Ever think of adding EQ to your signal chain? Here’s a brief but definitive guide on how to get started.
Equalization is a powerful sonic-sculpting tool. Almost immediately after we figured out how to convert the music we hear into electronic waveforms, electronic engineers devised circuits to manipulate those signals by attenuating and accentuating different frequency bands. In recording studios, equalization can subtract bass from a boomy kick drum or add sibilance to a breathy vocal. In sound reinforcement, we can equalize the response of a PA in a room with less than ideal resonances.
These resonances add or subtract energy from the PA output and present an uneven response to the audience. Equalization adjusts the PA’s frequency response to account for those room dynamics and makes the response even, or equal, across all bands.
Human hearing is usually understood to extend from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The frequency range of the guitar is much more limited, typically ranging from around 80 Hz to 6 kHz. Interestingly, the human voice shares a great deal of the same bandwidth, meaning the same ears and audio-processing centers that are fine-tuned for distinguishing the differences in voices can readily adapt to distinguish the differences in guitar tones. Accordingly, small adjustments in frequency equalization can have big effects in the ears of the listener, making a world of difference in a guitar’s fundamental sound. No amount of EQ will turn a red-knob Fender Twin into a Marshall plexi, but a little EQ might be all that stands between the sound in your head and the gear that you already own.
There are a host of EQ guitar pedal options on the market, from the venerable Boss GE-7 graphic equalizer (which contains preset frequency centers and bandwidths) to the new-fangled Empress ParaEq (which contains fully adjustable frequency centers and bandwidths). If you’re an EQ neophyte, stick with a graphic EQ. The sliders will be spaced evenly, and you can train your ear to hear the difference between frequencies before graduating to the laissez-faire frequency selection of a parametric EQ. As you’re learning what each frequency does for your sound, pull the fader all the way down and listen carefully, then push it all the way up and do the same. Listening to the EQ at these extremes may help you key in on the change at a more tasteful setting. Make a habit of turning the effect on and off to sample what it is doing relative to your unaffected signal.
It may be helpful to think of EQ as a flavoring agent. Like a little salt enhances a dish’s existing flavors, EQ can make for some tasty tones. If you have an overdrive that you’d like to make a little more “screamer,” add a bit of 800 Hz. If your sound has got a little too much of that green pedal honk, cut 800 Hz just a hair. If your chunky rhythm sound lacks clarity, cut from 200–250 Hz. This is where the low-midrange mud lives.
“If the unobtanium overdrive du jour is a Ferrari, then an EQ is like a Honda Accord.”
Almost every move has a practical reciprocal. You can add clarity by cutting low mids or boosting high mids by a commensurate amount. I normally recommend cutting first as a rule of thumb, as excessive boost can make things squirrelly, due to increased overall gain. That said, boosting around 500 Hz can add midrange body; around 2 kHz can help a neck pickup cut through the mix; and around 5 kHz can add airy click to your sound.
As you tweak, remember the upper-frequency bands will have more of an effect when placed after overdrive and distortion in your signal chain, as those processes generate harmonics that add energy to higher frequencies. But, there are no hard and fast rules. Adjust with listening ears! Your sound is like a ball of clay, and EQ can help you shape it just how you’d like.
Experiment with EQ placement as well. Apply EQ after dirt in order to carve your signal like the channel strip on a mixing console. Apply EQ before overdrives to cause them to saturate sooner at specific frequencies. This can greatly affect a pedal’s feel as well as sound.
If the unobtanium overdrive du jour is a Ferrari, then an EQ is like a Honda Accord. It’s practical, modest, and functional, but most people don’t dream about owning one. However, with the ability to subtly sculpt and cut or boost in the extreme, EQ can get you where you want to go.
John Bohlinger and the PG video crew head west to explore the two brands that helped spark hot-rodding instruments and tricking out "super strat" shredsters. Talented master builders Pasquale “Pat” Campolattano, "Metal" Joe Williams, and Dave Nichols (aka “Red Dave”) unlock the door to their twisted sanctuary and let the sawdust fly showing us their hands-on approach to building drag-racing guitars.
Phish unveil new album Evolve and announce tour dates, including next week’s sold-out four-show run at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The title track from their forthcoming new album is available now on all streaming services. Listen here.
Phish will follow the Sphere run with a summer tour getting underway with a three-night stand at Mansfield, MA’s Xfinity Center (July 19-21) and then continuing on with performances at Uncasville, CT’s Mohegan Sun Arena (July 23-24), East Troy, WI’s Alpine Valley Music Theatre (July 26-28), St. Louis, MO’s Chaifetz Arena (July 30-31), Noblesville, IN’s Ruoff Music Center (August 2-4), Grand Rapids, MI’s Van Andel Arena (August 6-7), and Bethel, NY historic Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (August 9-11). The tour will culminate with Phish’s traditional Labor Day Weekend run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO, returning for four nights (August 29-September 1). Limited tickets remain available for most dates.
Evolve arrives via JEMP Records on Friday, July 12.
Cover Painting by Mehdi Ghadyanloo.
This summer will see also Phish hosting Mondegreen, a four-day festival set for August 15-18 at The Woodlands in Dover, DE. The band’s 11th self-produced festival and first in nine years, Mondegreen will see Phish performing over four days and nights, alongside an array of interactive fan experiences, specially curated regional food and drink, art installations, and much more.
For more information, please visit phish.com.
Phish Live 2024
APRIL
18 – Las Vegas, NV – The Sphere (SOLD OUT)
19 – Las Vegas, NV – The Sphere (SOLD OUT)
20 – Las Vegas, NV – The Sphere (SOLD OUT)
21 – Las Vegas, NV – The Sphere (SOLD OUT)
JULY
19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
20 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
21 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
23 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena (SOLD OUT)
24 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena (SOLD OUT)
26 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
27 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
28 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Music Valley Music Theatre
30 – St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena
31 – St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena
AUGUST
2 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
3 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
4 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
6 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
7 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
9 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
10 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
11 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
15 – The Woodlands, Dover, DE – Mondegreen
16 – The Woodlands, Dover, DE – Mondegreen
17 – The Woodlands, Dover, DE – Mondegreen
18 – The Woodlands, Dover, DE – Mondegreen
29 – Commerce City, CO – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
30 – Commerce City, CO – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
31 – Commerce City, CO – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
SEPTEMBER
1 – Commerce City, CO – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park