Source Audio EQ2 vs Boss eq-200 vs MXR M108S vs...

smeet

smeet

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Nov 27, 2006
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#1
So I'm trying to decide on a good eq pedal. All three of these are 10 band graphic eqs, but are quite different otherwise. This is for live use, if it works for recording that's nice, but not necessary. I want to use it at or near the end of my pedal chain, for overall sonic changes, and maybe to adjust to the room.
  • EQ2 - digital, ton of options, ui not great for creative tweaking live.
  • M108S - analog, no options, but easy to tweak.
  • EQ-200 - digital, with presets, has sliders for easy tweaking, but less features than EQ2
Does that cover it? The EQ2 on paper is clearly superior. Each band is parametric and the frequencies can be modified. It has a tuner, a noise gate, and up to 128 presets. It's easy enough to tweak eq band levels, but not as immediate as just grabbing a slider.

The EQ-200 has presets and a couple of options for band frequencies. It has sliders, and a display.

The M108S is analog. I'm not sure if there is any advantage to that at this price level.

I'm not sure how much to weigh the ease of use in a live situation vs the obvious technical superiority of the EQ2. Does any of these 3 (or another equivalent model) have any sonic advantages?
 
#2
I do want to point out that the EQ2 also has expression control of up to four parameters at once. This can be used to turn it into a volume pedal, or a Wah, but less obviously you can control boost/cut, et cetera, of particular bands. So if you like to fiddle with 800 hz, for example, you can have toe up be your minimum setting, and toe down be yoir maximum setting. Want to cut, say, 4 kHz as you raise 800 hz? You can do that. Want to move a low pass knee lower as you boost mids? You can do that, too. Want to widen or narrow the Q of the 800 hz band as you raise it? Done.

Combine all that with the flexible routing (which allows having equalization at different points in your chain, for example), and I personally find the minor UI limitations to be more than offset by the features. I can't answer whether you would feel the same.
 
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#4
I just got an EQ-2 the other day and started playing around with it. I have 3 basses: passive J, active 4($$), and active 5 (cheap crappy pickups) and I’ve set up separate curves for each one and have started playing around with the mono in, stereo out method to have a separate dirt channel with different settings. So far I’m really impressed with the sounds I’m getting.

Oh, and, with the latest firmware update there are fully functional HPF and LPF to play with.

Having said that, changing presets on the fly is a little annoying, done by holding the switch down as it scrolls. I believe you can hook up a separate switch for this, or use MIDI which is what I’m planning. Overall, it’s a very impressive EQ
 
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