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I've been using parametric EQ's for many years now. Have not found the perfect one so far which makes me looking around about every second year. I've been using a Carl Martin 3Band Parametric preamp since about 12 years which i like a lot on gigs, but in recording situations it adds a little hum which made me more than once disconnect it although i would feel more comfortable with the modified sound. Over the past three decades i have used a TC for several years, a Fita Live high end studio EQ which was great but had distortion issues when heated up, a Fishman for two gigs only and a Boss which i never really cared to play in a "real situation".
I have heard of the Empress ParaEQ wonder if this one would be really quiet in a recording situation. Any experiences?
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10-10-2015 02:08 PM
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I've been using an Empress ParaEQ for a year or so and find it to be a powerful tone-shaping tool that is very quiet. I practice in a controlled studio-like setting and am very aware of any noise in the system... having been a recording engineer for many years. All my Empress pedals (compressor, tremolo, ParaEQ) are top quality and extremely quiet. And, no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way.
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i've also had my eye on these for a while, but they are pricey and do not seem to be readily available. the idea for me was to further sculpt tone to notch out a few odd frequencies on amps that have limited controls (which i prefer), like my vox. scoop out some weirdness, fluff some things up, match up a guitar to an amp a little better, or as an ad hoc overdrive/boost while adding/removing some frequencies that pop up or disappear at higher volume and gain levels. just a few of the idea that i had for it.
other (sort of) similar pedals (that are way cheaper but do much less) include the eqd tone job and the good old rc booster, which i use and like but isn't anywhere near as versatile as the para eq appears to be.
for what its worth, the only empress pedal i have is the buffer +, which is fantastic. possibly the best clean boost i've used, too. high quality all around; wouldn't hesitate to buy another one of their pedals. it hasn't been noisy or problematic in my studio at all-- it has a switchable noise filter, in fact.
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Mine seems to have ceased for some reason. As long as it works it is very quiet (now too quiet) and the boost is a useful feature as it is entirely neutral. It allows a lot of tone shaping.
At the end of the day I found out that I don't want to "repair" my sound with an EQ pedal - I want to have a guitar and amp that I dig. Fortunately I've found enough of those combinations and I cannot see myself using an EQ again in the future.
Just my 0.02$.
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Just get a Zoom MS50G or MS100BT. Half the price (or less), you can have up to 12 parametric eq bands, tuner and lots of effects. Less noise (no noise actually) than the Empress.
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I bought it and returned the next day.
But that is probably just me. I thought I didn't really need such a device.
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For myself i feel that it's not about repairing the sound but rather enhancing it, suiting my personal taste as well as adjusting to the sometimes very awkward acoustics of the locations i play in. Also being less dependant on the amp's characteristics as i cannot always carry my favorite equipment - and the boost feature comes in handy for the mini humbuckers which have less output.
Originally Posted by FrankLearns
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I use an MXR M108 10 band EQ in the FX loop of a Classic 30. Don't notice any noise. About half the price of the Empress. Has both input and output gain control.
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I mainly use the Empress with my hollowbody to notch out the troublesome resonances (feedback)... with its overlapping frequency ranges and bell curve options I can take care of the issue without having to crank the snot out of it. Oh... and I bought mine used for $160. They are pricey brand new.
Last edited by vernon; 10-10-2015 at 07:35 PM.
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All these folks focused on a single instrument. I play archtops with humbuckers, single coils, K&K Definity, K&K Pure Archtop, and one with a Sunrise pickup. Also have a Rhythm Chief 1100 waiting on the bench. Add in flat tops with piezo's and a Schertler AG6. I run through three different amps and a PA. Having a solid EQ allows me to make whatever the current combination is sound good. It deals with the room and the vagaries of each guitar, pickup, and amp type. Often no EQ is needed but when something needs a tweak I prefer the Empress ParaEq because I like having something analog in front of me I can twist knobs on. It's a very quiet pedal and would probably be the last thing I got rid of on my pedal board.
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A parametric is a much powerful tool over a graphic... imo of course. Originally Posted by TedBPhx
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The empress pedal Is awesome. Very good quality in parts , design and sound. You can run it on 18 v for even more gain stability . It's the most high end eq pedal I have seen. It takes time to learn though. Btw , I tried the zoom pedal that was mentioned above. I think it was one of the worst things I've ever played through. Go play a few and se what u like.
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The people who book my services are usually willing to pay me well, so i want to give them the best in return. In addition to that it just makes me feel good myself to be able to play with a sophisticated balanced, and if possible, perfect sound which suits my personal taste. By experience i know that i can't get this with gadgets that are designed for competing in a market which is about "getting more for less money". Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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That's complete nonsense. A parametric eq is a very "objective pedal" - there are no good or bad ones. A pedal either does the job or does not. Both the empress and the zoom do it (and there's no "magic" about them). The zoom does it better (more bands, more q control, less money, more effects if not tuner alone). Simple as that. Originally Posted by JazzNote
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Why were the zoom one of the worst thing you ever tried? The modelling part is not great but the effects are quite good, I've gigged with them a lot in the last few years. Originally Posted by Hjalmiz
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It no nonsense for me - but i understand that one believes so if he cannot hear the difference ...... Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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What difference do you hear if you never tried them? I owned or tried almost all eq pedals available on the market. There is no difference between them.
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A good pedal should preserve the guitar signal and add a feature. In this case reverb/delay. The zoom does not . Or actually leave a pleasant mark on the signal like a old boss reverb. The zoom does not. I thinks stuff should be built to last . I doubt we'll se someone play one of these zoom pedals In 20 years(even in 5). I think it has a bad design, low quality parts and the other effects on it are terrible. However I think u can find a few empress pedals making music in 20 years for sure .
I think products like zoom are like any other disposable electronic device that gets thrown away after to little use. It's kind of sad actually ...
I don't have any interest to argue about this . But to be honest , if you can't hear or understand the difference between a digital eq in a 25 dollar dsp and a empress analog eq be happy and enjoy the zoom or whatever. I'll repeat what I said about the empress eq ! It stands out from all the competition. Good luck !
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I was just curious, nothing else. Which zoom pedal did you tried? In what circumstances? I've gigged a lot with a MS50G, a MS70CDR and a MS100BT (and previously a G3). I've had or tried almost all eq pedals in the market.
Some of your claims are nothing more than prejudice - I have had a Zoom recorder for almost 10 years and still working great. I had a used G3 that was 3 years old and working great too. There's no evidence Empress pedals will last more than Zoom pedals. I've had more problems with analog pedals than with digital pedals actually - and more tone colouration for Boss pedals or other digital pedals than the Zooms.
Simply put, products are not better because they're expensive or analog or boutique. If I recorded two clips, one with the Zoom the other with the Empress the only way to tell them apart would be the Empress (and all analog eqs I tried) is noisier.
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Well i tried only about five and i CAN hear the differences between them ...... Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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I rest my case
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Hard to fault something with enough digital bits to make it transparent. I have no doubt that a good digital solution will exceed the fidelity of an Empress ParaEQ for my purposes and what I can hear. If we were getting into the studio realm we could talk about how good the A/D's and D/A's are as well as the analog output circuit compared to studio gear as opposed to a pedal. Totally beyond my application and interest though.
I just like that the Empress is quiet and it offers me the kind of ergonomics I like on my pedalboard. Real knobs and switches. And a boost I can easily punch.
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My experiences have been different. Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
For quite some time I've had a both Para EQ and a Zoom G3X, which shares the same EQ with the MS50G. They are very different pieces of gear, but putting aside the greater versatility of the Zoom for this discussion, I still think both the Empress and the Zoom have advantages for EQ.
If used only for EQ, the Zoom allows you to mix and match up to 6 instances of of graphic and/or parametric EQ. Each instance of the parametric EQ has two bands (hence the 12 bands that Jorge mentioned). For each of the two bands, you choose the center from a discrete list of frequencies, the Q from a long list of choices, and then dial in the boost or cut for the band. I have used up to 4 parametric instances (8 bands) to bracket and notch out a resonance and otherwise EQ an archtop.
The Empress is less versatile but easier to configure and adjust. There are low, mid, and high bands. Each band has the same three choices of Q (tight, mid, wide). OTOH, you can dial in the center of each band - you are not restricted to a discrete list, as with the Zoom.
There are pros and cons for each of them IMO.
- The Empress is quicker to configure for EQ. You don't have to navigate menus or press save etc. Just flick the Q toggle for each band and dial in the center and the boost or cut. Add overall boost as desired.
- The Empress is much quicker to configure as a notch filter. The Zoom's discrete list of frequencies is never centered on my resonance, so I need to bracket the resonance with two deep cuts, which makes the notch too wide; then I need to compensate for the excessive width ... etc. In contrast, with the Para I just set the Q to tight, sweep to find the center and adjust the cut.
- For the same reasons as above, the Para is easier to tweak for a different room, and much easier for tweaking out a resonance.
- The Para EQ is dead quiet and colorless in my experience, including when significant boost is used. However, there is a small amount of noise (and I think maybe color) with my Zoom G3X - maybe nothing that others would care about, but enough to annoy me.
- I dislike that if I use the Empress bass band as a notch filter, then I have no other, more general bass control.
But all things considered and as far as EQ only is concerned, I prefer the Empress for EQ whenever possible.
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Dude , if u can't hear the artifacts of a poor digital device then good for u. But u don't get it. The zoom sounds ugly to me. Period . Some pedals color the sound in a good way but the zoom don't. Some pedals like the empress eq does not and is also very quiet in it self but , if you can't find noise with a EQ in a guitar signal I would say that something is wrong ! There is always noice!!!!!!!!!! If the zoom as u say is dead quite then it's filtering ! Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
I've tried the Ms range and I think they suck ! Your giving the usual speech about low price value. Vake up, there are no free lunches! If someone asks for a high quality eq and you tell them to get a Zoom pedal, then I'm sorry but u don't get it !
As I said I won't argue this , i think u are wrong and that's that !
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In theory and in the price range we're talking about, digital processing will be quieter than analog processing. If the Zoom stuff has a reasonable output stage, it's likely quieter and I really kind of doubt that it's processor or A/D's are so slow that artifacts are an issue. Still, for me, it's not applicable as I'm not hearing anything objectionable from my Empress.
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