Right Hand Techniques for Guitar.

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What’s new at Zystrix? Read on… April 13, 2026 EQ Pedal Issue Tips, Tricks, and EQ Pedals The last episode was our 100th issue with past popular guitar topics, 35 new free 6X12 guitar cabinet IRs, a solo piano called Devil’s Hour, and an album called The Fluid -- a chapter by chapter epic supporting the paperback book (click here for a refresher). This time we’re looking at the top 12 EQ pedal tips and tricks, and the pedals that do it. So sit back and relax. Welcome to Zystrix, the heartbeat of the universe. Where creativity and free-thinking have more value than conformity. Background Artwork The colorful artwork that surrounds the edges of this website is invisible to many cell phone users. It’s included here (with others) for your enjoyment. Multiple copies are tiled together for a cohesive and seamless background seen all around this page. Enjoy. Guitar EQ Pedal INTRODUCTION An EQ may seem like one of the least inspiring pedals for many guitarists, but it’s really not. It can be used for many things like surgically sculpting your tone, fixing problem EQ frequencies and noises, boosting solos, and doing some emergency IR cab imitations. All those sliders and nobs on an EQ are your friends, so don’t let them intimidate you. An EQ pedal can be a powerful versatile ally on your pedal-board helping you to create many tonal possibilities. But Do I Need an EQ Pedal? In a word, no, but after you’ve used one it’s hard to figure out how you got along without it. Think of it more like the Swiss army knife of your pedal- board. EQ pedals can make a basic rig very versatile in terms of tone repairs and problem solving hooked up before your amplifier, and they also make a great amplifier sound even better inserted into the effects loop before the power amp section, among other things. “To Cut or Boost, That is the Question… To Weigh the Uncertainty of EQ Adjustment over the End of Apathetic Suffering.” Well, it’s not really that life or death dramatic. Cutting or boosting (or not) is actually pretty simple: it’s changing different frequencies by varying amounts. And if you don’t like what you did simply undo it. This adjustment is in addition to any EQ your amplifier adds or subtracts. A guitar roughly ranges from 80 Hz to about 7 kHz with most guitar speakers filtering out the super highs, some more than others. You’ll also get different EQ curves from various guitar pickups, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, distortion pedals, and so on. And most available EQ pedals on the market can give you the needed control. Even the cheap ones. It’s also good to remember to use a buffer early in your signal chain (see issue #84 section #5 for more information) to retain your original guitar signal integrity and EQ. Why? Because if long cable lines are used the EQ pedal won’t help your situation because the frequencies just aren’t there. Sorry. But where should a person put the EQ pedal in your signal chain? There are two basic places: before the amplifier preamp and after. However, purchasing a couple of EQ pedals will give even more sonic control. Here are some EQ pedal ideas you may enjoy. Drum-roll please. Here’s the… Top 12 Things to Do With a Guitar EQ #1 Ear Fatigue. Smooth out harsh frequencies between 3-6K. This tends to be a problem area with guitars that are over- driven. With my rig I tend to start rolling off in this frequency range with the guitar completely gone at about 6K – an EQ brickwall. It certainly makes overdriven guitars easier to listen to, especially over long periods of time. #2. Superior Clean Boost. Keep your sliders (or parametric knobs) flat with the overall gain turned up. This is a great way to do a clean boost, and it’s especially good going into the front-end of a screaming Mesa Boogie amp. The EQ pedal can also be adjusted to accommodate the imperfections in the particular amp EQ. #3. Subtle Distortion Changes. Try running your EQ pedal before your amp-in-a-box or distortion pedal. It’s a more subtle method but it tends to make the amp-in-a- box or distortion pedal work a little harder. Be careful of too much or it may sound artificial (unless that’s what you want). Some distortion pedals have no real EQ control except for tone, and an EQ pedal helps with that. Some pedals need help with frequencies they don’t control very well. Another way to do this is a takeoff of the old fashion way of making floor monitors as loud as possible without feedback. Turn all sliders off and run the volume slider flat. Now bring up each slider one at a time and write down the maximum volume level before the distortion pedal starts to sound bad or distort. Now turn up each slider to the markings you wrote down and set the volume slider to a level you prefer. ROCK! #4. Aggressive Distortion Changes. Try running your EQ pedal after your amp-in-a-box or distortion pedal. Using this method adds or subtracts frequencies in a dramatic manner, and can make the pedal sound like a different distortion type (Distortion + to a Tube Screamer, etc), or an amp-in-a-box sound more aggressive and slice through a dense mix. This method also helps with great sounding distortion or amp-in-a-box pedals that need just a little extra help because their tone knob just isn’t enough. Turn the sound from a mouse to a monster. #5. Solo boost in the effects loop. Run all the sliders up to flat and run the volume knob or slider to the gain needed to boost your solo volume without changing the basic tone. This little trick shows the soundman where your solo goes. Don’t you just hate it when the soundman reads a magazine during your gig? Set the volume to stun. #6. Always On Effects. Use an EQ as an always- on in the effects loop to adjust the curve of the amp more to your liking. Try scooping the mids, try bringing out the roar (especially in a Joyo lunch-box type amp) to sound like a full- bodied large amp, try pushing the tube power amp section for more drive, or try a penetrating upper-mid tone that slices through the band. #7. Sound lo-fi in the effects loop. Adjust the sliders (upper mids and highs, bring down others using your ear) to sound like a retro AM hand radio, a bullhorn, an old phonograph, or an old TV. #8. Clean Emulation Use the EQ pedal at the end of the pedal-board to emulate a different amp character. Are you bored with your Fender amp sound? Use it to emulate a Vox AC30 EQ curve. #9 Fake Cocked Wah-Wah. Use your ear to adjust the EQ controls for a cocked wah-wah pedal sound. This method can be tricky with a graphic vs a parametric EQ because the parametric is more believable sounding. This trick can be done before the amp or in the effects loop. The nice thing about imitating the pedal this way is the sound effect doesn’t drift like a real wah-wah can, and the Q depth and width can be changed unlike a traditional wah-wah. #10 Pre-Delay Cleaning. Use the EQ to tame down problem frequencies before the time based effects. This makes the repeats a little cleaner and pleasant, and it helps remove the mud from an “ocean-of- sound” style of delay with reverb. #11. Super Active Pickups or Different Pickups. Use your EQ pedal right after your guitar and set the sliders for a massively hot active pickup sound. Try running all sliders flat and use the level control for the increase in output. If that isn’t quite right adjust the sliders for a curve that is more to your liking. Or try sounding like something different. Do you have humbuckers you’d like to sound like P-90s? Use you EQ to roll off some highs and use less output. Experiment trying to sound like other pickups, or simply invent your own pickup sound (active or not). #12. Emergency Guitar Cab IR This trick works better with a parametric or 10-band EQ. If you are in an emergency and don’t have an IR pedal and you need one right away it’s possible to fine tune one. Cut off all frequencies above about 5K and a steep cut starting at about 120 and below. You may have to cut more from the high end including running 4K somewhat lower. Then it’s just a matter of using your ears to fine tune the mids with maybe a small hump at about 600 cycles. Never use this trick after the power amp section of an amplifier, that is, unless you want to fry not only your amp but also your pedal. Guitar EQ pedals to Consider Look for options like a master volume and an on- off switch. Without the button it’s stuck in an always on position. Without the master volume there’s no way to gracefully control the overall output. Less sliders (5-6) give a faster end result in tonal shaping, but without the ability to hone in a specific curve or chase down a narrow problem frequency, if needed. And more EQ bands do the opposite, and you may prefer that option just in case in an emergency you need to imitate a guitar cab IR. A parametric EQ is excellent for tonal shaping and curves with surgical precision using the Q height and breadth, and that’s something a graphic EQ cannot do. The nice thing with a parametric is it’s possible to dial in an excellent and precise curve. It’s not fast but it does a better job. A 5 or 6 band EQ can dial in a nice tonal shape quickly but without the precision. But you may not need the precision, so a parametric EQ or a ten-band graphic is overkill. A 10-band graphic takes a while to dial in a sound because there are more bands of control, but there’s more precision on the available fixed bands. For me I’d use a parametric EQ before the amp and after my distortion pedals (or in a studio situation where pedals do most of the guitar sound work). I use a parametric EQ at the very end of my pedal chain because that’s where I need it. But if I didn’t I would replace the parametric EQ with a 5 or 6 band graphic for quick sound sculpting. However, I prefer something more precise because I want to tailor my own curve, but that’s just me. In a live situation via the amplifier effects loop I’d use a 5 to 10 band with a foot switch and a volume control to get the most out of the preamp section or to use as a solo boost. So onstage with an amp I’d use two EQ pedals (one on my board and one in my effects loop) because sound men usually suck at figuring out which guitarist is playing the solo – and that’s even when mixing a classic power trio. Would I consider using two affordable 5-6 band EQs for my amp stage-rig? Yes. That would be nice. Would I consider using two parametric EQs for my stage amp rig? Yes, that would be even better. And as you may already know, the gear mentioned here is not the most popular, but it’s always the most bang for the buck. So let’s look at some EQ tools. Parametric EQ Pedals Ibanez Pentatone Equalizer As the name implies, it’s a 5- band parametric EQ that’s mono, it has an on-off switch, and an overall volume control. It has a very clean and neutral sound quality. They are easy to find for $140 USA and free shipping from almost any big box music store, and even cheaper brand new from Reverb and sometimes Ebay. Tech 21 Q Strip This pedal is no longer being manufactured. It is all analog, there’s no memory, and it’s basically a one-trick-pony. However, they are still out there on the used market (Reverb) for about $150- 250 USA. It’s more expensive than is usually allowed in these bang-for-the-buck listings, but it does an excellent job of retro sounding parametric EQ duties if that is what you seek. Graphic EQ Pedals The world is brimming over with graphic EQ guitar pedals, and even the affordable ones sound good. Finding a used one is easy. Try haunting your local pawn shop or Facebook Marketplace for a deal. Here are some you may enjoy. IOppWin 5-band Graphic This is the same pedal company who also offers an optical compressor for the same price of $20 USA and free shipping from Walmart and Amazon. How do they do it? I have no idea. But at this price for a micro EQ pedal made of metal I’d say it’s a steal. And if it dies use it for grape and canister. Rowin GT EQ This pedal looks suspiciously like the IOppWin EQ pedal above, but this one costs a little more weighing in at $34 USA and free shipping. Same features, just check Amazon or Walmart. Behringer BEQ700 If you couldn’t guess, this pedal is a clone of the Boss 7-band pedal. It’s very light in weight because it’s plastic, it’s not super sturdy, it’s yellow, but it does the job. And they range from $25 USA with free shipping with most of the big box stores offering them for about $32.00. There’s no reason to buy a used one with these low prices for brand new. I’m sure this pedal will withstand light duty, or it would be an excellent backup for just in case, or it could go on your other pedal-board, or put it in your effects loop for a solo boost or to sculpt your final amp tone. Boss GE-7 7-Band EQ This has been a traditional staple for guitar pedal EQ since 1992. It’s built indestructible and road ready and sells for $128 USA with free shipping at most big box stores. They tend to hold their value, so I wouldn’t bother getting a used one unless it’s a bargain. I have found them on Ebay for the occasional good price. Caline CP-81 10 band EQ This pedal appears to be a clone of the MXR 10-band EQ below (same specs and input/outputs) and it’s an improvement over the Caline CP-24 10-band EQ. This pedal is an affordable way to get into a 10-band EQ, and they are available on Ebay and Amazon for $70-76 USA with free shipping. MXR M108S 10-band EQ pedal This is another EQ pedal that has been around for a while, and it’s built for road use. These are easy to find at most big box music stores and Amazon for $160 USA and free shipping. Boss EQ-200 This may be the last EQ pedal you’ll ever need (except for a good parametric). There are so many features it’s hard to list them all in this small space. The retail price recently came down with most big box music stores selling them for $232 USA with free shipping, and Ebay and Amazon slightly lower. There’s also a few of them to be found used at a fairly good discount on Reverb. Honorable Mention Joyo Cab Box Technically this is not an EQ pedal, it’s more of a guitar cab IR (impulse response) pedal. However, it does an excellent job of adding realism to a guitar signal with emulations of guitar cabs (yours or theirs), microphone emulations, power amp emulations, and of course, a programmable EQ. Guitar EQ Conclusion Wow, we covered a lot of EQ pedal ground. There’s a lot of treasure here. So why use an EQ? You may want to change your basic guitar pickup sound, or use it in place of a powerful active pickup, or bring out the best of an amp-in-a-box pedal, or imitate or improve the sound of a cocked wa-wa pedal, or roll off any muddiness in your overall sound, or boost the volume of a solo in an amp’s effects loop. An EQ pedal is a great way to get there. Where the pedal is placed in the signal chain also makes a lot of sonic difference. Explore the options. Learn the freq sliders for boost and cut, on your parametric EQ learn the Q controls for width and depth, use your ear for your best sonic signature and where the pedal does the most good for your rig and the sound you have in mind. And all this knowledge carries over to recording, mixing, and especially mastering your own projects. I hope this EQ issue has given you food for thought and consideration, helped you discover a new way to improve and run your rig, and maybe given you a new approach in your continued adventures of guitar tone chasing. Don’t touch that dial… Stay tuned next time… In the next issue we’re going to cover tips and tricks for using compressor pedals. And we’ll listen to the another solo piano tune from Dangerous Neighbors called Tinker Bell’s Funeral. Maybe I’ll see you then. The police told me that stupidity is not a crime, and I was free to go.

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