Vintage EQ’s: MXR vs Boss

B

braintheory

Well-known member
So I got an 80’s Furman PQ-3 recently and am super impressed with it! It has this inherently organic, warm quality to it that few of my many boost, od or eq pedals have except for klon and maybe my coppersound Broadway. I’ve always felt vintage gear just tends to sound more lively and organic. My Empress ParaEq in comparison sounds cold and clinical even though it’s less noisy. The PQ-3 and Klon are without a doubt the 2 best boosts I’ve had (and I’ve had over 100)

So now I’m curious about looking into vintage graphic eq pedals and wanted to ask which ones you guys think are the best ones? I see there are a bunch of blue mxr ones like Dimebag used and some boss ones. How would they compare? Are there possibly older eq’s that would be considered better than the mxr or boss ones?
 
I owned a PQ-6 and a TC 2240. I felt the 2240 was a lot better...simply because it had 80% less noise than the Furman.

Graphic EQ pedal... Boss GE-10 is tough to beat. It’s quiet and sounds phenomenal.
 
psychodave":mi1yj2tt said:
I owned a PQ-6 and a TC 2240. I felt the 2240 was a lot better...simply because it had 80% less noise than the Furman.

Graphic EQ pedal... Boss GE-10 is tough to beat. It’s quiet and sounds phenomenal.
Click to expand...
:thumbsup:
This. I took the plunge on a GE 10 from Japan and it is the real deal..way quieter than any MXR I've tried(only had the KK 10 band and the stock 10, both about 8 yrs back and they lasted a week. Noisy as all hell.) When I set it flat and turn it on, it's basically the same tone as when it's off. Very transparent...it can slightly boost or if you want a ton of gain it will also deliver. I get why it is so sought after. Doesn't change the amps character at all. Just enhances what's already there, if you will.
 
Is the GE-10 better than the other older Boss eq’s like the GE-21, GE-7 or GE-131? What makes the 10 the one to get over those ones?

I wonder if maybe the older MXR’s eq’s were better than the newer ones
 
braintheory":n72x8wuu said:
Is the GE-10 better than the other older Boss eq’s like the GE-21, GE-7 or GE-131? What makes the 10 the one to get over those ones?

I wonder if maybe the older MXR’s eq’s were better than the newer ones
Click to expand...

If you ask me...yes it is.

I own older and the newest MXR...the new ones are much better.
 
braintheory":1ioti1ot said:
Is the GE-10 better than the other older Boss eq’s like the GE-21, GE-7 or GE-131? What makes the 10 the one to get over those ones?

I wonder if maybe the older MXR’s eq’s were better than the newer ones
Click to expand...
I've only had the GE 7, and that was VERY noisy. I like the Danelectro Fish n Chips better than the GE 7 and either MXR I used to own.
 
Also a vote for the GE-10. If you're looking for more of a traditional pedal housing I prefer the GE-7 over the MXRs or Dano. Especially if you get a modded one that lowers the noise substantially.
 
The GE-10 is super transparent & quiet. Drawback is it is quite large
I used to run a PQ-3, but they are noisy. They DO do an awesome job at the boost though.
 
I had the mxr and thought it was very noisy like others have stated... I went back to the boss ge7 and I like it much better.. and its my always on pedal with my jubilee
 
Yes the original old vintage Blue MXR 6 band is noisy but it has some Mojo to it compared to the newer MXRs, I can get my Boss GE7 to more or less identical to my MXR but I have to set it a bit differently to match the tonal response of the MXR but the Boss gets close but still I feel it misses the mojo but I can shut it on and off with the footswitch. I did have to spend time with it side by side with my MXR to get it set to sound like my old MXR because I could not use the exact same slider settings, it was a bit frustrating that they sounded so much different with the exact same settings.

I guess the MXR is more aggressive for lack of a better term to describe the MXR, just MOJO. :yes:

If you want very quiet and fidelity the old Boss GE-10 is the best but it did not have the MOJO of my old blue MXR. You would have to hear them all side by side to either confirm to deny my findings through the years.
 
Boss just put out a new EQ I saw in an email. I think the price point is around $200. It is well featured though.

I have had TWO mxr 10 bands die on me and I have not been able to fix either. I don't know. I don't care for the boss GE7'S
 
So I just got an old blue mxr 10 band that I found cheap-ish and so far it seems good. It doesn’t actually seem too noisy. I compared it to my Mesa 5 band and they’re similar in the noise department. The mxr sounds more lively and organic, while the Mesa can get beefier sounding with deeper lows, but sounds a bit distant in comparison, not as cutting

I’m curious how the boss ge-10 would compare
 
I ended up getting both a vintage GE-10 and blue mxr 10 band. The Boss is less noisy as you guys all said and it has much more range in that I can boost or cut each frequency way more than with the mxr, but the mxr seems to for lack of a better word have more personality or mojo to it as some have said. I’d say maybe more organic and I’d actually say the mxr seems more transparent in keeping my core tone in tact. I feel like the boss makes things a little muffled or darker even if I disengage the eq or set it flat, while the mxr seems to basically keep my tone the same if I have everything set flat. I’ll have to compare more though since I just got it. I’m gonna keep both for now since they both have their strengths and weaknesses and am gonna put my Mesa 5-band up for sale
 
Just confirming, your GE-10 is 117 volts and not 100?

I’ve always felt the GE-10 had its own mojo and character.
 
braintheory":5qlcsewh said:
psychodave":5qlcsewh said:
Just confirming, your GE-10 is 117 volts and not 100?

I’ve always felt the GE-10 had its own mojo and character.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure. I’ll have to check
Click to expand...

Check the back. It will have a metal plate with the voltage stamped into it.
 
Had an old black mxr (before the kk model) that was noisey as hell... the new silver ones with blue lights are great
 
psychodave":2zhfzmsi said:
braintheory":2zhfzmsi said:
psychodave":2zhfzmsi said:
Just confirming, your GE-10 is 117 volts and not 100?

I’ve always felt the GE-10 had its own mojo and character.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure. I’ll have to check
Click to expand...

Check the back. It will have a metal plate with the voltage stamped into it.
Click to expand...
So it’s 117 volts. Does the 100 not sound as good?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top