So, can an EQ before your amp eliminate the need for different pickups?

[JoshuaLogan]

I just got to thinking about this.... I was thinking about how I've read that some guitarists use two EQ's... they have one pumping the mids into the amp, and then one in the effects loop a little scooped.... (for metal)....... just got me curious....

 

Anyways, I love what I can do with an EQ in the effects loop, and after thinking about those guys, I got curious about how using one in front of the amp would be..... since you can literally EQ what your guitar sounds like and give bumps in volume and gain, wouldn't this be just like changing pickups? It seems like it'd give so much control that you wouldn't ever need different pickups or an OD for a boost... (although I like the sound of EMG's for metal, I've always tried to play metal with passives, because I like them better for cleans and lower gain stuff....)

 

Just kinda thinking outloud and wondering if any of you do this. It seems like a lot of people overlook how useful an EQ can be....

[kinggeoff]

 

I just got to thinking about this.... I was thinking about how I've read that some guitarists use two EQ's... they have one pumping the mids into the amp, and then one in the effects loop a little scooped.... (for metal)....... it got me to thinking.... Anyways, I love what I can do with an EQ in the effects loop, and after thinking about those guys, I got curious about how using one in front of the amp would be..... since you can literally EQ what your guitar sounds like and give bumps in volume and gain, wouldn't this be just like changing pickups? It seems like it'd give so much control that you wouldn't ever need different pickups or an OD for a boost... (I've always tried to play metal with passives, although I like the sound of EMG's for metal, because I like them better for cleans and lower gain stuff....) Just kinda thinking outloud and wondering if any of you do this. It seems like a lot of people overlook how useful an EQ can be....

 

 

I use an eq after my OD9 before my amp just for versatility. But that's a good point. It may be able to compensate for some differences in pickup tone...

 

and you're preaching to the choir about the loop eq...that's why I bought the UL. Frees up the loop and is a much better EQ than any ive ever tried when it comes to guitar freq.

[PurpleStain]

I would think it would be decently easy to get a single coil to sound more like a beefy humbucker, but going from humbucker to the sparkle and chime that singles have would be pretty hard to do.

[JoshuaLogan]

 

I would think it would be decently easy to get a single coil to sound more like a beefy humbucker, but going from humbucker to the sparkle and chime that singles have would be pretty hard to do.

 

 

Ah, I didn't really mean from different types of pickups, just different pickups of the same type.... like different humbuckers for example.... if I wanted a hotter, more narrow signal, like an EMG 81, I bet I could get pretty close using an EQ to mimic that....

[kinggeoff]

 

Ah, I didn't really mean from different types of pickups, just different pickups of the same type.... like different humbuckers for example.... if I wanted a hotter, more narrow signal, like an EMG 81, I bet I could get pretty close using an EQ to mimic that....

 

 

definitely.

 

 

i use the eq to balance out tonal differences in my different guitars when i want to achieve a similar tone from each through an amp that is notoriously picky about guitar/pup/cab/spkr choice

 

 

I read somewhere on a forum, a post by this guy claiming anyone not running an eq in front and in the loop of their rig is MASSIVELY gimping their tone shaping potential. He was right on

[PurpleStain]

 

Ah, I didn't really mean from different types of pickups, just different pickups of the same type.... like different humbuckers for example.... if I wanted a hotter, more narrow signal, like an EMG 81, I bet I could get pretty close using an EQ to mimic that....

 

 

Ah, well. Like I said, if a pickup has a certain sparkle to it, that would be hard to attain through an eq. However, you should be able to emulate the frequencies fairly close.

[JoshuaLogan]

definitely. i use the eq to balance out tonal differences in my different guitars when i want to achieve a similar tone from each through an amp that is notoriously picky about guitar/pup/cab/spkr choice I read somewhere on a forum, a post by this guy claiming anyone not running an eq in front and in the loop of their rig is MASSIVELY gimping their tone shaping potential. He was right on

 

It seems like that'd be the case, but why do so many people put so much thought into the pickups if they could achieve the same thing with an EQ pedal? Especially considering that, using an EQ pedal is CHEAPER than buying a new set of pickups AND you can turn it off whenever you want to...

[JoshuaLogan]

 

Ah, well. Like I said, if a pickup has a certain sparkle to it, that would be hard to attain through an eq. However, you should be able to emulate the frequencies fairly close.

 

 

Yeah, I wouldn't expect it to be able to nail different types of pickups' sounds.... like making a humbucker sound like single coils or p90 or the rickenbacker toaster pickups or anything like that..... but just trying to make one pickup of the same type sound like a different pickup of the same type, it seems like it'd work pretty well.

[roners5]

This sounds like a good idea for me because for some of my amps, I'm not really happy with the pickups in my singlecut but I don't want to drop something in there that is similar to my std with dragon IIs cause then I'll lose the variety and nice clean sound. However, my friend had a boss EQ pedal that added HIDEOUS noise to the signal so I was always kind of put off by EQ pedals after that.

 

Is there an EQ you guys would recommend that doesn't add noise and sound like shiite?

[RaceU4her]

 

This sounds like a good idea for me because for some of my amps, I'm not really happy with the pickups in my singlecut but I don't want to drop something in there that is similar to my std with dragon IIs cause then I'll lose the variety and nice clean sound. However, my friend had a boss EQ pedal that added HIDEOUS noise to the signal so I was always kind of put off by EQ pedals after that. Is there an EQ you guys would recommend that doesn't add noise and sound like shiite?

 

 

 

 

you need a noise supressor to go after the eq/boost. cuts all the hiss right out

[Roadstar II]

Try the Danelectro Fish and Chips EQ. You can get it cheap ($30) and I've never experienced any noise when I've used mine.

[kinggeoff]

It seems like that'd be the case, but why do so many people put so much thought into the pickups if they could achieve the same thing with an EQ pedal? Especially considering that, using an EQ pedal is CHEAPER than buying a new set of pickups AND you can turn it off whenever you want to...

 

It just becomes a sacrifice of accuracy. You probably won't be able to get the exact sound, and the pickups might react differently to the different frequencies as they read them. An eq can't replace a pickup swap, but it can mimic the effects well enough.

 

Even if not for the sake of "matching" a given pickup, an EQ is EXTREMELY useful for custom tailoring the pickup(s) you ARE using....or as you said, a footswitchable pickup tone change.

 

Or even as an alternate boost.

 

Personally I like to keep my rig as versatile as it can be, so I have

 

Guitar

|

OD9 (boost1, true bypass)

|

MXR KFK1 (boost2, eq1, true bypass)

|..... (2nd output on KFK1)

VHT.....AMP2 (usually 5150)

|

BOOST(on board: boost3 [rhythm/clean chan only])

GEQ (onboard: eq2)

|

FX SEND

|

G-System (in fx loop, EQ3 if needed)

|

FX RETURN

 

 

 

So in addition to the three channels, I have multiple boost options which can be used separately, or combined, and 2 eq's for tone shaping, 1 extra for fx shaping...and it's all at the touch of the foot

[Inazone]

My current favorite EQ for guitar is the Electro-Harmonix Tube EQ pedal. It has a very cool vocal tone that stands out from the rest of the band. I used an ART Tube EQ rack unit previously (and still use the EQ portion of a Tube Channel for recording) that could fatten up distorted guitars quite nicely, but it took a lot more tweaking to do the job.

[JoshuaLogan]

 

This sounds like a good idea for me because for some of my amps, I'm not really happy with the pickups in my singlecut but I don't want to drop something in there that is similar to my std with dragon IIs cause then I'll lose the variety and nice clean sound. However, my friend had a boss EQ pedal that added HIDEOUS noise to the signal so I was always kind of put off by EQ pedals after that. Is there an EQ you guys would recommend that doesn't add noise and sound like shiite?

 

 

I love the MXR EQ's..... 6 band or 10 band.... I use the 10 band. It's very quiet. That boss pedal is known for being a noisey one. They even have this mod for them called the sniper mod, which is supposed to make it a good pedal. I'd rather just get the MXR though.

[Occam]

Tone is a weird thing. You guys are living in a time where you can learn from mistakes of the past when guys had racks the size or refrigerators only to get a really crappy, processed tone. Adding a couple of eq's, boosts, then a noise suppressor and that's just heading down a disappointing path. You might get some versatility out of it but in the end you'll keep searching for the right sound. Once I truly embraced that the shortest path between your strings and the speakers is the best path my tone has gotten much, much better. Can you approximate certain generalities in pickups with an eq, sure as long as they aren't too different but a pickup is a lot more than a tone shaper for vibrating strings. You're going to have a hard time eq'ing in things that aren't there to begin with.

[The Keester]

 

Tone is a weird thing. You guys are living in a time where you can learn from mistakes of the past when guys had racks the size or refrigerators only to get a really crappy, processed tone. Adding a couple of eq's, boosts, then a noise suppressor and that's just heading down a disappointing path. You might get some versatility out of it but in the end you'll keep searching for the right sound. Once I truly embraced that the shortest path between your strings and the speakers is the best path my tone has gotten much, much better. Can you approximate certain generalities in pickups with an eq, sure as long as they aren't too different but a pickup is a lot more than a tone shaper for vibrating strings. You're going to have a hard time eq'ing in things that aren't there to begin with.

 

 

 

haha so true but people love toys to tinker with.

 

since ive matured i can now really hear a drop in tone every time i use ANY pedal. the only pedal i use if i need it is a wah pedal.

 

i dont even like a tone stack. my current allows me to bypass it so all im left with in the circuit is the volume knob.

 

guitar > cord > tube amp > speaker

 

nuthin sweeter to my ears

[JoshuaLogan]

 

haha so true but people love toys to tinker with. since ive matured i can now really hear a drop in tone every time i use ANY pedal. the only pedal i use if i need it is a wah pedal. i dont even like a tone stack. my current allows me to bypass it so all im left with in the circuit is the volume knob. guitar > cord > tube amp > speaker nuthin sweeter to my ears

 

 

lol mmkay. I personally think all of that is total BS, but whatever floats your boat.

[RaceU4her]

 

haha so true but people love toys to tinker with. since ive matured i can now really hear a drop in tone every time i use ANY pedal. the only pedal i use if i need it is a wah pedal. i dont even like a tone stack. my current allows me to bypass it so all im left with in the circuit is the volume knob. guitar > cord > tube amp > speaker nuthin sweeter to my ears

 

 

 

im guessing you probally play jazz

[petejt]

 

I just got to thinking about this.... I was thinking about how I've read that some guitarists use two EQ's... they have one pumping the mids into the amp, and then one in the effects loop a little scooped.... (for metal)....... just got me curious.... Anyways, I love what I can do with an EQ in the effects loop, and after thinking about those guys, I got curious about how using one in front of the amp would be..... since you can literally EQ what your guitar sounds like and give bumps in volume and gain, wouldn't this be just like changing pickups? It seems like it'd give so much control that you wouldn't ever need different pickups or an OD for a boost... (although I like the sound of EMG's for metal, I've always tried to play metal with passives, because I like them better for cleans and lower gain stuff....) Just kinda thinking outloud and wondering if any of you do this. It seems like a lot of people overlook how useful an EQ can be....

 

 

Using an EQ in the effects loop has a much more dramatic effect on the tone, than an EQ in front of the amp. For instance, you can't get that insane brutal sharp scooped-mid metal tone by using an EQ in front of the amp.

 

EQs in front of the amp tend to work better for solo boosts, where you want a bit of midrange spike, or for some bassy fuzz tones by boosting the bass and level. Or maybe add some top end to a dark-sounding guitar. Yeah, it works better for more subtle tonal changes, when used in front of the amp.

 

 

But still, an EQ in front of the amp will not completely change the tone inherent to the guitar. It will just adjust it slightly. So no, unfortunately it won't exactly be like changing pickups. I know because I have tried.

 

 

For metal mid-scooped stuff, I find it better to use a guitar that has a lot of mids/low-mids and bass, and set the mids fairly high or at least medium level on the amp, and then use an EQ in the effects loop to dip out certain frequencies, and boost the trebles and some bass (this helps accentuate the effect of the midscoop, without making the tone too hollow). Be careful though with what particular midrange frequencies you scoop though.

[The Keester]

 

im guessing you probally play jazz

 

 

 

rock, classic rock, blues

 

plug directly into a quality boutique amp with good tubes. stand in front of it and hit some nice open chords and you will here complex harmonic overtones that get thinner and more brittle every time you add more crap into the signal chain.

 

i really wanted love the maxxon analog deley i got and i had to send it back.

 

obviously theres many great classic songs that have signature guitar parts that require pedals but for pure organic clear and rich sound nothing beats a pure path.

[BadCompany89]

I don't use EQ's because I don't need to, but it certainly can reduce the need for multiple guitars/pickups.