What's a good eq pedal?

[GearAddict]

I used to have a GE-7 but it was a bit noisy. You know what would be cool would be an eq pedal with a switchable volume boost but that probably doesn't exist.

Also - do people normally put them in front of the amp or in the loop?

[flanging_fred]

I know it's cheap and plastic but the Danelectro Fish n chips is a really nice sounding EQ. It's not noisy at all and the couple I've had were far more robust than they look. I've still got mine on my pedal board surrounded by much more expensive pedals.

I use mine in front of the amp but I can see reasons for doing both. One of the nicest tones I ever had was the Dano used as a mid and level boost into my Mesa.

[TheThingThatShouldNotBe]

The Boss EQ-20 has 9 memory patches and 2 foot switches .
Footswitch 1 is EQ on/off
Footswitch 2 toggles between manual and any 1 of your 9 memory patches so you can use a patch as a volume boost as each one has its own level control .
But TBH you could probably get away with a cheap clean boost pedal .
Also if you use EQ in the loop you can cut / boost and shape without changing the preamp gain levels . In front of amp can obviously be used to increase / decrease overdrive .

[Sir Axeman]

I'd have thought any pedal od/dist/comp/eq that boosts the signal is going to increase the noise floor?

[Bidley]

I have a modded GE7 which is brilliant. There are usually quite a few on eBay with the Hush mod or similar, which are quiet as a mouse.

People usually use them in the FX loop, I think. That's how I use mine anyway.

[ICBM]

I'd have thought any pedal od/dist/comp/eq that boosts the signal is going to increase the noise floor?

To an extent, yes - it will amplify any noise that's already there. The problem with the stock GE-7 is that it's inherently extremely noisy in its own right as well... it really puzzles me as to why Boss have never fixed it, since the mods to do so are well-known and would cost Boss nothing to implement at source.

I have a modded GE7 which is brilliant. There are usually quite a few on eBay with the Hush mod or similar, which are quiet as a mouse.

Exactly!

People usually use them in the FX loop, I think. That's how I use mine anyway.

In front is for "moulding" the sound - or using as a gain boost. In the loop is for "sculpting" the sound, or using as a volume boost. (Hopefully those terms make sense!) The more distortion you use in the amp, the more obvious the difference.

[guitarfishbay]

If you ignore the tribal graphics the Kerry King MXR pedal is fantastic. I have one, I got it used some time ago.



It has dual outputs, and the sliders light up when the pedal is on. It is 18v if you need to power it, which may be a consideration depending on your power supply. It seems quiet enough for my usages, but has been off the pedal board for several months now so I'm just going from memory.

There is a standard model which is mono output only and has no silly tribal graphic. Besides that, to my knowledge they are the same. I wanted dual outputs which is why I bought the KFK one. There is also a 6 band if 10 bands is unnecessary for you.

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The biggest considerations for tone are where you put your EQ in relation to your distortion/fuzz/overdrive, whether it comes from an amp or not. This is because distortion is a radical effect, and EQs can have a drastic effect on them depending on position. EQs will make a difference to clean tones, but I'd argue you'd notice most difference on distorted tones, and I personally would order my EQ pedal according to how I wanted the distortion to be affected. I prefer other pedals to affect clean tones, such as compressors or clean boosts. YMMV.

EQ before the distortion will affect how the distortion gets pushed, and by which frequencies. It in effect changes which frequencies the distortion effect 'sees'. If you want it to see a different sound to the one your guitar naturally produces but otherwise are happy with the distortion tone then it is good to place the EQ in front.

EQ after the distortion will make it possible for more drastic changes to the tone. So if you set your tone, but you want to cut highs, you can get rid of them with the EQ pedal. Likewise, too many mids or too much bass these can be cut too. Often conservative cuts of only a few DB at most are all that are needed to make a large difference to tone. Be careful with loop EQ settings when playing live, sometimes drastic settings sound nice in a home environment but do not translate when playing loud with a band.

Be aware that boosting any frequency will raise the noise floor associated with that frequency. How much of a problem this is depends on too many variables to say, however some pedals are noisier than others, such as the stock Boss unit.

[Rockhopper]

If you want more than one EQ setting try the Source Audio Programmable EQ. 4 EQ settings easy to use too.

You can also do some funky EQ scrolling too gives a type of tremelo effect and you can change the speed of scrolling too.