Summary: I’m amazed that after all these years of playing I hadn’t used one in my signal chain. But as many have discovered, if there’s one pedal that can have a dramatic effect on your tone, it’s this one, and it’s a pedal that every guitarist, whether playing electric or acoustic, should have on their board.
Pros: Gives you fine control over your tone, no matter where you put it in your chain.
Cons: None
Price: $116-$119 street
Tone Bones:
The visceral reaction I had when I first used it was the same as when I first plugged in my Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay so many years ago. Once I had the levels dialed in, it was if my guitars woke up! And though there are less expensive options out there like the Beringer 7-band EQ, I was willing to pay the extra money for the peace of mind that a BOSS pedal gives me with its quality. And perhaps I’m a little biased, but my experience with BOSS pedals is that though they may be pedestrian, I can trust them to work through hundreds of gigs.
Huge Impact!
After watching this video a couple of weeks ago with Tim Pierce and Phil McKnight, two great guitarists and gear freaks, I asked myself, “Why the F$%K haven’t I used one of these in all the years I’ve been playing?” Check out the discussion…
A key phrase early in the discussion that Phil mentioned was that an EQ can “fix problems.” Man! For me, that was it! Putting this at the front of my chain fixed all sorts of tone issues for me. And when I gigged with it this past Friday, it was if my amp woke up! Playing my CV Tele through my ToneMaster Deluxe, I kind of felt my sound was a little muddy. I think the cheap pickups had a lot to do with it. So, I slightly boosted the two high channels, added a touch of lower mids, and slightly cut the bottom end, and once I finished testing it and made a couple of tweaks, I blurted out, “Damn!” I couldn’t believe how incredible it sounded! Talk about waking up my amp!
I was so inspired by my tone that in one song during the gig, I got a little carried away and took a solo that our lead guitarist normally takes! Luckily he was cool with it and he knows it’s not something I would normally do. At our break, his wife, who comes to all our gigs, came up and asked me if I was playing a new guitar! I told her it’s the same one I normally played with and she said it sounded great! Talk about getting some affirmation!
Then at Sunday’s church gig, I used the pedal to shape the tone of my Gibson J-45 going into my Fishman LoudBox. I’m using a temporary contact piezo pickup since my Seymour Duncan MagMic stopped working. The pickup is way too midrangy, so I boosted the lows and highs to give me a more scooped tone. Again, what a transformation! My bassist, who’s also a WAY better guitarist than me, remarked on how gorgeous my sound was. I was totally inspired!
A Little Goes a Long Way!
If you watched the video above, at around 5:05, Tim talks about how much boost or cut you should use and says that you don’t need much to have a dramatic effect. He’s absolutely correct! In all my years of recording my own material, I’ve learned to use EQ sparingly. You just don’t need much to completely transform your sound! For me, all it took was a couple dB of boost in specific places to get my tone shaped properly. I didn’t even do a gain boost. But that said, I could see how this could be used after my dirt pedals as a clean boost, though I already have that.
Fit and Finish
What needs to be said? It’s a BOSS pedal. They’re utilitarian in their looks, but they’re built totally solid. This will be mainstay on my board and will be one of “always-on” pedals. And with BOSS quality, I know from experience, I can look forward to years use!
How It Sounds
As Phil McKnight says, “It’s not supposed to sound like anything.” With the sliders in the middle position, there’s no sound difference at all. But moving the sliders is where the magic begins!
Guitar Gear 