Changing EQ mid-song: Multiple EQ pedals, multi-fx, EQ pedal with presets, or quick knob twiddling?!

[SumOne]

I have a couple of songs that need quick EQ change to go from punky stuff to dub/reggae. At the moment I'm using a multi-fx (Boss GX-10) with presets and that probably is the simplest option, but my eye has been wondering towards a few individual pedals lately (synth and filters) so might be on the path back to a pedalboard - I could incorporate the GX-10 but it the whole thing starts getting a bit big and complex. Any suggestions?

 

• Multiple EQ pedals? e.g. nothing too fancy needed, a couple relatively small/cheap graphic EQ pedals with one set to dub EQ, the other with mid/high boost..... a switcher pedal would be used for it to be a single click between them and to also add turn on distortion to the punky stuff (I already have a Bright Onion loop switcher).  
• An EQ pedal with presets. Not many of these around though, the Source Audio EQ2 looks like the one to get - but at £280 new it isn't far off decent small multi-fx costs and is more than getting a couple of GEB-7 type EQs. I feel doing 'long press' footswitch or button press stuff won't really work live where I need to switch instantly or perhaps adds a bit of complexity/room for error.
• Multi-fx for different EQ presets and add the individual pedals I want (e.g. synth and envelope filter). this might mean changing the GX-10 for something more pedalboard friendly though (back to the GT-1000 for about the 3rd time?!).
• ....Or get quick at knob twiddling on the amp!

Edited 13 hours ago by SumOne

[BigRedX]

In the end it's what works for you, but personally I would never entertain the idea of non-programmable pedals for live use again.

 

You should be able to do what you need with what you already have provided you are prepared to put in the effort creating and organising the presets and then having a couple of technical rehearsals with the band to fine tune them.

 

It will also depend on how complex the EQ changes need to be. Most of the bands I have played with have required fine tuning of the EQ for every song in order to get the bass to fit into the right sonic space created by the other instruments also changing sounds for each song. And that doesn't cover any mid-song EQ changes required for when the bass needs to be more or less prominent. Without programmable EQ I wouldn't be able to do any of this.

[Obrienp]

Have you thought about a two channel amp with independent EQ? Most of these have a footswitch control for channel switching. 

[SumOne]

40 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

Have you thought about a two channel amp with independent EQ? Most of these have a footswitch control for channel switching. 

 

I like the look of the 2 channel Markbass LMK 58R  https://www.markbass.it/product/lmk-58r/  ... the main drawback is the £700 price tag so I'll keep an eye out for cheaper alternatives. 

[pantherairsoft]

It is expensive, but given what you want to do, I think the Source Audio is by far the best option. It's a great pedal, very accurate, it's pretty small, and unlike a multi effect which will be larger and give you the temptation of loads of sounds you don't need, it just gives you exactly what you need, in troves.

If you want to save some money, you could find a 2nd hand Source Audio SA-170, which is the first version of the EQ pedal. Not quite as feature rich, but will still do what you need.

[SumOne]

59 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

In the end it's what works for you, but personally I would never entertain the idea of non-programmable pedals for live use again.

 

You should be able to do what you need with what you already have provided you are prepared to put in the effort creating and organising the presets and then having a couple of technical rehearsals with the band to fine tune them.

 

It will also depend on how complex the EQ changes need to be. Most of the bands I have played with have required fine tuning of the EQ for every song in order to get the bass to fit into the right sonic space created by the other instruments also changing sounds for each song. And that doesn't cover any mid-song EQ changes required for when the bass needs to be more or less prominent. Without programmable EQ I wouldn't be able to do any of this.

 

Yeah, I think you are probably right.

 

The main issue I have with programmable presets is I tend to completely leave them alone when playing live or even when rehearsing - as having 7 other people in the band stand around while I kneel down and click through menus to try and adjust parameters and hit save etc. seems risky or at least just a bit of a faff. But that is something I could get more confident with if I actually edited the presets more in a band setting. Also, I find multi-fx are still a bit lacking with stuff like synth and envelope filters - once I add them, I need a power brick, and a pedalboard, and the multi-fx to change EQ presets, it all seems to get a bit big and complicated and looses a bit of the spontaneity individual pedals on or adjusting dials. But yeah, multi-fx is probably the most sensible and cost effective option.

 

Edited 11 hours ago by SumOne

[BigRedX]

I've completely given up trying to get synth/filter sounds out of the bass. Even if I had devices capable of the sounds the extra amount of practice I'd need to put in in order to trigger them reliably in a repeatable fashion simply isn't worth it, when I can either play it myself on a keyboard where it will sound right every time, or hand it off to our synth player or to the backing track, who can play it even better than I can. I'm lucky in that I now play Bass VI, so if I really want a synth sounding bass I can give it to an instrument better suited to it, and play something in the guitar register instead. If I was in a band with a more traditional line-up I'd probably bring a keyboard synth for any songs that absolutely had to have synth bass parts.

 

IMO getting the sounds right for a song is as important at rehearsal as finding the right notes to play. My band spend at least as much time in the practice room fine tuning our synth and effects sounds and the balance between the different ones we use as we do working out what to play on a song. Both are equally important, and it is essential that the sound changes are right and properly balanced and the rest of the band need to appreciate that. I find that I can get close to the right sounds on my own at home, but I know that everything will need adjusting once the rest of the band is playing and we factor that in when getting a new song ready for performing to an audience.

[Lozz196]

I`d use the tone control on my bass for this, set the punk sound to full on tone, then back off as needed for the dub/reggae.

[dave_bass5]

Maybe the cheap Valton GP-5, used just for EQ might fit the bill.

[LukeFRC]

Metro20 and yould be fine depending how many envelopes and synth pedals you want? 

[MichaelDean]

What about something like the Boss MS-3? With the different loops you could easily have a few pedals to tweak, but retain the patches of a regular multi effects pedal too.