EQ Pedal Frequencies - preferences???

stflbn · #1 05-29-2009, 12:24 PM

I'm comparing smaller EQ Pedals to go onto my pedaltrain mini. The smaller ones sport different frequencies than the tried and true Boss GEB-7. I thought I'd get others thoughts here on their 'important' frequencies.

Boss GEB-7 8-band
50 120 400 500 8000 4.5k 10k

MXR M109 6-band
100 200 400 800 1.6k 3.2k

Artec 8-band (with crappy tuner)
50 100 200 400 800 1.2k 3.2k 6.2k

With everything I have on my pedaltrain mini the boss will be 'tight' to fit. The Artec is a tad wider than the boss, but shallower and lighter. The MXR is the smallest so it's my preferred choice.

I'm not concerned about the MXR only going down to 100hz, and it hits 100, 200, 400 and 800. I'm not huge on dub or whoofy sub lows so the bosses 50hz isn't a plus for me, thought I've used that before as a low pass of sorts. I do like it's 120hz vs 100hz on the MXR, and do like having the 500hz in between the 400 and 800.

Sound wise i'm definitely more of a 400hz mids guy than I am an 800hz lover. All my Aggy OBP-3's are hard wired at 400hz, but this EQ is going on the board to benefit my passive P-bass more than anything.

So any thoughts on what I may be losing out on by going with the small MXR vs the Boss GEB-7. With the GEB-7 I'd be losing 500hz as an option and losing 120hz vs 100hz on the MXR.

Everything with me is fingerstyle rock, pop, blues and some minimal pick playing if needed. No slap.

Thoughts?

.

fitz420 · #2 05-29-2009, 07:04 PM

bump cause i'd like to see some responses to this and i'm not the guy. i've been considering either the boss/mxr myself. i've personally heard some bad stuff about artec so that one never made it to my list....does anyone else have good/bad opinions about the artec eq?

stflbn · #3 05-29-2009, 07:31 PM

There's been decent reviews about the Artec EQ, or at least "I know a guy who's using one and it seems good" type of comments. Which aren't real helpful.

I'm just fighting for every 1/8th of an inch on my mini and the Artec is wider than the Boss, which is wider than the MXR... so the MXR is more desirable to me solely for that reason.

Right now I have a Constrictor Compressor, VTBass, ValveDrive and PlanetWaves Tuner on my Mini. Barely enough room for a EQ. I could change to a PitchBlack tuner and game a bit more space but no need to spend money on that if not needed.

Hence seeing if anyone's willing share their thinking on the frequencies, which I know are going to be hit and miss for most as what some love, others won't give a rats arse about. :-)

JustDavid · #4 05-29-2009, 08:01 PM

I might be the only one with this opinion, but I think you make the board fit the pedals instead of vice versa. Admittedly that's a lot easier (& cheaper) to say about your board than my own, but I still feel that. Dunno if there are any tricks you could pull to make more room.

stflbn · #5 05-29-2009, 08:06 PM

I got room now for a Boss if needed, but smaller and lighter is always better in my book. The Line6 Constrictor ToneCore pedal is a hog. Hell, it almost weighs as much as the Valvedrive, but at least with it I can swap out an Echo, Chorus, Roto, etc modules as needed, though rarely needed.

stflbn · #6 05-29-2009, 11:42 PM

Went with the small MXR M109 6-band EQ. It doesn't have an overall gain slider, but I'm only wanting to use it to tweak EQ settings, not bump gain or volume.

I'll check back next week once it arrives with my thoughts.

stflbn · #7 05-29-2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustDavid

I might be the only one with this opinion, but I think you make the board fit the pedals instead of vice versa. Admittedly that's a lot easier (& cheaper) to say about your board than my own, but I still feel that. Dunno if there are any tricks you could pull to make more room.

The Pedaltrain Mini keeps me 'honest'. I have to manage what fits on it and rationalize my needs based on space. If I had a bigger board I'd fill it with stuff I don't really need or wouldn't use frequently.

JimmyM · #8 05-30-2009, 03:53 AM

I could deal with any of them. 100 vs 120...maybe since the pedals that have 100 also have 200, it wouldn't be too low to be effective. I don't know how important that is, especially when you can also boost 200 with the MXR and Artec. I think all of them have good points. The Boss would be good because you could cut 10k and do the Ampeg 5k rolloff. The other ones allow you to boost 100-200, which is the whole range of low mids I like to have slightly accented, not just at 120 or 125.

I'd probably go for the one that has the least amount of background noise. All of them have effective freq centers for bass, so for me it would come down to lowest noise.

stflbn · #9 05-30-2009, 06:41 AM

I've had a Boss GEB-7, then a boss EQ-20 for 6 months when I had twice the pedalboard size I have now and before I finally sucked up and bought my P-bass. Used them to fake the P-bass sound using my J/MM bass. Did it well. I think that memory of the usage of those is still fresh enough that I'll be able to compare them to the MXR 6-band I now have on order.

I'll check back in the thread once I've got it and fiddled some with thoughts on functionality and noise.

.

Marill · #10 05-30-2009, 10:51 AM

I find the Boss GEB-7 really useful because it has the volume slider.

After you boost and cut the freqs to your liking, certainly the overall volume will be different, and that slider is good to use to adjust the volume again so that the signal will be the same when the pedal is on and off.

also, if you think you don't need the EQ for a particular situation, you can use the volume slider too to boost or cut the volume and you 'll have 2 switchable volume at a stomp of the pedal.

I also use it this way coupled with other pedals like overdrive or distortion that don't have thier own volume knobs and get way too loud, so I use the GEB-7 in this case to stomp on to cut the volume whenever i turn on those loud pedals.

stflbn · #11 06-01-2009, 01:19 PM

or, you can find the setting you like and bump them all up or down slightly for the volume increase or decrease you need.

Not as simple as a single slider, but still a solution.

*insertcoolname · #12 06-01-2009, 09:58 PM

I'd love to hear how the 6 band works out for you stflbn, I'm also considering it. I figure I already have control over the fundamental lows and highs on my onboard preamp so I think this would be a good for better control on the mids.

stflbn · #13 06-03-2009, 09:51 PM

MXR EQ came in today. Played with it a good bit tonight.

Does exactly what I needed it to, and the frequencies are fine for my needs. Granted it would be better with a 7th slider that was an overall volume boost/cut, but then the pedal would be wider. It's easy enough to just adjust all the sliders up or down accordingly once you've found your settings to adjust the volume.

Sparky Mark · #14 10-14-2009, 02:01 PM

Hey stflbn, How goes it with the M109? I'm looking at the same choices, the GEB-7, M109 or M108. I'm thinking the M108 (same bands as ampeg heads) is the best but would prefer battery power and smaller. Have you still got the 109 or using something else now? Thanks.

lowregister · #15 10-14-2009, 02:05 PM

I have the boss, and I'm annoyed by the limited treble range, it's pretty exponential, 4.5k then 10k, which is so much more of a noise/presence knob. If you're not concerned with that nice beefy 50 hz, go with the others.

The Artec sounds nice, but the boss does play well on that 400-500+ range. Good luck!