Furman PEQ-3

[Dr.Mavashi]

Michael Wagner used it in a rig that was behind Extreeme's Pornografiti, White Lion's Pride, and I believe Scotti Hill on First Skid Row. I am considering it using it as the last thing after pedals in front of the amp or in EFX loop first before Rocktron Hush and BBE 422A. What are your thoughts and experiences with it?

Thanks.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

Parametric EQs are very powerful sound sculpting devices. I have one in my rack (not a PQ3) and always use the parametric EQ in my SSL when tracking guitars — helps get a finished sound before mixing. Committing to sounds is very important!

[dave74]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

Can't ever go wrong with some high-quality EQing on the board, be it pre or post.

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

Anything that makes the PEQ-3 stand out? Michael Wagner liked a lot it appears ...

[dystrust]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

Anything that makes the PEQ-3 stand out? Michael Wagner liked a lot it appears ...

Not that I know of. I used to have a Rane PE-15 and it did the job, but it was hardly practical for live use. I'd guess that Michael Wagner used it to get the frequency response of the amp just right before going to tape, and it wouldn't surprise me if he used different settings for each song or possibly even different settings for different tracks within the same song.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

The only issue with getting an older piece of gear like an EQ is possible noise. But at the prices PQ-3’s are going for, you can afford to gamble. I know nothing about the Furman, it looks like a parametric EQ.

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

The PQ3 (Wagener keeps saying PEQ-3 but it's simply PQ) is sort of legendary in boosting marshalls (and other amps) in that time. Super noisy though. but one I've wanted to try for awhile. Usually boosting the mids and highs. I know for example the guys in stryper had their one band at 1.2k and cranked it +20 !

On all those records you mentioned they used the same ADA MP-1 as well...and often the same patch he made.

The PEQ's main job was to boost the signal a bit to make up for the long cable run from the guitar into the studio where the amps where. I did use a little EQ on it, mostly boosting the mids and highs a bit (the PEQ is a very subtle EQ).

All the mics used for guitar were sent out via one buss to a mono track and the UREI530 (which I still consider one of THE best EQs for electric guitar, even though by now the GreatRiver EQ2NV is beating it for tone and noise floor) was on that buss right before the Mitsubishi to shape the overall guitarsound.

also for those wondering here is the ADA settings (also firmware version 1.38 I believe, definitely not 2)

Overdrive 1 : 4.0 dist
Overdrive 2 : 5.5 dist
Master Gain : 7.5 dist
Bass : 12
Mid : 6
Treb : 6
Pres : 12
Voicing : .tube
FX loop : off

He also would buss everything and then have a Urei 530 EQ on it to shape further.

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

Ok, noisy might be a problem ....

Kamanda~SD, looks like we like similar forums :-) .... but not sure about Stryper back in the day, I've read it was Peavey Valve Verb that they hit their front ends with ...

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

No doubt!

For Stryper, I got the info from Oz's old site (looks like the PQ3 was used with a Mesa Rig):

Let's start with my "Yellow and Black Attack" tone. I was hacking away at a Karl Sandoval creation.It was a Mighty Mite Explorer body with a Chavel neck...21 frets, unfinished.The body had only one humbucker pickup cutaway in which was placed a Seymore Duncan distortion humbucker. It had a stock strat tremolo bridge that never stayed in tune. I used a Modified 100 watt Marshall tube amplifier with an MXR 10 band graphic equilizer...I plugged my guitar into the EQ and the EQ into the front of the Marshall. On the EQ I boosted 10 to 15db at around 1K... (this causes a lot of noise because you're boosting more power than you should into the front of an amp that already has high sensitivity.) I would also drop a steep slope from 1K back to 100Hz where 100Hz would be set to -10 to -15db. This caused frequencies that would muddy up the distortion tone to be cut. Marshall amp settings were something like this---- master volume- 0, preamp volume- 10, presence- 10, bass- 0 to 3, mid- 8 to 10, treble- 10.


The master volume would become my main volume control. In some cases Marshalls go to 20. In that case the above settings should be doubled. This setup should work with most stock Marshall amps... any wattage. All of this was a basis for the rest of my tone search.


I used the same train of thought when I changed to Mesa Boogie amps for "Soldiers Under Command." I also switched from the MXR equilizer to a Furman PQ3 parametric equilizer preamp. This was a "LOW - MID - HIGH" section EQ with + or - 20db boosting or cutting. The low section would be set at a narrow bandwidth, 50 to 100hz at -20 db.......mid section at a narrow bandwidth, 1500 or 1.5Khz at +20db......high section at a wide bandwidth, 2000 or 2Khz at +20db. It had an input level control and I set it around 8. The rear input and output had a choice between -10db or +4db jacks. I used the -10db jacks.This setting would work with a Marshall as well.


My Mesa Boogie amp was a Mark-II-C long chasis head with a variable voltage transformer for traveling. For some reason this head sounded like no other Mk-II.Originally the Mesa Boogie Co. sent this head to Grover Jackson at his guitar plant in San Dimas for some of his artists to try. It was also said that this head in particular was the prototype to the Mk-III amp still in development at the time.It was obvious that I had to have this head so Mesa Boogie allowed me to buy it and they sent Jackson a Mk-III in it's place. Later on, when I test drove a Mk-III head, my Mk-II-C blew it away.............To this day I still have this head. This head like most Boogie heads has push-pull knobs to change the characteristics of its parameter.It had a lead mode with a pull knob to turn it on and adjust its level and a separate lead gain knob.


The lead gain would be set to around 8; lead volume to 10. Preamp volume on the head would be set to 8 or 9 and pulled out; treble around 9 or 10 and pulled out; midrange around 2 or 3 and pushed in; bass around 3 and pushed in. The master volume knob would be my volume control but I wouldn't go past 3- 1/2. The master volume also had a pull gain feature that I would use on occasion. This head also had a graphic EQ that I would set in a "V" shape, dropping out honking mids and boosting lows & highs to my tastes. These settings plus slamming the front end of the head with the Furman PQ3 helped to make that Stryper tone that buzzed through halls around the world and caused many treble controls on home audio systems to be turned off ! I used this setup for "Soldiers Under Command" and "To Hell with the Devil" albums.



On "In God We Trust" I replaced my Mk-II-C with a Mesa Boogie Quad preamp powered by a Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 power amp. Mesa Boogie founder Randall Smith personally modified my Strategy 400's to give me more bottom thump! He always took care of me...... Love ya Randy!


For "Against The Law" I decided to give the Furman PQ-3 a rest and just plugged straight in to my Mk-II-C! For that album I became a different kind of guitar player, and the extra preamp was too much gain for my new style.Yet when ever I want that tone again, I just plug it back in.


Grover Jackson, founder of the Jackson Guitar Co. graciously gave me a collection of guitars that I will always cherish not only because they are great guitars, but because he always went out of his way to help me in any way he could.I still have a bunch of his records he loaned me back in 1989 to help season my guitar playing. I miss those days !.......


My favorite guitars of the bunch are my custom Soloists. It's only obvious because to this day I play them the most!!! They have SeymourDuncan Distortion pickups in the bridge position and Jackson PAF type pickups in the neck position. I used them on every album we recorded except for "Yellow and Black Attack" only because I didn't own them yet!!!

[Sirion]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

I have a stereo version (PQ-6), but I bought it years ago, before I knew much about how the world worked, and therefore got a 110 volt version. I have been thinking about having it refurbished (certainly it is possible to get a 230 v transformer for it?), but I've never gotten that far.

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Furman PEQ-3

I have a stereo version (PQ-6), but I bought it years ago, before I knew much about how the world worked, and therefore got a 110 volt version. I have been thinking about having it refurbished (certainly it is possible to get a 230 v transformer for it?), but I've never gotten that far.

That and a dedicated noise suppressor/noise gate for it, based on above ...