From precise tone shaping to boosting particular frequencies, or recapturing frequencies sucked dry by your go-to drive pedal, there are myriad reasons for housing an EQ on your ’board. We’ve rounded up 10 solid options for you to peruse and consider making your new favorite friend in your signal chain.
BOSS
EQ-200This pedal offers two 10-band EQ channels with a graphic display, multi-function switches, and onboard memories which allow a player to store multiple setups for instant recall.
$249 street
boss.info
MXR
M108SFeaturing 10 EQ sliders with carefully selected frequencies and a +/- 12 dB boost/cut range, this sound-optimizing pedal can also be used as a tweakable boost pedal, with its volume and gain sliders.
$129 street
jimdunlop.com
WHIRLWIND
Perfect 10Featuring a circuit design created by industry legend Tony Gambacurta, this 10-band constant-Q equalizer lets players target specific frequency ranges with surgical precision.
$238 street
whirlwindusa.com
BEHRINGER
EQ700This value-rich EQ provides sound shaping and feedback elimination through its seven bands of equalization, with a wide frequency range and a powerful 15 dB boost/cut per band.
$28 street
behringer.com
MESA BOOGIE
Boogie Five-Band Graphic EQLong a lauded component in Mesa’s amplifiers, this powerful tone-shaping 5-band EQ is now in a handcrafted pedal formant to help capture the company’s classic sound, and much more.
$279 street
mesaboogie.com
SOURCE AUDIO
EQ2 Programmable EqualizerThis combination graphic and parametric EQ features 10 fully adjustable frequency bands, stereo ins and outs, MIDI in and thru jacks, presets galore, and even an integrated tuner.
$269 street
sourceaudio.net
EMPRESS EFFECTS
ParaEQThree bands of parametric EQ, each with three selectable Q widths, provide for very flexible sound shaping. Designed to be ultra-transparent and noise-free, the pedal’s boost section offers 30 dB of clean boost.
$249 street
empresseffects.com
J. ROCKETT AUDIO DESIGNS
I.Q. CompressorThis EQ/compressor features a 6-band graphic, pre-compression EQ—each with 18 dB cut or boost—which allows you to choose which frequencies you want compressed harder based on their respective gain setting.
$229 street
rockettpedals.com
TECH 21
Q\StripDesigned to emulate the EQ sections of the iconic recording consoles from the ’60s and ’70s, this DI-format pedal features four bands of EQ, two parametric mid bands, and high and low shelving filters.
$249 street
tech21nyc.com
OLD BLOOD NOISE ENDEAVORS
3-Band EQ + BufferThis simple 3-band EQ also serves as an always-on buffer, while the switchable EQ is beneficial for tailoring specific parts, guitar switches, or using as an always-on EQ.
$109 street
oldbloodnoise.com
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
