# EQ Pedal + 6505



## jamesy_pwd (Dec 9, 2009)

hi, i was thinking to get some flexibility to my tone and add some low end and slightly scoop my mids a tad, would this be benificial to my tone? or would it make it sound crappy and weird? will i still get my br00t4l 6505 sound with some extra low or will it mess with it too much?


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## metal_sam14 (Dec 9, 2009)

go for an MXR 10 band eq. seems like everyone on the internet with a 6505 has one of these pedals in the loop. it will defidently so what you want it to do


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## K-Roll (Dec 9, 2009)

I had an MXR 10 band with my 6505 and i threw it away after one 2 months of using. It made my amp sound like a solid state no matter how i set it. And I don't know, but usually people use it for pushing even more mids out of the 6505. once you scoop those FQ, you won't be heard in the band mix. From what I see players scoop their mids when they are playing on their own in some dark cellar, it sounds good to them, but once you cut those mids out while playing in a band you will not hear yourself, it will be a lot of noise, but you won't be able to tell what you are playing


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## 155 (Dec 9, 2009)

K-Roll said:


> I had an MXR 10 band with my 6505 and i threw it away after one 2 months of using. It made my amp sound like a solid state no matter how i set it. And I don't know, but usually people use it for pushing even more mids out of the 6505. once you scoop those FQ, you won't be heard in the band mix. From what I see players scoop their mids when they are playing on their own in some dark cellar, it sounds good to them, but once you cut those mids out while playing in a band you will not hear yourself, it will be a lot of noise, but you won't be able to tell what you are playing


I agree 100% sounds awesome in the basement by yourself but on a mix it wont cut for shit. theres something about the frequencys with the eq that makes it lose cut even if you're not scooping...I dont I havent had luck with it youll find you're turning up too much to be heard over other amps.


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## Fred the Shred (Dec 9, 2009)

Guitars operate in the midrange frequencies, predominantly. We have no substantial low or high end compared to dedicated instruments, and a well defined midrange is what makes us cut through the mix. Scooping the crap out of an amp is all nice and dandy when practicing, but it simply does NOT work in a band situation without serious problems projecting yourself and very nasty highs.


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## kmanick (Dec 9, 2009)

I use an MXR 10 band in the loop of my 5150 II and it sounds great. It really smoooths it out.
I know these look kind of weird but try them, they very sublety smooth out the tone of the amps lead channel






against these settings on my amp it sounds great (the post gain is turned way down in this pic though  )


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## Fred the Shred (Dec 9, 2009)

That's a different use altogether, and one that does benefit you by removing extra harshness when doing melody lines, for example.

A common use, however, seems to be a never ending search for even less mids, which is what the thread starter seems to be lusting for, which will ultimately prove quite disappointing in a band context.


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## budda (Dec 9, 2009)

Want more bass? Jam with bassist. 

Nick showed a great use of the EQ for smoothing leads


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## Dylan S (Dec 9, 2009)

I'd recommend an EQ in the loop of a Peavey like that to make more subtle differences rather than big mid scooping differences.

They are easy amps to make sound good to begin with really...you shouldn't really need much more than an overdrive pedal to get a fantastic/professional quality sound out of them.


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## Winspear (Dec 9, 2009)

kmanick said:


>


How's that Hotplate working for you? I'm considering getting one but want to know if it's really worth the £. May help to know I like the tone I get with post at 3 or more, but that's loud!
Looks like a very similar setup to what I am putting together..A bit of a noob here, what's the signal chain?
Guitar>(Is that a Keeley Comp?)>Head>(Loop EQ Pedal)>Hotplate>Cab? 
Cheers!


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## jamesy_pwd (Dec 9, 2009)

thanks guys, i dont really want to "scoop" my mids that much, i just need a really thick rhythm tone, TREASON on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads 

thats what style my band plays, that was recorded in drop B and then videos on the page were in drop a which we now play, i didnt like the recording setup that much when my band required, but it was good for $100aud


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## 155 (Dec 9, 2009)

try a retube, or different pups.. sounds pretty good though


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## jamesy_pwd (Dec 9, 2009)

hahaha thats the problem y'see, that wasnt my setup at all lol, the dude was like, yeah we supply the amps and stuff (i didnt have my 6505 then) so i was like cooool ok, and ended up recording with a metalzone through a randall hybrid. i was like, fail


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## kmanick (Dec 9, 2009)

I like the Hotplate I always use it because I think every tube amp has a "Sweet spot". If I can cut back to -8dbs it lets me open up the amp a little more . I use the hotplate with the Mark IV as well for the same reason. The EQ settings I showed aren't just for playing leads , it's for the lead channel, I leave it on all the time, it removes that little "honk" that Peaveys can have and it smooths it out. It works wonders , I had a guy over here last week that hates 5150's and he absolutely loved the way mine sounds.
Signal chain is simple Guitar into clean boost (I use a custom made pedal calld "the 7" that someone down in florida made me, it's very transparent as it really does not change the tone at all it just makes my signal hotter.
the little toggle on the left is a mids shift, up is less highs down is nothing(bypass). the Blue pedal on the left also works great, basically the same pedal without the toggle. I actually run the gain a little lower than what is pictured, I took this shot when I was using them with my JSX.




in the loop I have the Mxr 10 Band EQ and a Boss DD-3 Delay pedal, into the hotplate into the Recto Cab.
it's a great sounding little set up with either head the 5150 II or the Mesa Mark IV




EtherealEntity said:


> How's that Hotplate working for you? I'm considering getting one but want to know if it's really worth the £. May help to know I like the tone I get with post at 3 or more, but that's loud!
> Looks like a very similar setup to what I am putting together..A bit of a noob here, what's the signal chain?
> Guitar>(Is that a Keeley Comp?)>Head>(Loop EQ Pedal)>Hotplate>Cab?
> Cheers!


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## Leuchty (Dec 10, 2009)

jamesy_pwd said:


> hi, i was thinking to get some flexibility to my tone and add some low end and slightly scoop my mids a tad, would this be benificial to my tone? or would it make it sound crappy and weird? will i still get my br00t4l 6505 sound with some extra low or will it mess with it too much?


 
This is exactly what you would get an EQ for. 

However, it CAN make it sound crappy and weird OR it can make it sound like naked angels singing in heaven. depends on the settings.

you also said you want a thicker sound, do you mean more saturtated gain? if so OD will help you as well as a tube change.


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## Winspear (Dec 10, 2009)

Thanks Nick that's very helpful  I'm borrowing my friends 808 today so I can try that out and try my Boss EQ-20 (10 band eq) in the loop if I get some new cables


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## jamesy_pwd (Dec 10, 2009)

CYBERSYN said:


> This is exactly what you would get an EQ for.
> 
> However, it CAN make it sound crappy and weird OR it can make it sound like naked angels singing in heaven. depends on the settings.
> 
> you also said you want a thicker sound, do you mean more saturtated gain? if so OD will help you as well as a tube change.



i want like a chunky rhythm tone with good palm mutes and such


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## Leuchty (Dec 10, 2009)

I think with an EQ you won't achieve what you want, it may help though.

I really think a good OD will do wonders. Get an OD first and then get an EQ to finely adjust your tone. OD's and EQ's will improve your tone 99% of the time.


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## kmanick (Dec 10, 2009)

if you look closely at my EQ setting you'll notice that 250Hz and 2KHz are slightly boosted. I do that with the EQ on my Mark IV as well, those two sliders control more mid level mids on each end of the spectrum. slightly boosting them makes your amp sound much bigger and thicker.


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## K-Roll (Dec 10, 2009)

kmanick said:


> if you look closely at my EQ setting you'll notice that 250Hz and 2KHz are slightly boosted. I do that with the EQ on my Mark IV as well, those two sliders control more mid level mids on each end of the spectrum. slightly boosting them makes your amp sound much bigger and thicker.




that is a good point there, sir! 
anyway, I somehow start to think that the thickness of the sound really originates in the guitar itself and in the right hand technique, then on the second place in the cab itself (this makes maybe the most difference and may cause why my 5150 rules and keanu reeves's sucks) rather than in the variety of eqing a 5150. The knobs on the 5150 do not make that huge amount of difference, they do a bit, but it is not such a massive difference than on amps like rectos, JSX etc. 

What I would definitely do to thicken a sound (even though i do not do it myself, as I am quite confident ith my sound now) I would backen down the gain a bit, use a TS808, keep the eq like: pre 5, b:5 m:6-7 h:5 post however you like, resonance 7, presence 3-4 (not more unless you are for a harsh tone)
if it is still not ok, i would try another cab (EVH 4X12 does wonders for the 5150 and so does a basson, vader even an orange and if marshall, then the one with greenbacks) 
If still not ok, try the EQ pedal
If stil not ok try another tubes e.g. fetch a quad of JJ 6L6 tell your tech to run the bias on 30mA or 32mA and try different preamp tubes (in my previous amp which was a 6505+ i had V1 Tung SOl and the rest JJ ECC83s)

one more thing, i told it in some previous threads, the cab makes a huge difference and therefore the way someone boost certain frequencies with an EQ pedal the way he does may originate in the way he likes his sound through his cab. In other words you run your eq like this with a 2X12 recto cab and i run mine differently with a 4X12 evh cab.. there are many possibilities. 

sry for this short narrative poem, i am stil lat work and do not feel like breaking my hands to keep my boss satisfied


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## jsousa (Dec 10, 2009)

the mxr 10 band is great, albeit a bit noisy in the loop. i use it because it honestly makes my tone a bit more alive. but yea, the sliders are super sensitive. I find myself BARELY moving them, and a noticeable tone change is apparent. here is a vid with my rig:


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## All_¥our_Bass (Dec 10, 2009)

Fred the Shred said:


> A common use, however, seems to be a never ending search for even less mids, which is what the thread starter seems to be lusting for, which will ultimately prove quite disappointing in a band context.


I'm actually quite the opposite when it comes to eq, I always want more mids.
I run a Boss GE7 with the 100hz, 200hz, 400hz, 800hz, and 6.4khz pulled all the way down, leaving the 1.6k and 3.2k where they are.

Please note this pedal is BEFORE my multi fx unit (which is the source of my distortion and other fx).

It also matters if your eq comes before or after distortion (or if you have both), running an eq pedal before distortion you should have lots of mids and turn down the bass(reduces mud) and treble(reduces harsh, icepicky-ness) a bit, but after distortion you can turn up the bass and treble a bit to compensate while bringing the mids down a (little) bit.


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