EQ pedal useless in parallel effects loop?

Insomniaclown · 2nd July 2009, 04:08 PM

I have wanted to get an MXR 10 band eq pedal to put in the Parallel loop of my boogie for sometime now. I just read on another forum that putting one in anything but a series effects loop is pointless. Is this really the case? Does anyone have an EQ pedal in their parallel loop and love it?

Space Nugget · 2nd July 2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Insomniaclown

I have wanted to get an MXR 10 band eq pedal to put in the Parallel loop of my boogie for sometime now. I just read on another forum that putting one in anything but a series effects loop is pointless. Is this really the case? Does anyone have an EQ pedal in their parallel loop and love it?

I use an EQ pedal but not in the loop...
But I can see why people would say this because in a parallel loop the signal gets split...one signal would go from the preamp through the MXR eq then to the power amp...

The other signal would go straight from the preamp to the poweramp so in effect (pun intended lol) you would have an EQ'd signal AND a dry signal.

Some amps will have an FX loop mix control somewhere on the amp,
but I dont think you would be getting the benefit of the MXR eq by doing it that way.

Insomniaclown · 2nd July 2009, 05:15 PM

Thats what I figured. The mix control on my amp goes up to 90%, so a little of the dry signal would still be getting through. I will probably just put it in front to tailor the amps response instead of trying to control the overall tone. Thanks for your response!

Space Nugget · 3rd July 2009, 03:29 AM

No prob man, glad I could be of assistance. I send my Para EQ pedal right into the front of the amp to do exactly what you said, tailor the sound right off the bat.

CapnMarvel · 6th July 2009, 01:57 PM

However! If you put an EQ before or after (or both, which can be REALLY cool) a dirt pedal (fuzz, OD, etc) in your effects loop, and use that to change the EQ of the signal feeding the pedal and/or the signal coming out of it, you can gain access to some pretty interesting tonal variety. I read about that somewhere and tried it with a couple of Boss GE-2's and it was fun.

A bit OT, but something some of you might find interesting.

Bob Ross · 8th July 2009, 01:59 AM

Unless you want an extremely predictable very specific sound that you intend to dial in without ever auditioning it audibly prior to showtime -- and, seriously, who would ever do that? -- why not just plug the damn thing in and listen to what it does?

Yes, an equalizer in a parallel effects loop will result in a mix of EQ'd and non-EQ'd signals.

No, that's not inherently a Bad Thing. In some cases it can be rather Good, in fact. It'll be a bit harder to predict exactly what, say, boosting 250Hz +3dB will do to your sound, since the net result will not be a boost of 3dB @ 250Hz...but so what? If ya needs more 250Hz, turn it up more.

The only thing you can't do with an EQ in a parallel effects loop is carve out those dramatically sculpted "unnatural" tones that come from radically boosting or cutting certain bands.

Insomniaclown · 8th July 2009, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Unless you want an extremely predictable very specific sound that you intend to dial in without ever auditioning it audibly prior to showtime -- and, seriously, who would ever do that? -- why not just plug the damn thing in and listen to what it does?

I totally agree with you! I love tweaking and experimenting to get some new sounds. I actually really dig the idea of putting an EQ pedal with another distortion pedal in the loop as was previously mentioned. I never thought about doing that, and its a great idea!

I guess I have never really experiemented with putting an EQ pedal with my amp, because I have always just liked the sound of my amp. That is until I got into recording. Now I am never happy with any sound ever.

I will pick one up and give it a go in as many ways as I can figure. Thanks for all of the advice!

2nd July 2009, 04:08 PM	#1
Insomniaclown Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 427	EQ pedal useless in parallel effects loop? I have wanted to get an MXR 10 band eq pedal to put in the Parallel loop of my boogie for sometime now. I just read on another forum that putting one in anything but a series effects loop is pointless. Is this really the case? Does anyone have an EQ pedal in their parallel loop and love it? __________________ The Big Rybowski

2nd July 2009, 05:15 PM	#3
Insomniaclown Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 427	Thats what I figured. The mix control on my amp goes up to 90%, so a little of the dry signal would still be getting through. I will probably just put it in front to tailor the amps response instead of trying to control the overall tone. Thanks for your response! __________________ The Big Rybowski

3rd July 2009, 03:29 AM	#4
Space Nugget Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Posts: 197	No prob man, glad I could be of assistance. I send my Para EQ pedal right into the front of the amp to do exactly what you said, tailor the sound right off the bat. __________________ "I'm sorry, Smokey. You were over the line and that's a foul. Mark it zero Dude."

6th July 2009, 01:57 PM	#5
CapnMarvel Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 295	However! If you put an EQ before or after (or both, which can be REALLY cool) a dirt pedal (fuzz, OD, etc) in your effects loop, and use that to change the EQ of the signal feeding the pedal and/or the signal coming out of it, you can gain access to some pretty interesting tonal variety. I read about that somewhere and tried it with a couple of Boss GE-2's and it was fun. A bit OT, but something some of you might find interesting. __________________ My gear: Three or four that go 'WHANNGGG!' A couple that go 'deedle deedle' and 'tweet', a few little ones that go 'thumpity thump', and some that don't make any noise at all but have bunches of delightful little lights on them.

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8th July 2009, 01:59 AM	#6
Bob Ross Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 1,801	Unless you want an extremely predictable very specific sound that you intend to dial in without ever auditioning it audibly prior to showtime -- and, seriously, who would ever do that? -- why not just plug the damn thing in and listen to what it does? Yes, an equalizer in a parallel effects loop will result in a mix of EQ'd and non-EQ'd signals. No, that's not inherently a Bad Thing. In some cases it can be rather Good, in fact. It'll be a bit harder to predict exactly what, say, boosting 250Hz +3dB will do to your sound, since the net result will not be a boost of 3dB @ 250Hz...but so what? If ya needs more 250Hz, turn it up more. The only thing you can't do with an EQ in a parallel effects loop is carve out those dramatically sculpted "unnatural" tones that come from radically boosting or cutting certain bands.

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