Yes, You Really Need an EQ

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EQ is one of those effects that many of us can pass over because it doesn’t seem super “fun” but it really is one of the most useful tools we have.

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[jdiesel]

That Joyo Band Controller is a solid clean EQ. And the lack of skill on how to use an EQ is why people buy so many of the same pedal looking for a certain "sound". After some learning on what each bandwith does, you can use an EQ and create your own tone.

[miguelflores]

You deliver lessons like a great teacher and yet, you’re a musician at heart. Thank you for the professionalism.

[imbra]

I am designing a guitar amp for myself. It will not have tone controls (bass, mid, treble), but it will have a 6 band graphic EQ. I was researching existing circuit topologies when this video popped up. One of those strange coincidences...

[claytongouin]

Rhett, don't sleep on an EQ pedal in the amp's FX loop.
1. More powerful master EQ to dial your full rig's sound in to fit the mix of a band or to tune your rig to the room or a different cab/speaker combination. Sound techs and your band mates will love you for this.
2. A cheaper attenuator option - pull all the levels, including the input gain and output level, all the way down. Get your amp in the sweet spot then attenuate the preamp signal running into the power amp. This gives more control than most attenuators in controlling your amp's output volume.

Great video on an underappreciated utility pedal with versatile uses.

[d.rowley]

EQ can also be used to switch between two guitars on the same gig. A tele and Les Paul will have different pickup outputs, and EQ pedal can even those differences out. Example the LP can play straight into the rig but the tele might be a little to shrill and need an overall boost.

[Sound_Stable]

My MXR 10 band has lived in the fx loop of my Mark V since I've had the amp. I could not live without it.

[Dazz]

Great Video Rhett. I’m an audio engineer and use eq all day, but for some reason it still didn’t click on why I would need an eq pedal. Using it as an overdrive and a cocked wha is genius. So simple but so effective.

[mozartsp]

The Source Audio EQ2 is seriously amazing. It can do a lot. But the main thing about it that not everyone gets is that it's actually two EQ pedals in one box. With its dual ins and outs you can use it in two spots of your pedal chain at the same time (e.g. before drives and after drives) and create different presets for each one. The tone shaping possibilities are endless, specially if you have a midi rig.

[keithyoung]

You can't go wrong with a simple Boss GE7 - i have one on my acoustic and electric guitar boards. You can pick them up cheap and secondhand. If Tim Pierce and Tom Bukovac use them that's good enough for me. I do like the idea of a preset EQ pedal - very useful.

[jts]

I’ve had a $20 Behringer EQ700 Clone of the Boss GE-7 for years that is actually quieter than the Boss pedal it’s based on. EQ is the cheapest way to sculpt your tone and compensate for deficiencies in pickups. The Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster is also worth mentioning as a comprehensive “fixer” for whatever ails your rig.

[KANDUR]

Good video Rhett! I use an EQ pedal as a clean channel when going into an overdriven single channel small tube amp, such as a marshall class 5, my regular tone is just overdriven amp, and I lover the level on eq pedal, when I engage it, its like I turn down my guitar volume but have more control and its under my feet. Another use is to use almost as an attenuator for a bigger amp, in the fx loop, again lowering volume and tweaking the tone as I want, to achieve a more bedroom friendly sound.

[whitepony]

Picked up an MXR 10 band eq a few years ago for my studio and it gets used all the time.

[darwinsaye]

Ideally I like to have an EQ near the beginning of the chain after the guitar, and a second one at the last possible position, in the FX loop. Pre gain EQ stacks and post gain EQ stacks are different animals and both have uses. The traditional Fender amp design places EQ before gain and Marshall places it after gain. So it's kind of similar to what happens when you use a pre gain boost pedal vs a post gain boost pedal (where the first way overdrives the circuit more, and the second way just boosts the volume more). But with EQ pedals instead of boost pedals, in the pre-gain setup you can overdrive *certain frequencies* without boosting the overall volume... and in the post gain setup, you can boost the volume of certain already-driven frequencies without overdriving them more - this is why the bass will stay tighter on a Marshall than a Fender, and a Fender will be more flubby and fuzz-like in the low end.

[louaguado]

My first e.q. was an MXR 6 band back in the early 80's, it didn't even have an on/off switch, it was always on. It made my 15 watt solid state Crate amp sound so much better! Lol. Now I run them through the effects loop of my tube amps for extra tone options. I don't like them on a pedal board because it's too easy to accidentally hit a slider with my big foot and mess up a setting. That's why I prefer digital ones, you can set up presets and scroll through them quicker.

[IamMusicNerd]

The Boss EQ-200 is amazing. Having two separate 10 band EQs in one pedal is incredibly powerful. I use the channel A EQ setting before the effects loop, and I use the channel B EQ after. It gives you so much tone shaping abilities. You can also adjust the range of frequencies adjusted with the 10 bands, and can save hundreds of presets for use with different guitars, amps, or specific songs. Amazing.

[tealElixir]

You sir really know your stuff. I know tone is one of the most important parts in playing guitar but I’ve always kinda just adjust them to whatever sounds good without really understanding what I was changing. This helped give me an understanding how it works a lot more, thank you!

[collinsingleton]

Been using the MXR 10 Band EQ for a few years now. Works like a charm!

[johncolombo]

This is great advice. Rhett never mentioned the fact that an EQ also allows you to adjust to the sonic quirks of different gig venues. I put a Boss EQ200 on my board a couple years back, and it is never coming off. The EQ200 can be as mindless or as complicated as you like. It has 4 presets plus a manual setting, and if you wanted you could set different EQ profiles for each of two stereo channels to adjust for different amps (useful in a wet-dry setup) or different loops

[cashway]

my katana has a built in eq, it's in boss tone studio along with the built in air-fryer and blender I make my morning smoothies with

[lisan]

You are so generous with your knowledge, I'm learning a lot from your channel, thanks a lot Rhett.