Its power supply can make it difficult to put on a board also.

I can think of no other common criticisms of the Qtron. I have a Qtron+ and really like it, but its power supply and my M13 succeeding at 'close enough' has it not currently on a board.

fettbass · #5 09-28-2011, 06:49 PM

I agree. The Qtron (and Qtron +, which is the one I actually own) sounds great in both up sweep and down sweep mode, mix really well with other effects (especially distortion), and is really versatile. The weird power requirements (24 V centre positive? really?), lack of a real blend knob (the mixpass thing is nice, but a true blend knob that applies to all the different modes would be much nicer), size, and lack of a volume control to tame volume spikes are its main drawbacks. Its on my board because it sounds nice and I love the response of the unit, but I wouldn't say it's perfect by any means.

groove pump · #6 09-29-2011, 07:01 AM

Yep, she do bring the funky...

There's certainly a volume issue, too. When it's quacking and chucking grease balls out of my cabs, it's a lot less tame than my clean tone. I often play without PA support, so it's a little dicey having a pedal that will take my already healthy sound up toward Godzilla when I stomp on it.

My solution is easy enough because I have a two channel preamp (Ampeg BSP) and each has a volume control. With my Q-Tron plugged into the effects loop of my overdrive channel and the gain on that channel reigned in, I can blend the Tron in on top of my clean sound just fine.

If I didn't have my preamp and its flexibility, I might use a Boss LS-2 pedal with my Q-Tron to give me that ability to blend things. I'm really not an effects guy, but this thing is just too cool for that occasional change of gears.

LOTS of personality in this funk nugget and I like being able to switch between the "up" and "down" settings to go from a sort of "whah" voice to more of an "oww" sound. You might also find that the effect can cut a little better if you send it enough of your higher frequencies, especially when using the "up" setting. When more of the Q's sound is working on those higher frequencies, that's when it's great to have it blended on top of my clean sound - my fundamental is still very much there.

Mattbass97 · #7 09-29-2011, 02:31 PM

Great feedback guys any videos or recordings?

AlvarHanso · #8 09-29-2011, 03:59 PM

I never liked playing with a QTron. Never got the funky sound I was looking for. I know it's based on the old MuTrons, but don't think it approaches that sound on bass. I think it's a much better pedal for guitar than bass. For bass, I love my 3Leaf Audio Groove Regulator2 and Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter Pro. Again, this is my experience with the QTron.

Swift713 · #9 09-29-2011, 07:07 PM

I had tried to replace my Q-tron with a Groove Regulator, a Maxon AF-9, an MXR, etc. but the Q-tron has a much more lively sound. I reign it in with a compressor but I really prefer the abundant juice of the Q-tron to any other filter I've tried.

Swizzledoop · #10 09-29-2011, 09:20 PM

I liked the sound of the Q-tron but couldn't stand for the volume spikes. I would also really like to have a blend knob, I felt like when it was on, it totally possessed my tone and I lost a lot of low end which caused me to often get lost in the mix. Maybe it didn't cooperate with the rest of my gear or I just really sucked at dialing it in... either way it got traded it for an MXR m82.