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Mutron III vs. Others Question

Jim C

Jim C

I believe in the trilogy; Fender, Stingray, + G&L
Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2008
15,871
14,116
Bethesda, MD
#1
The reason I sold mt Mutron was due to no bypass, reasonably low fidelity, and inability (for me) to keep decent low end and still dial in that slimey, wet, funk thang.

What I want is that slimey, wet, funk thang with a more full range tonality.

I've bought and sold FX25's as well as Doctor Q's in the past.
The YouTube vids of the EBS, MXR don't seem funky enough (not enough drippy envelope), the Source Audio clips are too mechanical and offer the way out stuff I don't want. Even the 3 Leaf or Aguilar wasn't wet enough.

Any suggestions for videos to help me find my goal?
In a nutshell, looking for a more hi-fi Mutron that allows the funk on top with a soild bass tone along with it.
 
#2
When you say 3Leaf are you talking about the Groove Regulator or the Proton?

The Proton was designed to sound like the old Mutron.

I liked the Maxon AF-9 for MuTron like sounds but it can be finnicky.

The EHX Qtron and Enigma are definitely on the wetter side too.
 
#7
EHX Qballs. I've owned an original Mu-Tron III in top condition, and I've tried just about every other significant envelope filter out there. The Qballs is the only one that gets me "that sound." With 8 knobs it's tougher to dial in, but it's so worth it! And you get some fat, usable synth tones with the distortion (fuzz) on.
 
#8
Filters are like fuzzes, everyone has their favorites to love and hate. I use 2 bass balls and the filters on a zoom B2 most of the time, when I need mo crazy I turn to a Boss AW3, Digitech BP8, EHX BMS or AdrenaLinn III. You might find a blender or loop pedal may help and reverb and delay can add special sauce.
 
#10
Jim C said:
The reason I sold mt Mutron was due to no bypass, reasonably low fidelity, and inability (for me) to keep decent low end and still dial in that slimey, wet, funk thang.
Click to expand...

Strange that you don't dig the MuIII. It's looked upon as the "Holy Grail" of filter on this forum....people who never owned one, played thru or even know what it is, think it's the best.

The Source BEF/Pro are excellent....especially the latter. Maybe when Source Audio ever comes out with their bass synth pedal, you can find happiness.
 
#11
I have a Mutron III which I don't use. Got it from a former guitar player who passed away several years ago. I put some batteries in it once and tried it out and didn't think it was anything special. I needed a guitar input jack and removed the amplifier output jack on it. Now I'm not sure where the wiring should go if I was to replace the jack. Is there a schematic somewhere or should I just sell it?
 
#12
Bassquest said:
I have a Mutron III which I don't use. Got it from a former guitar player who passed away several years ago. I put some batteries in it once and tried it out and didn't think it was anything special. I needed a guitar input jack and removed the amplifier output jack on it. Now I'm not sure where the wiring should go if I was to replace the jack. Is there a schematic somewhere or should I just sell it?
Click to expand...

I'm sure you'd have no problems selling it as is. There was a time when I would have bought it from you. $ seem to get tighter every year...
 
#14
Funkinthetrunk said:
Strange that you don't dig the MuIII. It's looked upon as the "Holy Grail" of filter on this forum....people who never owned one, played thru or even know what it is, think it's the best.
Click to expand...

Exactly; there are many dreamers that can evaluate gear without trying it. The Mutron is an interesting effect for sure. Will also look at Source Audio.

Just received this from EH:

Hi Jim,

Pretty much all three units are different from each other. If you want to be able to keep your dry bass signal than you will have to look to either the Enigma or the Q-Tron. The Q-Tron is closely based on the Mutron so that will probably give you a more similar sound. The Enigma is really not too far off (all were designed by Mike Beigel, he also designed the Mutron) from the Q-Tron and gives you more controls. I would probably go with the Enigma is you think you could use the additional controls.

Thanks,
John

On 2/23/2012 10:08 AM, Jim C (by way of Chip Scooter Dugan <[email protected]>) wrote:
Hi,
Regarding Micro Q-tron, vs. Q-tron, vs. Enigma

Can the Enigma reproduce the same tonalities as the Micro & Q-tron units?
Can the Q-tron reproduce the same sounds as the Micro?

Wondering if either of the 2 lower units have a unique tone that its' larger brothers cannot reproduce.

Finally sold a Mutron III that I've had for 25 years.
I'm searching for that same wet, slimy funk tone with true bypass and with the ability to maintain the original bass tone while adding the funk.
The Mutron effect was good but I'm looking for a higher fidelity unit.

Thanks in advance,
Jim
 
#16
Biegel sound labs made a rack filter device. I'm close to sixty and still haven't played through one of these. As with any Holy Grail alot depends on what church you worship at.

The true by pass on the Mutron III can't be that hard. And with bass effects one of the things that always seems to save the bass is a blend control to mix the input and the effected signal.

Some manufacturers don't get the blend thng. Remind anyone of the Digitech Whammy?
 
#17
(Warning: guitarist newbie)
I just sold my Mutron as well after decades of reliable use/fun
I saw a guy using a Q-tron in a local band and it sounded great so I bought one (cheap! $88 on the 'bay)
Problem with the Mutron was mainly the preamp...which is quite potent (and no bypass)
It seemed to be too much for other effects (and the Mutron always comes first)

Also, the tone is not quite 'hifi' enough and doesn't let much of the guitar's tone through.
I find the Q-tron is much more hifi and actually keeps a bit more character to the tone.
The only drawback with the Q-tron is that you don't seem to be able to cut the effect back
to that real subtle 'quack' like you can on the Mutron.

I like to use the envelope subtly for bluesey guitar...sometimes I just leave it on so
it's just adding a bit of bite to the note.
But I'm really diggin' the Q-tron..it's more hifi and I'm adjusting to the different response
by cutting back a bit on the vol.
Looking forward to using it on acoustic for an upcoming gig..stereo, with the mag pickup
through the Q-tron, and the piezo on the other side.
Should get a great Zappa 'Stinkfoot' tone.. (which is why I bought the Mutron in the first place...'cos Zappa used 'em)

Anyway, just thought I'd put a guitarist's perspective on the debate.
I used to have 2 Mutron III's, an Octave Divider and a Bi-Phase...so I know the Musitronics stuff well...
but for guitar, I think the Q-tron is better
 

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