MXR six-band versus ten-band EQ pedals

[Charlie Bernstein]

What do you know about EQ pedals?

MXR has two versions that both look good - a ten-band/two-output box and a six-band/one-output box.

They both get good reviews, and the prices are attainable.

I want to try putting one between my DI and the PA as a clean boost for acoustic instrument solos.

Are there any reasons to go with the ten-band version? What do the four more faders give you? What would you use the ten-band's second output for - a monitor?

Thanks!

[Tom Wright]

I used them both in the past. 10-band mainly goes higher and lower, but is also a bit quieter, as I recall.

More recently I was using the Boss GE-7 which has good choices for frequency bands, from 100 to 6.4K Hz, it has a large gain range, and is foot-switchable with decent battery life. Tends to be noisy if you push the EQ bands far, but that noise is relatively reduced when you raise the output gain. The Boss has no problem with very high-impedance signal, as well. Not sure about the MXR but it is likely OK with piezo signal as well.

[mandowilli]

The MXR didn’t do it for me. If you really want control over specific frequencies try this.
And using it in the effects loop of a good preamp is preferable.

https://empresseffects.com/products/paraeq

[Br1ck]

It seems to me you are buying the wrong tool for what you are trying to do. Yes you can get more gain with an EQ pedal, but every one that did not power by AC induced too much noise for me. A parametric is a far better type of EQ for acoustic instruments than a graphic also.

You could also check the input impedance of clean boost pedals.

I suspect the tool you should get is a pre amp.

[Charlie Bernstein]

I have a preamp. This is going after it, strictly for uncolored solos.

Just found a good price on the ten-band MXR the best compromise I've found between cost and quality.

I'll report back once I've tested it - hopefully in December.

[Nevin]

Have you thought about a volume pedal?

[almeriastrings]

The more circuits you insert the more distortion, noise and unwanted artefacts you introduce. It is inevitable.

It is also the case that genuinely good analog EQ's are neither cheap nor easy to build, and frankly, these pedal EQ's do not begin to get close to what in technical terms could be described as 'good'....I can guarantee you one thing. Nothing that passes though such pedals will be 'uncolored'....it just does not work like that.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Have you thought about a volume pedal?

Yes. And acoustic guitar amps and onboard volume knobs.

[vince f]

2nd mandowilli. It is amazing how many people use graphic EQs when what they need is a parametric EQ. I would only ever use graphic EQ to deal with EQing a room, and then really needs to be a proper 31 band 1/3 octave unit. For an effect, parametric or semi parametric is MUCH better. Do some research and learn the difference and it will make more sense. when you understand notch, shelving, lpf, frequency spread (width to some) the usefulness of para will become clear.

[vince f]

2nd also to br1ck. if you are not trying to solve some disatisfaction with the sound, then a simple boost is more appropriate. If you are displease with the sound of acoustic, the FIRST step is to make sure that you have proper impedance match piezo to pre-amp. THEN start with EQ. A pre with Boost is the way to go. I like all radial Engineering stuff (tonebone PZ etc) however, if you are using K&K, a lower impedence box like red-eye would be better. Learn to interpret specs. big dif between 10Mohm and 1Mohm input imp. I am a purist. I use an active direct box optimized for piezo, with NO controls. into a PA, LPF on, no EQ. If I needed boost, I would get a red-eye.

[vince f]

the Fishman with the built in tuner is real popular with the pros. impedance too high for K&K, but probably right for everything else.

[vince f]

Also a bit concerned about your plan to put an EQ between the DI and PA. the MXR pedals are unbalanced in and optimized for the output of electric guitar. a DI should be balanced out and optimized to drive a PA. would also look real carefully at your DI. Is it active? is is piezo optimized, or is it something that an electric bass would likely use.

[vince f]

There are some companies (TC electronics I think) that make a simple boost switch. It is used to drive the input of a tube amp a bit harder with electric guitar. It is specifically designed NOT to color the sound in any other way. There is almost no way you are going to go into an EQ (basically a 10 frequency tone stack) and NOT color the sound. I would avoid it at all costs.

found it:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...RoC5IYQAvD_BwE

[Charlie Bernstein]

the Fishman with the built in tuner is real popular with the pros. impedance too high for K&K, but probably right for everything else.

Probably. Don't need a built-in tuner. Don't have much experience with amplifying acoustic instrments, but so far I like K&K's products more than Fishman's. More straight-forward, just as well made.

[vince f]

agree on K&K, are you using their pre-amp as well?

[Charlie Bernstein]

Also a bit concerned about your plan to put an EQ between the DI and PA. the MXR pedals are unbalanced in and optimized for the output of electric guitar. a DI should be balanced out and optimized to drive a PA. would also look real carefully at your DI. Is it active? is is piezo optimized, or is it something that an electric bass would likely use.

Good to know. I'll check. If it's balanced, I'll put it in front of one of my instruments so it will work with another instrument. If it's not balanced, I'll put it in front of the DI and use a TRS/MXR cable.

I've looked at the DI carefully and often and have gigged with it three times so far. It's not a Redeye, but it's not bad.

If by active you mean powered, then yes, it is. I don't know whether it's piezo-optimized, but since I don't use piezos and don't plan to, it doesn't matter.

I'm not putting electric instruments through it. I don't know whether anyone else would.

[vince f]

coolest thing about an onboard or pedal tuner is the ability to mute while you are tuning.

[Charlie Bernstein]

agree on K&K, are you using their pre-amp as well?

No.

[vince f]

but since I don't use piezos and don't plan to, it doesn't matter.

is it a mic? a contact mic? Maybe a full rig rundown will help get the best advice.

[Charlie Bernstein]

There are some companies (TC electronics I think) that make a simple boost switch. . . .

Thanks. Yes, the Spark is nice. I ended up getting the Boosta Grande. People who've used both say they both do the same thing, but the BG gets slightly higher marks. And since my preamp is a BBE, it seemed to make sense to swing that way.

The Boosta gigged well, but it did smooth out some of the zing of my guitar. So I think it might be more helpful on my electric pedal board.

So, as I said, I've gone with the ten-band MXR. I'll use it next get and see how I like it. Right now, there's nothing on my calendar until February (ain't no pro!), so It'll be a wait.

[Charlie Bernstein]

but since I don't use piezos and don't plan to, it doesn't matter.

is it a mic? a contact mic? Maybe a full rig rundown will help get the best advice.

Shoot, maybe they are piezos. I don't know squat. If it were up to me, I'd just mic everything and be done with it. But my bandmates (a trio and a six-piece) don't like miking instruments - and they have the PAs.

Anyhow, the rig rundown:

The artist:

This boy.

The instruments:

A folk guitar, a squareneck reso, a roundneck reso, and a mando.

The pickups:

By the time I gig next, there'll be a K&K Spider in the squareneck, a K&K Twin in the mando, and a K&K Pure in the guitar. I might also have a K&K Spider in the roundneck by then, but it depends on how much of the long, green, and crinkly I decide to squander . . . uh - invest.

(Right now, the folk guitar has a soundhole single-coil pickup, the mando has a stick-on pickup, the squareneck has a K&K spider, and the roundneck has nada. I'm going all-K&K in the hope that they'll play together well without a lot of knob spinning.)

The switchbox:

I ordered a Loop-Master ABCD box a while back, but they're hopelessly back-ordered. So until it gets here I'll probably just be gigging with two instruments, using a Loop-Master AB box I already have. That's what I did last week.

The DI/preamp:

That all goes into a BBE Acoustimax. As I've said elsewhere on this thread, it's no Redeye. But it was affordable and seems to do the job.My favorite thing about is that it's heavy and doesn't bounce all over the place.

The boost:

Just tried a BBE Boosta Grande after the preamp. It worked alright but did fatten the instrument's tone a bit, which I don't need. So the Boosta's going at the front of my electric pedal board, which only has one very lonely overdrive.

So I'll try the MXR EQ after the preamp. Someone here mentioned that I should find out whether the MXR is balanced. That might make a difference in where I place it and how I hook it up to the PA.

If it turns out that (a) it's not balance and (b) that means the TRS/XLR cable with it, I'll put it in front of the preamp, instead, either after the AB box to boost both instruments or before it to boost one.

The PA connection:

Last in the chain, depending on what I do with the MXR EQ, is a TRS/XLR cable, an XLR cable, or a guitar cable.

Whew! Really didn't want to subject you to all that. Hope it answers your question!

PS:

As you can tell. I'm not a musician. I'm a non-pro songwriter who plays guitar and sings.

[Br1ck]

Multiple instruments! I did not bring it up, But the RedEye is the best I've found. Does most everything you want, nothing you don't, but I know many who are tied to their need for EQ. I am a huge fan of Dazzo pickups. I have them in all my guitars. If they could be put inside a mandolin, that is what I'd do, but they are external only for mando.

With the pickups tailored to the instrument like you can do with Dazzos, all you need is a superb gain stage and maybe some slight tweak at the board. 10DB boost switch, a treble control which the designer calls the dead string knob, and that's it. Yes, it has an effects loop. You can get a RedEye twin, but you would need two.

How about a small digital mixer? That would have everything you need in one box. Send a signal to the board and another to an acoustic amp for monitor onstage. Attach it to a mic stand and everything would be at your fingertips.

[pops1]

Another fan of the RedEye. It has a boost so that eliminates that problem, I put a mute on mine and you could plug and unplug with a mute silently as you change instruments. The RedEye has only a volume for the boost and a treble control, doesn't need anything else as it sounds good with just a small tweek on the highs at the board, but doesn't need it on every sound system. Very simple to use.

[vince f]

The BBE pre is over the recommended input impedance from K&K. I would take their recommendation seriously. I have seen some pres that have 10M input impedance so the 2.2M on the BBE is better. Most full featured pres (EQ, stomp box format, boost) are over the K&K recommended impedance of 500K to 1M. I don't know why K&K is so different than most others, I wish they made a stomp box pre with boost. FWIW, I had a K&K pre and pickup for my bass. When I switched to a powered PZ direct box (Radial) the improvement in tone was notable. I assume that it is because of the tone stack in the pre-amp. Even if you have each pot centered, it is a bunch of circuit complexity for no improvement in tone IMHO.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Another fan of the RedEye. . . .

Yeah, I know I'll have to get one eventually. The sticker price is a little beyond me right now.

It'll probably be a 2018 purchase.