EHX XO Qtron+... I really wanted to like this unit :(

[3toes]

But I'm sending back my 2nd one today...

I love envelope filters, absolutely love them. I had a Mini-Q which was my goto pedal for a lot of songs when I wanted to get funkier or add some expression to a line. I sold the Mini-Q and decided to pick up the XO Q+ since it was more tweakable and had the up/down sweep option.

I took a good bit of time to familiarize myself with the unit, but coming off of the Mini-Q it didn't take too long since I was already familiar with the pass-modes, the drive, and the Q settings. Up sweep worked fine, just like the mini. But the down sweep presented a problem. I don't have the lightest touch in the world (but not the heaviest either) and since this pedal responds to dynamics, i thought it'd be a good thing that I'd be able to switch up my touch to get some different sounds. Well, digging a moderate amount would clip my amp hardcore...

Please excuse my following attempt at onomatopoeia, but just playing lightly I'd get a nice *dyonk dyonk dyonk* sound, but once I get into it and play a little harder it'd go *dYOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWN* and sound like I was about to blow a speaker. I tried switching to the boost mode to dial it back manually, but no avail. Trust me, I tried everything I could to fix this but it just didn't happen.

The other problem I experienced (which I originally thought was a defective unit, hence the 2nd...) was that when I engaged the pedal, I'd hear a very loud pop come through my amp. I mean VERY loud, especially at gig level volumes. It would sound like an electrical arc.

So I dunno, I'm sure there are several people who have used this pedal quite successfully with bass... but I'm not one of them

[hunta]

Sorry to hear that I've been kind of eyeballing the XO Qtron+ myself for a while, but when I've played it I just haven't gotten "the sound" I want. In all likelihood I'm going to end up getting a meatball at some point.. It's a bummer because the meatball is so expensive!

[Bryan R. Tyler]

The popping is probably due to it having a true bypass- all sorts of things can cause a true bypass switch to make a loud pop. It's a fault in the type of bypass, not the pedal. Make sure to mess with both the Hi/Lo and Fast/Slow options when using the Down mode. I've found that I can get settings to work in almost any way I play, with the one drawback being that the output volume will be higher than my clean volume (I wish they would have turned the Boost knob into an output volume and made the Gain/Sensitivity knob a pure Sensitivity knob).

[TheMutt]

You could also add a compressor to the chain post-Q-Tron. That's the way I've used mine to great effect. Really smooths out those large volume spikes.

[Fnord Explorer]

I use an EQ pedal after mine on bass to temper the volume differences when I click it on. Do you use an active bass? I find that really drives the crap out of it but I manage it with the gain control.

I'll agree it isn't the BEST bass dynamic filter but I get some awesome sounds with it but it certainly requires a little signal-path tweaking to get the best sound out of it.

[DosiYanarchy]

hey, yeah its a shame you cant find what you want, persoanlly i dont really like the DOWN mode, but then again ive got a MXR bass blowtorch and a GLX bass chorus in the loop. im pretty happy with the pedal in the faux-synth context, havent really had a go at the clean auto wah settings.
ive found that i can reduce the volume boost just by turning the volume down on the blowtorch, maybe stick an EQ in the loop that way it only will engage when u activate the Qtron, and not have to step on 2 separate pedals.

personally i think the effects loop is the best feature about the pedal, i was gonna get the BMS and while i still may one day, i think that ive pretty much got the sounds i want covered.

[Swift713]

I just received a Q-tron that I won on E-bay and I really like it. There's no pop with the switch. This is the older model which may not be true bypass but I haven't noticed any major tone suck yet. The down sweep is pretty loud compared with up so I've been experimenting with my Zoom's compressor/limiter after. I'm not crazy about the sound, or perhaps feel, of any major compression after the filter but I'm still tweaking. The volume thing isn't too bad if I keep the sensitivity/gain very low but it's a fine line. I haven't found any benefit with the boost, it seems like 6 or 1/2 dozen. I mean 1/2 a notch different position on the knob with the switch on vs. off and it sounds the same. So far I've just been using my active bass so there may be more wiggle room with a passive one. I actually was wondering if anyone had modded a Q-tron to add an effects loop, or for that matter a master volume.

[DosiYanarchy]

well as u might have gatherd the XO/regular Qtron+ has an effects loop ( the '+' is Qtron + Effects Loop according to the scripture)
but as for master volume i dont know, that was my major gripe about the old Mini Q-tron, it sounded great but the volume boost made the pedal a little unusuable but now i just turn my blowtorch down in the loop and it effects the volume of the entire effect (qtron, blowtorch and chorus). couldnt be happier:

sidenote: im starting a Threat entitled SynthTron+ where ill post my clip (8mins) of my q-tron+ setup, check it out if you're interrested

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by TheMutt

You could also add a compressor to the chain post-Q-Tron. That's the way I've used mine to great effect. Really smooths out those large volume spikes.

That works, but I was actually going to suggest he put a compressor right BEFORE the Q-tron to soften its dynamic response.

[Swift713]

Dosi, I was aware of the Q-tron +. I bought the Qtron almost out of curiosity to compare with my Zoom B2. The B2 has the ability to set a volume level for each patch. There's a bunch of ways to work around the volume jump, I just thought that a volume knob on the Qtron's output would be a pretty obvious fix that wouldn't require another pedal to keep it in check.