Equalization Tips

Equalization — whether through a parametric or graphic equalizer pedal, via tweaking the amp’s knobs, or even fiddling with your pedal’s knobs (as with the Boss MT-2) — plays an integral part in defining one’s sound.

I came across an article that reminded my of a dilemma I once had. You see, I used to go and imitate Steve Lukather’s sound at the time — lots of bass, crisp treble, and practically no mids. This worked with certain combinations of drummers and bassists, but with a tight and loud rhythm section, my solos ended up sounding thin.

That was before I thought of using a Boss GE-7 after my distortion pedal to boost my solo volume and make it sound thicker. Of course, it also helped if you had a good sound technician who knows the songs you play and knows when it’s time to boost your lead part coming out of the house speaker system.

With the new metal sound, where distorted guitar chugs along pretty much the entire song, mid boost may not be necessary at all because I guess a heavily distorted scooped sound is one of the distinct characteristics of that genre — unless maybe you want to solo and be heard. Only then will a mid boost be truly appreciated.

If I were to take to the stage at this point in time, I’d also consider an overdrive pedal before my distortion to boost my solo and give it a more saturated and sustaining sound (not all gig venues have amps with a foot-switchable lead channel; in fact, some may not even have such a channel), and a clean booster somewhere after the distortion box  so I’d basically have more options. I now have three pedal options: equalizer, overdrive, and clean booster. Of course, a volume pedal would also be an option so you can control your minimum volume; I assume that you know your your guitar’s volume knob acts more like a gain knob than a real volume control. Finally, I could also get a pedal with a built-in parametric equalizer such as the Boss MT-2.

Anyway, here’s something that might interest you. Eventually, It’s still your ears that will decide.

http://www.legendarytones.com/eqtips.html