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Flea and his q-tron

#23
I had a qtron and yes the lighting can make it look orange or gold sometimes but I promise it's just shiny & silver. Mine used to look gold sitting under my window

He could've used bassballs I really dont know... but I used these settings from what I can remember for sir psycho sexy and got damn close:
drive up
boost on
peak around 10 o'clock
range low
mode mixed
adjust the gain to clip at high volume

put your fuzz pedal after the qtron in the effects chain. Just remember, it's an evelope filter. The effect varies dramatically depending on how/where you hit the strings - so a lot of the sound is in your fingers.

edit: the manual describes the original "Mutron III" sound and the settings to achieve it, but it doesn't sound like sir psycho sexy
 
#26
Bassplayer_479 said:
Wouldnt i be great if somebody answered the question!!!!!
Click to expand...

Ok then...

There is no such thing as "the exact flea sound." Modify your criteria because, taken at face value, you'll never achieve what you're asking for.

He's been known to use many different basses, many different effects, many different amp heads and many different cabinets over many, many years. (Sir Psycho Sexy was recorded in 1990/1 - 21st Century was recorded fifteen years later in 2005/6!)

If you are a stickler for accuracy, then get the Q-tron because then you can brag that you have "Fleas pedal."

For what it's woth, the micro doesn't have a mix mode and I'd reckon you'd find that Flea probably uses mix mode a fair bit.
 
#31
I have never tried the Micro Qtron, but I really doubt it sounds like the old-school Qtron.

Bass Player magazine had an effects shoot-out a few years ago and then editor Bill Leigh definitely dissed the Micro Qtron and said it wasn't close to his Qtron, which was one of his favorite effects. (After my own heart, he seems to be a bit of a filter nut, too.)
 
#32
HolmeBass said:
I have never tried the Micro Qtron, but I really doubt it sounds like the old-school Qtron.

Bass Player magazine had an effects shoot-out a few years ago and then editor Bill Leigh definitely dissed the Micro Qtron and said it wasn't close to his Qtron, which was one of his favorite effects. (After my own heart, he seems to be a bit of a filter nut, too.)
Click to expand...
I've tried both. He's right.
 
#33
Zombie thread. 6 years old. OP hasn't posted for almost 3 years, so it's possible that he already worked out the answer to his question.

However, I would like to take tis opportunity to retract my post earlier in the thread, as I do now own a Micro Q Tron. It still can't do the Sir Psycho Sexy sound though.
 
#35
I doubt anybody who isn't in a studio with Rick Rubin can exactly reproduce the "sir psycho sexy" filter sound, it is a blend of a dying battery Mutron, full battery Mutron, clean signal, and a slight overdriven track, all together at once. Live, Flea uses the Q-tron, but I dont think it sounds close enough to the album version.
 
#37
Happynoj said:
Zombie thread. 6 years old. OP hasn't posted for almost 3 years, so it's possible that he already worked out the answer to his question.

However, I would like to take tis opportunity to retract my post earlier in the thread, as I do now own a Micro Q Tron. It still can't do the Sir Psycho Sexy sound though.
Click to expand...

I am not retracting my 6+ year old post.;)

I still gig the same MXR Bass Auto-Q and it still sounds killer for lots of RHCP tunes.:bassist:

Flea STILL uses a Q-Tron though.
 

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