Enigma Qballs or Bass Micro Synth

Get the BMS. If you already have the Mooger LP, QBalls would just be "somewhat" redundant.

 

I've owned the Mooger and still own the QBalls. The only reason I kept the QBalls is the size. They each have their own vibe, but are still close enough in the filter characteristic family. QBalls may be a little more "hi fi" sounding and the distortion section will not replace your Big Muff. One of these days, I'll have to get another Mooger now that I have more room on my pedalboard, for now.

If only the BMS could store sounds.

 

I haven't tried a lot of fuzz-filter combos personally, but judging from demos (I know it's not the same as first-hand experience, but it does help), most fuzz-filter combos sound too harsh or over-the-top for me. There are only two that sound truly synthy to me - Chunk Systems Brown Dog+Agent 00Funk, and the EHX Qballs (which I own) with the onboard distortion/fuzz engaged. It really sounds like the dist./fuzz was made to work perfectly with the filter. The Blend knob puts the band pass and even high pass modes in play, and the Attack/Decay/Start/Stop controls give you so many usable settings. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: If you get a Qballs, get the distortion trimpot modded to the outside. I haven't had the pleasure of trying the Bass Micro Synth, but judging from various demos, I'll stick with my Qballs.

 

These are both pedals I'm looking into as well. So ... subscribed....

 

Any one have a comparison experience to the q balls and the aguilar twin filter? One has obviously more variations but the aguilar sounds so good, I'm going for a good funk sound and I hope that with enough adjusting could you get a better funk tone out of the enigma q balls?

 

all envelope type filters are gonna be subjective to your equipment.


what kind of bass(active or not, pickups...) stings(flat or round), finger or pick, hard or soft playing.
the attack is mainly how the filter deals with changing the sound. some filters like the enigma are very dramatic with different input variables. others like the dod fx25 are more tolerable with differences and are more likely to produce the same sound no matter what you put into it.

the MF-101 is a stable and useful pedal due to its versatility and plays well with other pedals as the enigma does not. but the enigma is also a very powerful pedal on its own.

IMO and your mileage may vary, a fender jazz bass, strong finger style with flat wounds produce the most stable sound for filters. best thing is to try different filters with your system. running fuzz before(or after) can dramatically enhance(or ruin....) the filter sound as well.

 

Everyone's opinions on filters differ, the only real way to answer the question is to try them all! I went through a ton recently and my favourites are the vintage EHX Mini Q-Tron and MXR M87. The Q-Balls left me unimpressed. The old Q-Trons sound a lot like the classic Mutron, which is my favourite for fingerstyle funk. The MXR rules when it comes to slap though.

 

Wish I had a fender jazz. But that is a whole other issue haha great information and I really am looking for versatility because of my limited room and budget. Lucky I don't have a bunch of pedals to meld together, just a mxr m87 and a sansamp di box. I'll try and find some of these pedals to try though, it's not easy in my area.
Also what are your thoughts on the Aguilar twin filter, sounds better to me but much less versatility.

 

Where do you go to try them all? All the places around me are terrible in bass filter department and our GC is pathetic.

 

Oh god that's tough. The BMS filter mechanism is pretty unique. If you haven't used it you should probably try it. The closest thing I've heard in a pedal is an EBS IQ on a slow attack setting.

 

Any one own the Aguilar twin filter ? Comparisons with the
Anger filter pedals ?

 

I don't know anything about California, but in Portland there are about 4 great pedal shops and the rest are garbage for pedals. Our best pedal shops deal mostly in used gear, except for the pedals.

 

Here... Mostly guitar centers and two small shops which have one cabinet each with all their pedals

 

My house. Buy a pedal used and sell it on for the same price (or more if you're lucky), or buy a pedal new and return it if you don't like it! A lot of pedals you want to check out filter wise are out of production anyhow, so this is the only viable way!

 

Seems like all the good stuff is out of production?

 

Not necessarily, there is the MXR M82, Source Audio Manta, 3Leaf Proton, TruTron 3X, Emma Discumbobulator, Aguilar Filter Twin, and others all in production... Old Q-Trons, Mutrons, Meatballs and 3Leaf GR2s are worth hunting down used though.

 

in the early days i used to drag my head and bass to guitar center or any guitar shop. set up and just play all the pedals. they were somewhat patient. i tried out all the pedals in different combinations. just try not to be too loud, find a corner out of the way and act interested in buying something. right when they open is the best time to do this.

after a while you make friends here or in your town and trade or go over to their house with a six pack and don't be shy. ask about "all" their pedals in their closets. guitarist are pedal horders....

 

Seems like these days are full of hobby players or just employees who happen to work at a guitar center. What has the world come to.