Electro-Harmonix Riddle: Qballs
Electro-Harmonix Riddle: Qballs
This is HornFX’s favorite envelope filter that EHX produces. It is a complete and solidly designed pedal that produces great auto-wah funkiness with an easy and intuitive interface. It boasts some fantastic controls that will give you a lot of fun options for funky sounds. Sadly, the distortion function might not be a workable aspect of this pedal due to what will most likely be feedback issues. Plug this pedal in, explore, and get funky.
External Control: None
Cost: $
HornFX Review
| Interface | Versatility | Clarity of Effect | Live Application | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/5 | 3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 14.5/20 |
Complexity: Medium
Interface: 4/5
This has all of the hallmarks of a well appointed filter pedal (Q, Attack and Decay, Sensitivity, Blend, etc), but what makes this pedal stand out are the start and stop knobs that allow you to define the range of the filter sweep. In other words, you can choose where the wah starts and stops. These controls are very intuitive and add a lot of variability to the sound. The drive section of this pedal is hard to dial in well, and might require opening up the pedal itself to adjust the drive’s volume.
Versatility: 3.5/5
This Wah has three filter types, each with a lot of different potential sounds. It also has an overdrive switch to add some dirt to the effect ,which can potentially add a whole other spectrum of sounds that this pedal can make.
Clarity of Effect: 4/5
Unlike other EHX filter pedals, this one speaks beautifully. The blend knobs works as it should, and the effect rings true when played by a horn.
Live application: 3/5
While this pedal has a lot of nice sounds and the ability to add overdrive with a simple tap of a switch, there are no presets other than what your dials are set to which is limiting in a live setting.
- 80 Hz to 5 kHz frequency response tailored for guitar
- Optional expression pedal control
- Fully-analog circuit
- Switch selectable analog distortion designed for guitar
- Start and Stop sweep control
- Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass filter select
- Start and Stop for filter sweep and Q control
- Separate Dry and Effect outputs
- 9.6VDC 200mA power supply included
- Dimensions in inches: 4.75 (w) x 5.75 (l) x 2.5 (h)
- Dimensions in mm: 146 (w) x 121 (l) x 64 (h)
Product info from the EHX website.