Tech 21 Q strip sort of a Furman PQ-3?

[Kapo_Polenton]

Was just reading the Vito Bratta Pride tone thread and PaulyC mentioned the PQ3. It reminded me that nobody has put on in a pedal or reissued the thing. It's no secret it has helped many a plexi sound like a beast (RATT) and this demo by Pete Thorn from a few years back has a few spots where the Tech21 boosts and shapes the signal quite well. I'm thinking, does anyone feel like it has a Furman vibe going on at all? Compare it to the real deal

 

[paulyc]

The Furman isn't always the best choice, it's noisy like a fish fry. Try the tc1140 I think it's called, or the Audio Arts Engineering unit, Rane made one, Loft made one, probably a few others as well. Or, if you must have a pedal, there's a parametric Ibanez 9 series or the BOSS PQ4. I have all but the Rane and the tc ,the rack units are awesome, the pedals will do in a pinch. Great for the whole 80s LA hairmetal thing. Trust me when I tell you, all of these boxes will do that sound, there's no special sauce with the Furman, the Furman is expensive because of the Dimebag guys. I actually prefer the Audio Arts and the Loft, they're not as noisy.

Honestly, the parametric before the amp cured most of my amp GAS and pickup GAS too. The final icing on the cake (for me) was sticking a half rack graphic EQ in the loop with the parametric out front, it's easy to dial in almost any sound and change the feel of the amp dramatically with these two things. In fairness, I also use a half rack noise gate in the loop to tame any hiss as well. I tend to use an old Rockman half rack EQ and their Smartgate, but Boss made a great half rack EQ and gate that work well also (the black ones, the Professional series, like the SE50 and SE70).

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I agree with paulyc in general about EQ's.

I put an EQ in front of my amps (Boss GE-7) as well as in the loops (I have a couple of them, MXR 10 band or Rane PE-17) and I can just about dial them in to sound like anything I want them to.

 

[cardinal]

The Qstrip should be a great boost. It lets you peg a narrow mid range frequency of your choice, which gives you that snarling sound, but you can adjust the Q so that it's not too nasal sounding.

Then you can boost the overal output to really slam the front of the amp. The HPF and LPF let you prevent the tone from getting a bit too "hairy". I wish the HP/LP knee frequencies were adjustable though.

I use the PEQ block in an AFX to boost both a virtual Marshall and a real one, and it sounds really good to me. Turns a 2204 into something like a 5153.

 

[psychodave]

The Furman isn't always the best choice, it's noisy like a fish fry. Try the tc1140 I think it's called, or the Audio Arts Engineering unit, Rane made one, Loft made one, probably a few others as well. Or, if you must have a pedal, there's a parametric Ibanez 9 series or the BOSS PQ4. I have all but the Rane and the tc ,the rack units are awesome, the pedals will do in a pinch. Great for the whole 80s LA hairmetal thing. Trust me when I tell you, all of these boxes will do that sound, there's no special sauce with the Furman, the Furman is expensive because of the Dimebag guys. I actually prefer the Audio Arts and the Loft, they're not as noisy.

Honestly, the parametric before the amp cured most of my amp GAS and pickup GAS too. The final icing on the cake (for me) was sticking a half rack graphic EQ in the loop with the parametric out front, it's easy to dial in almost any sound and change the feel of the amp dramatically with these two things. In fairness, I also use a half rack noise gate in the loop to tame any hiss as well. I tend to use an old Rockman half rack EQ and their Smartgate, but Boss made a great half rack EQ and gate that work well also (the black ones, the Professional series, like the SE50 and SE70).

I like the TC 1140 more than the PQ 3 for two reasons. 1, the TC is way quieter. 2, the TC can adjust the volume so it matches the main volume (this is good for when you arent using it as a boost and dont want massive jumps in volume).

 

[Rufus Leaking]

I like the TC 1140 more than the PQ 3 for two reasons. 1, the TC is way quieter. 2, the TC can adjust the volume so it matches the main volume (this is good for when you arent using it as a boost and dont want massive jumps in volume).

This I had both at the same time and once I heard how much quieter and somehow more musical the TC 1140 was, I couldn't wait to sell the PQ3. I've never tried the Tech 21 Q, but it looks cool.

 

[braintheory]

This I had both at the same time and once I heard how much quieter and somehow more musical the TC 1140 was, I couldn't wait to sell the PQ3. I've never tried the Tech 21 Q, but it looks cool.

I ended up selling both my PQ3 and 1140. For rack PQ’s I’ve kept my 2 Intersound’s and Audioarts 4100. For boosting, I still use the Klon at least 95% of the time, but the PQ’s can be cool and can get really thick tones. The Intersound I thought sounded even more musical and organic than the 1140. Definitely nowhere near the flexibility of the 1140 since it only has the 2 eq bands to play with and not as much gain, output or eq range available, but imo more than enough to be used as a boost like an od pedal and the quality of tone itself I felt was better than the 1140 and the excellent reverb on it is also a nice bonus even though I rarely ever use it