How much would you pay for an Original Mutron iii

[bazza411]

my friend has an original mutron iii. Great condition, a few scratches, no power chord but otherwise in perfect condition. He wants 500 for it. I'm tempted to get it because they are so rare. Thoughts on how much these originals normally run?

[guitarcats]

Thats not too bad if its in great shape. If you are patient enough you can sometimes find a killer deal, I have seen some go for $350-400. For that price I would jump on it You can get a power supply here...http://www.lsound.com/Products.htm

[bazza411]

Thanks...just so hard to spend that much on a pedal especially when I am not that good a soloist yet..but I may never come across one again....ugh...decisions decisions...

[guitarcats]

do it! who cares how you play and if you dont want it down the road you should be able to get your money back when you sell

[petcat]

I spent $650 three years ago on mine with power supply and it is the finest, most enjoyable effect I own. Paired with my black label OD-1 it is so utterly sweet I keep going there even when I shouldn't. I recently bought an AKAI XR-20 and am now busy on weekends down on phat, funky, Shakedown Street.

That said, I do front it with a GE-7 EQ to give it a boost and tweak one of the mids a bit.

[wolftigerrosebud]

Thanks...just so hard to spend that much on a pedal especially when I am not that good a soloist yet..but I may never come across one again....ugh...decisions decisions...

they actually pop up fairly frequently. if you're in the market a few years down the line, i have no doubt you'd be able to find one, though it might take a couple months of keeping your eyes peeled on ebay and CL and forums and such.

[seamones]

It really depends on what you are after and what your situation is...

If you are a collector and/or $500 isn't a lot of money to you, then go for it. If not, there are some great alternatives out there. I'd also say keep in mind that this pedal will not make you sound like Garcia, it will make you sound like you with a envelope filter in your chain.

[waldo041]

I'd also say keep in mind that this pedal will not make you sound like Garcia, it will make you sound like you with a envelope filter in your chain.

i agree with 98% of this statement, the only thing i would change is that, you will sound like you with a really really good envelope filter in your chain. IF you can tame it!

peace,
waldo

[Tony6Strings]

I wouldn't buy one. I would buy a Guyatone WR-3, save myself hundreds of dollars, and have a great sounding envelope filter.

[redeyedjim]

Two more things to keep in mind: to get the most out of the pedal, you may need to get it reconditioned and re-calibrated, or at least get it a checkup, so budget for that. You are spending a lot for the effect, so you might ass well make sure you get the full effect. Also, if it isn't a true bypass pedal, it will either need to live in a TB loop or need to be modded. Lindberg Sound can do all of those things, as well as some other mods to make it more friendly to use.

I found one that had been recalibrated, had the switch converted to true bypass, and had a power on LED added. I paid $660 for it and I love it - it's a very cool sounding pedal.

There's one for sale here on rukind for $450 that's also been serviced recently. Personally, I would jump on that one instead of your friends, as it's already been serviced and true-bypass modded. Not affiliated with the seller in any way, but there's a lot of value in that price.

[hippieguy1954]

I don't know how these have become so expensive. Seems to me, people are taking advantage of others. I don't think there is an effect pedal on the planet that is worth $4oo to $500. There are several envelope filters available that come so close to the Mu. If you did a blind AB with them and your equiptment and have it tweaked correctly, it would be hard to tell any big difference.
Yes, there are players that rave about them, but there are also players who rave about other EF's. I've heard some say they can't dial it in correctly with thier set up and/or realise it doesn't make them sound like Jerry (for that price) and end up selling them. Sometimes we get obsesed with a particular effect and think it is the holy grail. The real holy grail is ya fingas!

[bazza411]

Wait...so you think the Guyatone WR-3, can produce the same sound as the mutron iii ? I absolutely love the sound of the mutron..but if I can get something that I can't tell the difference on that would be great. I have no idea if the mutron I have needs to be recalibrated..it works awesome and I am getting a sweet tone out of it. I'm not a gear head so I can't tell if calibration is required or not.

[Tony6Strings]

Wait...so you think the Guyatone WR-3, can produce the same sound as the mutron iii ? I absolutely love the sound of the mutron..but if I can get something that I can't tell the difference on that would be great. I have no idea if the mutron I have needs to be recalibrated..it works awesome and I am getting a sweet tone out of it. I'm not a gear head so I can't tell if calibration is required or not.

The Guyatone is a really simple effect, it's got a knob for sweep threshold and one for decay. It's pretty much impossible to make it sound bad, it's a great sounding effect that is very simple. That's what I like about it. It's under a hundred bucks. You can get a QTron for around one fifty, which can do what a Mutron can do. But if you love the sound of a Mutron, and you have a Mutron, and you're getting a sweet tone out of it, then it sounds like you've answered your own questions already!

[bazza411]

thanks everyone for the wonderful feedback. My friend lowered the price to 450 so I think i am going to buy it. It's not a true bypass one. but I'm not that good yet where I will be adding it to other pedals. When that time comes maybe I will buy the upgrade kit which my friend tells me you can buy to upgrade it to true bypass if you want to.

[zambiland]

I wouldn't do it. Get a Proton and save yourself a lot of cash. I have an original Mutron and the Proton and not only do they sound pretty damn close, the Proton has none of the hassles that the Mutron has. The biggest two are the wacky power supply and the fact that the bypass doesn't bypass the preamp, so the gain structure is always screwy (I'm convinced that this is why Jerry invented the onboard effects loop). Plus, with an ancient pedal like the Mutron III, you never know what condition it's in. The Proton is new and Spencer does a great job with his build quality.

Another thing to consider is that the old Mutrons vary considerably in their tone and feel. If you get a great one, then there's nothing like it, but that's probably only 5-10% of them. Some of the key parts are no longer made, so if they are out of spec, you are out of luck.

Just my 02c.