Barber Linden EQ • New small form factor

[Low Down Brown]

I'm no expert (so feel free to chime in, folks), but it's based on the Baxandall tone stack that's often associated with the Ampeg B15. It's no multi-band EQ, but it is an extremely simple, intuitive, and surprisingly capable EQ stack that's known for a sweet, natural tone and a usable mid-freq. hump that can help punch through a mix. I'll be using it with a G&L LB-100 (p-bass on steroids), so I don't need to do a lot of EQ'ing....just enough to add some presence and a little punch with an old school vibe. The Linden should work perfectly to this. If I remember correctly, some engineers were fond of them for recording, too. They sound clear and natural without clouding the up the whole mix.

 

[Eadger]

Forgive me because I'm quite new to all this, but if this is just an EQ, isn't that a rather well-explored and sonically limited space to be dropping new pedals in? In other words, what's the point of getting this when you could grab, say, a Boss GEB-7 or something and (what seems to me) have more control? Or does this do something extra/different that the GEB-7 would be capable of?

Not trying to rag on the Linden; I just don't understand how this all works and am wondering what I'm missing.

Different EQs still sound different. They have different slopes, different freq points, etc. I used to use an Empress ParaEQ that let me choose the frequency points, the Q - get really specific and clinical - but when it came down to it, I didn't really want all that. Currently I'm using a RMI Basswitch Classic Boost for my 3 band EQ....it's a nice pedal - great buffer, super quiet/clean gain....but generally I just use it dial the bass back and reign in extra low end. It does ok at that, but I don't really like the mid frequency point, so I never even touch the mids.

The Baxandall tone stack affects EQ in a different way than the peaking EQ of a graphic equalizer (or the bass control on the Basswitch). It should provide me more flexibility and a broader range of adjustments than what I'm using my current EQ for.

I don't know if that answers the questions....those are just my reasons for the purchase. Guess I'm just trying to say that any EQ isn't just any EQ.

 

[KHann]

Different EQs still sound different. They have different slopes, different freq points, etc. I used to use an Empress ParaEQ that let me choose the frequency points, the Q - get really specific and clinical - but when it came down to it, I didn't really want all that. Currently I'm using a RMI Basswitch Classic Boost for my 3 band EQ....it's a nice pedal - great buffer, super quiet/clean gain....but generally I just use it dial the bass back and reign in extra low end. It does ok at that, but I don't really like the mid frequency point, so I never even touch the mids.

The Baxandall tone stack affects EQ in a different way than the peaking EQ of a graphic equalizer (or the bass control on the Basswitch). It should provide me more flexibility and a broader range of adjustments than what I'm using my current EQ for.

I don't know if that answers the questions....those are just my reasons for the purchase. Guess I'm just trying to say that any EQ isn't just any EQ.

Yeah, that helps a lot. I assumed EQs were all basically straight filters of varying degrees of complexity and nothing more, and so one with more filtering flexibility would be automatically better than any with less. I didn't realize the Linden had some additional tone-sculpting abilities as well.

Thanks (and also to Low Down Brown) for the clarifications.

 

[Low Down Brown]

Now that I've had time to mess around with it - the Linden EQ is a fantastic pedal! Simple, effective, lots of headroom, and sounds just as good as I imagined it would. It replaced the DG vintage ultra on my board, so there's that.

I know they're worlds apart, but I was very close to getting a Whirlwind Bass X (still not sure that I won't end up with one drool). Although for now, the Linden works incredibly well for all of my EQ purposes. I ran it through a JHS Pulp n' Peel V4 (awesome comp+DI - thanks @scubaduba) and ran direct into a minimal FOH setup on a recent gig...HUGE, punchy sound for my LB-100 and modded MIM Jazz (Audere 4-band pre + Bart B-axis pups).

This little beauty is an absolute steal for $100.

 

[Eadger]

Now that I've had time to mess around with it - the Linden EQ is a fantastic pedal! Simple, effective, lots of headroom, and sounds just as good as I imagined it would. It replaced the DG vintage ultra on my board, so there's that.

I know they're worlds apart, but I was very close to getting a Whirlwind Bass X (still not sure that I won't end up with one drool). Although for now, the Linden works incredibly well for all of my EQ purposes. I ran it through a JHS Pulp n' Peel V4 (awesome comp+DI - thanks @scubaduba) and ran direct into a minimal FOH setup on a recent gig...HUGE, punchy sound for my LB-100 and modded MIM Jazz (Audere 4-band pre + Bart B-axis pups).

This little beauty is an absolute steal for $100.

Ditto. Played it out this weekend, and it's officialy replaced my Basswitch Classic Boost (which cost $260). A little more aggressive where I wanted it, and a tighter low end.....just perfect.

It also sounds great with my EUB. I had been running that through my acoustic board with a L.R. Baggs EQ....but not anymore. That mid-cut toggle (left switch to the right) works so well for pulling out the honkiness I'd always try to manually EQ out, and the treble control is really musical.

So happy with this thing - it's nailed it on all levels!

 

[scubaduba]

It really is a great EQ. I'm still very pleased with mine. Can't beat the price either for what it is.

 

[Hypercaffium]

I'm about to pull the trigger, this pedal seems really appealing!
I recently tried to replace my Keeley Bassist with a Diamond BCP Jr in order to get both compressor and EQ in my board. I liked the idea of having both effects in my board, but since I run a Nano+ I wanted to choose between one pedal the other for practicality.
It didn't go very well with the BCP Jr but the situation forced me think about different solutions for my needs.
My amp is a Quilter Bass Block 800 which have a built-in compressor/limiter (which sounds beautiful). The amp itself have simple "limited" (but effective) EQ controls which I usually keep pretty much flat.
Since I don't use my Keeley Bassist very often, I'm thinking about replacing it with a Linden in order to easily expand my sonic palette and still get some compression from the amp. It should be a win-win, I guess.

My #2 choice for rehersals, when I don't want to carry my board, is just a BDDI into whatever amp/monitor I can find. Since the BDDI is what I consider a "dirty" preamp, so no need for compression. Tone controls are very effective in the BDDI, so no need for an external EQ too.

 

[Low Down Brown]

I was on the fence about the Linden and almost bought a bigger 10-band EQ instead. Glad I didn't.

This pedal is perfect for me. All the EQ I could possibly need and fits on the board better than the bigger 10-band. I used it a few weeks ago: bass --> Linden EQ --> JHS Pulp n' Peel comp/D.I. --> FOH. Very simple set up, but it sounded so fat and sweet...even the band mates complimented my sound.

It's definitely a sweet deal for $100. Grab one before the word gets out and the price goes up.

 

[Jim C]

Tempted by the idea although I like the tone very well from a 1001RB.
Can you guys describe the tones I could get with the pedal that I couldn't get with normal EQ?
Is there some tonal magic or just more EQ options?
Does it offer any compression to "feel" more like a tube amp?

My other secondary amp is either an SVP pre/power or SVT-CL.
I'm guessing that the Linden may not add much to these that I can't already get?

 

[Hypercaffium]

Tempted by the idea although I like the tone very well from a 1001RB.
Can you guys describe the tones I could get with the pedal that I couldn't get with normal EQ?
Is there some tonal magic or just more EQ options?
Does it offer any compression to "feel" more like a tube amp?

My other secondary amp is either an SVP pre/power or SVT-CL.
I'm guessing that the Linden may not add much to these that I can't already get?

From your description, I guess you should be looking for a coloured always on compressor with EQ, instead. The Linden doesn't seem to produce any compression (or distortion) by itself. I guess it's "coloured" after a specific vintage tool so it imparts its own tone, instead.

 

[Jim C]

I have compression covered.
Since the Linden is designed after older tube Ampegs, I was curious as to if it had tube like compression built in.

 

[Hypercaffium]

Oh, ok.
That make me think about the BDDI, which I use. It's a dirty preamp by nature, compression starts as soon as it starts to overdrive. When I use that I never turn compression on.

 

[Eadger]

I have compression covered.
Since the Linden is designed after older tube Ampegs, I was curious as to if it had tube like compression built in.

Its design is just centered around the EQ section of the B-15, not necessarily anything to do with it being a tube amp. It doesn't/isn't intended to impart any "tube" flavor or warmth - it's just a very versatile and wonderful EQ...no magical baked in tone, just well thought out and executed based on the frequency points, switch variations, etc.

 

[Jim C]

It's design is just centered around the EQ section of the B-15, not necessarily anything to do with it being a tube amp. It doesn't/isn't intended to impart any "tube" flavor or warmth - it's just a very versatile and wonderful EQ...no magical baked in tone, just well thought out and executed based on the frequency points, switch variations, etc.

Thanks for this.

 

[Hypercaffium]

Just pulled the trigger. It's coming.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Its design is just centered around the EQ section of the B-15, not necessarily anything to do with it being a tube amp. It doesn't/isn't intended to impart any "tube" flavor or warmth - it's just a very versatile and wonderful EQ...no magical baked in tone, just well thought out and executed based on the frequency points, switch variations, etc.

That said it does seem to capture much of the inherent tone of the B15.

 

[Hypercaffium]

That said it does seem to capture much of the inherent tone of the B15.

I quote myself from the other Linden thread:

I'm loving this pedal, it seems to give you a lot of control of your tone. I noticed that both the "treble" and "bass" knobs are a little bit "scratchy" but only if you turn them quickly. I mean, it's not the typical noise that rusty/dirty/old pots do, it's somehow different. Maybe it's the internal charge pump working? I don't know, but if you turn the knobs slowly there's no noise at all.
It doesn't bother me at all, I'm just curious.

 

[Hypercaffium]

According to Dave Barber, which I contacted via email, the mild "scratchiness" of the knobs (mostly the "treble" knob) is just "DC shift" and it should stop once the knobs are set. He also said that: "depending on the gain after an EQ, DC shift can often be heard, same with the presence knob on an amp".
I'm not an expert but I guess it's somehow related to the change in voltage.
Have you experienced the same thing?

Back to the pedal: yesterday I spent a couple of hours with it into my Quilter BB800 and I can say that the tonal range of this thing is far superior compared to the amp. I should say again that the BB800's EQ is "limited by design" but I didn't expect to get so much tones using the Linden.
I'd write a long post about all the things I discovered, but it seems that this thread is a little bit... dead?
Am I wrong? If anybody is interested and/or have some experience to share, we can go on.

 

[Robertron]

According to Dave Barber, which I contacted via email, the mild "scratchiness" of the knobs (mostly the "treble" knob) is just "DC shift" and it should stop once the knobs are set. He also said that: "depending on the gain after an EQ, DC shift can often be heard, same with the presence knob on an amp".
I'm not an expert but I guess it's somehow related to the change in voltage.
Have you experienced the same thing?

Back to the pedal: yesterday I spent a couple of hours with it into my Quilter BB800 and I can say that the tonal range of this thing is far superior compared to the amp. I should say again that the BB800's EQ is "limited by design" but I didn't expect to get so much tones using the Linden.
I'd write a long post about all the things I discovered, but it seems that this thread is a little bit... dead?
Am I wrong? If anybody is interested and/or have some experience to share, we can go on.

Interested! Always enjoy learning about EQ pedals. They might be my favorite category of pedal...

 

[Frodolicious]

I'm interested too. I just got mine, and it's fun! I'm still trying to figure things out, and learn more about the two switches and what they do.

A question I do have is if folks ever use this in the effect return part of an amp to bypass its preamp and go to power?