Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Brand New Q-Tron+ = Bad Times
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June 30, 2010 at 5:50 pm #804260101010101Participant
Hi all. Long time bass player, first time poster & EHX user! I thought I’d come here to seek advice regarding my problem before I contact EHX directly so ‘Thank You All’ in advance!
I bought a Q-Tron+ from a reputable music store over here in the UK on the recommendation of a few bass players I’d been speaking to regarding their set-up. Up til then I’d been using a Boss AW-3 (which was OK I suppose) and a Boss SYB-5 (which was just so awful it was pretty much unusable!) so I decided to be done with them & trade them in. I tried out the Bassballs, Q-Tron & Q-Tron+ in the shop through a small bass amp using a Fender Jazz, which is what I play, and even with the ridiculous volume spikes when you kick it in, eventually decided on the QT+.
I got it home, plugged in to my practice amp, and played around with the settings for about an hour before packing up for the gig we were playing that night.
To cut a looooooong story short, I set up and plugged in for the soundcheck, played clean for about 10 secs then switched in the QT+ to hear this absolutely hideous ‘CRRRAK’ coming from the PA. I instantly stopped playing, looked at the engineer and stood on the switch again only to hear another ‘CRRRAK’ as I shut the unit off. Every time I stepped on the switch – on, off, on, off – it would make this hideous noise! WTF?!! I ended up not using the damned thing because it was still aduible even with the rest of the band playing!
I called the shop the next day, took it back to let them hear it and the manager’s response was ‘Yeah, they’re known for that – EHX use crappy components’ and offered me my money back. I told him I’d hold on to it and see what EHX would do first cos I actually like this pedal!
So, does everyone else just put up with this ‘inherant fault’? Is there a remedy for this? Can I replace the switch? In fact, will EHX replace the switch and fix this problem for me seeing as it’s BRAND NEW? I see other posters complaining of the same thing! And as much as I didn’t like ‘certain’ Boss pedals, I never once had a problem like this!
Any & all advice will be gratefully received!
Cheers,
JJune 30, 2010 at 11:22 pm #109909The Ghost of Sim TutMemberHi friend. I have and love the QTron+, but I am unfamliar with the “inherent fault”. I put that in quotes because it came from a guy in a music store, where they say all kinds of silly things based on nothing.
That said, I certainly believe you have a problem, so let’s work it out! Your description, was it simply a loud switch sound, or something weirder? Since you’ve played mostly Boss pedals you are probably used to the silent switching buffered bypass, where the Q-Tron is true bypass. True bypass pedals are indeed more audible, but still shouldn’t be loud enough to halt a performance. And when you went back to the store, did you try another? And are you plugging right into the PA?
I should point out that I have the sheet metal version, not the latest version that is sold new in stores now, so my view may be skewed. But they are the same inside, as far as I know.
I was also surprised at the loud volume the first time I plugged it in, but that comes from the settings of this very interactive pedal. Once you know it more, it may not be such a problem to you.
July 1, 2010 at 12:20 am #109911SanquiFlerbMemberIt might be DC acumulated on the caps or idk what. This should solve it http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af286/fenderamerica/Pedal Schematics/ANTIPOPJACK.png . It’s a 4.7Mohm resistor from tip to sleeve of the input jack.
July 1, 2010 at 2:51 pm #1099230101010101ParticipantHi folks and thanks for your input. I’ll address the replies in order if I may:
The Ghost – The signal path was Jazz Bass > TU-3 > QT+ > OD > Compressor (for those volume spikes) > amp. Every variation I have tried – even the pedal on its own with no input has produced the same result – a huge ‘CLIKK’ as you turn the thing on or off. The annoying thing is I also really like this pedal which is why I held on to it after the manager of the store offered me a refund.
Initially when I returned it a member of staff insisted it was my leads that were at fault – “Never heard of that problem before. I’d say your leads have gone microphonic. We can sell you some new ones though.” And I’m sure they could have! I asked if I could have it hooked up to their Phil Jones bass rig (I knew they had one cos I’ve been drooling over it for months) so I could demonstrate the problem and lo-and-behold as soon as I stepped on the pedal ‘KLIKKK’. Oh, it would appear the shop’s leads have all gone microphonic too in that case! He went and spoke to his manager who fed me the ‘EHX use crap components’ line. To demonstrate this the manager then brought a Q-Tron (they didnt have another QT+ in stock) a Bassballs and a Micro Synth, hooked each of them up separately and switched them in. Every time he stood on the switch regardless of which unit it was (although the regular QT was way worse) we got this hideous noise as the pedal was switched on and off ergo the ‘Inherent Problem’.
He said they’d had a rep demoing some new gear (cant remember the name of the company) and one of the pedals was an Envelope Filter. He’s got one on order so I’ll check it out when it arrives. Hopefully it’ll be as good, if not better, than the QT+ and wont have similar issues.
Sanqui – I really dont want to go digging about in the guts soldering things and voiding the warranty. Had it been a second hand pedal I wouldnt have an issue but it’s brand new. I’ll see what this other envelope filter the shop has on order is like. Failing that, I’ll get in touch with EHX customer Services and see what they say.
Once again folks, thanks for your input. Hopefully I’ll get it resolved one way or the other.
Cheers,
JJuly 1, 2010 at 8:15 pm #109931electro-melxModeratorWell, I can say one thing… the popping you get when you step on a TB pedal has nothing to do with ‘crap components’ or the quality of the components at all….. it’s more to do with the circuit design, the nature of bypassing a pedal with a 3pdt switch and using the same switch to turn the led on and off and the way the pedal is grounded… and also what pedals you put before and after it can play a part in how loud the pop is too. It’s nothing to do with the quality of the components, which in reality are pretty standard parts you would find in every mass produced item in your house, from your TV to you alarm clock, to your CD player, blue ray and every other massed produced pedal on the shelf.
July 7, 2010 at 10:19 am #1100450101010101ParticipantRight folks, here’s an update on my QT+ situation:
I took it back to the store and swapped it for a Dunlop MXR M82 Bass Envelope Filter. This new unit is not as versatile but is also True Bypass and has none of the issues I was experiencing with the QT+.
I now have a nice, wet, squelchy EF that I can actually use without everyone wincing in pain every time its switched in or out. And no, I’m not the only one with this problem. There are a number of other posts in the forum relating to this issue.
The result is thus: I doubt I’ll ever use, and certainly won’t buy or recommend to anyone, an EHX product again until this issue is resolved. If other manufacturers can accomplish this, so can EHX.
MXR: 1
EHX: 0Cheers,
J -
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