Boss PQ4 info

Techdeth

RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I use a Boss pq4 and enjoy it . Is it true it was basically a copy of the Furmans and that’s why Boss had to stop making . I was told that but idk if that’s true .any info would be cool . And if not true why does Boss not make a parametric eq . Seems strange with their giant line
 

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Yea, never heard that before either. It may simply be supply and demand given there GE-7 is popular enough. I am not sure your majority of players goes for a parametric eq vs a 6 to 10 band equalizer. Dunno, just my thought.
 
I’ve never heard that they were based off the Furman’s, but to be totally honest I sold my PQ4 fast once I compared it with the Furman PQ3 I used to have. I remember the PQ4 being pretty good still, but the racks I’ve had were great. Sold the Furman and TC 1140 though
 
Curious what replaced those mentioned?
Haha you already know. For rack PQ’s I’ve got still the Intersound PRV-1 & IVP and Audioarts 4100 and 4 boost pedals: Klon centaur, Coppersound Broadway (2 different versions), Thorpy Heavy Water and Protone Dino Cazares Overdrive. Klon is what I use still at least 95% of the time when I want a boost. Just got a Protone Sushi Girl Preamp + pedal that I’ll try later

Those 2 Intersound’s are super finicky to dial in, but can get some really great sounds when done right
 
Never heard that either and have been asking for years for someone to do a Furman in a pedal. D. Friedman was kicking the can on the idea a few year's back but I guess it was decided that it would be too niche for an already niche segment of guitar nerds.
 
Haha you already know. For rack PQ’s I’ve got still the Intersound PRV-1 & IVP and Audioarts 4100 and 4 boost pedals: Klon centaur, Coppersound Broadway (2 different versions), Thorpy Heavy Water and Protone Dino Cazares Overdrive. Klon is what I use still at least 95% of the time when I want a boost. Just got a Protone Sushi Girl Preamp + pedal that I’ll try later

Those 2 Intersound’s are super finicky to dial in, but can get some really great sounds when done right
Nice boosts man
 
Forgot about that lol
Haha you were the one that told me about them and you also told me about the Furman Spring Reverb that sounds beautiful by the way. Even better imo than the reverb on the PRV-1 or even my ‘64 Vibroverb, but again super touchy to dial in just right. It’s like either none or way too much lol. Hard to set it just right, but sounds so good when you get it

The Broadway and Thorpy aren’t that well suited for hard rock or metal, but fantastic for other styles
 
Yeah, I would say there´s no real connection between the PQ4 and the Furman. They are just two parametric EQs among the hundreds out there, and there isn´t much to clone or protect in that regard. The real issue with doing rack units in pedals is size and price, not many guys would pay $750 for an EQ pedal built to the same studio pro specs as the rack units and it might be tough to keep those circuits sounding the same when shrunk and/or not being mains powered.

As for why they don´t make it anymore, there´s probably just not much of a market for it. Take away the small set of Dimebag fans that use parametrics for boosting and there´s just not much there in the guitar world. Boss has dropped tons of products from their line over the years.
 
Yeah, I would say there´s no real connection between the PQ4 and the Furman. They are just two parametric EQs among the hundreds out there, and there isn´t much to clone or protect in that regard. The real issue with doing rack units in pedals is size and price, not many guys would pay $750 for an EQ pedal built to the same studio pro specs as the rack units and it might be tough to keep those circuits sounding the same when shrunk and/or not being mains powered.

As for why they don´t make it anymore, there´s probably just not much of a market for it. Take away the small set of Dimebag fans that use parametrics for boosting and there´s just not much there in the guitar world. Boss has dropped tons of products from their line over the years.
$750? I paid almost 1/3 that price for the Furman PQ3’s and TC 1140’s I had

I was never really much of a Dimebag or pantera guy. Just got into the old rack PQ’s as another way to do what overdrive pedals can do for boosting amps, but I guess maybe Dimebag did exactly the same thing
 
Yeah, I was talking about new pricing. You didn´t buy those units brand new back in the 80s-90s for those prices, right? And anyone making an actual comparable pedal wouldn´t sell them used to begin with, so I think you strengthen the point in that it would be very tough to market something niche like that when competing with the actual old units.
 
Yeah, I was talking about new pricing. You didn´t buy those units brand new back in the 80s-90s for those prices, right? And anyone making an actual comparable pedal wouldn´t sell them used to begin with, so I think you strengthen the point in that it would be very tough to market something niche like that when competing with the actual old units.
I bought them all within the last 2 years. True. I think it’s partly also a tough market because the racks can be very finicky/touchy. There’s a learning curve to using them effectively and most of them are really noisy
 
Dime was also using them with solid state heads too right? What a waste.. his playing was wicked but the tone though suited to what he did, I could easily have done without and listened to him play boosted Marshalls.
 
Not cheap, but if you can find out, try an empress paraEQ, absolutely phenomenal pedal, best I’ve used personally outside of an expensive pro audio hardware eq.
 
I like the PQ4 simply because it’s a pedal and can easily hook it up. My rack TC1140 is awesome, but I have to run longer cables, turn on my rack, etc. 🤣. I’m lazy these days and just want to plug in and play.
 
One reason why the PQ4 may have been discontinued, is due to the fact that the number 4 in Japanese sounds almost like the word for 'death' in Japanese ('shi'). Ever wondered why there's a CE-2, CE-3, CE-5, but no CE-4?
The PQ-4 is the *only* Boss pedal with the number 4 in the name.
I'm a bit of a Boss collector myself and the PQ-4 is in my collection, near mint with original box and manual. Sounds quite good.

Extra info:
https://thejhsshow.com/articles/boss-pedals-youve-never-heard-of
 
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