The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I had one of the original (stainless case, wood box) EH QTron pedals back in the 90s. I'd like to get another but just don't know what to make of today's offerings..

    How do the various new models (Q, Q+, Micro, Nano, etc) compare to the unit I once had? Are they any much good?

    Also I noticed that one model, maybe the Micro, has a "Q" control that doesn't exist on the older or current full-size models. Is this the same as the "PEAK" control on others?

    Thanks, I'd appreciate it if you could fill me in on these details.

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  3. #2

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    I love the old big box QTron!

    They should turn up used.

    Not sure about later versions, but perhaps this could help:


  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by JazzPadd
    I love the old big box QTron!
    As did I. Now, back then I was strictly an experimental / analog synthesis noodler, and used the Q with a PAiA Fatman synth that I'd kit-built..

    Today, despite my age and health, I finally bit the bullet and got myself a bass guitar, to see if I can manage to learn it. And if there's one effect I gotta have, it's another Q.

    How else could I hope to play the Bootsy style?!

    They should turn up used.
    Rarely, and pricely, it seems.. at least on the big bad bay. The big box Q+ seem more common. Sure do regret selling mine 15 years ago.. mint in wood box it was.

    Maybe I can find one that a mere mortal can afford.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by WimWalther
    The big box Q+ seem more common. Sure do regret selling mine 15 years ago.. mint in wood box it was.

    Maybe I can find one that a mere mortal can afford.
    Hmm, I may be thinking of the Q+ big box turning up used.

    There’s also the old small box Dr. Q?

    In any case, all the best in your Q quest!

  6. #5

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    I like my EH Q micro, but I'm unable to make the comparison.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by JazzPadd
    There’s also the old small box Dr. Q?
    Now what's a Dr.Q? I've not heard of it, do you know who made it & when?

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    I like my EH Q micro, but I'm unable to make the comparison.
    That would be nice, as the micro is readily available.. and beat up originals are $250+.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by WimWalther
    Now what's a Dr.Q? I've not heard of it, do you know who made it & when?
    It’s another EHX envelope filter:

    About the EH Q-Tron pedals-img_6054-jpg

    Originally mid 1970s with several reissues.

    Doctor Q. – Electro-Harmonix

    One user says, “there’s a crazy sound like a ghost coming out of a toothpaste tube on some of the settings..at least that’s the only way I can describe it.”

  10. #9

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    I had a Musitronics Mu-Tron III. Sounded great, very versatile, never should’ve sold it.

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    I had a Musitronics Mu-Tron III. Sounded great, very versatile, never should’ve sold it.
    You got that right.. live & learn, I guess.

  12. #11

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    On this subject, can anyone recommend an EF in the mini-pedal form factor?

  13. #12

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    I have had a "mini" Q-tron (which isn't nearly as small as the name suggests) for 15+ years and think it sounds great. It's a little on the noisy side, though.

  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by andrew
    I have had a "mini" Q-tron (which isn't nearly as small as the name suggests) for 15+ years and think it sounds great. It's a little on the noisy side, though.
    Correct me, but weren't the "minis" part of the first issue of Qtrons? That is, the original big box Qt & Qt+ came first, followed by the Mini - all in stainless cases? Then years on, they issued the Micro and Nano models?

    Btw, how does the Q control act? Is it the same as the Peak control on other models?

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    On this subject, can anyone recommend an EF in the mini-pedal form factor?
    I was thinking of something like this Mooer. I wonder what the difference is between the Auto-Wah, Funky Monkey, and the Envelope Filter?




  16. #15
    I'd have no idea, but a device like the Qtron is an Envelope Controlled Filter. The basic idea is that the signal amplitude (voltage) controls a VCF (voltage-controlled filter).

    The greater the signal voltage, the greater the depth of the filter action. Since a rapidly closing & reopening filter produces a phase shift, this creates a wah effect. The steeper and deeper the shift, the more pronounced and vowel-like the wah.

    So they also get called auto-wah as there's no need to be footing a wah pedal, you produce the effect automatically by how hard you hit the notes and how sensitive you have the effect controls set. Light playing = little effect, hard playing = heavy effect.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    I had a Musitronics Mu-Tron III. Sounded great, very versatile, never should’ve sold it.
    A cool thing about the mutron is that you can make it go backwards. Instead of “wah-wah,” you get “ow-ow.”

  18. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    A cool thing about the mutron is that you can make it go backwards. Instead of “wah-wah,” you get “ow-ow.”
    Don't quote me, but I think the up/down switch on the old Qt / Qt+ serves that purpose.

  19. #18

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    Yes, on the Qtron (and plus) you can choose the direction of the sweep. If I remember right it also allows for a choice of high pass or low pass filter. (My memory is telling me some sort of mid filter thing also, but I am not sure about that). I checked, it has a band pass, and a mix. What mix is, I am not sure.

    EHX qtron stuff has some fat filters and sounds close(ish) to a mutron.

    It has been years since I used a qtron. I decided the the 3leaf audio Wonderlove was the best env. filter for me, so I moved on. I never had a chance to own a mutron. When I was into the Jerry/Kimock thing, mutrons were vintage and too expensive for me.

    It was not Jerry who convinced me to get an env filter. I was at a Zero show (Steve Kimock), and all of sudden Kimock was getting such a cool fat tone thing happened. I went to my local guitar store (in Cotati CA) the next day, described what happened to a clerk named Vince. He said, I need an EHX Qtron. I went home with one. Then I had two pedals, a wha and the qtron.
    Last edited by st.bede; 01-17-2024 at 10:52 PM.

  20. #19
    The orig Qt & Qt+ (and probably the first big-box reissues of both) have selectable HP, BP, LP and Mix filtering.

    They also have a "Peak" control, which I haven't quite deciphered, and I don't recall how it acted on my old original Qt. It may or may not be the same control labeled "Q" on the later pedals (which also lack a Peak control).

    Something I'd really like to know is how those first big-box reissues of the Qt & Qt+ compare to the original versions. It appears they may use different PCBs, as the controls are located differently, but that could also just be a matter of how they're layed out.

    The original layouts were a bit clumsy, with slide switches (like Up/Down) on the sloped rear panel.