I'm not in any gigging bands at the moment but it's a great tool for recording everything, guitars, bass, vocals. Build quality is decent, but not perfect: XLR output is a bit misaligned, soldering quality is average, internal board is thin and a bit bent. And I think it's a shame for such price! I've got one. Super duper powerful eq, the lpf and hpf are a great touch however the lpf is based at 3k which I would usually think is a little low for me but the other controls make up for it and from what I understand, the drop-off isn't as steep as on some other lpfs. So it all balances out and allows me to get some cab-sim sounds when I DI. Q/Strip isn’t just an EQ pedal. It’s a DI, a volume boost pedal, a speaker emulator, a classic equaliser strip, a ‘second amplifier channel’, a recording pre-amplifier and probably a whole host more of options I’m yet to think of. Dan Veall

The grain of salt: I have only played this unit for an hour. I have played 12 string guitars for 17 years. Based around MOSFET circuitry, the Q\Strip offers four bands of desk-style equalisation, comprising high- and low-shelf filters plus two sweepable mids (40 to 700 Hz, and 300Hz to 6kHz). The separately switchable high-pass and low-pass filters allow you to constrain the frequency spectrum by trimming the highs and lows — and the low-pass filter can be used in conjunction with the main EQ to approximate a speaker emulation filter. Both are pedals that combine different functions, and different players will have different needs for the different functions. This cookie stores user-like settings for the chat system provider, which are required for our online chat service. Trusted Shops In the end I would suggest trying one. Specifications are meaningless if you aren't happy with the tone or ease of use.Beispielsweise bekomme ich Akustikgitarren an meinen Mesa Rosette DI-Preamps immer besser eingestellt als am QStrip. Die Möglichkeit für den XLR-Out und den Klinke-Out den Pegel zusätzlich noch über einen Schalter an das nachfolgende Gerät anzupassen, ist auch ganz praktisch. Auch wenn die Instrumente am Eingang zu Extremen neigen, was den Pegel betrifft. Underneath the equaliser are some ‘fast access’ switches. A high pass filter (HPF) that will help to cut down on rumble for microphone users and maybe sub ‘boom’ from excessive EQ elsewhere in the chain. The roll off is gentle and actually, as a bassist, I would have preferred to have seen a 24db per octave roll off at say 25hz which is a great way to alleviate speaker flapping and really tightening up the sound of any bass, even extended range instruments. The 100% analog MOSFET circuitry in the heart of the Q\Strip provides the warmth, girth and larger-than-life tones for which vintage consoles are revered. Add in four bands of pro-audio-quality equalization, two parametric mid bands, as well as high and low shelving filters, and you have incredible control over how your instrument cuts through on stage or in a mix.

In the end it's always best to try both side by side if feasible, but I think I've covered the differences and similarities. The last three buttons are for the two separate outputs: You may wish to use this pedal instead of in front of your amplifier’s input on the front but rather directly into a slave amplifier. The +10db button will ensure that you can drive such a unit correctly with a strong enough signal. On board, the Q/Strip has an XLR ‘balanced direct injection’ output and the next button offers the option of changing the output gain should it need to be attenuated. Finally, again for the XLR output, a ground lift switch but also to allow phantom power connectivity, which means a mixing console will be able to power your pedal rather than an internal 9v battery or additional ‘wall wart’ supply. A convenient option to include. The high pass filter works to de-emphasize the lower pitched E and A strings that dominate a 12 string's sound. The 2 sweepable midrange bands dial in the octave strings and the first octave harmonic. Finally, the low pass filter tames the higher harmonics that sound shrill while adding sufficient energy to the signal to eat up an amp's headroom and start clipping. Also worth noting that signals that are impedance balanced or 'Ground Cancelling' are likely to be at -2dBu nominal level. Since the -ve leg of the signal isn't driven.

A "Pure DI" function isn't intended to colour the sound. It just provides a low impedance balanced signal suitable for a mixing desk channel or similar. Using these controls sparingly as I did in the video rewarded me with just the sound I was looking for. Watch how I zoned in on the frequencies I wanted to hear to accentuate the tone of my bass in the studio. The HPF and LPF give added control over the frequency spectrum whether you’re going direct with your bass, guitar, fiddle...or even a vocal. The Q\Strip is limited only by how far you are willing to push your creativity and how much of that juicy vintage tone you crave.

Einmal um bei kleineren oder kürzeren Auftritten, sowie bei Proben auswärts eine kompakte Lösung für den E-Bass parat zu haben, die man gleich im Instrumentenkoffer mit dabei hat. color=#666666][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=1]"[size=4][i]The 100% analog MOSFET circuitry in the heart of the Q\Strip provides the warmth, girth and larger-than-life tones for which vintage consoles are revered. Add in four bands of pro-audio-quality equalization, two parametric mid bands, as well as high and low shelving filters, and you have incredible control over how your instrument cuts through on stage or in a mix"[/i][/size][/size][/font][/color]

Tech Specs

It does blur at the edges though as the Q-strip also includes HPF and LPF, albeit not sweepable, whereas it provides a variable/sweepable dual-band mid EQ which the RE/Q doesn't. I was just using the Q Strip as one example of preamp/EQ with DI, obviously there are loads of others similarly featured with a DI e.g. MXR M81 or the excellent value Laney DB-Pre. And then you have something like the Boss EQ 200 which is a 'pure' EQ and doesn't. I have a stereo bass rig centered around a couple of stereo amp combinations: a '90s SWR SM400S head or an Alembic F1-X preamp/SWR Stereo 800 power amp. One side is clean/wet and the other side is dirty/dry. The dirty side utilizes the Tech 21 VT Bass DI along with the Q/Strip.

Thanks for the reply. It does clarify things a fair bit wrt the transistors. I agree the specs' aren't the important thing but the advertising references the technology and 'inspiration' so the question arises.Good point about the limited power available via phantom. Zum Aufnehmen würde ich den QStrip selbst nicht einsetzen, da ich hier mehr auf spezifischere Lösungen setze, doch wenn jemand mit dem QStrip genau seinen Sound findet, dann spricht da grundsätzlich auch nichts dagegen. There are, of course, good reasons why mic level might be preferred eg the user simply likes the sound of a particular mic pre working at some gain. Tech 21 is arguably best known for the SansAmp ‘Amp In A Box’ simulator—However, their quality product range has been rapidly expanding over the years, including effects and utility pedals. Today we have something else a little different; A recording console channel strip in a box! Dan Veall takes a look at the Q/Strip.Darüber hinaus habe ich es mittlerweile auch für die Kalimba und den E-Kontrabass benutzt und bei all den Instrumenten war der QStrip gut brauchbar.