EQ in loop to alter tone?

[Simon Dorn]

I'm thinking of getting an Empress ParaEQ to use in the loop of my Splawn QuickRod 100. What I wanna know is how much it can alter the tone? Can I make it sound more polished/record ready like a Bogner or Friedman?

I tried that. It wasn't for me.

 

[phil b]

The Empress will do exactly that. It is a very polished sounding eq. I have it among a few others and while its great for some amps it can be too polished for other amps if that makes sense.

 

[stratjacket]

Serious post, if I could only have two pedals on my board, I’d have two EQ’s, one in front of the amp to shape / boost the guitar, and one in the loop to shape the overall EQ curve of the amp itself beyond what most amps' tonestsacks can do.

EQ’s are just about the most capable tone shaping tools there are and they can make all the difference between an ok tone and a truly inspiring one.

This.
I have used 2 EQ’s for years. One as the first pedal in front pushing mids and one post amp that’s scooped. Adjust to taste depending on what I’m doing. Highly recommend.

 

[Tone Monster]

Empress is overrated and pricey. Mine is clinical and slightly harsh.

 

[tallcoolone]

Empress is overrated and pricey. Mine is clinical and slightly harsh.

Yeah I felt the same, but there are more parameters than I can process. Figured I'm just not smart enough for this pedal lol

 

[Omnipotent1]

The para EQ Deluxe is legit AF & a mix engineers dream pedal in the guitar world.. the fact it’s parametric with VARIABLE Q will teach you a lot if you aren’t familiar with EQ’s already.. The mkii version drastically needed the variable Q update in the deluxe instead of the preset narrow/wide band switches.. F that crap… it’s an ultimate shaper box & goes well beyond what any stock amp EQ or graphic EQ can do. It gives you everything… high pass, low pass, healthy low/mid/high cross overs with independent Q controls as well as high and low shelf filters???? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit son it’s miles above what they had in the past… yeah I’m lookin at you Pearl PE-10 (thank you for your service tho)

 

[Omnipotent1]

EQ is the most powerful tool in the game. Don’t get overwhelmed with it just learn to understand it.. you have subtractive & additive methods. Each method effects the alternative approach.. cutting mids essentially boost your low & high end even tho you are only touching the mids.. vice versa by boosting your lows & highs with shelves you are essentially cutting mids… understanding what each parameter does will only help you understand what the combinations of filters do.. on some of your amps one knob can effected many parameters.. even tho the shit may be labeled “low mid or high” one knob can tweak multiple regions depending on the design.. look at pultec EQs .. it’s beautiful madness really but I suggest learning it regardless. You’ll thank yourself in the long run.

 

[The~Kid]

I mean for me don't use anything fancy but these are pretty nice and cost a song...... used or new for what they do worth their weight in gold....... even EVH and Dimebag used one...... they aren't half bad

 

[Omnipotent1]

I mean for me don't use anything fancy but these are pretty nice and cost a song...... used or new for what they do worth their weight in gold....... even EVH and Dimebag used one...... they aren't half bad




View attachment 401107

Well look at those fancy lights haha for most- less is more. Most the time a notch here or boost there is all one needs. This would be a good one that you just can’t screw up. Some of the fancy pedals need a heavy hand to use, & can distract from the end goal. Even short circuit one’s brain Good recommendation

 

[dead-pan]

My version of the Equinox will be ready in a week or so ...

Yes please.

 

[Jimty]

I use an EQ in the loop of my Stiletto. The boost out front tightens up the low end but the amp isn’t be blessed with a tonne of that to begin with, so I use the EQ to add it back in again and enhance it a bit post-gain, so I get tightness plus low end. The rest of the frequencies are set to match how the amp sounds without the EQ on.

You could change the tone a bunch with a good EQ, but having played about with that I prefer to tweak a base tone I already like rather than try to change the tone of the amp entirely.

 

[The~Kid]

Honestly growing up for me BOSS and MXR was the fancy shit.......



Fulltone and Zvex was the next level....... but MXR was one of the best and still is.....



It ain't fancy..... but hey it works ^_^

 

[JerEvil]

Of course everyone hates Joe, but the Toxic Presence (a stab at YouTubers) EQ is awesome in the loop of many of my amps.

 

[ewill52]

another MXR 10-band user here. I use it to make subtle cuts, but it could be used to make radical changes in tone if someone wanted to. it's a powerful tone shaping tool for sure.

 

[Racerxrated]

It can drastically alter the tone My opinion is that you are using the wrong amp if you need any post-gain EQ. Take any EQ and set it flat in the loop and see if it negatively impacts your tone at all……..they all do to my ears.

I can understand someone trying to “fix” an amp with an EQ……or maybe trying to match a tone that the amp wasn’t intended to cop to begin with. I personally hate post-gain EQ. In front is a different story.

This is my experience as well, with any amp I've had. Running the EQ pedals I've owned through the loop did sculp it better; but every time each amp lost a good bit of tone...or what made it sound good. Now, keep in mind the only amps I've had with loops are newer production amps as I've mostly had modded/stock vintage Marshalls.
But the Rectos, EVHs, C+s all sounded a touch worse with the GE10 I had, in the loops. The only amp it improved the overall tone in was a Randall Diavlo 100w. And, that amp was the worst amp I've played/owned since becoming a gear nut back in 2008.