Members petejt Posted August 10, 2007 Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 Yesterday I saw this equaliser selling for $199 in the catalogue, which seems pretty good for me. I also really like that is has 5 bands, rather than just 3. But, it looked like it only has 2 control knobs per band! Cut/Gain & Frequency! How can it be a parametric EQ, if there is no Q control? Q is needed to select the bandwidth of the frequency, how narrow or wide the bandwidth (frequencies effected each side of the chosen frequency) are, which is crucial, eg. notching out feedback, getting rid of pesky honky mids while keeping the good mids, or removing 60Hz hum, or harsh top end, or boosting a wide bass, etc. DOES it actually have a Q control per band? I tried to find the user manual but couldn't. I also could not find it in the reviews on HC. Is anyone familiar with this unit? Does anyone own it or used to own it? Does anyone know of other affordable but useful parametric EQs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted August 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted August 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 does anyone know about the Alto Q 5-band Parametric EQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tocs100 Posted August 10, 2007 Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 Sorry--never heard of it. I think Presonus makes a 3-band with q-control for $100 though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MÃ¥ns Lundberg Posted August 10, 2007 Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 Does anyone know of other affordable but useful parametric EQs? Boss PQ-4 is ok. Speck half-rack units are great, but may be too expensive. Some older Dbx stuff; I can't remember the name, but the last John Oram-designed parametrics are supposed to be good sounding and can be had cheaply. There's a lot about it over at gearslutz.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted August 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 Sorry--never heard of it.I think Presonus makes a 3-band with q-control for $100 though? I was thinking of getting the PreSonus EQ3B, but it costs about $250 (aud), or close to that. I saw the Alto selling for $199, and was 5-bands, so I thought it'd be a better deal. I hope it is still good quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted August 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 No, it has a bandwidth knob: http://www.directproaudio.com/images/products/altoqlarge.jpg Oh thank goodness, that's a relief! It must have been my {censored}ty eyesight then coupled with not finding a big enough photo. There is a Q control. If it didn't have one, it would be what's usually called a semi-parametric EQ, where on each band, you have control of two of the three main parameters of equalization - frequency, gain and bandwitdth (Q). Of course, a proper parametric EQ gives you control of all three, and a graphic only of one. I'm glad that the Alto Q is indeed a parametric EQ. It's right here: http://www.directproaudio.com/images/products/altoq.pdf THANKS! :thu: Boss PQ-4 is ok. Speck half-rack units are great, but may be too expensive. Some older Dbx stuff; I can't remember the name, but the last John Oram-designed parametrics are supposed to be good sounding and can be had cheaply. There's a lot about it over at gearslutz.com. Thanks for that info. I haven't seen many parametric EQs around, and very very rarely seen them in music shops. Whenever I've asked about them, no one knows that much about them. In fact the most I've ever seen of them from is James Hetfield of Metallica (he used them a lot in the mid-late 1980s). Thanks for the website link too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MÃ¥ns Lundberg Posted August 10, 2007 Members Share Posted August 10, 2007 Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pocketman Posted August 15, 2007 Members Share Posted August 15, 2007 Pete... I try to catch as many of these inquiries as fast as possible, but I'm just one guy unfortunately. Not to push you away from the ALTO-Q, you may also want to consider ALTO's Digan27. It's 2x7 bands of graphic OR parametric EQ, as well as a compressor. It's USB based software allows you to change frequency, Q-rating (from .05/oct to 3/oct), & attenuation on the fly. There's also a global Bass/Treble enhancement feature which is a boon to the instrument player. Retail? $149. I think it'd be worth looking into. For a preview of what the Digan will do, you can download the software here: http://www.altoproaudio.com/html/download.php In any event, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pocketman Posted August 15, 2007 Members Share Posted August 15, 2007 I almost forgot to mention this, but the Digan's inputs and outputs are the 1/4" TRS type, so be sure to use the proper cabling. Otherwise, you'll get a lot of noise into your signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted August 15, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 15, 2007 Pete... I try to catch as many of these inquiries as fast as possible, but I'm just one guy unfortunately. Not to push you away from the ALTO-Q, you may also want to consider ALTO's Digan27. It's 2x7 bands of graphic OR parametric EQ, as well as a compressor. It's USB based software allows you to change frequency, Q-rating (from .05/oct to 3/oct), & attenuation on the fly. There's also a global Bass/Treble enhancement feature which is a boon to the instrument player. Retail? $149. I think it'd be worth looking into. For a preview of what the Digan will do, you can download the software here: http://www.altoproaudio.com/html/download.php In any event, good luck! Thanks mate for the advice. I'll have a look into it. Thanks for pointing it out to me! I think it costs around $300 bucks-ish in Australia though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JnBroadbent Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 I was thinking of getting the PreSonus EQ3B, but it costs about $250 (aud), or close to that.I saw the Alto selling for $199, and was 5-bands, so I thought it'd be a better deal.I hope it is still good quality. I wonder if the presonus would be better quality then the alto? Both are about the same price here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Senor Cleavage Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 I have an Ashly PQ-16 that I bought used. It was fairly inexpensive and I think it works great but I'm no expert on parametric EQs. You may want to look at their stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Saturnine10 Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 Check out Rane Eq's, either the Pe-15 or the Pe-17.. I bought a pair of them off of ebay for less than $200.. 5 band, each with level, freq and bandwith.... They sound good too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JnBroadbent Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 Check out Rane Eq's, either the Pe-15 or the Pe-17.. I bought a pair of them off of ebay for less than $200.. 5 band, each with level, freq and bandwith.... They sound good too Same with Rane, good stuff. If I can find either or for a good price, I'll go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tocs100 Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 Yeah Ashley's got a good rep, but Rane rules (I use Rane and DBX rackgear exclusively). Avoid Behringer for guitar/bass: I have their mic2200 rack eq, and it really ruins the guitar's dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio. It's okay for vocals, but cascade both channels on even vocals, and degradation becomes noticeable. And dead-thread bump is excusable for no other reason than petejt's avatar. Is she an Aussie too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pocketman Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 And dead-thread bump is excusable for no other reason than petejt's avatar. Is she an Aussie too? At risk of sounding unprofessional... True dat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JnBroadbent Posted September 15, 2008 Members Share Posted September 15, 2008 Yeah Ashley's got a good rep, but Rane rules (I use Rane and DBX rackgear exclusively). Avoid Behringer for guitar/bass: I have their mic2200 rack eq, and it really ruins the guitar's dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio. It's okay for vocals, but cascade both channels on even vocals, and degradation becomes noticeable. And dead-thread bump is excusable for no other reason than petejt's avatar. Is she an Aussie too? If thinks work out, looks like I'm getting a Rane pe 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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