E.Q. Ignorant

[Easyrider7467]

Hello,
I recently purchased a BOSS EQ 7 band.
can anyone give me some insight to the effectiveness, usage and setup of band,etc.
Maybe even a site that gets into the specifics.
Thanks In advance, John

[StuTDavis]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

Eh nobody else has jumped on this one, I'll take a few stabs for ya...

There are 2 seperate and different places where you can stick that thing (no joke intended hehe)--before your preamp section or after your preamp section.

Before the preamp (between your guitar and your amp setup somewhere) you can try boosting the midrange for a little extra signal strength, and it can increase your "play sensitivity" in some instances. Decreasing midrange could result in a rather thin, weak sound. You could also use it to cut lows before the preamp to reduce "mud", boost lows until you get "mud", or increase or decrease highs if you want to add or decrease sharpness/crispness.

After the preamp--for a pedal EQ like that, usually means in an effects loop somewhere. You can cut the mids some to give your sound some thrash appeal hehe. Or boost midrange for some "honk". You could boost lows to add some bass girth or cut lows which could give you a weaker sound. Boost highs for some clarity and sharpness, or cut highs for a darker sound.

Any boosting of frequencies anywhere in the signal chain WILL most likely increase noise.

Your pedal only has a few frequency sliders to work with. The best thing with something that simplistic is just to fiddle with it until you get the sounds you like. I don't know what you were trying to add or remove from your sound by getting an EQ, so I can't really suggest what to do with it to get the sound you want. Just fiddle with the thing... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Good luck,

Stu

[Venomboy]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

In the effects loop EQs can totally alter your sound. I highly recommend this option.

In terms of the sliders, the one on the left controlls the deepest frequency (bass) and the one on the right controls the highest frequency (treble). Everything else is well, in between.

Stu pretty much nailed all the other stuff.

[toejam]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

I've got an old DOD 7-band eq pedal that I use once in awhile. It sounds much better in the effects loop than in front of the amp.

[StuTDavis]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

My personal suggestion...the EQ pedal in front of the preamp...with a 31-band or Parametric (mono or stereo depending on your setup) after the preamp. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

But, it all depends on the setup. Some preamps can do with some nice boosting up front, but others will do nothing but make nasty noise hehe.

Stu

[Easyrider7467]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

Thanks,
This has been helpful. I guess I'm running it in the "effects loop configuration" Here it is,
Guitar > wah > dist. > EQ > chorus > Marshall. It has added killer tone and sound. Correct setup or there really isnt a "correct" way within the effects loop config. Thanks, John

[StuTDavis]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

John,

Hehehe...well, actually it's in your "pedal chain". By "effects loop" we generally mean that the unit is incorporated in an actual Effects Loop of an amp. I don't know, you might be kinda new to all this, I'll explain...


An amp combo or head will generally have:

Preamp section -- This is the acutal "front end" of your amp, so to speak. The main tone generators of most amps (arguably) are their Preamp sections. This is where the tone from your guitar or pedals first goes into the amp, and is sculpted by electronics and possibly tubes.

Power Amp Section -- This is where your sound from the Preamp is boosted to high volume levels, so the signal is powerful enough to drive speakers. It can be solid state electronics or tube-based.

Now, what if you want to change your sound AFTER the Preamp section, but BEFORE the Power Amp section? This is where an Effects Loop comes in. Many combo amps and heads have an Effects Loop of outputs and inputs configured BETWEEN the Preamp and Power Amp sections, to allow you to put devices between those sections to change the sound. These will have an Effects Loop Send jack that can send the Preamp section sound OUT of the amp and into another device's Input, like the Input of your EQ pedal. Then, you take the Output of that device (as in your EQ pedal) and hook it to the Effects Loop Return jack of the amp, which takes that altered signal from the device to the amp's Power Amp section to be sent to the speakers.

The way you have it set up, your pedals send the signal from your guitar to the amp, and the pedals (and EQ) are set up BEFORE the Preamp Section.

Now, some distortion/overdrive pedals or floor multi-effects boxes will say that they are a "Preamp". Don't get this confused with the Preamp SECTION of an amplifier. Something like a Digitech RP unit or a Boss GT unit or maybe a Line 6 POD type unit may say it is a "Preamp/Effects Unit", for example. These units will have built-in distortion/overdrive and maybe "amp modeling". They claim "preamp" in the name, I believe, because they are basic tone generators, like the Preamp of an amp head or combo.

You will also hear people talk about rack-mounted Preamps or Preamp/Effects units. Same thing as with the floor or POD type units. These are tone generators. The main difference is, whereas floor or POD units are not generally made to drive a stand-alone Power Amp, rack-mounted Preamps and Preamp/Effects units are made to do just that.

You're right, there's no right or wrong, just how you prefer to do things with a piece of gear like the EQ you have. And there are very few "right" or "wrong" ways of doing things like that, as long as you don't plug things in between your Power Amp and Speakers--well, most things, anyway.

Does any of this big mess I just wrote make sense? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Stu

[Easyrider7467]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

Hello Stu,
Thanks for the time your taking to explain this all to me. Your right, I don't know much, if anything about pre-amps, amps, effect loops, etc. Your post is very helpfull, I certainly know more than I did before. I will read your input a few more times while looking over my amp.
Its a Marshall,about 20years old. similiar to a JCM 800. There is a input in the rear called, Foot switch. But I use the clean channel and plug into the front input. I'll get it down. If you know a website that gets more invovled with all this electronic talk, pass it on. Thanks very much, John.

[toejam]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

Originally posted by Easyrider7467:
Guitar > wah > dist. > EQ > chorus > Marshall.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Basically, as a rule of thumb, gain-based effects such as distortion and wah should usually be run in front of the amp. Time-based effects such as chorus, flanger, phaser should be run in the effects loop, as that's where they usually sound best. Though, it's all up to you in what sounds better. Some people like wah pedals better in the loop... I think they sound better in front of the amp. It's all a matter of experimentation and finding what works best for you. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[StuTDavis]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

John,

Hey, no problem, always glad to give info to help if I can. It's kind of confusing stuff at first, but basically ends up being pretty simple. Until you start throwing together big racks and MIDI and switching control of everything. I know enough to make me dangerous to myself, but wouldn't go into some of the really complex stuff without digging for info, either.

Toejam's got the right schtuff there...the basic idea for most of it is EXPERIMENT. For people who like to fiddle with stuff and have a lot of patience, a big, complex setup can be loads of fun. For minimalist people who get frustrated easily and just want "to tweak a few knobs at most", complex setups can be a nightmare. You've got a good starting place, with pedals and an amp--just a bunch of nice, easy knobs hehehe. As you go along, you might decide you want a different sound that might require adding more gear to your current setup, or changing out for a different amp, or going wacko racko with rack gear like some of us. Try to take it all as fun, and don't let it frustrate you...you'll be alright. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Stu

[Easyrider7467]

Re: E.Q. Ignorant

Cool!! Thanks, John. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]