The Mutron Club : only quacks allowed...

[bass4more]

Mike from Mu-Fx is posting on the Micro-Tron 3 thread at thegearpage. He just posted this:

-Remember Garcia had a stratoblaster in his strat. OBEL and humbuckers after that.
-If you move the jumper from pins 1,2 to 2,3 you can get clipping. Shhhhhhh!
-Also if you go from Up to Down you will need to move the gain from say 10 to 2 so that the led is flashing in opposite direction. We have plans to update down the line.
-Expression pedal is great for tuning betweenup and down and even while staying in either position. Very chewy, very vocal. Right now the mission is the only one, but we are working on some alternatives. We did not want to leave the feature out.
-Distortion can be cool before our after
-Try putting delay pedal before. Not Jerry, but alot of fun
-Click or pop, please plug guitar straight into pedal straight into amp with Power isolated only using battery buddy and make a video or audio clip.

 

[bass4more]

Got into the pedal tonight. Love it. Not having any trouble triggering it with my passive basses.

 

[FilterFunk]

I tested the Micro-Tron III with my vintage synth keyboard. It has no problem with a line-level signal, and it sounds great on highs, mids and lows. It has plenty of juice without getting peaky. Both the attack and decay are nicely calibrated. The level control is a great feature. So here's why I'm probably not going to keep it. I'm purely a home studio guy, so things like size, power requirements, jack placement, etc., are not issues for me. I realized that between my EHX Q-Balls, my Multivox Big Jam Spit Wah, and my EHX Bi-Filter, I'm set for Mu-Tron tones. The original Mu-Tron and Tru-Tron are simply out of my price range, and while the Micro-Tron is great, the filters I already have get me closer to the real thing than the Micro-Tron. I can imagine the Micro-Tron finding a home on a lot of pedal boards, though!

 

[Mosfed]

I got my Micro-Tron earlier today and had a couple minutes to mess with it. Initial thought is that it sounds great! Also I don't understand how anyone can say there's an issue with volume.

People don't know how to use a Mutron and they either crank the gain so much that the envelope is always open. Or they don't crank it enough to engage the filter. And then they think it's an issue with the pedal. Whatever.

 

[Jared Lash]

Quick and dirty iPhone video of the Micro-Tron III and Xerograph.

 

[SlapinDaBass]

I tested the Micro-Tron III with my vintage synth keyboard. It has no problem with a line-level signal, and it sounds great on highs, mids and lows. It has plenty of juice without getting peaky. Both the attack and decay are nicely calibrated. The level control is a great feature. So here's why I'm probably not going to keep it. I'm purely a home studio guy, so things like size, power requirements, jack placement, etc., are not issues for me. I realized that between my EHX Q-Balls, my Multivox Big Jam Spit Wah, and my EHX Bi-Filter, I'm set for Mu-Tron tones. The original Mu-Tron and Tru-Tron are simply out of my price range, and while the Micro-Tron is great, the filters I already have get me closer to the real thing than the Micro-Tron. I can imagine the Micro-Tron finding a home on a lot of pedal boards, though!

Im guessing you didnt like the sounds compared to the qballs?

 

[markmck79]

People don't know how to use a Mutron and they either crank the gain so much that the envelope is always open. Or they don't crank it enough to engage the filter. And then they think it's an issue with the pedal. Whatever.

Come on... get over yourself. The Micro design is a set of compromises and, like all pedal designs, a set of assumptions and decisions on a designer's part for certain fixed values and variables. It is highly presumptuous of you to solely blame it on the user. By the way, I hear the same issues I had with the pedal on several of the other clips that have been posted here and elsewhere (sometimes to a lesser extent, but I clearly hear it there). So, if it is operator error then we are all operating it wrong. If in some setups (bass, strings, amps, etc) people are happy with the option then great - I'm glad they found their filter. Meanwhile, some of us already have an alternative we like better. Don't presume we're all idiots just because we've objectively demo'd the pedal and decided it is not for us, instead of being a fanboy that believes the Micro is the second coming when you haven't even played it yet.

 

[Jared Lash]

I really dig the Micro-Tron.

I haven't tried a Tru-Tron but here's how it stacks up to some other filters I've owned - though not all - I've had an embarrassing number of filters at this point.

Mu-Tron III

Compared to the original Mu-Tron III (I had an LSound tweaked one) the Micro-Tron has a very similar sound though it isn't as "greasy" - it's a bit cleaner sounding. But of course it's much smaller, runs on 9V, and has a level control.

3Leaf Proton

I like it a lot more than the Proton that I never really vibed with. The Proton doesn't open in a way that I like and the MicroTron has a very distinct quack.

Xerograph

The Micro-Tron is much easier to dial in and has a thicker sounding sweep with more punch in its attack and a more pronounced quack. The Xero has a bit more "grit" to its sweep and is better for synthy stuff. I also use it a lot for static LPF and swept LPF sounds. It's my most important pedal. I keep trying to find a standard filter that I dig enough that the Xero can just be used mainly for synthy/expression swept/static sounds and use the other filter for funky stuff. So far no filter has been THAT much better than the I.E. as a straight ahead envelope filter to warrant using two pedalboard slots. If the Mu-Fx isn't the one, I'm giving up on the idea and keeping the Xero as my do-it-all filter.

Groove Regulator/Wonderlove

One of my favorite funk filters though I preferred the GR a bit more than the WL. It's more subtle than the Mu-Fx but has the killer effects loop and is more flexible. The Micro-Tron has fixed attack and decay and more of a single sound but it's just so well dialed in. I guess if you don't dig the sound of the Mu-Fx it isn't for you but IMO it's a fantastic filter tone. It's got a more authoritative and prominent quack than the 3Leaf but a bit less of the rubbery snap on the end of the envelope.

Aguilar Filter Twin

Again, more tweakable than the Micro-Tron but it still felt like more of a one trick pony than the Mu-Fx. The vocal filter sound of the Aggy is distinct but for me I tired of it pretty quickly. The Micro-Tron does its thing but sounds classic and cool and I haven't gotten tired of its sound even after a couple hours.

Mr Black Fwonkbeta

Other people liked this one more than me. IME it takes a hot signal to trigger and didn't have a lot of variety to it's tone. It's big and fat and greasy but a bit one dimensional to me. I also actually found I could get the Aguilar to sound similar with just the up envelope and the sensitivity dialed way back.

I'm not comparing it to bandpass filters like the MXR, DOD FX25 or others because to me the Micro-Tron isn't usable in BP mode without a clean blend. That's also the case for the Mu-Tron III IMO.

I have also owned a Q-Tron and Micro Q-Tron, 00Funk, Maxon AF-9, Robotalk, DOD FX25 & 440, MXR, Source Audio BEF Pro, Frostwave Funk-a-Duck, and a bunch of others I'm not remembering so if anyone wants any other comparison I can try to oblige.

 

[Matt Dean]

I really dig the Micro-Tron.

I haven't tried a Tru-Tron but here's how it stacks up to some other filters I've owned - though not all - I've had an embarrassing number of filters at this point.

Mu-Tron III

Compared to the original Mu-Tron III (I had an LSound tweaked one) the Micro-Tron has a very similar sound though it isn't as "greasy" - it's a bit cleaner sounding. But of course it's much smaller, runs on 9V, and has a level control.

3Leaf Proton

I like it a lot more than the Proton that I never really vibed with. The Proton doesn't open in a way that I like and the MicroTron has a very distinct quack.

Xerograph

The Micro-Tron is much easier to dial in and has a thicker sounding sweep with more punch in its attack and a more pronounced quack. The Xero has a bit more "grit" to its sweep and is better for synthy stuff. I also use it a lot for static LPF and swept LPF sounds. It's my most important pedal. I keep trying to find a standard filter that I dig enough that the Xero can just be used mainly for synthy/expression swept/static sounds and use the other filter for funky stuff. So far no filter has been THAT much better than the I.E. as a straight ahead envelope filter to warrant using two pedalboard slots. If the Mu-Fx isn't the one, I'm giving up on the idea and keeping the Xero as my do-it-all filter.

Groove Regulator/Wonderlove

One of my favorite funk filters though I preferred the GR a bit more than the WL. It's more subtle than the Mu-Fx but has the killer effects loop and is more flexible. The Micro-Tron has fixed attack and decay and more of a single sound but it's just so well dialed in. I guess if you don't dig the sound of the Mu-Fx it isn't for you but IMO it's a fantastic filter tone. It's got a more authoritative and prominent quack than the 3Leaf but a bit less of the rubbery snap on the end of the envelope.

Aguilar Filter Twin

Again, more tweakable than the Micro-Tron but it still felt like more of a one trick pony than the Mu-Fx. The vocal filter sound of the Aggy is distinct but for me I tired of it pretty quickly. The Micro-Tron does its thing but sounds classic and cool and I haven't gotten tired of its sound even after a couple hours.

Mr Black Fwonkbeta

Other people liked this one more than me. IME it takes a hot signal to trigger and didn't have a lot of variety to it's tone. It's big and fat and greasy but a bit one dimensional to me. I also actually found I could get the Aguilar to sound similar with just the up envelope and the sensitivity dialed way back.

I'm not comparing it to bandpass filters like the MXR, DOD FX25 or others because to me the Micro-Tron isn't usable in BP mode without a clean blend. That's also the case for the Mu-Tron III IMO.

I have also owned a Q-Tron and Micro Q-Tron, 00Funk, Maxon AF-9, Robotalk, DOD FX25 & 440, MXR, Source Audio BEF Pro, Frostwave Funk-a-Duck, and a bunch of others I'm not remembering so if anyone wants any other comparison I can try to oblige.

Ok... just announcing that I'm buying the next Micro-Tron that gets posting to the classifieds.

 

[nshuman]

Ok... just announcing that I'm buying the next Micro-Tron that gets posting to the classifieds.

Always good to announce your dibs.

 

[dylanjohnson]

My favorite is still the Ibanez UE303B. I like it more than my Mutron III. I gigged the Micro last night and need more time with it to find a sweet spot. There is such an adjustment with each filter for touch, settings, etc.

 

[dannybuoy]

yada yada filters yada yada

Check out the Discumbobulator v2. I've never tried the v1 so don't know if they sound very different, but I've always heard people describe it as a subtle sounding filter. Well, subtle it ain't - this thing has as much grease as the Fwonkbeta but is easier to dial in. I believe it has ended my quest anyway!

 

[Jared Lash]

Check out the Discumbobulator v2. I've never tried the v1 so don't know if they sound very different, but I've always heard people describe it as a subtle sounding filter. Well, subtle it ain't - this thing has as much grease as the Fwonkbeta but is easier to dial in. I believe it has ended my quest anyway!

I owned a V1 DiscumBOBulator eons ago (maybe 10 years - that's a lifetime in pedalboard time) and used it for quite a while and on a bunch of gigs. Great filter. I've heard the circuit is based on the vintage, two knob MXR but never verified. That's a great filter too.

Anyway, I tried the V2 and with only my hazy memory to rely on the two sounded very, very similar. The new one's biggest change is a better tuned/wider sensitivity range. The V1 could be hard to trigger with some passive basses and get easily blown out by hotter actives. They've definitely addressed that. There's also the boost. I get why they'd do it that way (for guitarists primarily) but personally I'd rather have an overall level control. Still, it's good to have some control over the volume.

The EMMA is one of the few pedals that can go from up envelope to down and function well without adjustment. Most pedals need a tweak to the sensitivity and possibly other controls. It's why I wish the Micro-Tron had an up/down switch instead of a stomp. I already have to turn up the gain when going to the down envelope, no use in crowding two stomps if I have to bend over and adjust anyway.

Anyway, what I found with the EMMA was that it could get swallowed in a mix at times - at least for me. It's still one of my absolute favorites for recording though. Really warm, rubbery sound.

@Matt Dean - the BOB would be another filter you should check out. It's similar to the GR1 but you may dig it a bit more. It sounds great with an octaver, both normally and especially with an all wet octave down for a funky/synthy tone.

 

[Jared Lash]

My favorite is still the Ibanez UE303B. I like it more than my Mutron III. I gigged the Micro last night and need more time with it to find a sweet spot. There is such an adjustment with each filter for touch, settings, etc.

Every filter is different but at least for me the Micro-Tron has been pretty easy to dial in. I always have it in LP mode and use the low range 80-90% of the time. So after I move the level to unity it really turns into a two knob pedal. I run the peak from around 10 - 1 o'clock and the gain depends on the bass but is usually around 10 o'clock for the up envelope and around 2 for the down envelope.

So much easier than something like a Meatball or 00Funk. And while I have some of the most experience with the Xerograph (7 or 8 years of constant use) and can dial it in pretty immediately, it's much harder to setup too.

 

[markmck79]

I owned a V1 DiscumBOBulator eons ago (maybe 10 years - that's a lifetime in pedalboard time) and used it for quite a while and on a bunch of gigs. Great filter. I've heard the circuit is based on the vintage, two knob MXR but never verified. That's a great filter too.

Anyway, I tried the V2 and with only my hazy memory to rely on the two sounded very, very similar. The new one's biggest change is a better tuned/wider sensitivity range. The V1 could be hard to trigger with some passive basses and get easily blown out by hotter actives. They've definitely addressed that. There's also the boost. I get why they'd do it that way (for guitarists primarily) but personally I'd rather have an overall level control. Still, it's good to have some control over the volume.

The EMMA is one of the few pedals that can go from up envelope to down and function well without adjustment. Most pedals need a tweak to the sensitivity and possibly other controls. It's why I wish the Micro-Tron had an up/down switch instead of a stomp. I already have to turn up the gain when going to the down envelope, no use in crowding two stomps if I have to bend over and adjust anyway.

Anyway, what I found with the EMMA was that it could get swallowed in a mix at times - at least for me. It's still one of my absolute favorites for recording though. Really warm, rubbery sound.

@Matt Dean - the BOB would be another filter you should check out. It's similar to the GR1 but you may dig it a bit more. It sounds great with an octaver, both normally and especially with an all wet octave down for a funky/synthy tone.

Like I said, the Micro was really good, but on my board the DiscumBOBulator still reigns supreme and didn't exhibit any of the issues that I had with the Micro. I've regularly gigged with it for more than a decade and used it in the studio dozens of times. I've never had issues with my passive basses, though I could see where some could, and I have to concur - it sounds great with an OC-2. The only downside is that I've always felt it was a bit polite. I haven't tried a V2 yet, but I'm seriously considering diverting the funds from selling my Micro toward a V2. V1 is becoming nearly impossible to find used and even the new V2 seems scarce. Just throwing out another option to those who liked the Micro but had issues with it.

@dannybuoy - Do you know if the boost is before or after the filter stage? I assume before, but I have not seen that definitely in the user manual or in other reviews.

 

[Bo0tsy]

The beauty with the original Mu Tron III is that you can switch from Up to Down, High or Low without having to adjust the gain (best somewhere between 4 or 5) or the peak (best between 8-10). The Tru-Tron is much the same too. It sounds like this is not the case with the new Micro Tron?

Regarding the Emma Discumbobulator, I believe the boost on the DB2 is before the filter. I've had the original too for a number of years and I still love it. I agree that it is like a slightly more polite Mu-tronesque filter, (but not at all peaky like a Q-Tron can be for example) but very easy to dial in and hard to get a bad sound out of it. Very tempted to try both the Micro Tron and the Emma DB v2!

 

[Jared Lash]

The beauty with the original Mu Tron III is that you can switch from Up to Down, High or Low without having to adjust the gain (best somewhere between 4 or 5) or the peak (best between 8-10). The Tru-Tron is much the same too. It sounds like this is not the case with the new Micro Tron?

Regarding the Emma Discumbobulator, I believe the boost on the DB2 is before the filter. I've had the original too for a number of years and I still love it. I agree that it is like a slightly more polite Mu-tronesque filter, (but not at all peaky like a Q-Tron can be for example) but very easy to dial in and hard to get a bad sound out of it. Very tempted to try both the Micro Tron and the Emma DB v2!

For me I have to turn up the gain when switching to the down mode on the Micro-Tron. That didn't surprise me. Almost every filter I've owned has to be adjusted when switching other than the original Mu-Tron as you mentioned. The EMMA can swap modes without needing an adjustment but I find I prefer to tweak a bit between up and down.

IMO the V2 isn't a big upgrade to the original BOB. I like the wider input/sensitivity range but tone wise if you loved the original you'll love the new one. And if you found the first one a bit too polite the new version doesn't really fix that.

But that's the reason filters are so individual. Polite means no huge spikes or peakiness but a lack of super wetness. Easy to dial in usually means a lack of versatility. Synthy often means not having a classic, warm filter tone. Big, huge sweeps are great but can mean disappearing in the mix somewhat (I'm looking at you FX25) and so on and so on.

The Xerograph has its strengths and weaknesses but for me nothing has come along to knock it off it's top spot because I love its size, versatility, ability to get synthy and it works well for me as a standard envelope filter. Somebody that wouldn't have a use for it as a swept filter, static filter, or pseudo wah and/or wasn't into synthy sounds would likely pass on it for something funkier and easier to dial in. Different strokes.

Anyway, I think the Micro-Tron does its thing and does it extremely well. It's one of my favorite funky filters that I've tried and is great for a tight pedalboard. Would I take it over an original Mu-Tron III? In terms of sound? No, the original has a bit more sauce to it so if I didn't play out I'd stick with the Mu-Tron. But overall when considering size, cost, power requirements etc? Yeah, I personally would.

 

[Bo0tsy]

For me I have to turn up the gain when switching to the down mode on the Micro-Tron. That didn't surprise me. Almost every filter I've owned has to be adjusted when switching other than the original Mu-Tron as you mentioned. The EMMA can swap modes without needing an adjustment but I find I prefer to tweak a bit between up and down.

IMO the V2 isn't a big upgrade to the original BOB. I like the wider input/sensitivity range but tone wise if you loved the original you'll love the new one. And if you found the first one a bit too polite the new version doesn't really fix that.

But that's the reason filters are so individual. Polite means no huge spikes or peakiness but a lack of super wetness. Easy to dial in usually means a lack of versatility. Synthy often means not having a classic, warm filter tone. Big, huge sweeps are great but can mean disappearing in the mix somewhat (I'm looking at you FX25) and so on and so on.

The Xerograph has its strengths and weaknesses but for me nothing has come along to knock it off it's top spot because I love its size, versatility, ability to get synthy and it works well for me as a standard envelope filter. Somebody that wouldn't have a use for it as a swept filter, static filter, or pseudo wah and/or wasn't into synthy sounds would likely pass on it for something funkier and easier to dial in. Different strokes.

Anyway, I think the Micro-Tron does its thing and does it extremely well. It's one of my favorite funky filters that I've tried and is great for a tight pedalboard. Would I take it over an original Mu-Tron III? In terms of sound? No, the original has a bit more sauce to it so if I didn't play out I'd stick with the Mu-Tron. But overall when considering size, cost, power requirements etc? Yeah, I personally would.

Wow, great summary! Thanks for the additional thoughts on the DB2. I'm considering upgrading as I have a low output passive bass the original Emma really doesn't like (at least not without a boost in front of it).

Without wishing to derail this thread, I'm also wondering how the Xerograph compares to the Chunk 00Funk (which I'm also a big fan of) on the synthier side of envelope filtering?

 

[dannybuoy]

@Bo0tsy @markmck79 the boost is after the filter, it has no effect on the filter sensitivity and can be used independently as a standalone clean boost.

I find it greasier than the 3X, GR2, Meatball, etc, so I don't get the comments describing it as subtle. It doesn't get deep and subby though like you can get with the aforementioned filters, but I'm ok with that.

The sensitivity control is now probably too sensitive! I have the sensitivity below 9 o'clock with a passive Yamaha BB, and the usable range is literally a few degrees. There definitely won't be a problem with a low output bass (I'll confirm with my CV Jazz which is weedy as it gets) but I can fully see some hotter active basses being a problem with it.

 

[willsellout]

@Bo0tsy @markmck79

I find it greasier than the 3X, GR2, Meatball, etc, so I don't get the comments describing it as subtle. It doesn't get deep and subby though like you can get with the aforementioned filters, but I'm ok with that.

you have my interest piqued with this statement...Im enjoying my Josh Wah a lot right now. Maybe I'll hop in on the second run of these if there is one. My favorite filter is a Meatball, but I don't use filters enough to take up that much space on my board.