Electro-Harmonix Doctor Q

Yep very easy to work this one. 1 big knob for range and a switch that fattens up the bass end of the signal. Also take into account that there is a pot inside the pedal that you can tweak (this is infact the most usefull thing when it comes to adjusting the Doctor Q - pity its on the inside of the pedal). The pot is easy to tweak and once you've found a sound you like just pop the thing back together and your away. I don't have the manual but I have the box - this unit is 23 years old and in good condition.

I love EH pedals and especially the older ones. I've tweaked my Doctor Q to get a nice low down Hendrixy wah sound and if I pick a little harder it gives out a lovely bassballs effect on the bottom 3 strings - vocal and not like your average modern wah filter. The effect isn't as prominent in the higher ranges the way I've set it but thats a choice you have to make really with this pedal - high end bite or a low funky chewing wah?
The effects are fat and chunky and undeniably vintage. If you use a clean setting on your amp you can even get a hint of flanging if you pick lightly enough. I've not used this pedal on my synth yet but I'm told it sounds top. I'm using the Doctor Q with a load of pedals and a Fenix Telecaster - pedals at the moment include a Boss Digital Delay DD3,Digital Metalizer MZ2,Turbo RAT,Green Big Muff,DOD Buzzbox and a MoogerFooger Ring Modulator. I'm getting my hands on a ShinEi/Companion Fuzz next week aswell as a RAT so I'm looking forward to using those two with the Doctor Q. There isn't any noise with my pedal - it wouldn't be that much of a problem if there was but its behaving very well at the minute.
This pedal has impressed me since I got it and has earned a place in my starting line up.

So far so good.

I'm very pleased with my new purchase and look forward to using it for a few years yet. As with all EH pedals now this one is getting expensive in the guitar shops - usually about #120. This is too much for what it does really. I got mine at an online auction (loot.com) and paid the lowest reserve price of #45 - well worth it...a bargain infact. If I see another at #45 I'll get it for trading or as back up. Its my favourite envelope filter at the moment - better than a Boss T-wah and DOD FX25. Its fatter than my MicroSynth too - Top stuff.

PS - Don't pay a kings ransom for one of these though - they're still about going cheap so look out for one.

Bought it used-- no manual. Don't need one. There are actually three adjustment points- 1) the Bass switch that seems to strengthen the effect (at least in the lower registers), 2) the Range knob that allows you to adjust the sensitivity, and 3) a pot that is inside the unit and is adjustable with a screwdriver. Once you know about the inner pot, the unit gets more adjustable. It gets an 8 because the inner pot is hidden.

I use a stock 80s American Standard Strat; an effects chain that includes Dr. Q---> Boss SD-2 dual overdrive---> Ibanez CS-9 Stereo Chorus; and a 1966 BF Princeton Reverb. I have also used this effect with a 66 Precision into a Lab Series amp. The main effect this gives is a very Shafty 70s funk wah. The harder you strum, the more wah you get, with a fair amount of latitude to the wah sound. If you push it too far, the unit makes a spaceage "pop" followed by a spacey sweep sound which isn't very useful. Today, I found that if I roll the "Range" knob almost all the way off and turn the "Bass" switch off and get some reverb on my amp, I get a poor man's ES-175 jazz box sound. I suspect this wouldn't work as well with a solid state amp, though. The unit is pretty quiet and sounds good driving the overdrive and chorus pedals. Overall, I'm happy with the sounds I get with it.

The reason that I discovered the poor man's ES-175 sound is that the switch is broken and I was trying to turn the unit off as much as I could. These things are pretty junky, but easy to work on. I've done a good amount of soldering on mine

Never dealt with them.

I picked this up in the late 70s when I played bass because it was cheap. Its kinda neat, but I doubt I'd look for another. I play old school jazz, R&B, and funk and this is a great pedal for those styles. The price people are charging for these things is silly in the extreme-- if you want the sound this gives you, get a good wah-wah for a fraction of the price. It gets a 10 because I paid $25 for it.

know and a switch. the pain is that I can never get the sensitivity know in the right place. if i have it right for higher frequencies, the low ones blow the filter out of the water, if i set it for low, the high ones dont open up at all.

i could sound ok if i could get the sensitivity right

just crapped out on me at the last show. i think one of the batter wires came un soldered.

nada

we are a technical jam band. i got this cuz i love envelope effects, i had a bass balls and a q tron, neither of which was an envelope follower, so i got this. it was ok, till I found the mooger fooger low pass filter. woah that thing blows this so far away its past where i take the sound of my bass ususally. i think i may try to hot rod this as a follower at the other end of the signal chain

There's one big knob on it, plus a switch for bassguitars, to let some of the signal through unprocessed.
The knob is for the sensitivity.

I use an Ibanez guitar and a fender bassman amp.I also use the effect when recording synths, drums, you name it. It is not a silent pedal, but it is not too bad. It's called an envelope follower, it's basically a lowpass filter that opens up more when a louder signal is put through. Sort of like an automatic wahwah. The effect it gives is a bit cheap-sounding, especially when a note fades and the filter closes, there's a "ripple". It's great for funk and percussive sounds. I've heard this sound, or similar pedals, on dozens of blaxploitation movie soundtracks. Nice!

It's E-H. The pedal is built like s*it.I 've taken it everywhere, and fixed it a thousand times. Luckily there is no chip to be found inside.
But is has never broken down during a gig.

I wouldn't know

If I lost it, I'm sure I would never find another one.
It's a gimmick sound, not really a "quality" issue.
If you can pick one up cheap, you'll never be sorry.

Pretty easy to use just a knob for depth and a switch for bass or treble. It responds to your playing output.Mine has a inner pot that controls the input volume.I drilled a hole on the bottom so i could get a screw driver in there to set it for different guitars.

I had always heard how noisy older Electro-Harmonix pedals were, but this is a very quiet pedal.I play through a MESA-BOOGIE mark2c+ and use distortion from the amp.When i play clean i keep the switch up and down for distotion.The sound is kinda harsh for most people but it is perfect for real nasty funky grooves.Its the only pedal that i ever heard that sounds like that.

I really like the fact that it is totally hand wired.I dont think anything is gonna go wrong anytime soon but if it did i could just fix it my self.Kinda lik a old car.I would gig with out a back up.

I think there back but i havent needed to call.

I would buy ten if i could afford it. I love this pedal and also the Small-Stone phaser.I really dig those fat analog effect from the seventies. I also use a tape echo, Vox wah, Dunlop Roto-vibe and i hope to get my hands on a Small-Clone!!!

What the?

Weak effect

I'd rather notThis is a bassballs wannabe

This is a bassballs ripoff that went bad. I have hardly gotten a sound out of it. Long live the Bassballs.

It sounds better connected with a original ts9.With other distortion units the isn't so musical