The Steel Guitar Forum

Which ones work best with pedal steel? (proper impedance matching, little or no coloring when turned off, etc.)

I find the old Boss T-Wah to work best for me. Best response is to plug it in before the volume pedal.

Many, many years ago, I used an MXR envelope filter. I used one of those 1/4" male to male adapters and plugged straight into the guitar (more for the convenience of being able to switch it on/off with my hand (had other stuff on the floor next to the volume pedal). It worked real good. The only problem is the goofy faces I made with my mouth trying to "speak" along with the wah-wah effects. I may pick up another one.

I have an MXR Envelope Follower, but I don't use it much. It takes a lot of the highs away when it's off. A friend is going to look into modifying it to not do that. I like the effect, though. (I used to use it to play Witches Brew. )

the mu-tron 3 is the best! There is a guy who makes clones that are good too, he has some videos on youtube.

I'm hitting this three different ways:

1) Boss AW-2 Autowah
2) Line 6 POD X3 Pro models
3) Sound Toys Native Filter Freak plug-in in software-based recording and performance setup.

All three do a nice job for me, different tools for different situations.

I use an MXR Auto Q. It sounds great but it's tricky to adjust.

I also use the auto-wah in Line6 Pod XT. It doesn't sound as good but it has the advantage of being able to save your settings into a user patch. That makes it more reliable on stage - you don't have to worry about the knob settings.

The Mutron 3 clone looks awesome!

...but I am afraid i will sound like Jerry Garcia on guitar if I get one.

I know to some that would be a GOOD thing, but to me his overuse of the mutron was one of the things i didnt like about his sound.

I wish they'd clone the mutron bi-phase instead.

I hear ya ben!

but it seems like that pedal is pretty versatile & sounds great at different settings. I just couldn't bring myself to spend $300 on something I'd use for only 1 tune a night, if that.

me too Brett, I would NEVER use it outside the bedroom and even then only rarely, and yet i still want it!

Try an EH Q-Tron Plus. They sound great and you can use a remote audio source to trigger the filter while you play through it.

I use an old MXR and it sounds nice.

I use an MXR microQTron,reg. guitar, but it works way better with single coils than humbuckers. Inexpensive, small footprint, nice sounding unit. JP

You might try an old DOD FX-25. An older one. The newer FX-25B seems to have a loud popping noise when it opens all the way up. The old one doesn't do it so bad. It would be a real cheap experiment. I got mine for $20 off craigslist and it works ok for the little bit I use it. Doesn't seem to change the tone much when it's off.

However, mine works best with my old Fender 400 and less well with a more modern D10. YMMV.

Definitely before any volume control or compressor.

The Mutron III is the uncontested king. But they don't make it anymore, and real ones are absurdly priced. There is a Mutron III+ that looks identical, but really doesn't cut it. Mike Biegel was the original circuit designer, and he was contracted by Electro Harmonix to develop the Q-Tron. The large box original Q-Tron is pretty much the closest and most accurate modern version of the original Mutron III. They have a couple of other varieties such as the Q-Tron Plus, which is also very good and has an effects loop feature.

The newest version of the Q-Tron is in a small box, and I'm not sure if the sound has changed.

Then they came out with the Mini Q-Tron and more recently the Micro-Q-Tron. Those aren't quite as good. They're close, but just a bit off. Now they offer the Riddle and the Enigma, and are said to be good and are extremely flexible.

Emma makes a pedal called the Discombobulator and is also very close to an original and sounds good.

Line-6 has a pedal called the Otto-Filter, and it has a Mutron III model in it that's very, very close. That's a good pedal that I'd recommend.

The MXR auto wah is a one trick pony that some people like, but having been spoiled by the Mutron III, I'm not a big fan.

The Ibanez envelope filter pedal that can also be purchased from Maxon these days is actually quite good as well. Flexible and tweakable.

The DOD is another one trick pony that sounds interesting on some things, but not very flexible.

The Boss T-Wah is also a decent envelope filter, but is also quite limited in what you can make it do.

There are a couple of boutique filters out there too that are probably pretty good.

Pigtronix makes a wild one too. It does envelope and phaser in one.


Brad

The Mutron III is the uncontested king. But they don't make it anymore, and real ones are absurdly priced. There is a Mutron III+ that looks identical, but really doesn't cut it. Mike Biegel was the original circuit designer, and he was contracted by Electro Harmonix to develop the Q-Tron. The large box original Q-Tron is pretty much the closest and most accurate modern version of the original Mutron III. They have a couple of other varieties such as the Q-Tron Plus, which is also very good and has an effects loop feature.

The newest version of the Q-Tron is in a small box, and I'm not sure if the sound has changed.

Then they came out with the Mini Q-Tron and more recently the Micro-Q-Tron. Those aren't quite as good. They're close, but just a bit off. Now they offer the Riddle and the Enigma, and are said to be good and are extremely flexible.

Emma makes a pedal called the Discombobulator and is also very close to an original and sounds good.

Line-6 has a pedal called the Otto-Filter, and it has a Mutron III model in it that's very, very close. That's a good pedal that I'd recommend.

The MXR auto wah is a one trick pony that some people like, but having been spoiled by the Mutron III, I'm not a big fan.

The Ibanez envelope filter pedal that can also be purchased from Maxon these days is actually quite good as well. Flexible and tweakable.

The DOD is another one trick pony that sounds interesting on some things, but not very flexible.

The Boss T-Wah is also a decent envelope filter, but is also quite limited in what you can make it do.

There are a couple of boutique filters out there too that are probably pretty good.

Pigtronix makes a wild one too. It does envelope and phaser in one.


Brad

wow Brad! you really have sampled alot of envelope filters.

Im sad to hear about the mutron III+ not making the cut. It sure looked great and the youtube demos sounded okay. bummer. Just seeing the case with those colors and paint scheme made me want it.

i picked up a ibanez soundtank autowah yesterday
its horrid, but I have a modest collection of soundtank pedlas going and willbuy any of em under $20.

it was hard to use it on a steel for me...it seemed really responsive to my picking in a not good way, like Id have to pick super hard to get the wah effect. felt fine on guitar. Im sure I have better control oveer my guitar picking than my steel picking tho.

The Mutron III+ by HAZ is ok, really not bad, but just not great, and just doesn't quite nail the warmth and touch response of a real Mutron III. It does get fairly close though. The chassis and paint job and general build quality is amazing, better than the original. But sonically it's just ok, and not as "true" to a Mutron III as the large box Q-Tron by EH is.

Brad

The Moog FreqBox is capable of some extremely intense envelope filter effects, it can render the steel all but unrecognizable or give you that "quack-quack-quack" thing that the Mutron III does. The build quality of the Moog pedals is truly top drawer and the sonics are really first rate, no degradation of tone when the unit is bypassed. I have used it on a few sessions when an artist or producer wanted something different, but just didn't really know how to articulate it. Gang it with their ring modulator and some delay for some serious Twilight Zone style steel.

Thanks for reading my post.

Gerald