• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The Mutron Club : only quacks allowed...

#561
dannybuoy said:
@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.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clarifying that @dannybuoy
With my active Warwicks on the v1 Emma I found that the sensitivity set anything between 11 and 1 sounds best, so it does sound like sensitivity on the new one is different. The v1 in my opinion isn't a particularly wet filter, (it's what I'd describe as more slightly dirty quacky than squelchy), so you've got me intrigued that v2 could have the capacity to sound a bit different. I've always described v1 as a bit subtler because you can crank the sensitivity, width and attack and still get usable sounds (not super peaky "pick icy" sounding like the Q Tron's can be).
 
#562
willsellout said:
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.
Click to expand...

I've got a JoshWah too. But that along with my MXR, Manta and Fwonkbeta are on their way outta here soon!
 
  • Like
Reactions: willsellout
#563
Bo0tsy said:
Thanks for clarifying that @dannybuoy
With my active Warwicks on the v1 Emma I found that the sensitivity set anything between 11 and 1 sounds best, so it does sound like sensitivity on the new one is different. The v1 in my opinion isn't a particularly wet filter, (it's what I'd describe as more slightly dirty quacky than squelchy), so you've got me intrigued that v2 could have the capacity to sound a bit different. I've always described v1 as a bit subtler because you can crank the sensitivity, width and attack and still get usable sounds (not super peaky "pick icy" sounding like the Q Tron's can be).
Click to expand...

'Dirty quacky' is definitely a good description, we just may mean different things by 'wet'. It probably sounds very similar to the v1 so if you've tried that already and it wasn't your thing, I wouldn't necessarily rush into buying a v2 just because it happens to be the sound in my head that I'd been chasing!
 
  • Like
Reactions: markmck79 and Bo0tsy
#564
Bo0tsy said:
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?
Click to expand...

When I first got the Xero the pedal that it sounded most like to me was the 00Funk that I'd been using for a year or two at that point. They both have that modern, synthy sound. The 00Funk is slightly punchier and has a somewhat "cleaner" sound where the Xero has a bit of a characteristic gurgle in its decay but overall they are more similar than different. Both are awesome with an octave and fuzz in front. Both also are tough to dial in, especially for down sweeps. They will close up completely like about half of all filters with a downsweep tend to do. It's why ones like the Micro-Tron, Manta, EMMA, Wonderlove etc are better for downsweeps - they don't let the filter swallow up notes completely. I love the Brown Dog and 00Funk combo and the envelope connection between the two was incredible but also annoying in its implementation since you couldn't use the 00Funk separately as long as the cable was connected. In fact a Xerograph with an effects loop like the Wonderlove would be my ideal synth filter pedal.

dannybuoy said:
@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.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was sure the boost was after the filter too. Personally I didn't use it. I actually liked the V2 with a bit of boost to get the volume level up so I could have used it as an always on level control but that would mean two stomps to turn it off or on every time which I didn't want to do. Again, I get why they designed it that way - for guitarists wanting a clean boost into a tube amp or to bump up the volume for a solo. But I use SS or hybrid heads and I just want a filter that's at unity or slightly above, not to boost it. Still, it's a cool feature for those who use it either as a clean boost or filter volume boost.

The original DiscumBOBulator definitely had sensitivity issues. My main bass back then had Nordstrand Fat Stacks and an Audere pre. With the Fat Stacks in humbucking mode it's fairly low output (those pickups benefit from a preamp with an internal gain control IMO - like the Nordy preamps) and I had to dime the BOB's sensitivity. My drummer's bass (I think it was some sort of Ibanez) was a hot active one and would overpower it. So EMMA really opened up the sensitivity range on the V2. On the good side it works with everything I tried it with. On the downside, (like you said) the usable range is pretty small. Reminds me of some dirt pedals that have so much gain on tap that you can only use them for the first quarter turn or so or they get too loud.

With the BOB it isn't that it's not funky or greasy. It has a fantastic sound. It's just (IMO) that the envelope doesn't have a ton of punch or a big exaggerated sweep. So it's as funky as all get out (I love playing lines with lots of ghost notes with it) and very touch sensitive, but it doesn't jump out in a mix. At least it didn't for me. But for solos or sections where the bass has more room to be heard, I thought it was fantastic. Records really well too. And just to clarify, I owned and gigged a V1 for years but I only tested out the V2 at home for a couple hours.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matt Dean, dannybuoy, markmck79 and 1 other person
#566
SlapinDaBass said:
Im guessing you didnt like the sounds compared to the qballs?
Click to expand...
I really liked the sounds of the Micro-Tron, but yes, the Q-Balls still rules for me. The Attack/Decay/Start/Stop is what I call "tweaker's row." The Q-Balls was made to order for a home studio guy like me. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but of all the modern envelope filters I've tried, the Q-Balls is easily the one that gets me closest to the original Mu-Tron sound. If I were a gigging musician, it would be between the Micro-Tron, VFE Mini-Mu, Multivox Big Jam Spit Wah, and maybe the Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe for pedal board supremacy. Then again, I think I'd just find a way to make the Q-Balls work live!
 
#567
Matt Dean said:
@Jared Lash , thanks for your review and comparative analysis of the Micro Tron III. Once again I've purchased an effects device on the basis of your comments :)

So, I'm joining the club of quacks as my intention stating yesterday resulted in getting hit up by a breeder with a Micro Tron to sell. -:)
Click to expand...

Always makes me nervous to be the reason for somebody else's wallet being thinner. I hope you dig it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matt Dean
#571
Matt Dean said:
Where do you get your EBS cables? Going to be needing some in two days.
:)
Click to expand...

I used to get mine at best bass gear, but then they like quadrupled the price. the last few times, I got them at Bass Strings Online. I would really confirm if they have them in stock first though. There is another place in the US that sells them. @Adamixoye who's the other place that is decent but has crazy insane shipping to Canada?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matt Dean
#573
smperry said:
I'm torn between the Microtron and Xerograph Deluxe.
Click to expand...

To me it really depends on what you want out of a filter and/or what you use it for.

The Xerograph has more of a splatty sound while the Micro-Tron has more of a quack. If filters are like a kid's bubbles then the Mu-Fx is like a big bubble that forms and pops and the IE is when you blow and the soap just sprays out the other side without forming a bubble.

If you are wanting a filter for straight finger style funk then I think the Mu-Fx is absolutely the winner.

Where the Xero shines is as an expression swept filter for wah sounds or at the end of a synthy chain. And as a static LPF for deep or dubby sounds. It's not a bad standalone filter but there are others I like more for that job. Still, I've used the Xero as my only filter for years. I keep trying to find a traditional filter to pair it with and while I've found some that I like more, I haven't found one that I liked so much more as to dedicate a pedalboard space to a second filter. The Mu-Fx might be the one though. We'll see.

The Micro-Tron is also easier to dial in and isn't as temperamental when used as a down sweep. The Xero can sound good in down mode but if not set just right it will close completely with a big whoomp.

Two other notes - the Xero's sweep is somewhere between the hi and low range of the Micro-Tron so in low mode the Mu-Fx has a thicker sound. Also, one area where the Xero is a better filter (IMO) is when slapping. I don't slap a lot these days but when slapping the Iron Ether sounds great and the Mu-Fx tends to sound very sharp and piercing.

Hope that helps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wallower, Bo0tsy and smperry
#580
Never seen an expression pedal with a 1/8 plug or socket. There's probably not enough room for a standard adapter like this?

31Mi0M2l3jL.jpg

But there's nothing stopping you use a custom cable with a pedal that has a socket, unless the pot value and pin wiring it's designed to work with is different to a standard expression pedal.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back