Enigma vs. Qtron Plus

[Goober1206]

Opinions? I have both. Qtron plus seems to distort easy. Though I just got it maybe I'm wrong. The enigma seems more wet. Can't seem to get the tron as wet or funky. What are your opinions? What settings do you use? And on a side note, any advice for getting a funky deep wet sound outta the tron? Lol thanks.

EDIT: after some more play time I got the qtron to a sound I like similar to the enigmas sound I had set. It sounds more full to me and wet enough. I definitely like it better for my main wah sound.

The enigma definitely does get more wet, and can even achieve a hint of a synthy sound lol not much but it's interesting. The enigma definitely has a higher limit meaning it can go crazy if you want it to. I plan on using the settings found in the video ehx made to demonstrate the enigma. It sounds so burpy. When I played the video near my girlfriend and the bass came in, she thought I farted till she saw the video haha.

In my opinion, the qtron is better for a basic auto wah tone. A very good one too. The enigma is more of a crazy "whatever you want" sounding pedal with no limits and unique flexibility.

Also, the enigma does have a trimpot for distortion lvl. It actually has two trimpots, but idk what the other does. Also, when using distortion, the sensitivity knob decides how much distortion there is in addition to it's usual function.

In my opinion, for an auto wah, the qtron plus wins.
But for a crazy burpy funk sound, The enigmas got it.

[newbold]

Well since the Enigma is multiple filters, there's a phase effect that will always make it sound more 'wet' from the get go.

[Goober1206]

Really? I didn't know it had two filters

[Swift713]

I like the Q-tron better. It's possibly because it was my first real envelope filter. I never had a problem with it distorting. If you're having trouble dialing it down try the gain around 9:00 in boost mode.
I was able to get the Enigma to sound similar to the Q-tron. I wish the distortion had some adjustment.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by newbold

Well since the Enigma is multiple filters, there's a phase effect that will always make it sound more 'wet' from the get go.

Pretty sure the Enigma has only a single filter.

IME the best way to get the proper wet sound out of a Qtron is to dial the gain all the way down and then bring it up a little at a time while playing. I mean a little at a time, it's a sensitive little bugger.

I think the Enigma is better (more versatile), but it is a lot trickier to dial in. The blend can be really nice for certain textures that you can't get out of the Qtron.

[takfar]

Originally Posted by Swift713

I was able to get the Enigma to sound similar to the Q-tron. I wish the distortion had some adjustment.

It appears there's an internal trimpot, but only for the level of the distortion effect.

[sillyfabe]

there is indeed an internal trimpot for the distortion level which ONLY (to my knowledge) raises the volume of the dirt level. i use to own an old QTRON which I thought irreplaceable until the QBALLS came out. best env filter IMHO. it can get wetter than the QTRON to my ears. here are some settings I use for thick slurpy wetness

blend: full wet signal
mode: LP
attack: 9'0 clock
decay: 10:30
start: 11:00
stop: 2:00
q:FULL MADNESS!
sens: for my playing (semi-light touch): 10:00

im at work so this is off memory but that usually gets things nice and FUNKY!

[Goober1206]

Originally Posted by sillyfabe

there is indeed an internal trimpot for the distortion level which ONLY (to my knowledge) raises the volume of the dirt level. i use to own an old QTRON which I thought irreplaceable until the QBALLS came out. best env filter IMHO. it can get wetter than the QTRON to my ears. here are some settings I use for thick slurpy wetness

blend: full wet signal
mode: LP
attack: 9'0 clock
decay: 10:30
start: 11:00
stop: 2:00
q:FULL MADNESS!
sens: for my playing (semi-light touch): 10:00

im at work so this is off memory but that usually gets things nice and FUNKY!

I'm gunna try these settings tomorrow lol sounds interesting.

[Swift713]

Hmm, I kinda wish I'd known about the internal distortion trimpot before I traded the Enigma. I probably should have guessed. Anyway, I think the Q-tron is more organic sounding. It may not be quite as flexible in some respects but the tone of the filter is just what I like.

[XXL]

For the record I havent played the Enigma. I'm just guessing from clips Ive heard, but it seems to me, if you put the BassBalls into the Qtron+ you might get alot of what the Enigma has to offer that the Qtron doesnt..

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by XXL

For the record I havent played the Enigma. I'm just guessing from clips Ive heard, but it seems to me, if you put the BassBalls into the Qtron+ you might get alot of what the Enigma has to offer that the Qtron doesnt..

definitely NOT. chaining filters is pretty tricky and putting the bassballs first will feed the qtron a narrow signal that it won't work well with.

[XXL]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

definitely NOT. chaining filters is pretty tricky and putting the bassballs first will feed the qtron a narrow signal that it won't work well with.

True. What about placing the Bassballs in the Qtron+s effects loop? I suppose I should of been more clear about that.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

definitely NOT. chaining filters is pretty tricky and putting the bassballs first will feed the qtron a narrow signal that it won't work well with.

+1

Bassballs into Qtron is unpleasant. Qtron into Bassballs is also unpleasant. They are both very pleasant on their own.

I forgot to mention that the effects loop of the Qtron+ creates a lot of flexibility with your filter sound. Put a distortion in the loop and you can get some Enigma tones. Put a delay in and your filter will close long and slow without effecting your decay. Lots of fun things to do with an effects loop.

Originally Posted by XXL

True. What about placing the Bassballs in the Qtron+s effects loop. I suppose I should of made myself more clear about that.

Also unpleasant.

[Goober1206]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

+1

Bassballs into Qtron is unpleasant. Qtron into Bassballs is also unpleasant. They are both very pleasant on their own.

I forgot to mention that the effects loop of the Qtron+ creates a lot of flexibility with your filter sound. Put a distortion in the loop and you can get some Enigma tones. Put a delay in and your filter will close long and slow without effecting your decay. Lots of fun things to do with an effects loop.



Also unpleasant.

What's the difference between putting an effect before/after the qtron and putting it in it's loop?

[takfar]

Originally Posted by Goober1206

What's the difference between putting an effect before/after the qtron and putting it in it's loop?

afaik, if the effect is in the loop, the QT will trigger its filter based on what you play into its input, and then apply the effect. Useful for distortion effects which compress your signal a lot, making it difficult to get the filter to trigger properly. The Enigma has a built-in distortion that incorporates this into the basic pedal functionality.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by Goober1206

What's the difference between putting an effect before/after the qtron and putting it in it's loop?

It places the effect in parallel with the filter trigger and re-inserts it before the actual filter.

This way both the filter and the effect get the clean bass at their input. With a distortion ahead of the filter, the filter loses some of it's sensitivity because the distortion clips the signal. With a distortion after the filter, the distortion can soften the peak of the filter by the same clipping action. In the loop the filter is sensitive to your clean playing and the distortion doesn't clip the filter peaks.

Win.

This is how the distortion on the Enigma and Bassballs is wired internally, the Qtron+ just makes it so you can run whatever you want in that place.

[Funkinthetrunk]

For me, the Qballs is the outright winner. I clipped the input of the Qtron+ rather easily, something I haven't been able to do on the QBalls. To my ears, the Qballs sounds wetter and is everything I wanted the Qtron+ to be....but wasn't. Qballs is made for bass and definitely responds better to my dynamics than my Qtron+ ever did.

[sillyfabe]

Originally Posted by Funkinthetrunk

For me, the Qballs is the outright winner. I clipped the input of the Qtron+ rather easily, something I haven't been able to do on the QBalls. To my ears, the Qballs sounds wetter and is everything I wanted the Qtron+ to be....but wasn't. Qballs is made for bass and definitely responds better to my dynamics than my Qtron+ ever did.

+1 (even though i used a QTRON) but I agree

[bigjames]

Just tried these settings and it sounds pretty slick to me. Especially on my fretless. I cannot wait to kick this thing on during my next gig. It should cut through nicely. Add distortion and it tears it up...really almost too much. But without the distortion these settings are very pleasant. Thanks sillyfabe!

Originally Posted by sillyfabe

there is indeed an internal trimpot for the distortion level which ONLY (to my knowledge) raises the volume of the dirt level. i use to own an old QTRON which I thought irreplaceable until the QBALLS came out. best env filter IMHO. it can get wetter than the QTRON to my ears. here are some settings I use for thick slurpy wetness

blend: full wet signal
mode: LP
attack: 9'0 clock
decay: 10:30
start: 11:00
stop: 2:00
q:FULL MADNESS!
sens: for my playing (semi-light touch): 10:00

im at work so this is off memory but that usually gets things nice and FUNKY!

[morrisonhendrix]

That seems to be just about the same settings I tried on my Qball last night. It sounded good with my Brice passive jazz, but with my main axe, a Warrior, I can't get it to quack. I know I've got it to quack a little bit before with it, but I've tried every EQ setting on the Warrior with no luck. Something about the humbucking Barts I guess.