Electrix Filter Queen

very easy effects unit to learn. if you have any experience with analog style filters this will be self explanatory. you probably won't have to consult the manual at all on this one.

you can get great sounds out of this. filter sounds nice and warm and there are a lot of different types of effects you can obtain through various combinations of lfo, envelope follower and different types of sweep patterns.

i bought mine new. the construction appeared to be rock solid and i had no doubts about its reliability. i was proved wrong. one day i went to use it and all that came out was a nasty buzzing sound and nothing else. and the unit has definitely not been abused. to the contrary, it has sat in one place, plugged into my effects loop and still looks like it was right out of the box.

i called customer support about the issue mentioned above and they said i had to contact a place called condor electronics because they do all their repairs now. condor told me it would be a mininum $80 bench fee to take a look at it and the first half hour of work. not very supportive, considering i owned it for less than a year, and that is about half the cost of a new unit.

i loved it until it died for no reason. and the company has piss-poor customer support, btw.

Quite easy to deal with....after 5 min you're getting a nice filter effect....and lots of interesting sounds...

I was using with a Korg X5D....for filtering effect and LFO sounds...and it's really nice.....it also generates sounds when you crank up the resonance pot. I found a little noisy when I tried to record my gtr or bass through the Filter Queen and going to Pro Tools...some hiss was heard....but nothing to worry...after all, you're after a crazy sound!
The LFO sounds are very nice and there's plenty of filtering options...

That was the problem! After 1 month using it, it stopped....the power supply also stopped and now it's not working anymore. I was in a middle of a gig and it when dead. I fixed the power supply but the unit never worked again

As I live in Brazil, and bought it second hand via e-bay, I've contacted them and they told me they would send me the schematics so I could try and fix it (with professional help, of course). I am still waiting (1 month) .
What's more, I wouldn't be able to send them the unit, cause it's U$60.00/h for the electronic engeneer to fix it. Out of question!

To sum up, it's a great unit, although I had a big trouble and my unit it's not working anymore....my friend hads the same problem and we have two (2) units that are broken with no hope in Brazil

this thing is very easy to get an amazing range of great sounds from. i have been playing guitar for about 1 years and producing electronic music for about 8 years. if you know a little bit about synth sound design this thing is self explanitory. the manual is useless and no presets so you need to kow what the knobs do :)

sound quality is pretty good although i do notice increased noise when its engaged. i have it mounted on my pedal board, my signal chain looks like : boss harmonist->boss tube driver-> ibanez cp9 compressor -> crybaby -> fliter queen -> volume pedal -> fender twin. thesounds from this setup are incredible i can go from clean jazzy/country tones to freaked out synth textures which is all i ask :) i give it an 8 because of the hiss it introduces, but all in all i dont mind a bit of hiss.

seems sturdy ive had it for only a few months.

n/a

i play funky/jazzy/rnb oriented shizzle this thing is great for my type of music. if it were lost or stolen id try to get another one because i havent seen another envelope follower with 4 different filter types, resonance, and an lfo in one compact unit. i also have the external control pedals which i would say are a must for any kind of realtime use of this thing. expression pedal controls filter cutoff and the switch pedal controls: 1)fx on/off 2)envelope follower on/off 3)tap tempo for lfo. the only control that i wish it had was an on/off for the lfo but thats not a big deal since that can be acheived through use of the expression pedal. the power supply seems a bit lame and it uses like 24v power so it wont run from your existing pedal power supply. ive had to mount the power supply next to the unit on my pedal board.

I've been playing guitar for 22 years, but have almost no understanding of synthesizer technology. This unit was a bit of a challenge for me at first, but the manual does a good job of explaining how it works and even included some useful examples. The Electrix message boards have been helpful, too, eliciting the help of other users. Even though Electrix no longer makes the Mod units they still have all the product info on the Web site, which is pretty great of them. I've been playing with this effect on and off for around 2 years and have recently made it a permanent part of my guitar rig.

This is a 100% analog unit, so there are no patches. To changes sounds, turn knobs. This could be considered a deal-breaker for a lot of people, but I think it's part of the fun. I use this thing live and when I want to get freaky tones, I'll walk over to my amp and start turning knobs.

I'm giving this unit a 10 because any difficulties in getting sounds come from my own ignorance of the technology--there are so many amazing sounds in this little box!

My setup:
Musicman Silhouette (either SSS or HSS) > Teese RMC-1 Wah > Guyatone Compressor > Keeley-modded Sparkle Drive > Keeley-modded Boss DS-1 > Boss Dimension C > Ernie Ball Volume Pedal > Mesa Boogie Mark 1. The Filter Queen is in the effects loop, as per Electrix' recommendation. The unit does not respond as well when put in front of the amp, it seems to need a hotter signal.

Unit is quiet in bypass and in operation.

The range of effects in this unit are unbelievable. I use mine with a Digitech 3-button footswitch and a Roland EV-5 expression pedal and that opens up huge possibilities: it's a wah, it's an envelope filter, it's a tap-tempo filter, it's a tap-tempo UniVibe clone. In many cases, turning a knob a quarter turn can take you from warm and organic to totally freaky synth sounds. And yes, it does the "Sample n' Hold" thing, a la Zappa's "Ship Ahoy" as good as it can be done.

I have never played with any advanced filter effects to compare this to, but I love it so much, I'm giving it a 10.

The Filter Queen is made out of metal, with solid construction. Mine is velcro'd to a piece of metal that hooks under my amp's handle and has held up well to regular use.

I've e-mailed Electrix and posted on the site. The responses were good, though not as thorough as what I'd hoped for.

I play experimental hard rock. I spent years working on a solid, classic rock type of sound, but when I got it how I wanted, I realized I needed one effect for off-the-wall sounds and I took the Filter Queen out of storage. Once I got it set up right, I realized how many great sounds it could make. I probably sound like a dick the way I'm gushing over this thing, but it's quickly become a big part of my sound.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd definitely get another. I'm currently looking for a good deal on eBay.

I love the many sounds and the quality of those sounds. I sometimes wish I could save my patches, but when I hear it next to digital effects, I stop wishing.

I compared the Filter Queen to individual pedals--envelope filters, ring mods, and to digital multi-effects. The analog tones are so much cooler than digital stuff, and I can especially tell the difference when I turn a knob and it responds like a creature, not a creation.

I bought mine new in the clearance section of an online store. The expression pedal and footswitch set me back another $80 or so.

As a techno DJ, Im using a bank of 2 EQ Killers and 2 Filterqueens to tweak individual EQ Bands with a LPF or HPF for some funky sounds and almost INAUDIBLE mixes. After you understand the device on an analytical level (i.e. the MATH behind the knobs) its a breeze to get the sounds you want! If you're new to the whole cutoff/resonant filter thing, be prepared for a bit of a learning curve!

This device does add a bit of noise to the overall sound, but this is really outweighed by the flexibility it has added to my DJ sets! Also, see my comments in reliability for an annoying sound quality related problem...

I bought this piece used for $95, and the Effects Mix knob has developed a near-fatal flaw - The knob is failing in such a way that 1/10 th of the times you 'engage' the device, the output volume is about 2-3 TIMES LOUDER than it should be! If you wiggle the knob, you can hear a crackling, and the volume returns to the appropriate levels - This problem increases in frequency if the device is COLD (i.e. fresh out of the trunk)

Do they even exist any more? Never tried to contact them.

I use these puppies as a techno DJ to turn my 'good' mixes into 'perfect' mixes. It allows me to manually create sounds that, to the audience, sound like they were pressed into the vinyl I'm playing. (Reminder: This unit has a built-in phono preamp!!!)

I use this device as the effects processor looped from an Electrix EQ Killer. The combination is ASTOUNDING - I pick the frequencies I want to Filter with the 'cut' buttons on the EQ Killer, then I set the filter to a 'starting' level, and tweak away! The Envelope Follower is a great tool to create percussive accents out of the track you're mixing out, and the HPF and LPF work great to create your own builds and breaks out of otherwise monotonous tracks!

If this Effects Mix knob problem can be fixed, this gear will remain a centerpiece of my DJ kit for years to come!

ADDENDUM TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW!! SEE CUSTOMER SUPPORT BELOW.

Had a problem with a faulty adapter....emailed Electrix and got a very fast response from Jason Sawyer (Tech Support)....he said they would ship an adapter right away....free of charge.
This is coolness beyond belief...especially for email correspondence.
This is great for building confidence woth your customer base....

Before buying this unit, I thoroughly researched it. Since my amp has an effects loop, it was a good match for my current setup. Once I had all the connections in place, useage was a breeze....I also knew to beware of blowing my speaker cones, so I kept a close eye on my mix settings as well as the resonance and frequency controls. I don't have any expression pedals for it yet, but with just a few tweaks, I was very pleased.

Guitars: Custom Strat w EMG set sa sa 85.
Amp: Marshall 2550
Pedals: buffer, wah, volume pedal, modified TS-9, micro vibe, tremolo (all of previous are before amp)...Midiverb 3, CAE Mini Mixer, Filter Queen (in effects loop)
I can't hear any audible noise while the unit is operating or 'idling'. But, due to the obtuse nature of this effect, if there were any noise, it would certainly add to the sonic stew.
There are a myriad of possibilities here...each slight turn of virtually any knob changes the sound.
Live it's great, in the studio, it's great...either way, I think I'm going to try hooking up a compressor/limiter after the effect, so I don't have to worry about blowing up my cones when playing live...at one point I thought my 4x12 cabinet was going to topple over!!

Depend on it?....absolutely. I would use it on a gig w/o a backup (it's not that essential for me if it goes down). I took the unit apart...metal on the outside casing, circuitboard on the inside...seems sturdy enough. Keep it in a rack or on your studio shelf and it will give you years of good service!!

Never dealt with the company, but from my research, I found that customer response is very good (according to others feedback etc)

I give this an overall rating of 9. My adapter gets a little hot and that's annoying (I've had other units do this for YEARS with no problem)...and the half rack, 2 space thing makes things a little awkward for me and my rack organization ...but these are very minor gripes.
I've been playing for about 20 years (touring and studio and multiple styles) so I'd like to think that I know a little about something that sounds good or bad.
This unit is just simply wonderful...if it were stolen, I would buy another.
I particularly use this unit if I'm going for something funky, or if I feel like playing something wacky...you know, like art gallery openings ;-)
Dig this unit....it will enhance your creativity.

Very easy to use, but beware whin using the LPF or HPF at high resonance
because you'll big 'THUMP's that will blow your speaker cones. You can use twitch pedal to tap in LFO tempo, and also to Retrigger the envelopes, or just to Bypass the unit. It depends on whta pedal you iuse tho, I have two Yamaha PS-10 switch pedals and they both do differnt things to Filter Queen..., that worries me a bit.. :o
Its best to eather dedicat this to one intrument or, send it thu a Pre fader Auxilary send, because sending multile intruments thue the filter gives you very nasty results, unless you wish to use it as a global effect. So anycase, use only one intrument at a time or use a global filter sweep.
The manual is so great, it gives you some real life examples of how to use the intrument and more ideas. It evin comes with a blank page settings tamplate, now how often do you find that now and days?

The manual sais that the unit has a <90 dynamic range, but whin I solo the filter factory on my mixer, I can hear noise, but the phatness of the analog filter makes up for it.:) The noise is not much a problem while using the unit in the mix. You can achive very nice phazo effects with Notch filter at mid-fast lfo at Negative Rezonance, nice... And envelope folerer and create some very nice filter sweeps. Try using the HPF on drumloops with mid resonance with Envelope Folerer on... Sweet.... And theres also a switch to Make a 4-Pole 'Moogish' Filter for the LFP, and thats very nice sounding While you sweepthe cutoff.
YOu can get labrotory sounds with Fast Random LFO on any of the filter settings.
Also try rapidly tapping momentary button while changing filter cutoff, very uniqe, yest unusual effect.

Theres no 'On/OFF switch,, its eather pluged in or pluged out. So far Iv abused it for about a month now and still makes me happy. Thing is buildt tough and it got 1/4th inch and RCa (PHONO/LINE) inputs and outputs. You can also plug 4 inputs and have 4 outputs at the same time. As with other Exlectrix products, the only way to stop working, is to blow its internal fuse (Witch happened to me once with MO-FX)

Very helpful, Exectrix Fixed my MOFX for free, and fast. And the people wont b/s you and ask you stupid quections....

I play Progressive Trance and DrumnBass'
I got some trax up at mp3.com/miek, but no songs got and Filter Queen sounds on it yet, as of today, but I think Ill start using it on all my tracks now :) And for 70 Bucks new, You better get one now! Im consitering getting another one :)

For "plug and play" style fun, the Filter Queen provides pretty good instant gratification, but with further use it becomes clear that it is easy to over use!

I tried to rig it up to the effects loop on my mixer, but got pretty poor results, so now have it between my mixer and amp. It would be nice to be able to monitor the output, instead you have to mix in the filter and hope it sounds ok, but maybe in a better setup than mine you could do this.

Hasn't broken yet! I would be very confident in this equipment, as it seems battle built, however, I wouldn't like to guarantee the speakers would surivive if you aren't careful with the filter cutoff!

I like it, but think it is more a production tool than a live remix style tool.

Depending on if you know the idea behind filter devices, it can be a little tough. No presets, just play with the knobs. Smaller, simpler version of the Filter Factory. No MIDI capabilities like the Factory but has expression pedal jack, which is good since i'm using it mainly with guitar.

It is a little noisy whether you plug it in series or put it through the effects loop on an amp. I remedied this by using it with an A/B box, so I only hear noise when i need to use it. I usually put distortion with it.

So far so good.