EQ pedals tend to be overlooked. Most of us chase the new sounds and follow trends, trying to make our instrument sound odd, weird, innovative, different, but somehow forget about tone building from the foundations.
Well, I remember very well what happened to me when I first discovered 10-band EQ pedals. I became totally obsessed and haven’t stopped using them to this day. It’s my always-on pedal, and it’s been the safety net in disastrous gigs many times.
I’ve narrowed down an infinite list to the best four options in the market today. These are absolute winners in different budgets and with different features. In other words, if you’re serious about your next bass EQ pedal, it surely is on this list.
Oh, and read on, I left you some live and studio tricks at the bottom.
Let’s go!
4 Bass EQ Pedals that Perform the Best!
1. Boss GEB-7
Boss pedals, like the GEB-7, have a reputation for being straightforward noise machines ready to go to war and back unscathed. This is no exception to that rule. Believe me, I’ve come across 25 or 30-year-old Boss equalizer pedals that still get the job done after countless stages.
Boss GEB-7
But that’s far from all. Boss pedals carved their spot in music history not just because of their resilience to abuse but also because they sound great, too. They might not be the most versatile, avant-garde units, but they are like the Telecaster of pedals.
The GEB is a very powerful unit that covers the bottom-end, going from 50Hz to 800Hz with the first five lines. This is very useful to get rid of mud, if any, but also to locate the lower mids right where you need them to make it punchier.
I tried this with my P-Bass, and it just made it better. I got rid of the super lows and made it rounder, more present in the mix. I just wish Boss had put the first frequency of the high-end at 3KHz instead of 4.5KHz. It doesn’t allow you to fine-tune that sensitive frequency range and goes straight to the brightness.
The one thing that I really liked was the master volume slider knob. Just like each frequency, you can add or remove up to 15dB. This means you can step on this pedal and propel the sound of the instrument forward.
I tried an old trick, and it worked wonders. If you crank the master volume and remove the lower end (50 and 120), you can have a thick, fuzz-like distortion. This is especially true when playing with a tube amp.
The one thing I have to say about this pedal is that it’s friendlier to passive instruments than it is to active ones. My Music Man Sting Ray became just a little too much with the pedal engaged.
Finally, this would be the perfect pedal if you could lock the sliders somehow. I mean, it’s still a wonderful, affordable, straightforward option, but if sliders move inside your pedalboard, it makes a huge difference.
Keeping a photo of your perfect settings in your cellphone is a good choice too.
2. Source Audio EQ2
Saying that the Source Audio EQ2 is a bass EQ pedal would be a terrible understatement. This is a powerful tone machine with multiple options and a clever layout. It not only covers vast sonic ground, but it also does so, taking up minimal pedalboard real estate.
Source Audio EQ2
For starters, the screen is great for knowing your current settings every time you look down. I know, in times of big, lush, colorful touch screens, it seems a little outdated. Nevertheless, its functionality is great.
To begin with, I plugged in my Jazz Bass and started playing with the big, silver knob right below the screen. If you push it down and scroll, you can choose the frequency, and by scrolling it to the sides, you can cut or boost the signal. But that’s not all, because this is a parametric EQ too, so you can also move the frequency band up or down on the spectrum. This solves a big problem of graphic EQs when accommodating multiple instruments. With this Source Audio pedal, you can select exactly the frequency band you need.
It was wonderful to bring some of those magnificent low-mids and slap the night away. I toyed with the frequencies, and once I got the tone I wanted, including the overall volume, I stored it in the first slot. You get four memory presets for your favorite sounds. You can scroll through them with the little button on top of the pedal or by just pressing and keeping the footswitch down.
I must confess this pedal did get my nerdiest side out. This is a stereo in, stereo out, MIDI through pedal. One thing you can do with it is address each of the outputs with a different preset. I could tailor the EQ going into my 1x15 and fine-tune the one going into the 2x10. I mean, how cool is that!
I know what you’re thinking, cut it with the feats, and let’s get to the sounds! I’m telling you, though, this pedal offers so many options, it would take many posts like this to explain them all.
But how does it sound? Well, let me tell you it’s one of the cleanest EQs I’ve played through. You can push frequencies to build your tone, but you can also cut them. This is particularly true with active basses like my StingRay. Cutting off the high-mids in the 2-4K, especially with its maple neck, made it more rocking, menacing, and punchier.
I ended up making a preset for each of my basses and connecting this thing to my laptop. You can access fine-tuning capabilities only available inside a DAW.
Yes, it’s pricey, complex, and powerful, so if you’re looking for the definitive bass EQ pedal, and it fits your budget, you should test drive it. For something simpler, more affordable, and straightforward, you might be better off looking somewhere else.
3. Empress Effects Bass ParaEQ
The Empress Effects Bass ParaEQ is an oddball. First, it doesn’t look like an equalizer pedal at all. And second, it’s not graphic, it’s parametric.
There are no faders for each frequency, but six big silver knobs and eight small black knobs. Are they enough to unleash this pedal’s tone-shaping power? I don’t mean to do any spoilers, but it gets the job done gloriously.
Can I get a little nerdy here? The thing is that this pedal operates with 27 volts of internal voltage, which gives it more clean headroom, making it noise-free and very transparent. It sounds just as good as it looks.
But that’s not all, allow me one more paragraph of nerdy stuff because this is pure gold, especially if you play live. The pedal detects balanced and unbalanced connections and adds 6dB to the signal to make up for signal loss in long cable runs. It also has a Hi-Z input to accommodate piezo-equipped acoustic basses or double basses. It turns the impedance into 10-Mohm, avoiding the filtering of those round, soft, and huge low-end frequencies by impedance mismatch.
Well, enough with the nerdy stuff, let’s get to the juicy part. I plugged in my P-Bass and set all knobs at noon. I was surprised at how silent, transparent, and powerful this pedal is, especially when you step on the boost. Although you can regulate it with the little knob, it starts at ferocious.
The knobs are your typical low, mid, treble scenario, but with a twist. You can choose the frequency within that realm and how much of that frequency you want. But that’s not all, you can choose the cue, too.
You know every P-Bass can use some brightness, well, I was able to choose exactly the high mids I needed to open its sound by moving the cue knob. However, making it wider gave me a more musical result, great for adjusting the overall sound of the instrument. The best of it all? I did it without sacrificing the low-end or the razor-sharp midrange.
Speaking of the overall sound of the instrument, this pedal also offers filters. I loved the hi-pass filter. In my opinion, it is a clear win. It has three stops at 0, 85, and 200dB. It helped me say goodbye to mud in my signal. Especially with the 1x15.
The low-pass filter also proved its worth when I plugged in the maple-neck StingRay. Everything that was even a tiny harsh or annoying just disappeared, and the results were musical, dynamic, and clean.
The one thing this pedal lacks is a way to save and recall presets. I mean, the 30dB boost is great, but a “Favorite” button would be even better.
I know it’s pricey, but it sounds like cutting-edge studio-grade gear, and it’s also built like a tank. If the budget allows it and you’re in search of a complex tone machine, this is a great candidate for the title.
4. Whirlwind Bass Ten
Tony Gambacurta has an impressive CV. He was a senior engineer at MXR in the ‘70s, founded A.R.T. (Applied Research and Technology) in the ‘80s, and worked as a senior engineer at Whirlwind in the 2000s and the 2010s.
The man knows what he’s doing.
But why do we care about good, old Tony? Well, he’s the mastermind behind the Whirlwind Bass Ten, a mammoth, road-ready, rugged, great-sounding ten-band EQ pedal.
Whirlwind Bass Ten
At first sight, this pedal is impressive. The made-in-USA housing is as strong as it gets. Although it’s true that it takes up a lot of pedalboard space, it delivers accordingly.
What I enjoyed the most about it was the Constant-Q design (again, Tony knows what he’s doing). It allows you to cut or boost without affecting the rest of the spectrum. I’m telling you, it’s like having a tone scalpel going into surgery.
I was able to dial in the perfect brightness and punch for my P-Bass. I could sculpt the bottom end and scoop the mids to get a powerful slapping sound from my Jazz Bass and get into hyperspace with the StingRay.
It took me a while to find the exact tone, the sweet spot for each instrument, but once I did, it became an always-on pedal. It’s just one of those stompboxes that make everything sound better. Speaking of which, you can make it sound better and louder, too. This pedal offers 15dB for overall boost or cut; enough to take the spotlight and then some.
If you’re after a straightforward pedal to go on the road, this is a great candidate. It sounds pristine, it’s built like a bulldozer, and it offers the right frequencies to make your bass sound better. I’m telling you, Tony knows very well what he’s doing.
Why Add an EQ to Your Bass Rig?
If you’ve never played with an EQ pedal before, you haven’t yet entered this different realm in which you can fine-tune every aspect of your tone. I mean, I became obsessed with it when I got my first 10-band EQ.
I was playing gigs non-stop back then. Playing bass in an alternative rock band (I’m a nineties kid!) and a covers band, and guitar in an acoustic duo.
The moment I plugged in the EQ pedal and started fiddling with the sliders, I could finally get closer to the tone in my head. I could remove the harsh high-end of my cheap Jazz Bass and tame the uncontrollable lows of my P-Bass.
I could do all that regardless of the room and the gig. The EQ became my superpower, my always-on pedal, my go-to secret weapon, and my savior in times of trouble.
After that initial phase of obsession came experimentation, and I learned more uses for the EQ. I’m just going to say it was a fun time.
Now, I’ve boiled it down to a few settings I’m in love with. Let me tell you all about them.
This is How I Use It Live
My favorite live use of the EQ pedal is always-on. Moreover, if it’s a cramped space, I’ll just put the EQ and the compressor on top of the amp, and I’ll leave them on all night long.
If the stage is a little bigger and I need to cover more ground, I’ll bring a second EQ pedal and use one as a booster. I found out, after playing for decades, that I don’t want my bass tone to change. I want the same, just louder.
Finally, if I’m playing something heavier, I can sink the midrange and the low-end and boost the highs and the overall volume to get a cutting sound that’s distorted, rattly, and amazing. I stomp on it for riffs, solos, and hooks.
These are My Favorite Studio Uses
Studio EQ is very important to keep a tight, neat, clean mix. So, the first trick I can share with you is going into the EQ pedal and then into the interface.
That way, you can get rid of the frequencies that interfere with the kick drum, the guitars, and the vocals. I love doing that as the track is playing. To my ears, it’s more effective than doing it afterward. Plus, once you use DAW EQ, you’ll do it to fine-tune it even more.
Also, and this is something I do especially with old passive models like the Precision and Jazz Bass, is giving it an extra gain bump before they go in. If the EQ pedal is good, you’ll probably get punchy, active-like tones and vintage, round warmth with no noise.
Finally, there’s no better way to drive a tube amplifier. I know what you’re thinking, but with the size of venues and the “everyone is on in-ears”, tube amps aren’t live animals anymore, they’re studio beasts. So, driving my tube head with the EQ’s overall gain level is perfect to record huge tones that feel pushed, but not squashed, and have no dirt at all.
How Many Bands Do You Need?
The number of bands in an EQ is mostly standard. You’ll probably get 10 bands and have 70% dedicated to the lows and the low-mids. One thing to bear in mind, though, is that on most graphic EQs, these bands are at a set frequency.
That’s the main difference with the parametric EQ. On this type, you can choose the frequency you want and then how much of it you want on your signal. That’s, for example, what happens with the EQ in your DAW.
What is Subtractive EQ?
One thing I learned about not so long ago, and that I want to share with you before ending this piece, is the concept of subtractive EQ. Don’t worry, this doesn’t come from Nerdville; it’s great advice for those venturing into the world of equalizers.
The trick is considering 0 as if it were 100. If you were to think about it with a knob, noon is max. This means you can only cut frequencies to improve the overall sound. It helped me rethink bass sounds a lot. Instead of asking, “What do I want more of?” I ask, “What do I want less of?”
It sounds silly and simple because it is, but it opens a whole new perspective.
The Bottom End
Bass EQ pedals can be your best allies on the road and can make your recordings sound much better. Yet, they don’t get the spotlight they deserve. These are the pedals that have been shaping the music we hear for decades, and most don’t even know them!
Pick one from the list and venture into the wonderful world of EQ pedals. The only thing you won’t want is to power it off.
Happy (punchy, clear, and sharp) bass playing!
