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Post new topic Graphic equalizer?
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Author Topic:  Graphic equalizer?
Nick Waugh


From:
United Kingdom
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2014 2:40 pm    
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Hi All

I was recording today, and once again the sound the engineer got for my steel was great; warm round tone, just what I am always trying to achieve live. He said that mainly he achieved this with eq. He recommended I purchase a Boss graphic equaliser. Does anyone use an eq live. if so would it enable me to remove the harsh top end of my sound?

Warm regards

NIck
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Brett Lanier

 

From:
Madison, TN
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2014 3:37 pm    
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I have been, just recently. My tube preamp/reverb only has a single tone knob. It sounds great, but in most cases I wanted to increase the bass a little - so I started experimenting with a (pretty crappy) DOD rack mount graphic eq I found in my house. The overall result is much better than without it, though it knocks the gain down a ton for some reason. I've found that I really like the exact tone shaping it does though, besides just increasing the bass. You can really select the type of mids you want, and exclude certain piercing highs.

Fwiw, I also tried an mxr pedal eq and the DOD sounded a lot better. I've heard that the one to get is a tc electronic 1128. It's an analog graphic eq with a digital interface. A few of my engineer friends have said they sound amazingly clear and transparent, and that they work great for guitar. The digital aspect could be good for having different eq curves stored for the back neck, lap steel, or even a dobro sim...
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 12 Jan 2014 5:06 pm    
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I've had good luck with 6, 7 and 15 bands.
If you're gonna go with a rack, a 15 takes one space, and stomp boxen work well if you don't.
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More amps than guitars, and not many effects
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Dave Grafe


From:
Hudson River Valley NY
Post  Posted 13 Jan 2014 10:33 am    
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The more filters you put in your signal chain the worse the phase-induced comb-filtering will be, some folks don't mind or don't notice, but lots of other folks DO notice and won't have it. To each their own....

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=210989&highlight=graphic

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=192431&highlight=graphic

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=248765&highlight=graphic

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=224946&highlight=graphic
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Scott Appleton


From:
Ashland, Oregon
Post  Posted 13 Jan 2014 10:45 am     Eq
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got BOSS 7 BAND IF YOU WANT ONE
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Daniel Policarpo


Post  Posted 14 Jan 2014 8:52 am    
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Although it's not a graphic EQ (uses pole filtering) I use a Knockout Attack EQ to sweeten the highs a little and provide more robust lows. It can also make your humbucker take on more single coil sound properties, and that is what I like best about it; I can get that old Sho-Bud sound out of my Stage One. It can fatten up the three high strings,and it slices, it dices, it'll soak up that nasty spill....I can't recommend this pedal enough for tone hounds, it's really underrated, which is fine; the price is still right. It works really great for pedal steel through both SS and/or tube amps I've tried.

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Last edited by Daniel Policarpo on 14 Jan 2014 10:07 am; edited 2 times in total
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Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2014 9:49 am     Re: Graphic equalizer?
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Nick Waugh wrote:
Hi All

I was recording today, and once again the sound the engineer got for my steel was great; warm round tone, just what I am always trying to achieve live. He said that mainly he achieved this with eq. He recommended I purchase a Boss graphic equaliser. Does anyone use an eq live. if so would it enable me to remove the harsh top end of my sound?

Warm regards

NIck


I would not trust any recording engineer who would suggest a consumer grade stomp box EQ. They are very problematic when it comes to pedalsteel tone. Plus they have almost nothing in common with studio grade EQ systems. The engineer is very likely some sort of rock guitar player and they have an absolutely breathtaking ignorance of the steel guitar. What if you were a classical violin player ? Does he tell them to use a stomp box compressor because of his mic pre amps ?

Stay away from gizmos to correct your sound. You are only crippling your progress as a player.
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Dave Grafe


From:
Hudson River Valley NY
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2014 12:20 pm    
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Brother Bob Hoffnar speaks truth.
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Lane Gray


From:
Topeka, KS
Post  Posted 14 Jan 2014 12:44 pm    
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While I agree with Bob, who's gonna tell Mr. Emmons he's doing it wrong?


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More amps than guitars, and not many effects
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Daniel Policarpo


Post  Posted 14 Jan 2014 1:33 pm    
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I think most people use EQs pedals poorly, which can account for many people's disregard of their utility. The pedal steel, like most electric stringed instruments, benefits from filtering, actually lowering certain frequencies,rather than raising them. An EQ isn't some trick in a box that is going to cover your sound or adjust for your lack of technique.

I see it as a very useful link between the pickup and preamp signal which can adjust for variances in room environment, amplification, or what the ear is picking up that particular night within a band context. It's not like a distortion or phaser that's hiding your sound. Your amplifier already has an EQ; all your doing is giving it greater flexibility. Not all EQ's in stompbox format are suitable for pedal steel, some not for anything. I've used lots of EQ's over the years, and for pedal steel I can say that the EHX Knockout is great. I would like to try the Barb-EQ made by Barber, though that is discontinued. That's a parametric.
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David Cubbedge


From:
Toledo,Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2014 8:58 am    
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When I first started playing pedal steel, I had an old Fender 400 and I had to use an MXR EQ (the little blue toe-bomb sized one from late 70s) to taper off the treble a bit. It worked fine.

These days I don't use any EQ at all, largely because my gear has been upgraded and it doesn't need it, at least to my ear.
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Red Emmons D10 fatback #2246D with sweet Hugh Briley split cases, Black Emmons S10 #1466S, '73 Fender "Snakeskin" Twin Reverb, Peavey Nashville 400, Line 6 Pod XT, Fender 400, Fender Stringmaster Double-8, too many guitars, one bass!
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Paul Arntson


From:
Washington, USA
Post  Posted 16 Jan 2014 6:30 pm    
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I tried a monte allums modded boss GE7 and it is much better than stock. No hiss at all.

I also have an old half rack Boss GE-21.
Both work pretty well and are cheap for experimenting.

They work better for cutting freqs than boosting to my ears.

I wound up changing pickups and not using eq before I was happy. But it was educational.
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Don Mogle

 

From:
Round Rock, TX, USA
Post  Posted 19 Jan 2014 8:04 pm     Eq
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Nick,

I use a Boss GE-7 mainly as a dobro simulator which works great.

You may want to consider a Sarno Freeloader to tame the harsh high frequencies. I just got one and really like it!

Don
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2014 5:29 pm    
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A good graphic EQ will give you what they should have put in your amp...true tonal capability. I want to "voice" my amp - I don't want some design engineer to do it for me. (He doesn't know what I want.)
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Butch Mullen

 

From:
North Carolina, USA 28681
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2014 6:14 pm    
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Donny, That is my thought. What EQ would you use?
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 20 Jan 2014 8:35 pm    
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I'm partial to the MXR stuff, but a lot of straight players do like the Boss.
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Bud Angelotti


From:
Larryville, NJ, USA
Post  Posted 21 Jan 2014 6:51 am    
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Right on Bob Hoffner!
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Ken Metcalf


From:
San Antonio Texas USA
Post  Posted 21 Jan 2014 2:34 pm    
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http://www.cheaperpedals.com/collections/joyo-pedals/products/joyo-6-band-eq-jf-11-pedal


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Steven Paris

 

From:
Los Angeles
Post  Posted 21 Jan 2014 4:37 pm     Joyo JF-11 6 Band EQ
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Those LEDs on the controls look really cool! Bet they cost as much as the opamps inside, eh?
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Ken Metcalf


From:
San Antonio Texas USA
Post  Posted 22 Jan 2014 6:32 am    
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I agree with Bob Hoffnar but posted this because these are some good knock offs at a reasonable price.
Most pedals are a knock off of something else.
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MIchael Bean


From:
North Of Boston
Post  Posted 22 Jan 2014 9:44 am    
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I recently picked up a Boss PQ4 parametric EQ. It really does the trick for finding the unwanted harsh frequency and pulling it out. I always hated when the offending frequency seemed to be between bands or on the edge of one.
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