EQ700 Graphic Equalizer Pedal

BOUGHT AS A VINYL RECORD PLAYER ADD-ON..... 'EXACTLY' what I needed and wanted! This is an amazing piece of hi-tech at the right price. Using it for my recently acquired 80s Technics record player, and I was using the graphic equaliser in 'Garage Band' on my MAC, which worked okay but - I get occasional annoying noise and interference I think due to wifi and mobile devices the MAC talks to (couldn't seem to irradiate that). So, I bit the bullet, and bought this fine beast instead. Now have very good control of input and output, the low-cut filter is working a treat, can hardly hear any rumble, no noise interference anymore, the device seems to create a very clean sound, I can obviously still hear the occasional crackles and pops on my ageing records, but I can live with that! Frequency changes volumes can be easily made using the 9 sliders, and easily set to listen to whatever music genre you like! I like a bit of oldie progressive rock like Free and Fleetwood Mac, a bit of Tamla Motown, a bit of electronic Jean Michel Jarre, and so far the results of the sound quality have proved to be excellent using my new FBQ800, and I'm not just saying that. This was the best value for money product I bought all year, and would have given it 10 stars if I could, well pleased! If like me you are on a budget, but you like records, this will enhance your listening! 57 English pounds well spent, you 'might' get it a bit cheaper in January or you might not - who knows, good luck!

I must first admit that I am using this equaliser with the Behringer AMP800 headphone amplifier and the two devices are so well matched that they fit together like a well made sandwich, in all honesty they should really be sold together with connecting cables as a matched pair. OK, once properly set up (to taste) the FBQ800 brought joy to my old ears, for example, I can now hear those delicately played instruments hidden in the mid-range, the lead singer enjoying the song he is singing, background singers now brought into focus and, most amazingly, when the lead singer is singing harmony with the backing singers. I have now tailored what I hear to my particular liking, such as firming up bass and taming bright treble, i.e. mixed and equalised to taste. I believe that this item is well worth the price for it's ease of set up, loads of controls to tailor your music, the way it works so effortlessly with the AMP800 and above all this device can be set to accommodate any music lovers particular tastes. Now I will say that Hi-Fi purest will turn their noses up at the FBQ800 but this device is not about Hi-Fi, it's about enjoying your music and for this well targeted goal the FBQ800 truly brings it. However, the downside to the FBQ800 is it's plastic look and feel but if you can overlook this one flaw you will be very happy with how this device controls and delivers your music. For me, this is a great addition to my music system and a well deserved 5 star device, and “5 stars plus” when used with the Behringer AMP800.

Firstly, it works and certainly greatly improves the sound from your amp and, of course, any EQ pedal is better than none. Buy it if you're on a budget and you shouldn't really be disappointed. In any event, your basic rig should contain a Tuner, EQ and a Looper. You could, of course, just get a Joyo American Sound which does a similar job, or get both!

Such a cool piece of kit. Brilliant for fine tuning your sound but also lets you know which frequencies require clipping. Such good value and great quality. Sits in my 19" rack a treat.

Bought, along with CS400, for dear old Dad. Clone of the Boss pedal - same colour scheme, similar model name. & bands with 15 dB of cut and boost. Let's get two things out of the way here. When you turn up the level of anything, not only do you make the sound louder, you also make THE BACKGROUND NOISE louder, and if ANY equaliser makes your 'tone' "dull and lifeless" it's because YOU are incompetent. Right, like the compressor, it does what it's supposed to, HOWEVER, in the case of an equaliser - especially a graphic one - the quality/tolerances of the internal electronics are more critical. If they're at the extremes of the tolerances then they are not necessarily controlling the frequencies they are supposed to - it's worth bearing in mind. Tested with the same setup as in the case of the CS700 review - EMGed Strat, blah, blah, blah - and again, THE PEDAL DOES NOT INTRODUCE ANY ADDITIONAL NOISE!!! High gain, dodgy amp, dodgy guitar, dodgy building and with all the sliders up, yeah, you'll have a s***load of noise, but it's not the pedal, it's the knob on the guitar. Why so cheap? Made in China, cheap parts - sliders aren't smooth and have no centre notch like on the Boss, for example - made of plastic. You'll only break it if you're an idiot. The electronics?... Let's face it, you're either skint or a beginner if you're considering one of these? Buy one, definitely. The 10 band stuff is only any use if you play other instruments or dropped tunings - three of the bands are irrelevant to guitars. Buy one, read up on how to use EQ and what it does. Once you know what you're doing, these things can be more effective than a new guitar and/or pickup change. This is a good piece of gear, can't say how long it'll last, BUT there are more expensive ways of discovering whether a particular pedal is 'for you'.

Budget pedals, Behringer especially, get a really bad rap as a whole. I'm an advocate of budget pedals and it is important I make that really clear and have used Behringer before too. They serve a specific purpose and my review is pitched as such and will not be making a blow by blow comparison to the Boss on which this is based. It wouldn't be fair or appropriate to. This 7 band EQ pedal works. It serves the purpose I got it for. Which was to 1) experiment with an EQ to see if I could make use of one 2) have an alternative clean tone readily available and not have to mess with core settings on my amp and 3) be able to 'tune' for the room when I playing live. This EQ has done all that really well. If you are considering an EQ chances are you have researched how to use one so I will not go into how it sounds from the point of view. Just know that it works as intended for sound sculpting like any other 7 band EQ with the same dB cut/ gain too and it works just as effectively. The inclusion of an overall output level is great giving you more flexibility too - often something left out at this price point. I use it infrequently so the more flimsy build quality isn't a problem for me right now as I am not switching it on and off regularly enough to break it. I have also deliberately put it on my board in a place that requires a bit of a gentle tip toe to switch it on and off. So again, I'm minimising the risk of breaking it from being heavy footed. Some things to consider: -It IS built to it's price point, you must factor this in. -The sliders have little resistance and it's very easy to knock them with just a guitar cable brushing them. -It will break if you're heavy footed with it because it is all plastic and all the internal control mounts are too. -You can clearly see (and feel) where they have compromised the build for the price point. -It is appreciably noisier than other units even with only a few dB boost on the mids. However, if you have your expectations in check before you click buy, the above should not be an issue and I will not mark it down for it. One thing I will mention though is signal loss. Again, this is because it is a budget pedal but it is something I feel warrants a mention as it is a fundamental tone thing. Plugging this into my signal chain had a very appreciable impact on upper mids and trebles with a darkening of the tone even when switched off . Thinking it was simply the 'tipping point' for signal loss on my existing six pedal setup I ran direct into the EQ pedal and then the amp with my shortest cables. The same darkening. I'm lucky that I already have an always on buffer unit on a larger board to fix this, but this is quite a significant thing when you consider it is aimed at budget user who may not have a dedicated buffer. Or even know about them. The more expensive 'buffered' pedals on the smaller board couldn't compensate enough for the signal loss from the Behringer either. Which makes it hard for me to REALLY recommend it. I'm an advocate of budget pedals. They make experimenting affordable and I wish they had been about 35 years ago when I got started and I still buy budget now when I am experimenting myself. Either selling or passing them on when no longer needed. However, there are times when the more expensive version is the better starting point and in this case I think it might be true. A second hand Boss GE7 is still double the price of this new, but even if you decide it isn't for you it will retain the value you got it for and will be easy to sell on and unless you get a severely beat up one, there is little risk with buying second hand Boss stomp box format. Having A/B'd the Behringer and the Boss, there is no appreciable signal loss with the GE7 and on this occasion, I'd say go for the Boss.

I bought this to shape the sound of my headphone setup. Depending on the source/amp/headphones a wee tweak here or there can make all the difference. I was previously using a full sized unit but it introduced too much noise and also looked a bit daft with the smaller DACs and amps you tend to use for headphones. This unit is compact and although fairly basic it does the job very nicely. It does introduce some noise but I have to use extremely low impedance high sensitivity IEM's to hear it, and only when no sound is playing; with everything else it's so low that I can't detect it. With its 9 bands it's versatile enough to hone the sound without being overkill. I wish that it would accept more than one input at a time, although that's easily sorted with a switch box and it does have two outputs. A really welcome addition would be a balance control as I have hearing damage in my left ear and I can't always control the sound at source. At this price I'm tempted to buy another to adjust each side independently. The build quality isn't the best, it's a very light plastic box and will move around unless you have something on top or blutack it down. It feels like a cheap device to use but that's probably because it is! The sound is what matters and in that respect it's excellent, it really makes a difference. It won't make bad music good but it will make it better! :)

Like another reviewer here, I am also a professional sound engineer, so some people might wonder why I would bother with a budget graphic equaliser like this. Well, for one thing, I was curious why this little unit was gaining quite a few positive feedback comments, and at the price it was offered at I thought it was worth giving it a go. I have used many graphic equalisers over the years, from top professional models to some very cheap ones, and I learnt along the way that price is not always an indicator of sound quality! But even so I was still quite surprised by just how good this graphic equaliser sounded when I first tried it, even if the build quality is a bit on the cheap and cheerful side (I would have deducted a star for this if the unit had been more expensive). The plastic case doubtless saves on costs, but results in a cheap feel, and the sliders also feel rather cheap (though they work very well). A shame because the sound itself is really nice and smooth and the unit is very responsive. The circuitry is clean and simple and doesn't over-colour the sound - raise the bass and a nice firm bass end lifts up from the music; increase a higher frequency band and it immediately responds without adding harshness. It basically does would it should do and nothing more. It would benefit from a few more bands (and better quality sliders) and a better quality metal case, but of course that would push the price up, and anyway everyone remembers the Austin 7 not the Austin 10 !! I added some decent feet and weighting the unit down as it was so physically light it wouldn't stay level on any surface, especially with high quality RCA leads plugged in the back (it would slightly tip up and also move around). I've used this unit for three years now without a single problem. Highly recommended!