EQ pedals - can they get you there?
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Talking about this? https://dbxpro.com/en-US/products/231s
Pretty affordable for what it can do. Oh boy, this will be my next purchase
Pretty affordable for what it can do. Oh boy, this will be my next purchase
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
The number of bands can be important, but the frequencies they control are just as important.
If they're the right frequencies I'd be happy with a 6 band EQ. You're usually looking for something that can give you a bump in the tube screamer zone (500 - 800Hz), the Klon zone (1k - 1.2kHz), control boominess (80 - 100 Hz), control mud (200 - 350 Hz) add/cut some high high end (3-5k) and maybe add a little sparkle/air (5 - 7kHz).
If you look at the MXR 10 band EQ, it has 31, 62, 8k and 16k . . . which are mostly useless for guitar in standard tuning. All the important guitar frequencies are in the 80 - 6k range . . . so it's effectively a 6 band EQ anyway
alex1fly
Well-known member
I always cut 200hz and below. There's no good reason to have it in there. There's usually a mid band that comes down to eliminate mud. For a fun jangly pop guitar tone, try cutting everything from 500hz and below. Might sound crazy, but it's beautiful and stays real contained in the mix.
eclecticsynergy
New member
Wow, that really is low-priced.
mainly for clean sounds
The number of bands can be important, but the frequencies they control are just as important.
If they're the right frequencies I'd be happy with a 6 band EQ. You're usually looking for something that can give you a bump in the tube screamer zone (500 - 800Hz), the Klon zone (1k - 1.2kHz), control boominess (80 - 100 Hz), control mud (200 - 350 Hz) add/cut some high high end (3-5k) and maybe add a little sparkle/air (5 - 7kHz).
If you look at the MXR 10 band EQ, it has 31, 62, 8k and 16k . . . which are mostly useless for guitar in standard tuning. All the important guitar frequencies are in the 80 - 6k range . . . so it's effectively a 6 band EQ anyway
most of the advice i've had suggests EQ units work best within an effects loop...what I find with low watt valve amps-or even SS , is even a medium output neck humbucker gives a sound that's too thick -too heavy for Rythm playing which means
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Another benefit to hella bands is you can target the general area you want to adjust with more accuracy. For example, I bump the upper lows, 250-500, on my organ to make the notes fat but not make the bass boomy. I don't need to adjust the exact bands so specifically - turn the 250 up, the 315 down, the 400 up etc. - but the 31 band allows me to target the right area that an eq with broad bands doesn't allow.
alex1fly
Well-known member
That seems to get parroted a lot. It's a very guitarist-centric view. EQ is massively powerful anywhere in the chain. Put it before the amp, and you're EQIng the sound of the guitar. Put it in the effects loops, and you're EQing the sound of the guitar and the preamp. Put it on your recorded track. Put it at the PA. I'd suggest just getting something versatile and trying it in various places. I don't have an FX loop, but get incredible results by running my 10 band before the amp. It's hard to go back to the pre-EQ pedal days.
Obsessive Compulsive
New member
That's an indispensable tool for multiple purposes. I use one channel for metal and one for single coil.
The 31 band can be overwhelming though, unless you've got hypersonic ears like Clint55 or Little Pig Bacon. I focus on 60-6.5k for electirc guitar.
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
You know...it strikes me that I haven't actually had an EQ pedal in 15+ years...
I just got used to dialing in the amps. At some point I was just dialing in the amps using Les Pauls. Never felt the need really. Back in the day when I was sound sculpting and using the clean channel only with distortion pedals, I used them a lot. Or I used one for a lead boost. Did that in a band for a while too. But not anymore.
I will say that I believe a lot of people don't know how to play the amp. I suppose it would be easy to set the amp flattish and and go to town with a 7 band. But I have never really had trouble finding a sound I dig with Bass/Mid/Treble/Gain.
I have used them (and do every once and again) in a multi-fx for a patch here or there. I have one on my bass board too.
This thread has me looking at the Dano Fish & Chips
I just got used to dialing in the amps. At some point I was just dialing in the amps using Les Pauls. Never felt the need really. Back in the day when I was sound sculpting and using the clean channel only with distortion pedals, I used them a lot. Or I used one for a lead boost. Did that in a band for a while too. But not anymore.
I will say that I believe a lot of people don't know how to play the amp. I suppose it would be easy to set the amp flattish and and go to town with a 7 band. But I have never really had trouble finding a sound I dig with Bass/Mid/Treble/Gain.
I have used them (and do every once and again) in a multi-fx for a patch here or there. I have one on my bass board too.
This thread has me looking at the Dano Fish & Chips
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
Makes sense that I have gravitated towards amps I really like.
My amps:
Marshall VS100 - sounds Marshall
Mesa Stiletto - sounds Marshall. Can't be made to sound bad (except me playing through it, but still great tone)
Peavey Express/Studio Pro - Easy to sound Marshall. Really great flexible EQ and tone shift / scoop buttons
Fender Pro Jr. Sounds Fender. One tone knob. But you get it BECAUSE it only has that one knob.
I will note that I am not a huge fan of the EQ control on My HK Tubemeister. I often find I'd like a little "more" there. But as you said...usually when I'm trying to be Marshall-like on it, instead of enjoying it for its HK-ness (which I really like for a change)
I do note that for bass, My signal CAN be....Boss Bass EQ, Ampeg Pream w/ 3 band and two tone shift buttons, into a Hartke with 3 band and a contour switch...
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alex1fly
Well-known member
You just get more explicit control. I can cut 50-200 hz on the EQ pedal to tighten up the bass, or I can turn the amp EQ bass down which will cut a broader range of frequencies that I can't control. The EQ pedal also has the visual component. Not to say you can't get good results with 3-band on your amp and a variety of pedals, but you have to know what you're doing and have good ears. Like a TS reduces the bass, some modulation pedals attenuate the high end, etc. With the EQ pedal you can just boost each frequency individually to find the mud and then cut it. Two different ways of getting similar results, I think.
My latest favorite EQ pedal trick - cutting everything below 500hz - would not be possible with anything besides an EQ or filter pedal.
It's also cool to make my single coils sound like humbuckers and vice versa. Or get some Tele-esque spank out of a mahogany slab w/ HBs. Or get some HB-esque beef out of my Strat. This comes in handy when I'm digging the feel and vibe of a certain guitar but want the sound of another guitar... or if I'm riffing in an alternate tuning. Or just to shake up my expectations and force me to listen to the sound.
Fair point about playing the amp though. Most of us probably don't do enough fiddling with controls.
My latest favorite EQ pedal trick - cutting everything below 500hz - would not be possible with anything besides an EQ or filter pedal.
It's also cool to make my single coils sound like humbuckers and vice versa. Or get some Tele-esque spank out of a mahogany slab w/ HBs. Or get some HB-esque beef out of my Strat. This comes in handy when I'm digging the feel and vibe of a certain guitar but want the sound of another guitar... or if I'm riffing in an alternate tuning. Or just to shake up my expectations and force me to listen to the sound.
Fair point about playing the amp though. Most of us probably don't do enough fiddling with controls.
This is what I run in the loop of my Randall.
Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
$239 ..still a fair bit of cash. Some of these pedals are not cheap either. Is your Randall solid state ? I think most of them were..
alex1fly
Well-known member
Jesus. That's so many bands. That could maybe work for me in a set-it-and-forget-it scenario but in any kind of live or jam situation it'd be a PITA to dial in. My 10 band EQ settings change from instrument to instrument, and also depending on my mood and what I want to hear. My process is to listen to each band individually with a boost and cut - takes 30 seconds, usually. 31 bands or whatever would be fussy for me and I'd either spend several minutes listening and comparing or I'd just kind of wing it with groups of sliders. A 10 band is a good balance between a significant amount of control and a distinct sound for each band. MXR 10 bands go for for $130 or used for $90 from somewhere with a good return policy. Just my 2 bucks.
I once built a 128 band EQ plugin in my mixing days. That was entirely unusable, lol
I once built a 128 band EQ plugin in my mixing days. That was entirely unusable, lol
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
The 31 band looks intimidating, but it's not bad if you use an organized approach. You can use it the same way you would a 10 band. If you don't know the exact sliders you need to move, you can just move the group of sliders that correspond to what you know to work on a 10 band. Everything below 100 is infrasound and above 10k is air and don't have much effect so you can forget about those. 100-800 are lows, 1-4k are mids, and 5k+ are highs. Easy peasy. Then you can divide the lows into low lows and high lows, and the mids into regular mids, and high mids. Easy peasy. Again, don't get the MXR anyone. It sux bad.
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Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Think how complex the mega rig is.
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