Empress Effects ParaEQ MkII

[TedBPhx]

More Christmas window shopping.

Two new versions, MKII and MKII Deluxe. The deluxe adds sweepable Qs. 250 and 350. When trying to re-introduce a classic is it a good idea to brag about circuit redesign?

Empress Effects – Empress Effects Inc.

[tbeltrans]

I have the original Para-EQ and much prefer its layout. It is an excellent pedal and I have no need to go for the new one. My guess is that one or more of the parts used in the original became end-of-life, so Empress had to do something else to continue the product. I encountered this at regular intervals in engineering, but I am only guessing that this may have been a reason to discontinue the original Para-EQ, since there was certainly nothing wrong with the design.

Just the other day, I purchased an Empress Zoia. It will be quite a while before I become really comfortable with it, but I am sure the effort will be worth it.

Tony

[bluejaybill]

I have the original Para-EQ and much prefer its layout. It is an excellent pedal and I have no need to go for the new one. My guess is that one or more of the parts used in the original became end-of-life, so Empress had to do something else to continue the product. I encountered this at regular intervals in engineering, but I am only guessing that this may have been a reason to discontinue the original Para-EQ, since there was certainly nothing wrong with the design.

Just the other day, I purchased an Empress Zoia. It will be quite a while before I become really comfortable with it, but I am sure the effort will be worth it.

Tony

I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the original. I don't know about outdated parts, but I wouldn't think this type of pedal would have that problem, like some distortion and delay pedals with do. As with the compressor, I think they mostly wanted to shrink it a bit to make it more pedalboard friendly.

I have the new compressor and it's incredible, very transparent. I use it to even out a pickup on a guitar where the 2nd string really sticks out. As well as other things.

[st.bede]

I have the original Para-EQ and much prefer its layout. It is an excellent pedal and I have no need to go for the new one. My guess is that one or more of the parts used in the original became end-of-life, so Empress had to do something else to continue the product. I encountered this at regular intervals in engineering, but I am only guessing that this may have been a reason to discontinue the original Para-EQ, since there was certainly nothing wrong with the design.

Just the other day, I purchased an Empress Zoia. It will be quite a while before I become really comfortable with it, but I am sure the effort will be worth it.

Tony

I always wanted an Empress Para…

I have a Zoia. If I remember right, there is a patch out there that does the para-eq. It takes up a lot of the processing power.

I have some really cool stuff happening with my Zoia. One trick I developed is to set on/off type switches for any parallel fx. I can solo any audio path I am trying to dial in. That is a lot faster then say turning the mix up and down.

The Zoia is amazing. It takes a while to understand… maybe longer then that. At the end, I can really design my own pedal to do exactly what I want.

[ccroft]

I have an older Para. I'm still in a no-pedal phase, but I will keep it for some future unseen problem that needs fixing. It is a great EQ pedal. It's a bit large on my little board though.

I like the new layout. It's half the width and same size as my other boxes. After looking at mine and comparing to photos I think it won't be any less usable. The white lettering would be much easier to read than the black on my old one. I also like the jacks on top/front like my other boxes; it'd go together better on my compact board. The non-deluxe looks like it has exactly the same controls as the original.

I notice the deluxe has a hi pass filter. Maybe some have noticed the 'capacitor trick' in one of the latest Quilter threads? A way to turn off the 'bright switch'. This is a bit pricier, but might be a somewhat more elegant and adjustable way to go at that :-)

[tbeltrans]

I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the original. I don't know about outdated parts, but I wouldn't think this type of pedal would have that problem, like some distortion and delay pedals with do. As with the compressor, I think they mostly wanted to shrink it a bit to make it more pedalboard friendly.

I have the new compressor and it's incredible, very transparent. I use it to even out a pickup on a guitar where the 2nd string really sticks out. As well as other things.

We will never know why Empress stopped making the original pedal and started anew, unless an engineer at Empress spills the beans. I do know from my career in engineering that EOL'ing parts is a common thing, requiring a redesign around a new part to continue the product. That would certainly be a good time to change the layout. Personally, I would not want a small footprint for a parametric EQ. Too many knobs.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

I always wanted an Empress Para…

I have a Zoia. If I remember right, there is a patch out there that does the para-eq. It takes up a lot of the processing power.

I have some really cool stuff happening with my Zoia. One trick I developed is to set on/off type switches for any parallel fx. I can solo any audio path I am trying to dial in. That is a lot faster then say turning the mix up and down.

The Zoia is amazing. It takes a while to understand… maybe longer then that. At the end, I can really design my own pedal to do exactly what I want.

My impression of the Zoia is that it can work with most any other stuff I have - keyboards, the Synthstrom Deluge, guitars, and even by itself as a synth. I seem to recall seeing a youtube video discussing using it as a 4 operator FM synthesizer too!

This pedal reminds me of the old saying that a good way to drive a guy crazy is to put him in a round room and tell him to sit in the corner.

Tony