Mu Tron Micro Tron: Up-Down switch is useless

[AinsleyWalker]

I have a Micro Tron IV and it's an amazing envelope filter, but the Up-Down switch is a really pointless feature.

Both settings have totally different 'sweet spots' on the Gain parameter which are actually disappointingly narrow for getting the pedal to trigger properly. For 'Up' its from around 10-o-clock to 12-o-clock, for 'Down' it's all the way up (around 5-o-clock) to around 4-o-clock. Any other position either doesn't trigger the filter or leaves it open... So while the pedal sounds great while the Gain is in those sweet spots, you don't have much room to tweak at all. 
As you can tell from the positions I've given, the Up and Down sweet spots do not overlap even slightly, so when you hit the Up-Down switch, you have to adjust the Gain before you can even begin to use the pedal again... Which makes me wonder why they even bothered with the switch? It's not like you could hit it while playing live and carry on, you'd have to bend down and adjust the Gain.... So why not just make it a flick switch like the 3leaf Proton? 

Anyone else got one of these and experienced similar things? Genuinely baffling that this is even the case seeing as this is not the first incarnation of the Micro Tron...

[Higgie]

I’ve found that to be the case with almost every filter that has an up/down feature. Having it on a foot switch is about as much use as Anne Frank’s drum kit!

[Bo0tsy]

Yes, that's definitely the case with the Micro Tron III and IV. Whilst I don't find it difficult to dial in either the up or downsweep, having it as a footswitch is a strange decision.

I have both original Musitronics Mu-Tron III's and a Mu-Tron 3x and for both of these the up/down drive switch is all you need to flip to change direction, with little else in the way of adjustment, so it is possible.

Both the Musitronics and Mu-Fx versions are much bigger though so wonder if this is part of the circuit that they had to sacrifice as they couldn't squeeze it into the Micro-Tron? The Micro-Tron is a killer filter regardless though.

[Quatschmacher]

On 25/03/2020 at 20:20, AinsleyWalker said:

I have a Micro Tron IV and it's an amazing envelope filter, but the Up-Down switch is a really pointless feature.

Both settings have totally different 'sweet spots' on the Gain parameter which are actually disappointingly narrow for getting the pedal to trigger properly. For 'Up' its from around 10-o-clock to 12-o-clock, for 'Down' it's all the way up (around 5-o-clock) to around 4-o-clock. Any other position either doesn't trigger the filter or leaves it open... So while the pedal sounds great while the Gain is in those sweet spots, you don't have much room to tweak at all. 
As you can tell from the positions I've given, the Up and Down sweet spots do not overlap even slightly, so when you hit the Up-Down switch, you have to adjust the Gain before you can even begin to use the pedal again... Which makes me wonder why they even bothered with the switch? It's not like you could hit it while playing live and carry on, you'd have to bend down and adjust the Gain.... So why not just make it a flick switch like the 3leaf Proton? 

Anyone else got one of these and experienced similar things? Genuinely baffling that this is even the case seeing as this is not the first incarnation of the Micro Tron...

That’s what the cv input port is for - it allows you to adjust the gain knob remotely with an expression pedal when switch direction. (I originally thought it would function as a pedal wah but it doesn’t and Rand confirmed this to me in a Facebook livestream last week.) 

I agree, it’s an odd choice. Personally I would have left the up/down as a toggle switch and had the second footswitch activate a pedal wah like on the Xerograph and Wonderlove. And I’m still bummed that they didn’t include a band pass mix mode like on the QTron - absolutely essential for bass. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Quatschmacher

[sshorepunk]

Been looking at these, wanting an analogue filter pedal, my tone factor broke 

lots of options out there!

[Quatschmacher]

12 hours ago, sshorepunk said:

Been looking at these, wanting an analogue filter pedal, my tone factor broke 

lots of options out there!

Some great options out there. This isn’t the most versatile as there’s no direct control over cutoff frequency or envelope shape (unless you buy one of the opto mod cards to swap out) but it sounds lovely as is.

The newest 3leaf Proton is worth a look. I’d still like to try out the Chromatron too.

For bandpass and upsweep only, the MXR Bass Envelope Filter is brilliant and cheap.   

[GisserD]

+1 for mxr bef if your into finger style funk lines. Listen to anything by dumpstaphunk for the sounds. Both (yes they have 2) their bass players use it. 

I've had over 20 filters, but the mxr is the king of them all imho of corse.

[sshorepunk]

Thanks for the replies

ive had many over the years, original Mu-Tron, meatball (too complicated) EBS, proton etc

tried a wonder love mk2 last year and it didn’t cut it, read several times that the mk1 was better

the chromatic has my attention as well but looks like the mxr is worth a try for the price

cheers

tony

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, sshorepunk said:

looks like the mxr is worth a try for the price

Reminds me, I must buy one again.

[sshorepunk]

Also, I’ve got a tone factor boomstick bottom feeder, great little filter, but it’s stopped working

need some body to look at it 

it’s lost it’s quack, when I switch it in it just changed the tone slightly, like it’s stuck somewhere in the envelope, best way I can describe it

was a £50 pedal 10 years ago, probably

cost more to get it fixed, but worth it!

Tony

Edited April 20, 2020 by sshorepunk

[Higgie]

Maxon Af-9 is worth a look. Seriously underrated filter. Boss FT2 is surprisingly good on bass too. Very musical.

[dannybuoy]

The best I've found (and I've tried most of them) are the Fwonkbeta and Discumbobulator, but I would check out the Source Audio Spectrum if shopping for a new filter!

[fretmeister]

The MXR only goes in 1 way. It is very good... but it's now been bumped off my board for the Source Audio Spectrum.

 

And the Spectrum can be set anyway you like and saved and the little toggle can have 3 completely different settings at the flick of that switch (and another 3 if you want to faff about with the Alternate mode too).

It sounds soooooo good. Don't even need the app to get proper funky sounds out of it.

[GisserD]

I'm working on a way of allowing presets on analogue pedals.....Its close. Very close!

[Quatschmacher]

13 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

The MXR only goes in 1 way. It is very good... but it's now been bumped off my board for the Source Audio Spectrum.

 

And the Spectrum can be set anyway you like and saved and the little toggle can have 3 completely different settings at the flick of that switch (and another 3 if you want to faff about with the Alternate mode too).

It sounds soooooo good. Don't even need the app to get proper funky sounds out of it.

Plus another 122 onboard presets if you hook it up to a controller.  

[fretmeister]

11 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Plus another 122 onboard presets if you hook it up to a controller.  

This would be a great way for me to get fired from my big band...

 

"What in the ar$e is he doing now...?

 

[sshorepunk]

just deleted this post so I can start a separate thread as i have Seriousley highjacked this one!

Tony

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by sshorepunk

[Bo0tsy]

12 hours ago, sshorepunk said:

Thanks for the replies

ive had many over the years, original Mu-Tron, meatball (too complicated) EBS, proton etc

tried a wonder love mk2 last year and it didn’t cut it, read several times that the mk1 was better

the chromatic has my attention as well but looks like the mxr is worth a try for the price

cheers

tony

The Micro-Tron is pretty much a Mu-Tron III in a 9v small package. If you liked the original you'd definitely like the Micro-Tron.

I like the MXR very much too, (as I do most filters 😂), but it's band-pass and up sweep only and sounds quite different from a Mu-Tron IMO.

[Al Krow]

I've tried a few including a number of the excellent filters already mentioned on this thread (not as many as BoOtsy or GisserD mind you!)

The analogue pedal that out squelches them all for me is the 3Leaf GR2. Comes up from time to time used. Grab one when they do! 

YMMV etc.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Al Krow

[sshorepunk]

On 20/04/2020 at 08:26, GisserD said:

+1 for mxr bef if your into finger style funk lines. Listen to anything by dumpstaphunk for the sounds. Both (yes they have 2) their bass players use it. 

I've had over 20 filters, but the mxr is the king of them all imho of corse.

Thanks for that, dumpstaphunk had disappeared off my radar for a while

sat in the sun listening to them With a cold beer 😎 

Tony