MXR 10 Band EQ w. Roadster

[Kaz]

I just got one of those nifty MXR 10 bands everyone seems to love here at the BB, so I thought I'd share my first impressions.

AWESOME.

No, seriously. It performs as expected. It's almost like running an OD (tightness, crunch, harmonic richness) but without adding more gain to the signal. It's definitely brightened up what I think is a pretty dark (and bass heavy) Roadster. In the loop, this thing is great. Here's what I've got it set to right now:

Am I being too 'aggro' with my settings, or does that look kinda normal? Also I'm running an OCD in front but I'm not using it too much right now.

 

[Chris McKinley]

Don't boost anything at 250Hz if you're using a Recto, they already put out a surplus in that frequency range. Also, why are you cutting your 500Hz and 1kHz mids? The mids that are absolutely crucial to getting a good lead sound, and unless you're playing old school Metallica, you will likely want a boost in that frequency, not a cut. Overall though, your settings are pretty judicious...not bad.

 

[Kaz]

Don't boost anything at 250Hz if you're using a Recto, they already put out a surplus in that frequency range. Also, why are you cutting your 500Hz and 1kHz mids? The mids that are absolutely crucial to getting a good lead sound, and unless you're playing old school Metallica, you will likely want a boost in that frequency, not a cut. Overall though, your settings are pretty judicious...not bad.

I've since flattened the 250Hz. But yeah the sound I was going for WAS oldschool Metallica rhythm. Thanks for the input, however. I quickly realized a little goes a long way with these things and I'd rather subtract where possible instead of boosting, so it just kinda made sense. The highest freq. slider tamed a little of that fizz, thankfully. I just wish there was a slider at around 800Hz.

I kind of forsee myself getting another of these just for a lead setting for some seriously b00sted mids. ...

 

[tjlincoln]

I would agree. Cutting is definitely better than adding. I cut the two lowest freqs and a little at 500hz. The 400-500 range is where the mud is in a live mix. I also boost just 3dB at 250hz and 2K for just a bit of sparkle

 

[Adambomb]

what about your gain and volume knobs? I just got a MXR 10 band a couple of weeks ago and my settings look kinda like yours. I leave my volume and gain knobs even. Wonder if it would help to turn both them up?

 

[Holy Diver]

Hmmm, I was/am using one in the loop - 31.25Hz at -12dB, 62.5Hz at around -9 dB, 125Hz at +5dB and 250Hz at -5dB, everything else flat, to tighten up the low end. Today after playing for a short while with the loop bypassed I may have to reassess that and start using the eq up front (if i need it)

 

[Chris McKinley]

Holy Diver,

If you put the EQ up front (before the preamp), it will have much less overall effect. In fact, its ability to shape tone will be mild at best. The two places to put the EQ are not equally interchangeable. Since it's your amp's preamp that really defines the tonal character of your guitar sound, placing the EQ before the preamp won't really affect its influence much. Placing it after the preamp, i.e., in the loop, lets you shape the amp's tone, not just the guitar's.

 

[Holy Diver]

Hi Chris, Yeah I'm aware of that alright. It's just that when I bypassed the loop I found it seemed to make the tone come alive - something I always found slightly dead until now - even after adding the eq. I only had a couple of minutes to try it with the loop bypassed before I reverted to my usual set-up (eq in the loop) for rehearsal so I need to look at it more before I decide whether I'll go that way in the future. Losing the eq and the convenience of having a single overall output control are the drawbacks. I don't use any other effects.

 

[Holy Diver]

Hi Chris, Yeah I'm aware of that alright. It's just that when I bypassed the loop I found it seemed to make the tone come alive - something I always found slightly dead until now - even after adding the eq. I only had a couple of minutes to try it with the loop bypassed before I reverted to my usual set-up (eq in the loop) for rehearsal so I need to look at it more before I decide whether I'll go that way in the future. Losing the eq and the convenience of having a single overall output control are the drawbacks. I don't use any other effects.

 

[CoG]

What we found with my buddy's Roadster is that it really only needs the EQ in Ch4/Modern to cut mud and fizz and boost "real bass."

This is good because we had trouble balancing volumes between Ch3/Vintage and Ch4/Modern, the latter always being too loud once we got them both dialed in nice. So we just put the EQ in the loop, only engage the loop in Ch4 (he's pretty minimalist...) and cut the output on the EQ a little to bring the volume in line with Ch3.