To EQ or not to EQ......

[Dusty Rhodes]

My question is:

Did Randall Smith design an adequate enough onboard EQ system for his Stiletto Ace amplifiers so they don't require a suplementary external EQ device?

I know there are those who would not play without some sort of additional EQ (graphic or otherwise) running through their amplifiers.

I run one through my Marshall and it does indeed help quite a bit. However I have come to understand that Mesa's are much better in this area and I wonder if one would really add any real benefit.

Your thoughts?

 

[ibanez4life SZ!]

That's a question only you can answer....

Is the EQ adequate for YOU?

Do you want to boost or cut any frequency more than the amp allows?

Ask yourself those questions, and you should know if you want an EQ of not :wink:

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

That's a question only you can answer....

Is the EQ adequate for YOU?

Do you want to boost or cut any frequency more than the amp allows?

Ask yourself those questions, and you should know if you want an EQ of not :wink:

I understand.
I was just wondering what the general consenus was before I made the invistment. But as you indicated, I'm the only one who can make that call.

Thanks,

 

[Platypus]

I can offer some advice here having owned 3 Marks w/ GEQ, a dual rectifier and a stiletto.

I would say the Dual Rectifier needs an EQ badly in my opinon.. there are frequencies you just cannot dial out. The Mark sounds good with the GEQ and without the GEQ. The Stiletto sounds good as is, I don't think it really needs anything more.

But as ibanez said, only you can make that call. The pots of the stiletto have a wide enough range to their sweep that you can most likely find any tone you're after.

 

[bluesymetal]

Man I must be in the minority of hating graphic eq's in the loop. I don't mean built in eq's, the one on my old Mark III was great.

I just don't like the solid state tone and feel they add when running through the loop. My only experience is with the boss ge-7 and the big boss two switch pedal (I forget it's name) I get that same feel with every amp I've ever tried one of those eq's with.

The stilleto's I've played, while inherintly a brighter voiced amp, have a pretty big variety of tones in them and the knobs seem to make a big difference. I would say an external eq would not be required.

As far as the recto goes... I don't think you need one, at least with the 2 channel, to shape the tone. The different voicings and with different od pedals and tubes and such takes care of almost any frequencies I would need to changed without adding that solid state feel. Plus I feel the knobs have decent sweep to them as well.

BTW I'm only talking distortion tones... cleans might be a different story.

 

[ollievk]

bluesymetal, if you don't like the sound of solid state eq's, get a tube one, if everything's tube, you can't go wrong :wink:

 

[bluesymetal]

bluesymetal, if you don't like the sound of solid state eq's, get a tube one, if everything's tube, you can't go wrong :wink:

For real? or are you kidding :?

I've never heard of a tube eq...

But like I said my experience is with boss only.... but I've heard MXR is much better, after my prior experience with boss though I just don't think I'd even need one.

 

[jab]

I'm an Ace owner, and just went through the eq experiment because I was curious about it too. At the end of the day, my opinion was I get a bigger, fuller tone with an eq in the loop. I boosted the bottom and the top freq's just slightly, and left the mids as is. It's a pretty big difference. I gave 2 of my bandmates the blindfolded a/b test with eq "on/off" to make sure I wasn't crazy, and both definitely voted eq "on". I don't like making room for more pedals, but the eq earned a spot on the board.

Required? No, Stiletto's on board eq is versatile and you can get some great tone out of it. Would I experiment with it though if I were you? Hell yes. I play classic rock by the way, maybe the style of music plays into what sounds good coming off the amp too.

 

[ollievk]

yeh man, check out TL audio eq's, i just got one pretty cheap off ebay. Yeh I think with all the MXR and boss stuff you're always gonna get unwanted noise and it's gonna change the tone of the amp, but with a tube EQ you're gonna get a much clearer EQ.

If you don't NEED an EQ there's no point in getting one really, I just need to take out the fizz and tighten up the bottom in my TR!

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I appreciate all of the input guys. This does help.

Thanks,

 

[Zoomzilla]

I have a 3 channel DR and I modded the loop to serial so I could run my MXR 10 band EQ in the loop. It made a world of difference. If you want the chugga chugga, you cannot get it with the stock DR. But turn the bass down on the amp, and add it back in with the EQ in the loop and slide the 200 down some and man, you can chugga chugga all day. It really tightenend up the tone. I highly recommend it. Next up is a tube screamer. Do I get Maxon or Fulltone. Decisions, decisions.

 

[primal]

bluesymetal, if you don't like the sound of solid state eq's, get a tube one, if everything's tube, you can't go wrong :wink:

For real? or are you kidding :?

I've never heard of a tube eq...

But like I said my experience is with boss only.... but I've heard MXR is much better, after my prior experience with boss though I just don't think I'd even need one.

Tone is subjective thing.

I got a boss ge-7 off craigslist for 50 bucks for my Roadking combo. Easily one of the best purchases I have made.

I drop the bass on the amp and boost it on the eq while dropping the 200's.

I then boost the 3.2k to give it a little added crunch whike bringing 6.2k down slightly.

I love it.

My only regret is that I need seperate settings when I switch to cleans. Usually when I switch to cleans, I disengauge the loop entirely.

 

[abe]

I just got an MXR 6 band for my Ace 2 days ago. I did the same thing as one of the previous posters, raised the highs and lows a bit and left the mids at 0. In tite gain, it really increased the clarity as well as the low end. The "crunch" sound is now really prominent as well.

It also allowed me to bring my presence back up a bit, which in my opinion tightens things up a bit.

Same setting made Fat Clean sound really nice as well. I will give it the true test at my next band practice. My only concern is that my current setting may affect the way I sit in the mix.

It's definately worth a try. I'm glad I did

 

[bluesymetal]

I have a 3 channel DR and I modded the loop to serial so I could run my MXR 10 band EQ in the loop. It made a world of difference. If you want the chugga chugga, you cannot get it with the stock DR. But turn the bass down on the amp, and add it back in with the EQ in the loop and slide the 200 down some and man, you can chugga chugga all day. It really tightenend up the tone. I highly recommend it. Next up is a tube screamer. Do I get Maxon or Fulltone. Decisions, decisions.

I get it without the eq... but I do put a maxon 808 in front, it really tightens things up.

 

[bluesymetal]

I just got an MXR 6 band for my Ace 2 days ago. I did the same thing as one of the previous posters, raised the highs and lows a bit and left the mids at 0. In tite gain, it really increased the clarity as well as the low end. The "crunch" sound is now really prominent as well.

It also allowed me to bring my presence back up a bit, which in my opinion tightens things up a bit.

Same setting made Fat Clean sound really nice as well. I will give it the true test at my next band practice. My only concern is that my current setting may affect the way I sit in the mix.

It's definately worth a try. I'm glad I did

Actually when I think about it, I think solid state is a bad term. I think it just adds to much compression. Most amps I've played sound way more open without the eq. I did like in front sometimes as a boost, kinda noisey though (ge-7)

However I ran my bass players ge-20, the one I couldnt remember the name of before, in my 2 channels loop tonight. I like barely taking down the lowest and highest frequency and adding the level pretty high, it made a pretty cool solo boost. I didn't like it for rhythm work though, like I said to much compression. Cool for lead stuff I thought.

 

[giantstepjoe]

I have a MXR 31 band rackmount eq in the loop of my Roadster and I will never go back! A ts-9 or comparable overdrive in front of the amp helps alot too.

 

[Geiri]

I haven't tried the stiletto with an eq yet but I'm using an mxr zw overdrive in front with the output dimed gain off and tone at 12 'o clock and that alone takes this amp to another dimension of sweet tone.

 

[jdurso]

Man I must be in the minority of hating graphic eq's in the loop. I don't mean built in eq's, the one on my old Mark III was great.

I just don't like the solid state tone and feel they add when running through the loop. My only experience is with the boss ge-7 and the big boss two switch pedal (I forget it's name) I get that same feel with every amp I've ever tried one of those eq's with.

The stilleto's I've played, while inherintly a brighter voiced amp, have a pretty big variety of tones in them and the knobs seem to make a big difference. I would say an external eq would not be required.

As far as the recto goes... I don't think you need one, at least with the 2 channel, to shape the tone. The different voicings and with different od pedals and tubes and such takes care of almost any frequencies I would need to changed without adding that solid state feel. Plus I feel the knobs have decent sweep to them as well.

BTW I'm only talking distortion tones... cleans might be a different story.

yeah that ss feel is why i didnt get the boss eq and ended up with the maxon ge601.... the maxon doesnt add any color and does its job like a champ..... also you cant compare the eq of your amps channels to an eq pedal.... with mesa amps especially, each control works with another so you cant really dial in and out frequencies without altering the interaction with the other controls.... where as the eq in the loop lets you dial in and out frequencies without adjusting the amp's controls interaction..... so the post eq is just a frequency refining tool..... for me its a must with a recto to get the sound i want

 

[jdurso]

That's a question only you can answer....

Is the EQ adequate for YOU?

Do you want to boost or cut any frequency more than the amp allows?

Ask yourself those questions, and you should know if you want an EQ of not :wink:

I understand.
I was just wondering what the general consenus was before I made the invistment. But as you indicated, I'm the only one who can make that call.

Thanks,

i see a general consensus among the recto players.... this is just based on the amount of eq in the loop threads that have been here for the last few months.... i myself cant live without my maxon ge601 in the loop of my roadster.... the roadster itself does 95% of the work and the eq is just for refining but the difference that 5% makes takes you from good tone to amazing tone.... i would try it and see if it works for you..... i highly recommend the maxon ge601

 

[stompboxfreak72]

I will never play my Dual rec without an EQ ever again. I use the MXR 10 band pedal in the loop and it stopped me from buying another amp and dumping the DR. I would say that getting an EQ for a three channel Dual Rec is the best thing a player can do.