Review : Boss EQ-200
It's funny sometimes because on my list of must-have pedals are some that no one really thinks are particularly interesting or exciting. One of these is an EQ pedal. I have reviewed the Empress Parametric EQ pedal and love it very much. I own an old Boss EQ pedal that is on my acoustic-electric board. And I recently had opportunity to evaluate the Boss EQ-200
The benefit of an EQ pedal is most often seen as the ability to address problems in a live performance or recording scenario in a given location. This is absolutely accurate, but I think this benefit sometimes overshadows another massive potential that comes from the intelligent use of a high quality EQ pedal.
When I say EQ, I am talking about a graphic EQ pedal or a higher end Parametric, not one of the cheapie units that offer treble, mids, and bass with no indication of where they work.
The Boss EQ-200 is a 10 Band graphic equalizer. That provides enough subdivisions to be useful. There is also an LCD screen so you can see what the pedal settings are doing when it comes to shaping your tone. It's part of the Boss 200 Series and is a bit larger than a traditional pedal, but saves side to side space by having its primary connections on the back. The layout, as you can see in the images, is clear and I put the usability index as excellent.
In addition to a manual position, you can store up to four distinct presets in the unit and access them very quickly. Why this is useful is the second secret of an EQ. If you are a MIDI user, the pedal has MIDI in/outs on the side using the ⅛ inch form factor. You also find that the device is both mono and stereo and can take an expression pedal.
Many of us have more than one guitar, and / or more than one amp. We do this because we like different sounds, although some of us may be suffering from a bad case of G.A.S. I find myself in both groups.
Where the presets come into play is that by effective use of the EQ pedal, you can make your one guitar sound like different guitars. You can make your one amp, sound completely different from its default tone. You can do either or both of these without touching the global tone adjustments on the guitar or the amplifier. I'm not talking about clean to overdrive, I am talking about altering how the different frequencies come out. It's not as sexy as more gear, but will save time and space. It's also proven that the more one learns about frequencies and plays with EQs, the higher the success rate in getting the tone that you want, whether that is duplicating one that you have heard, or building something that is entirely your own.
The Boss EQ-200 is a brilliant tool. It's easier to use than a parametric, the 10 bands give you lots of fine control and the LCD paints a very clear picture of what is happening from a frequency perspective. It's a great unit and highly recommended.