EQ is easily the most powerful tool available that we always overlook. I've spent so much on IEMs and headphones when what I really needed was some EQ skills. Learning how to use peak filters is a skill that will be useful in all your future music endeavors.
Good EQ information. One other factor I find useful is relating the Frequencies to the guitar strings. Here are the guitar string frequencies: Standard Guitar Tuning - Open String Frequencies in Hertz. For playing an octave up, double the Hertz number, and for a note an octave lower, halve the Hertz number. I use this kind of information when dialing in my Cab settings on the HX Stomp. Standard E Flat Standard 1 E = 329.63 1 Eb = 311.1 2 B = 246.94 2 Bb = 233 3 G = 196.00 3 Gb = 185 4 D = 146.83 4 Db = 138.6 5 A = 110.00 5 Ab = 103.82 6 E = 82.41 6 Eb = 77.78
Probably worth emphasizing that these are *fundamental* frequecies; those notes have overtones as well. Back when I used to do workshops on acoustic guitar amplification (at folk music conferences), I used to pass out a "Frequency Fretboard" card with a drawing of the low end of the fretboard and these frequencies annotating the top (rounded w/o decimals). It also annotated other useful spots (e.g., A440 on the 1st string), and related common audio adjectives to frequency ranges ("warmth," "mud" etc.). It's handy info to know, both for adjusting your own gear, and when communicating with the sound engineer at a gig. -Tom
I can't believe it, but I'm very excited to read that manual. Those are some very helpful ideas, would love to see them applied to a modeler to help refine a digital amp tone.
The manual seems to be the innovation here. I have a graphic EQ in line right now, always on. It's not as though I ever had a real idea of what it was doing though. I mean, I can hear the difference, that's no trick, that's why it's there. The problem-solving is the other side of it though.
of course, if your modeler amp has an effects loop, simply place the paraeq in the loop, probably first in the loop, that way it can sculpt all the frequencies generated by the modeler to give you surgical precision on taming unwated frequencies and also filling out missing ones. It's especially useful in an effects loop in tube and non-tube amps alike, esp if you cut the bass before the loop and boost it afterwards for less intrusive bass frequencies.
Well Done! This is the most informative video I've seen on parametric equalization and eq in general. Lots of useful information with practical demonstrations. I have already pre-ordered my Empress & am looking forward to mid-December when it arrives.
Also don't forget about using the high/low bands in conjunction with the high/low cut. So you can put a wide boost in the low band then bring up the low cut to roll off some of the lowest parts of it, which is different from changing the Q of the band, in that it creates a different kind of shape. Similarly with the highs. Similar with the low/high shelves and the low/high cut, though those shelves are fixed frequency so not quite as flexible. Anyhoo, the general point being that you can create more complex curves by combining the various bands, shelves and cuts. That's what makes a full on parametric EQ like this so powerful. You usually only get all of that in a rack/500 type EQ. It also means that you could use one of these on other things, like an f/x send instead of eating up one of your rack/500 units for that. And it should be very useful for synths as well. I got one a month or so back and it's great. I had the original one back in the 90s, or maybe it was the early 2000s, and really liked it. The extra functionality on the new one makes it a no brainer.
@@MOAB-UTit could be used to push an amp into overdrive. However, that's not going to give you the same type of distortion as, say, a proco rat or a big muff, for example. If you used this as a boost, it's not going to be adding any clipping of its own, which means it will basically only be hitting your amps front end with clean volume and hitting specific frequencies depending on how you set it. Now, while using an EQ as a boost can be really awesome and is actually a very popular technique in places like Nashville (Tom Bukovac calls the Boss GE-7 EQ pedal the greatest solo boost ever made), that's going to be far more dependent on your amp and how it breaks up than using an overdrive, distortion, or fuzz to get crunch. So while this CAN push the front end of an amp hard enough to reach overdrive depending on your amp and how you set it, that's not really what this tool is designed for. Also, I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention that this pedal is $350 new, as while in my opinion parametric EQ pedals are amazing and everyone should have one and they're indispensable, that's still considered pretty niche and this is a pretty powerful example of one. Like, if you're looking for distortion, for $350 you could buy two or three different overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedals that will give you way more different options and variations on how you're getting distortion. Cause transistors and diodes clip differently than tubes as part of a preamp do. For example, you COULD buy this one $350 parametric EQ and use it mainly to push the front end of your amp into distortion. However, if you want to do that, you could also just get an mxr micro amp or boss ge7 for $100 and crank the volume to do that same thing. On top of that, you could drop $350 on this, or if you're looking mainly for distortion, you could buy the Boss Ds1 Waza craft version which is a stellar distortion for $150 new, and then on top of that find an overdrive that you like, something like a Keeley Noble screamer, a Wampler tumnus (or tumnus deluxe if you're feeling fancy), a jhs morning glory, etc and possibly still have money left over. Again, not saying that this CAN'T make an amp distort, cause you absolutely could depending on the amp if you're goosing the output. However, if all you're looking for is distortion, you'd be better served getting a distortion pedal, overdrive, fuzz, etc. And then seeing how you feel. Cause while a powerful parametric EQ is fucking amazing, if you're asking a Hellcat to tow a u haul trailer, you're probably gonna be disappointed. A hellcat and Chevy Silverado can be equally badass, but you use them for different purposes.
@@greyklopstock7155 Thanks. I got the Empress EQ but returned it. It was likely user error or my setup but I did not notice any improvement in tone. I tried various settings. It was worse...and expensive to boot. It went back quickly. I have a bad ear so I rarely go above 70db's and I play at home- in a condo only. It is hard to make amps and speakers sound their best at that low volume. I play more blues and SRV type music. I just bought a $359 The Duellist pedal. ua-cam.com/video/lsK_5QW28SQ/v-deo.html It gives a glass, articulate edge of break-up thing really well. Not a metal, heavy distortion pedal really- or at least not how I use it. It even has dip switches on the side with a SRV setting. I like Boss stuff. I run a Boss DD500 delay that is great and I have a Boss Looper- RC500. I also just bought a Diamond EQ/Compressor which seems to work well and it's quiet. Pricey too at $240. ua-cam.com/video/QJD78TK5Ess/v-deo.htmlsi=h6h1g-uRUBji1dRh&t=233 And yeah, I would never tow with a Hellcat!
Thanks for the explanation, I understand now! Parametric Eq has always seemed confusing to me. I’ve bought and sold multiple 7 band slider type eq’s and could never get on with them. Always seemed too much or not enough. I’m going to try this one out. Seems like it will help me get to what I’m hearing in my head.
i just bought this pedal for distorted guitars. The goal is to replicate precise EQ move i did with fabfilter Pro Q3 for live playing. Slight dip on to tame harsh spikes at 2.5khz , 4khz and clears up some boxy-ness around 500hz.
I am def. not an expert but my understanding is that EQ'ing is most effective in the final mix vs. for stand alone tone. One analogy might be picking out a great shirt...but later on realizing that it's a wedding and everyone is wearing a tux (happened to me!) It is often best to EQ in context of the final and collective tone. Sometimes, like with leads and solo's you want the guitar to come forward and in your face. At other times, you might want it to melt into the background. Presets would be great. SA EQ2 has them.
Thank you. This was very useful. Anyone in the chat want to chime in on the best frequency to hone in on to take mid-honk - or that cocked-wah freq out of the signal?
That's a problem for me too. At 12:14 in the video, where he cuts the frequency at about 1k, sounds like a good place to start. Of course it will take some more tweaking, but I am 100% confident that this pedal can solve this and most other issues that we have.
You ever try a source audio eq2? Kinda the opposite take there, nice apps runs on everything and you get the 🍅 style sliders on screen with all sorts of awesome ways to visualize the spectrum and adjust q . Not that the helix can’t do all this, but often either seeing or having better descriptions works to get the hz into your head
Just pulled the trigger on one of these to replace my MXR 10-band EQ silver edition. Exponential improvements. Parametric EQ's are just generally superior to graphic eq's for specific instruments in my opinion. This pedal is exactly what I needed and fills a very specific and much needed niche in the pedal industry.
Presets would make this pedal rock. Can anyone tell me if it is better than the SA EQ2? That one has presets AND stereo, but is NOT true bypass, it's digital with ADA filters that one guy said was terrible to his tone. EQ2 on paper looks far more versatile, if not, more challenging to edit on the fly...but again, 8 presets a button push away.
I'm just simply not good enough to use this pedal or something because when playing clean, no matter what I dial it to, it always sounds "muffled" or like it's lost fidelity. Any attempt to brighten it just gives a whishy high pass sound rather than true clarity/brightness. It's was also extremely easy to overdrive it. Had to return it just wasn't working with me. Probably user error but overall was just was a waste of $ for me personally.
I can always find comparison video for any overdrives on the planet but nothing with EQ pedals. I wonder how it would compete with JHS Colorbox. Any thoughts?
JHS colorbox has wider Q for each band and is it has fixed Q value, so its more like a wide tone shaping like on guitar amp knob. Empress has variable Q option , enable the user to perform precise EQ move like audio engineer does in the studio.
If you were going to mimic a guitar tone control with an EQ pedal how would you do that? Is tele tone control just a high pass filter with a very wide Q? I’ve a couple of reasons for wanting to know this. I have a strat with an emgdg20 loaded pick guard and the tone controls are replaced with a mid boost and a thing that makes the single coils sound like hum buckets. I can’t roll off the high end with either. Also on my tele the bridge pick up sounds great with the tone rolled off but the neck pu needs the tone wide open. I’d like to bakes these changes into my presets hence the question. Thanks everyone.
Guitar tone knobs are fundamentally low pass / high cut filters. How strong the slope is or how deep the cut goes is based on the value of the pot and cap.
Most helpful John. I have their first edition ParaEq. Like it but not quite love it. The Mk11 looks and sounds much more useful. As always, I appreciate your explanation on all things technical. And of course your tones are killer. Merci ~ db
Cordy is a legend. That thumbnail alone taught me more than the last 8 years of twiddling around.
EQ is easily the most powerful tool available that we always overlook. I've spent so much on IEMs and headphones when what I really needed was some EQ skills. Learning how to use peak filters is a skill that will be useful in all your future music endeavors.
Good EQ information. One other factor I find useful is relating the Frequencies to the guitar strings. Here are the guitar string frequencies:
Standard Guitar Tuning - Open String Frequencies in Hertz.
For playing an octave up, double the Hertz number, and for a note an octave lower, halve the Hertz number. I use this kind of information when dialing in my Cab settings on the HX Stomp.
Standard E Flat Standard
1 E = 329.63 1 Eb = 311.1
2 B = 246.94 2 Bb = 233
3 G = 196.00 3 Gb = 185
4 D = 146.83 4 Db = 138.6
5 A = 110.00 5 Ab = 103.82
6 E = 82.41 6 Eb = 77.78
Probably worth emphasizing that these are *fundamental* frequecies; those notes have overtones as well. Back when I used to do workshops on acoustic guitar amplification (at folk music conferences), I used to pass out a "Frequency Fretboard" card with a drawing of the low end of the fretboard and these frequencies annotating the top (rounded w/o decimals). It also annotated other useful spots (e.g., A440 on the 1st string), and related common audio adjectives to frequency ranges ("warmth," "mud" etc.). It's handy info to know, both for adjusting your own gear, and when communicating with the sound engineer at a gig. -Tom
This is the best pedal on the market today. What ever you play it will make a big difference to your tone.
Is it better than SA EQ2? I am between these two.
John's Truefire course would be one of the best of all time.
All y'all's just been truth bombed. Good look digging through the fact debris.
I signed up for true fire thinking John had a course. But he's just sponsored by them, so I purchased Ariel posens instead.
John's would be GOLD.
I can't believe it, but I'm very excited to read that manual. Those are some very helpful ideas, would love to see them applied to a modeler to help refine a digital amp tone.
The manual seems to be the innovation here. I have a graphic EQ in line right now, always on. It's not as though I ever had a real idea of what it was doing though. I mean, I can hear the difference, that's no trick, that's why it's there. The problem-solving is the other side of it though.
of course, if your modeler amp has an effects loop, simply place the paraeq in the loop, probably first in the loop, that way it can sculpt all the frequencies generated by the modeler to give you surgical precision on taming unwated frequencies and also filling out missing ones. It's especially useful in an effects loop in tube and non-tube amps alike, esp if you cut the bass before the loop and boost it afterwards for less intrusive bass frequencies.
Might I suggest then you buy a Fractal FM9.
beautifully clean with little grit
Well Done! This is the most informative video I've seen on parametric equalization and eq in general. Lots of useful information with practical demonstrations. I have already pre-ordered my Empress & am looking forward to mid-December when it arrives.
Great song, great playing, love that Strat. Just ordered a para today!
Love this channel
Love the Comfy ❤
Also don't forget about using the high/low bands in conjunction with the high/low cut. So you can put a wide boost in the low band then bring up the low cut to roll off some of the lowest parts of it, which is different from changing the Q of the band, in that it creates a different kind of shape. Similarly with the highs. Similar with the low/high shelves and the low/high cut, though those shelves are fixed frequency so not quite as flexible.
Anyhoo, the general point being that you can create more complex curves by combining the various bands, shelves and cuts. That's what makes a full on parametric EQ like this so powerful. You usually only get all of that in a rack/500 type EQ. It also means that you could use one of these on other things, like an f/x send instead of eating up one of your rack/500 units for that. And it should be very useful for synths as well.
I got one a month or so back and it's great. I had the original one back in the 90s, or maybe it was the early 2000s, and really liked it. The extra functionality on the new one makes it a no brainer.
Can I get distortion tone out of this pedal?
@@MOAB-UTit could be used to push an amp into overdrive. However, that's not going to give you the same type of distortion as, say, a proco rat or a big muff, for example. If you used this as a boost, it's not going to be adding any clipping of its own, which means it will basically only be hitting your amps front end with clean volume and hitting specific frequencies depending on how you set it. Now, while using an EQ as a boost can be really awesome and is actually a very popular technique in places like Nashville (Tom Bukovac calls the Boss GE-7 EQ pedal the greatest solo boost ever made), that's going to be far more dependent on your amp and how it breaks up than using an overdrive, distortion, or fuzz to get crunch. So while this CAN push the front end of an amp hard enough to reach overdrive depending on your amp and how you set it, that's not really what this tool is designed for.
Also, I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention that this pedal is $350 new, as while in my opinion parametric EQ pedals are amazing and everyone should have one and they're indispensable, that's still considered pretty niche and this is a pretty powerful example of one. Like, if you're looking for distortion, for $350 you could buy two or three different overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedals that will give you way more different options and variations on how you're getting distortion. Cause transistors and diodes clip differently than tubes as part of a preamp do. For example, you COULD buy this one $350 parametric EQ and use it mainly to push the front end of your amp into distortion. However, if you want to do that, you could also just get an mxr micro amp or boss ge7 for $100 and crank the volume to do that same thing. On top of that, you could drop $350 on this, or if you're looking mainly for distortion, you could buy the Boss Ds1 Waza craft version which is a stellar distortion for $150 new, and then on top of that find an overdrive that you like, something like a Keeley Noble screamer, a Wampler tumnus (or tumnus deluxe if you're feeling fancy), a jhs morning glory, etc and possibly still have money left over.
Again, not saying that this CAN'T make an amp distort, cause you absolutely could depending on the amp if you're goosing the output. However, if all you're looking for is distortion, you'd be better served getting a distortion pedal, overdrive, fuzz, etc. And then seeing how you feel. Cause while a powerful parametric EQ is fucking amazing, if you're asking a Hellcat to tow a u haul trailer, you're probably gonna be disappointed. A hellcat and Chevy Silverado can be equally badass, but you use them for different purposes.
@@greyklopstock7155 Thanks. I got the Empress EQ but returned it. It was likely user error or my setup but I did not notice any improvement in tone. I tried various settings. It was worse...and expensive to boot. It went back quickly.
I have a bad ear so I rarely go above 70db's and I play at home- in a condo only. It is hard to make amps and speakers sound their best at that low volume.
I play more blues and SRV type music. I just bought a $359 The Duellist pedal. ua-cam.com/video/lsK_5QW28SQ/v-deo.html It gives a glass, articulate edge of break-up thing really well. Not a metal, heavy distortion pedal really- or at least not how I use it. It even has dip switches on the side with a SRV setting.
I like Boss stuff. I run a Boss DD500 delay that is great and I have a Boss Looper- RC500.
I also just bought a Diamond EQ/Compressor which seems to work well and it's quiet. Pricey too at $240.
ua-cam.com/video/QJD78TK5Ess/v-deo.htmlsi=h6h1g-uRUBji1dRh&t=233
And yeah, I would never tow with a Hellcat!
Thanks for the explanation, I understand now! Parametric Eq has always seemed confusing to me. I’ve bought and sold multiple 7 band slider type eq’s and could never get on with them. Always seemed too much or not enough. I’m going to try this one out. Seems like it will help me get to what I’m hearing in my head.
thx god, new eq from empress in nice box
Wow maybe the manual alone is worth it? Great info, thanks!
i just bought this pedal for distorted guitars. The goal is to replicate precise EQ move i did with fabfilter Pro Q3 for live playing. Slight dip on to tame harsh spikes at 2.5khz , 4khz and clears up some boxy-ness around 500hz.
I am def. not an expert but my understanding is that EQ'ing is most effective in the final mix vs. for stand alone tone. One analogy might be picking out a great shirt...but later on realizing that it's a wedding and everyone is wearing a tux (happened to me!) It is often best to EQ in context of the final and collective tone. Sometimes, like with leads and solo's you want the guitar to come forward and in your face. At other times, you might want it to melt into the background. Presets would be great. SA EQ2 has them.
Yeah, this video helped. Thanks!
I like this EQ pedal. Being the fact I am a retired touring sound engineer I prefer a parametric EQ over a graphic EQ.
Great video. Thanks.
Great info - thanks. Now - what about those little knobs that affect low cut, high cut and a couple of shelves?
With EQ i already tranformed a LTD fake hetfield of 450 euros into a jazz tone machine and with just one single speaker, and that's the trick.
Very useful. Cheers 👍.
Thank you. This was very useful. Anyone in the chat want to chime in on the best frequency to hone in on to take mid-honk - or that cocked-wah freq out of the signal?
That's a problem for me too. At 12:14 in the video, where he cuts the frequency at about 1k, sounds like a good place to start. Of course it will take some more tweaking, but I am 100% confident that this pedal can solve this and most other issues that we have.
Subscribed , gr8 channel. Can't wait to purchase mine
Your bass player and drummer will thank you for using the HPF 👍🏼
i think anyone listening will appreciate the HPF and LPF lol. love this pedal
Where did you get your pedal stand thing from John?
MarcusDluxe made it for me!
You ever try a source audio eq2? Kinda the opposite take there, nice apps runs on everything and you get the 🍅 style sliders on screen with all sorts of awesome ways to visualize the spectrum and adjust q . Not that the helix can’t do all this, but often either seeing or having better descriptions works to get the hz into your head
Just pulled the trigger on one of these to replace my MXR 10-band EQ silver edition. Exponential improvements. Parametric EQ's are just generally superior to graphic eq's for specific instruments in my opinion. This pedal is exactly what I needed and fills a very specific and much needed niche in the pedal industry.
Not Charlie. Funny guy.
I was thinking about Martin, myself.
lol
Looks like I am selling my old Para eq and another pedal I dont use, I need that deluxe!! lol
You need to start a side project punk band and name it Rumble Mud.
What he is talking about when he says narrow, medium, and wide on the top three control knobs on high end mixing consoles bandwidth.
Can you use the boost as a straight clean boost when the equipment is bypassed?
the boost only works with the pedal is not in bypass.
Presets would make this pedal rock. Can anyone tell me if it is better than the SA EQ2? That one has presets AND stereo, but is NOT true bypass, it's digital with ADA filters that one guy said was terrible to his tone. EQ2 on paper looks far more versatile, if not, more challenging to edit on the fly...but again, 8 presets a button push away.
I'm just simply not good enough to use this pedal or something because when playing clean, no matter what I dial it to, it always sounds "muffled" or like it's lost fidelity. Any attempt to brighten it just gives a whishy high pass sound rather than true clarity/brightness. It's was also extremely easy to overdrive it. Had to return it just wasn't working with me. Probably user error but overall was just was a waste of $ for me personally.
I can always find comparison video for any overdrives on the planet but nothing with EQ pedals. I wonder how it would compete with JHS Colorbox. Any thoughts?
JHS colorbox has wider Q for each band and is it has fixed Q value, so its more like a wide tone shaping like on guitar amp knob. Empress has variable Q option , enable the user to perform precise EQ move like audio engineer does in the studio.
Nice useful video John. When talking about Q using numbers, does a higher number mean a wider Q? I struggle to hear these kinds of things...
lower number means wider. So a Q of 1 will look like a gentle slope or dip, and a Q of 5 will be a jagged peak.
@@john808welk Thanks Johnny 👍
Damn this is really handy for me too 😳 Dont have eq pedal neather hmm...
If you were going to mimic a guitar tone control with an EQ pedal how would you do that? Is tele tone control just a high pass filter with a very wide Q? I’ve a couple of reasons for wanting to know this. I have a strat with an emgdg20 loaded pick guard and the tone controls are replaced with a mid boost and a thing that makes the single coils sound like hum buckets. I can’t roll off the high end with either. Also on my tele the bridge pick up sounds great with the tone rolled off but the neck pu needs the tone wide open. I’d like to bakes these changes into my presets hence the question. Thanks everyone.
Guitar tone knobs are fundamentally low pass / high cut filters. How strong the slope is or how deep the cut goes is based on the value of the pot and cap.
Do those little black knobs feel sturdy?
I just received my unit today and i can say, they are a bit worbbly. But nothing to bad.
@@paulbremer3692 thanks. I might just stick with the standard version because of that. Cheers!
I will be careful to not step on them. If I want to put this on a pedal board, i will put a guard covering those small knobs.
There are better eq freqs but they come with specific Q settings too, I'll put them under this comment tonight
Most helpful John. I have their first edition ParaEq. Like it but not quite love it. The Mk11 looks and sounds much more useful. As always, I appreciate your explanation on all things technical. And of course your tones are killer. Merci ~ db
Hey John wide Q would be the dial all the way to the right.
Left
@@benhaganCounter clockwise.
First one here
Yeah 😆