Anyone still using an External EQ with their Rectifiers?

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Hey guys!

Haven't heard much talk about these lately...I'm curious if anyone is still running an MXR 10 band, for example, in the loop of their rectos...

Seemed to be all the craze for a while...I was thinking about trying it again...

Eric

 

[fluff191]

I used to run a Boss EQ in the loop for a short time. I just didn't like having to pack up another piece of gear so I just changed preamp tubes until I got close.

 

[cheameup]

yeah i do . I recently put a dimebucker in my 2nd guitar and I'm finding with out eq thats getting me pretty close to the sound of my custom 5 with the eq . So I dont have it set up for a general sound anymore. more of a variation to use here and there rather than have it on all the time

 

[Jmcthe3rd]

I use a DBX 215 with mine. Nothing too crazy. Up the mids a little and drop the extreme lows a little. Just a little fine tuning.

 

[Chris McKinley]

Funny, I was gonna ask is anybody still not using an EQ with their Recto. It's the single most simple, elegant and powerful thing you can do to tailor your tone to being exactly how you individually want it. Couple that with the Recto's famous overabundance of mud and lack of mids and mid harmonics and in the words of Slap Chop Vince, "It practically sells itself."

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

Anyone other Recto owners have a say?

Eric

 

[YellowJacket]

Funny, I was gonna ask is anybody still not using an EQ with their Recto. It's the single most simple, elegant and powerful thing you can do to tailor your tone to being exactly how you individually want it. Couple that with the Recto's famous overabundance of mud and lack of mids and mid harmonics and in the words of Slap Chop Vince, "It practically sells itself."

I run a different cab. No mud over here!

 

[lowbass5]

got the boss GE7 EQ in the loop, great sounding unit..act like a booster..the sound is much punchier..

 

[Blaklynx]

I use the MXR 10 band in the loop. I also use a Danelectro Fish n' Chips in front after my OD pedals. With the one in front, it helps greatly because most OD pedals only have a tone control and I feel that is not enough. The pedals tone control just doesn't allow a boost or cut in bass/treble. They usually sound somewhat 'flat' and lifeless and some pedals just sound 'bland'. Add an EQ in front and you're in business. Even with the MI Audio Blues Pro and Crunch Box pedals, as well as the Tube Zone pedal, the EQ enganged makes a huge difference. And these pedals are excellent.

The MXR in the loop I had setup for 6L6 use but I have since swapped to Winged C EL34's. Much better amp, I feel, as the slightly more compressed nature of the EL34's suit me better. The EQ curve had to change. The loss of bass I bring back in via the EQ and the amps bass/mid control. Treble was adjusted accordingly, too. Of course, the EQ curve also had cuts. Sometimes cut rather than boost. It's a good rule to remember.

I can't remember my setup values as I have packed stuff away due to painting the house..... yeah, I know, shoot me in the head!..... otherwise I'd write them all down for you. If you do a search for 'EQ' or similar, or my username, I'm sure I've written them all down, but for 6L6 use. Of course, my settings may not suit you as your guitar, speaker, cabinets, etc, will make a huge difference in tone. But as a general read and maybe something to try, you've got nothing to lose, right?

EQ's will shape your tone more than any other pedal. IMO, highly recommended.

 

[cradlefish]

no eq for me. I feel that it robs more of the amps natural tone so no eq for me.

 

[R_ADKINS80]

I tried around $500 worth of tubes, tons of pedals and every pick-up under the sun to find my own sound with my triple. Then I ditched all the NOS tubes, pedals, went back to EMGs @ 18V and bought an ENGL.

 

[Chris McKinley]

That's too bad, cradlefish. Would you mind explaining what exactly you did with an EQ that resulted in you feelling that way?

 

[TFridgen]

no eq for me. I feel that it robs more of the amps natural tone so no eq for me.

I'm with you, I had one and at first loved it, but I started tweaking so much, I found I was losing the amps natural feel and tone. After a while of having it in the loop, I took it out and bam, there was the tone. Just this big bold kick your mom in the tits sound that made me fall in love with the Roadster in the first place.

 

[konstantine RK]

Yea I dont use EQ either.... it's just more crap between you and your amp. Let your fingers, guitar and your tweaking sense do the talking.

 

[YellowJacket]

My opinion is that speaker cabinets and speaker model has a fairly pronounced impact on tone. Getting a really balanced and great sounding cab can have a huge impact on how a rig sounds. You can get much more in the ballpark without having to resort to pedals to shape tone. Tubes also impact tone this way as well.

 

[Blaklynx]

I have a different opinion as to why I use an EQ and why it's important to me. The amps tone controls, speaker type, guitar and pickups alone all provide different shades of tones. Where you have problem frequencies, sometimes cannot be dialled out by the amps tone controls. They don't 'zoom in' and target specific frequencies with accuracy. They are set at frequencies and Q curves by the manufacture. If you have multiple guitars and use one amp?

Sometimes you need to cut or boost a narrow frequency range but the amps tone controls won't allow that. If you need to cut the highs, for example, adjusting the amps treble may affect the overall tone too much, as the centre frequency and it's Q curve may not be in the troublesome area. With an EQ, you can at least 'zoom in' closer and make minor tweaks. The same goes for other frequencies.

What if your guitar has pickups centred around too much bass? Adjusting the amps bass control may not fix the issue. Place an EQ before the amp input and cut the lower frequencies (one slider or two or three) will certainly help a lot better than the amps bass control.

My 3 cents (inflation).....

 

[Chris McKinley]

Thank you for that very reasonable explanation, Blaklynx. I'm no more gonna let Randall make all of my tone decisions for me then I'm gonna let Maxwell House tell me how I like my coffee.

 

[fluff191]

This thread has got me thinking about trying an EQ in the loop again, but this time with a better EQ$ like an MXR.

 

[b0nkersx]

I'm hot and cold on it. Mostly cold. I don't really feel it's necessary to get what I want most of the time, but it's "fun" to fool around with (in other words, I never use it seriously anymore).

 

[fluff191]

...........I picked up a brand new MXR KFK-1 EQ for $95 shipped.