EQ pedals make it easy to explore new sounds. One famous example is Dimebag Darrell’s’scooped’ guitar tone achieved by cutting low frequencies and boosting upper mid-range frequencies with an EQ pedal.
In live performances, guitar sounds compete with other strong frequencies emitted by singers, other guitarists and drums/cymbals. Using an EQ can help your guitar sound stand out while blending well with other instruments in the mix.
Low Frequencies
A lot of the guitar pedals you’ll come across have a range of different frequency ranges that they can manipulate. Often this will be split into separate bands which can have their own sliders to reduce or boost specific frequencies. This allows you to get more precise with the tone of your guitar. It’s important to note that boosting a frequency can actually add noise to the signal, so subtracting is just as important as adding.
Most guitar amps will have a set of EQ shaping controls – usually called bass, middle and treble and sometimes presence. These are fairly broad controls and between them cover an EQ range of around 4kHz. This is why most guitarists use an EQ pedal – they break down these broad categories into much smaller bands that are more specific to the sounds that you’re after.
You can also use an EQ pedal to add a’mid-hump’ to your sound which can really help to cut through a mix. This is popular amongst lead guitarists who want to get more of a vocal quality to their tone when playing live.
It can also be useful for balancing out the EQ of other effects that you might use. For example, if you use an overdrive pedal that accentuates certain frequencies too much – a simple EQ pedal can counteract this and give you a more balanced sound.
Another use of an EQ pedal is to create the kind of ‘jangle’ tone that you might find on single-coil pickups such as those used on Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters. To achieve this you can reduce the low frequencies and boost the highs. This will remove some of the mid range frequencies which can cause the jangle effect.
For the most precision, you should use an EQ pedal before any other pedals in your chain as this will ensure that any effects you apply to your tone are not over-influencing the frequency of your guitar signal. For this reason, you’ll generally find that most EQ pedals will have a dedicated section for the low-frequency frequencies which are specifically tuned to the EQ of a guitar.
Mid Frequencies
As its name suggests, a guitar equalizer pedal can alter the frequency ranges of its input signal. Most models will feature a variety of sliders, each one giving you direct control over a set frequency. Sliders positioned between 80Hz and 250Hz will affect the lows, while those above this point and into the mid-range will have an impact on frequencies spanning around 200Hz to 2kHz. This is often considered the heart of a guitar’s tone, and boosting this area can really bring your sound to life.
For many guitarists, particularly those who play in a band, having the ability to tweak their tone live is essential. This is because the sonic spectrum emitted by a guitar is typically competing with the frequencies emitted by other instruments. As such, a guitarist can often find their sound is buried underneath other instruments, or even the singer’s voice or the drummer’s cymbals. An EQ pedal can help to mitigate this problem, allowing you to boost key frequencies to make your instrument stand out.
Another way to use an EQ pedal is to cut specific frequencies. This is an effective tool for reducing unwanted noises, as it allows you to reduce the intensity of certain frequencies without altering their harmonic structure or volume. A standard tip is to always cut before you boost, as this can help to reduce unwanted muddiness or buzzing.
The most common application of an EQ is to cut the low-end, with many players using a flat EQ setting to recreate the classic sounds of old-school radios and other vintage audio devices. Cutting the lower frequencies can give your tone a lo-fi quality, and can also be used to create the type of crunchy distortion associated with some metal genres.
However, if you are playing a more clean style of music, or have an amp that already has a scooped midrange sound, a boost in this area can really enhance the clarity of your tone. This is the technique that Dimebag Darrell and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age employed to achieve their signature sound, and is a great way to bring more definition to your playing.
High Frequencies
Boosting the high frequencies of your guitar can make it stand out in a mix and help it cut through with ease. For this reason, TS-style overdrive pedals tend to have a pronounced upper mid-range boost around 800Hz while Klon-style pedals offer a strong bump at around 1kHz. This type of boost can be effective when you want to highlight your lead playing and make it stand out over the bass and drums.
Conversely, cutting frequencies in the range above 10kHz can help you eliminate unwanted muddiness and static in your tone. You may also find that it’s necessary to do this in certain environments where the room acoustics can muddy up your sound. For this reason, it’s often a good idea to have a clean EQ setting for when you need to use your guitar solos in a live context.
An EQ pedal is often used in conjunction with other types of effects. One of the most popular ways to employ an EQ is as part of a ‘lo-fi’ setup. This involves positioning the pedal before any dirt or compression pedals, then boosting the upper mid-range between 800Hz and 2.5kHz to create a warm, punchy sound. This is a classic technique that’s been used by numerous artists, including Mark Knopfler in his guitar work with Dire Straits and Omar Rodriguez Lopez for the band Los Lobos.
In addition to boosting frequencies, an EQ pedal can be used to cut unwanted ones. For instance, electrical noise and hum can be rolled off using a high-pass filter that rolls off all frequencies below 80 Hz. In the same way, excessive treble can be cut using an EQ pedal to give your tone a more concise and refined sound that’s more likely to sit well in a mix.
Unlike many other types of pedals, an EQ can manipulate a large spectrum of frequency ranges by filtering input signals through linear filters. This means that you can manipulate an entire range of tones with just one pedal, making it a convenient and versatile tool for your rig.
Mid-Range Boost
Adding an EQ pedal to your signal chain is a quick way to tame feedback or add some extra oomph to your guitar’s tone. Graphic EQ pedals offer fast solutions by boosting or cutting gain at fixed frequencies, while parametric EQ’s allow you to hone in on specific bands for surgical adjustments. The Q factor determines which range of frequencies the EQ is adjusting, with narrower Q factors targeting a smaller band for precise frequency adjustment and wider Q’s affecting a larger area for general tone shaping. Try experimenting with different settings until you find the perfect combination.
Using an EQ to boost mid-range frequencies will sharpen the tone and help you cut through a mix with ease. Try boosting around 3kHz (+3 to +6 dB) for a crisper, more pronounced sound. This is great for rhythm parts, or to accentuate lead sections. You can also reduce the frequency range around 200Hz to 400Hz (-3 to -5 dB) to tighten up the sound, removing some of the boominess and boxy quality that can make your guitar muddy.
While many EQ pedals offer presets to give you a starting point, it’s essential to experiment with your own EQ settings for a truly personalized effect. Most pedals have a wide array of frequency controls, with each having different benefits depending on the setting.
For example, a high-pass filter can be useful to remove low-frequency sounds and open up more room for bass and kick in a mix. Conversely, a boost in the lower mid-range can enhance your guitar’s body and depth.
Using an EQ as a clean boost can be a great addition to your guitar rig, especially for those who don’t use a lot of effects. An EQ pedal can be used as an exciter to push your amplifier into overdrive, or you can use it to boost a certain frequency range and create unique sounds such as the AM radio tone heard on The Strokes’ ‘Is This Right’ album or the scooped mids found on Pantera records. You can even pair a treble booster with a distortion pedal to create the V-shape boost effect as seen on Dimebag Darrell’s and Josh Homme’s pedalboards.