NPD: Wampler EQuator

napalmdeath

napalmdeath

Well-known member
This pedal is badass! Sounds great in the loop, but I prefer it up front. I'm running it after my MXR GT-OD in front of the Fireball 25, and it really lets you sculp some surgically tight low end! It's actually got enough level to be a stand alone clean boost, but you can back it down like I am and get great results after a boost. The knobs are SUPER sensitive. The treble knob is super useful, as is the bass. Nice taper. I don't really need an EQ in the loop with the Fireball, but it's definitely an excellent tone shaper up front!
 
napalmdeath said:
This pedal is badass! Sounds great in the loop, but I prefer it up front. I'm running it after my MXR GT-OD in front of the Fireball 25, and it really lets you sculp some surgically tight low end! It's actually got enough level to be a stand alone clean boost, but you can back it down like I am and get great results after a boost. The knobs are SUPER sensitive. The treble knob is super useful, as is the bass. Nice taper. I don't really need an EQ in the loop with the Fireball, but it's definitely an excellent tone shaper up front!
Click to expand...
This a pedal I’ve wanted !
 
napalmdeath said:
This pedal is badass! Sounds great in the loop, but I prefer it up front. I'm running it after my MXR GT-OD in front of the Fireball 25, and it really lets you sculp some surgically tight low end! It's actually got enough level to be a stand alone clean boost, but you can back it down like I am and get great results after a boost. The knobs are SUPER sensitive. The treble knob is super useful, as is the bass. Nice taper. I don't really need an EQ in the loop with the Fireball, but it's definitely an excellent tone shaper up front!
Click to expand...
Did you ever try the Empress Para eq? I thought it would be great but it wasn't for me.

And can/do you use the bass and treble as hi and lo pass and then taylor the mids?

These pedal EQs interest me but they often aren't as good as I expect.
 
SpiderWars said:
Did you ever try the Empress Para eq? I thought it would be great but it wasn't for me.

And can/do you use the bass and treble as hi and lo pass and then taylor the mids?

These pedal EQs interest me but they often aren't as good as I expect.
Click to expand...
Really? I've had the EQuater, WMD utility para, Tech21 Para and Empress. The Empress is the one I still have and sounds the most natural and powerful of the bunch. Not to mention the added clean boost you get with it up to 30db. Made all of my amps scream!

The EQuator is a very nice pedal indeed but nowhere near the range of the Empress that I wanted. Congrats on the score!
 
SpiderWars said:
Did you ever try the Empress Para eq? I thought it would be great but it wasn't for me.

And can/do you use the bass and treble as hi and lo pass and then taylor the mids?

These pedal EQs interest me but they often aren't as good as I expect.
Click to expand...
I agree with all of this. I had the Empress ParaEQ and Boss PQ4 and tried a few others and none of them sounded good to me compared to the actual rack PQ's I've had (Furman PQ3, TC 1140, Audioarts 4100, Intersounds PRV-1 and IVP. Kept those latter 3). The Empress ParaEQ (and all the Empress pedals I've tried really) had this inherently clinical quality to it with ugly artifacts to its tone. Liked it less and less as I owned it. Maybe this Wampler one could be better, but honestly didn't like any of the Wamplers I've had either. They all had this inherently plastic-y, toy-ish sound to me
 
braintheory said:
I agree with all of this. I had the Empress ParaEQ and Boss PQ4 and tried a few others and none of them sounded good to me compared to the actual rack PQ's I've had (Furman PQ3, TC 1140, Audioarts 4100, Intersounds PRV-1 and IVP. Kept those latter 3). The Empress ParaEQ (and all the Empress pedals I've tried really) had this inherently clinical quality to it with ugly artifacts to its tone. Liked it less and less as I owned it. Maybe this Wampler one could be better, but honestly didn't like any of the Wamplers I've had either. They all had this inherently plastic-y, toy-ish sound to me
Click to expand...

The Empress Paraeq was a bit off sounding. I liked it with some amps for some things, but I think I like the MXR 10 band a little more...just sounds more natural/organic.

What do you mean by artifacts? I see people use this term sometimes, and I'm solid on what it refers to exactly.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
The Empress Paraeq was a bit off sounding. I liked it with some amps for some things, but I think I like the MXR 10 band a little more...just sounds more natural/organic.

What do you mean by artifacts? I see people use this term sometimes, and I'm solid on what it refers to exactly.
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I have a vintage blue mxr 6 band eq and vintage Boss GE-10 and think both are very good, but don't use them that often. For eq or tone shaping I prefer them to the pq stuff I've had. I prefer using the PQ's more as boosts that are then shaped with their eq's for color, but I guess ultimately I'm getting a much more drastic overall tone difference the way I like to use PQ's than with the graphic ones

I don't know how to explain too well what I mean by artifacts. It's like these subtle, but extraneous textures or things I'm hearing around the notes that just sounds bad and not organic. Almost digital in a way. Maybe it could be some sort of displeasing overtones or harmonics that I'm hearing, but I really don't know. If it sounded off to you as well then you probably also heard what I'm talking about. The other Empress pedals I've tried also had that kind of sound and came off equally clinical or cold sounding to me
 
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