EQ pedal in a guitar signal chain- input, please

I think it depends on what tone you want to shape. If you put it at the front, you're going to use it to shape your guitars raw tone. That's where I usually have mine, mainly to get a bit of clean boost and mid-bump before going into a compressor for slide playing.

If you put it just before the amp, the objective is to shape the tone of the guitar and the effects. This can be useful if you want to tame a frequency change a particular pedal causes.

One interesting position I've used EQ in is just before going into a mixer for recording and FRFR output. This is after amp (model or line out) and IR cabinet. That way I can adjust the whole chain's EQ since I only have a small mini mixer with limited EQ options.

 

It also depends on how you want to shape the what you want to shape...thus different eq's such as graphic, parametric, tilt, shelving, filters and pultec will have different influences of what you are shaping.

Have a little analog pultec pedal that is at the end just before the tube buffer frame; right before a small mixer or amp...absolutely love the air, articulation and glue that it provides. But using the pultec at the front or pre/post of something such as od has less effect.

 

Same here. Mine is onboard with my Mooer Radar, parametric or graphic.

 

I put mine in my effects loop...

 

An EQ pedal is a powerful tool, and its placement depends on what you want it to accomplish. My Boss GE-7 (sniper mod) is my “fuzz fixer”. I place after fuzz and tweak to my liking. Fuzz pedals tend to have extremes EQ-wise. Some have too much bass, or too much harsh treble, sometimes they need a mid boost, etc.

 

Good question, I find my EQ pedals sound best in a cardboard box.
If there's a better place to put them that would be good to know.

 

I only ran two pedals for years and one was an EQ. Every pedalboard since has an EQ pedal and I even had two for awhile. Anyway, traditionally these should be placed before any effects other than some certain fuzz pedals. One great advantage is to use one preset for a solo during a song. Another is the availability for certain songs in a set, but only using one amp on stage.

Caveat: dirt pedals screw around with EQ, so just be aware of what you are trying to do in conjunction with these pedals.

I finally evolved to a tilt EQ, which is way more powerful, but more difficult to dial in and much more complicated to understand.

 

Are you boosting the pickups? Shaping the pickups? Boosting an OD? Shaping the OD? etc etc. There is no specific place for an EQ. Typically, they are a band-aid for some issue in the chain. If you cut your arm, you don't put the band-aid on your knee.

 

I use my GE7 like a booster for lead/single note playing.
So it's located after all filters and dirt and before all modulation and delay.

 

I have it second, after the fuzz. My EQ is buffered, and the germ. fuzz sounds night/day better when it's first.
I'd rather EQ my tone before my pedals, to change my guitar in a way, en route to fx.
However, EQing after dirt and before modulation can change the pedals, as you get to fuss w/their summed tones.

 

This. Wish I had learned this earlier.

 

I use mine as the first pedal in the effects loop if the amp has one or after the gain pedals / before time based effects if in front of the amp.

 

The Mesa's have shown me how important EQ can be. Post, it really can shape or be used as a boost..even calm down or enhance cleans. I run a board with just EQ-TS-DS1 in front just for 3 dif EQ shelves in the front end. Then let the amp post EQ bring it up fr the heavies

With the amps natural gain & tone being so good..it seems i favor EQ changes lately, Nothing wrong with one in front & the loop if ya have one..post pre EQ is huge in fine tuning & pre peramp EQ is also..together..very very precise dialing in

 

I agree that it can go in a lot of places depending on what your goal is. An EQ like the GE7 can also be used as a boost pedal, so same options there as well. Boost before dirt increases gain and compression, but not volume. Boost after dirt increases volume, unless going into a dirt channel that already has lots of gain and no more headroom.

 

Honestly an EQ pedal is such a multi tool pedal in a signal chain.
You can clean up fuzz, add a mid boost especially for telecasters which help cut through the mix, use the EQ as a boost pedal to boost certain frequencies and use it almost as a noise gate to eliminate unwanted hiss and frequencies that are harsh to your tone.

Typically I place mine at the front of my drive section so I can dial in my drives. I do not (yet) run a fuzz pedal so I typically don't have anything before it but a tuner and volume pedal.

 

Like others I have my GE-7 (Fromel mod) second after a Ge fuzz (Fulltone 69). Right now it's set for when I switch to acoustic guitar (200 hz and 400 hz pushed). But if I'm not going to do any acoustic playing I usually have 800 hz and 1.6k hz pushed a notch or 2 to give the Tele more umph when needed.

 

Lately I've had an MXR 10-band EQ after drives and before delay and reverb, to tighten things up a bit. I wouldn't want it after delay and reverb because they can add some nice murk that I don't want cleared up.

 

Nope. Same place in the chain compressor pedals "work" best for me.

 

I have no choice. No other pedals.

I got this parametric EQ pedal because my 5e3 just has a tone control. Sometimes I like to hook it up to emulate a BF response, or make my vintage style single coils sound like humbuckers, or chop the bass if my LP Standard is flubbing out.