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Would more EQ help?


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I was reading a post somewhere about a Timmy pedal clone.The guy wrote that he wished more OD pedals had more than one EQ adjustment. It made me think about pedals I had seen.

 

It seems to me that most of the problems with OD pedals are at least somewhat related to EQ. Fizzy top, flabby/woofy bass, ganky midrange hump(hello, tube screamer fans!), could these things be tamed with enough, or the right kind of EQ?

 

I recall a Marshall metal distortion pedal that had 3 adjustable bands, and I think there is an MXR Badass OD that has three. But how about 5 bands, or even more? I recall something from the 60's-70's called a Fullrange Booster that had several bands adjustable with sliders. Do you think that would be an improvement over the usual limitations of EQ in dirt pedals?

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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I like having more EQ too, have had amps that had Bass, Treble and the Mid bands divided into high and low Mids. That's enough for guitar or bass in my experience. 3 bands is great if they chose the right center points and used a broader curve on the EQs. That makes getting great tones easier.

 

My one and only "distortion" pedal is a Tech 21 Tri AC. Sans Amp, all analog. Has great clean tones and dirty tones.

It's a go-to for me in the studio, bass guitar sounds fantastic and so does screamin lead work.

 

3 band EQ - Bass Middle Treble.

 

3 progammable settings - dial in a sound and double click one of 3 footswitches and it's programmed.

There are 4 sounds, bypass and the three programs.

 

Last but not least - 3 voicings - Tweed/Fender, Brit-Marshall and Calif/Mesa Boogie.

Between the 3 voices and 3 band EQ I can get the tones I like.

Battery lasts a long time, nice to have in the studio since DC power cannot generate hum so it's pretty quiet until you ramp up the gain quite a bit.

 

Some day I want the Tech 21 Double Drive 3x, same form factor but the ability to blend SansAmp Class A and Class AB together for another range of tones.

 

If you want something smaller, the GT2 is a single footswitch box with Bass and Treble EQ and a 3 way switch to simulate 3 positions of a mic'ed speaker. My brother has one, I covet it!

The mic position switch is also an effective tone control so there are lots of options.

 

Tech 21 was "boutiique" so long ago that it's easy to overlook their gear but it sounds really good.

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Various types and a,punt of OD/distortion will naturally affect the tone. One thing to consider is pre vs post. In a typical amp, post eq is more difficult though typically an effects loop will at least be after the preamp, but the best way to affect it is via the natural EQ of the cabinet. Be aware that eq (especially extreme settings) will affect the response of the distortion. For example, bass eq may not end up actually adding much bass to the end product, but the extra energy will push more distortion. So it's a very different discussion to talk about a chain of pedals as opposed to an amp/cabinet.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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I will run a pair of graphic EQs after the drive section of the board. I find dirt boxes are way more alike than different when you can use graphics to voice the sound how you want. I buy a lot fewer drive pedals

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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For me, I use the EQ on all of my overdrive pedals I need a full tone stack Trebs, Mids, and Bass on any overdrive pedal that I use. I would also like a presence tone adjustment as well so I could turn that all the way off. My favorite all time overdrive pedal is the Nady TD 1 now discontinued I had 2 of them and still have one which needs a new tube. I wrecked thew older one that needed a tube by opening up the pedal wrong to replace the tube and broke some of the printed circuit boards in the process, So I refrained from trying to repair the newer one. I have the tube but the drive over to the amp tech is an hour long each way, right into the Phoenix area proper, and the wait at the shop once I get there on appointment is probably a few hours long as well. I'll get there someday.
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For me, you can never have too many bands of EQ. That said, I suspect with a lot of overdrive/fuzz/distortion pedals if you cut all the frequencies which sound bad, you won't have anything left.

 

I agree. that's why I love stuff in the studio like Fab Filter eqs. I like to be able to select any frequency and manipulate it, not just ones the "knob" thinks I should touch. Give me a parametric with 10 modifying frequencies instead of 10 fixed knobs/sliders.

Music With Marky - A YouTube Channel For Guitarists Who Want To Make Better Music
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My favorite EQ is a multi band graphic (as many bands as will fit in a crowded pedal-board) When I had my analog studio I used that kind most of the time I had several in my efx rack and my fav was a 31 band stereo graphic EQ as well as several single channel graphics as well. I never really learned the ins and outs of the parametrics although I had several in the efx rack too (because I had so much good luck with the graphics)
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It seems to me that most of the problems with OD pedals are at least somewhat related to EQ. Fizzy top, flabby/woofy bass, ganky midrange hump(hello, tube screamer fans!)

You can use some of these "problems" as 'character traits'- and to your advantage. Got a pedal that seems to have flabby/woofy bass? Put a Tube Screamer stylee in front of it, its "ganky midrange hump" can come to the rescue there! As well as giving a boost/"MORE" option. Similarly, Rangemaster Treble Booster types are famously great for clearing-up cluttered low-end muddiness. An Octavia-style octave-fuzz can be just the thing going into an overdrive or distortion pedal, or an overdriven/distorted tube-amp. A pedal like the Foxrox Octron ( :love: ), which has a Direct/'clean-blend' AND an Octave-Down Fuzz, can add mighty bass beef where needed. Stacking possibilities are an opportunity to find solutions and even unique personal signature tones.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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