idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
I purchased a Artec QTA for a project guitar that I have installed Lace Sensors in. I wired it up yesterday and played with it for a while so I thought I would do a review. For those of you who are unaware Artec makes a number of both active and passive modular controls for guitar/bass. The QTA is a five position rotary switch with four different EQ settings and the fifth position is bypass. Clockwise the settings are Low Peak, Mid Peak, High Peak, Light Tone and Bypass. The passive counterpart of this circuit is called the QTP and both are supposedly modeled after the Gibson Varitone switch.
The Good:
Small footprint
Modular
Low noise
Simple wiring
Multiple settings
The Bad:
Low gain
No trim pot to adjust output gain
Minor switching noise
The EQ range is mostly in the treble frequencies.
Small control cavities can be a problem.
You need to find room for a 9 volt battery
You have to remember to unplug your guitar or it will drain the battery
Review:
I bought this unit with hopes that it would be a booster along the lines of the mid-boost circuit found on the Clapton Strats or a Brian May style treble booster. However the output gain closely matches the input gain. This would more precisely be classified as an EQ control rather than a booster and the frequency ranges it boosts are largely confined to the treble end of the spectrum. Using it instead of a tone control is a mistake and you really need the interaction of volume, tone control and QTA in order to be effective. However the changes in tone it has are pretty subtle and it makes you wonder why you bothered installing it? It is very quiet though and there are only slight switching noises between the positions. It would have been nice to know what frequencies were being effected and the amount of output gain boost ahead of time.
The positions:
Low Peak – This is the most drastic of the 4 positions. It’s not really a bass boost. Instead it’s a high midrange boost around 1k. Both bass and treble are attenuated and it sounds like a wah 2/3 in the toe down position. Limited use.
Mid Peak - This position is pretty subtle. I’m not really sure which frequencies it is boosting but they are what I normally consider to be treble and not midrange. Limited use.
High Peak – This position is pretty subtle. It almost sound like the midrange is slightly decreased while Bass and treble over 4K is boosted. Limited use.
Light Tone – This is the subtlest of the positions. You get a slight boost in bass response and treble. Not worth the trouble.
The Good:
Small footprint
Modular
Low noise
Simple wiring
Multiple settings
The Bad:
Low gain
No trim pot to adjust output gain
Minor switching noise
The EQ range is mostly in the treble frequencies.
Small control cavities can be a problem.
You need to find room for a 9 volt battery
You have to remember to unplug your guitar or it will drain the battery
Review:
I bought this unit with hopes that it would be a booster along the lines of the mid-boost circuit found on the Clapton Strats or a Brian May style treble booster. However the output gain closely matches the input gain. This would more precisely be classified as an EQ control rather than a booster and the frequency ranges it boosts are largely confined to the treble end of the spectrum. Using it instead of a tone control is a mistake and you really need the interaction of volume, tone control and QTA in order to be effective. However the changes in tone it has are pretty subtle and it makes you wonder why you bothered installing it? It is very quiet though and there are only slight switching noises between the positions. It would have been nice to know what frequencies were being effected and the amount of output gain boost ahead of time.
The positions:
Low Peak – This is the most drastic of the 4 positions. It’s not really a bass boost. Instead it’s a high midrange boost around 1k. Both bass and treble are attenuated and it sounds like a wah 2/3 in the toe down position. Limited use.
Mid Peak - This position is pretty subtle. I’m not really sure which frequencies it is boosting but they are what I normally consider to be treble and not midrange. Limited use.
High Peak – This position is pretty subtle. It almost sound like the midrange is slightly decreased while Bass and treble over 4K is boosted. Limited use.
Light Tone – This is the subtlest of the positions. You get a slight boost in bass response and treble. Not worth the trouble.
Last edited:
