Is EQ confusing to you? This may help

Describing EQ for guitar purposes:
00:00 All About EQ
2:08 80 hz: thump/rumble
3:09 125hz-150hz: bass (guitar)
3:56 300-400hz: fullness (also, mud)
4:36 650-800hz: lower mids
5:27 1000-1200hz: higher mids
5:59 2.2k - 2.8khz: lower treble
6:43 5k-6khz: higher treble
7:32 8khz: presence/clarity/sizzle
8:23 10khz: “air”
9:13 Using a DeEsser or multi-band compression instead of EQ

[@whiskybravo4648]

The imitation of the outraged viewer was hilarious.

[@tonykennedy8483]

This was a goldmine of info, learning about the ranges of EQ and their effect on tones, and how that translates to how your tone sits in a band/mix is such an underrated thing I'm bookmarking this to come back later and learn as much as I can from it. Thank you !!!

[@sonicmistress]

Tony, have you watched Warren from Produce Like A Pro, some great tips about EQ and to use it to fit into a mix. :)

[@michaelcraig9449]

@@sonicmistress Does that cover how to use it for guitar? Is that a video channel on here?

[@bobrg1459]

This was a really excellent discussion and demonstration. I really appreciate your videos (and pedals!). Thanks.

[@lynnhopewell4728]

Thanks Brian, it's this kind of explanations that got me started on your channel and keep me coming back.

[@s9plus20]

This is a fantastic video! Thank you very much!! Listening to those samples really made it clear what the different freqs actually sound like and how the EQ affects everything!

[@Marlonjc19]

I just can't believe I took so long to find this channel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in such a clear way.

[@benzakonium]

This is the most helpful video I’ve ever found on EQing guitars. Thank you so much.

[@dr_tomK]

This was such a really useful video. I finally understand my Boss GE-7 and how I might use it. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise Brian.

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

Brian, this may be your best video ever! It’s incredibly well explained and presented, it looks great, killer content bud.

[@dcwwwcp]

Great video! A New video from Brian is always appreciated!

[@widmer64]

Awesome material Brian, this is very useful! Thank you!

[@trepathy1]

This is prob the best intro to eq vid I have ever watched, Well done

[@sseltrek1a2b]

this is one of the best practical videos on the use of EQ to sculpt your sound, minimize specific frequency issues, etc i've seen (glad you re-did the vid...and yes- "it can be more important than the guitar you use" (loved the hat)...)...also learned something today- what a "de-esser" does...i've seen these used in recording, but it was a "mystery box" to me...

[@waynepatton689]

Excellent video man. I’m with you on EQ. Sometimes the amp and guitar controls just are not able to resolve down to fine details in tone. Great video!!

[@leonardo.rafael]

Thank you very much for this video. It is going to be my foundation to understand and search for my tone. Your former video was really good in order of the uses of an EQ pedal.

[@jameshart9943]

This should be a must-watch for guitar players everywhere. Well done sir!

[@lewybody]

That was a super useful, clearly explained, great reference, which I can utilize even with caveman-esque playing and my low-budget recordings. The tip about the de-esser is excellent, too. Thank you!

[@KajHeGeHaggman]

Thank you for the great explanation and visualization!

[@bobrg1459]

This was excellent! Very informative and helpful. Thanks!

[@srficarra]

Great video!!! One of the most important things I’ve learned after I started playing in a live band mix was how to stand out in the mix without drowning out every one on stage from excessive volume. There truly is a art to this and EQ is the foundation of getting there. The amount of compression is also very important to cutting through but nothing is as important as EQ. Sometimes your tone may sound awesome by itself but will get completely drowned out in the mix. And sometimes it might sound like crap by itself but sounds amazing in the mix. I had a early 80’s jcm 800 that was super bright and maybe a little harsh by itself but in a live mix it stood out like nobody’s business and would rip your face off. I sold that head in the early 90’s and I’m sooooooo sorry I did. But as a rule I always set my amps very bright and use my guitars volume and tone pots to darken it. This is so important for adding dynamics and getting great tone especially if you’re into playing blues and classic rock.

[@ianorourke6320]

Excellent brother. Thanks for the explanation for us all

[@hellonblades]

You should certainly, create one. I’d buy it! Thanks for sharing this with us all!!!

[@migrantfamily]

I’ve been wanting a de-esser pedal for years. I think there are a ton of acoustic players like myself who would value being able to tame those wolf notes that can pierce your eardrum when you get the fingerpicking wrong whilst not sacrificing clarity and brilliance by eq: ing it out.

[@WillBrahm]

This is next level. Thank you Brian.

[@joshuaraysummey7679]

Brian! This was fantastic man! Thanks!

[@shearfury147]

and now I know how to use a DeEsser. great video. I love the use of the daw tools as well. More of these videos are most welcome

[@divebomb99]

Fantastic video, thanks so much. While I wasn't confused per se, I know I needed to be taken to school. You nailed it! Would love to see a dedicated video breaking down the BOSS MT-2 parametric EQ section and how to truly use it. Much maligned and often misunderstood.

[@chipsterb4946]

Brian this is great content! Saving it for the next time I diddle with an amp or pedal. Thank you.

[@jimsmith4611]

Thank you young man. I've been trying to get this info re EQ into my head but have struggled and my 'ear' is not good re this stuff. However, the process your using has helped put a lot of what I have gleaned into a bit better perspective..

[@jonm1544]

Never heard of or knew of a DeEsser. Learn something new everyday. Thank you! Very cool way to handle the subject issue.

[@sonicmistress]

Most guitar players never have, especially as it's usually a Vocal thing (Takes out all the SSSSSS's on Vocalsssss, hitssssss etc.....) :)

[@timmytVA]

Man, great video. Clear and illustrative.

[@jsullivan2112]

Terrific video! Never did quite get what de-essers are good for, other than taming sibilance and minimizing tape hiss. Never occurred to me to try it with guitar tone and ringing frequencies. This is awesome!

[@sweeterthananything]

I really enjoyed this even though I’m mainly a synth/sampler person who has worked with EQ and filters for 3/4 of my life now and can barely fret 2 cowboy chords on guitar. You’re a great educator.

[@trevorgifford3485]

This was super helpful dude thank you!

[@seanflynn800]

Best explanation of EQ I've ever heard, thanks man

[@johnt2501]

This is SO helpful! Thank you!

[@GiantPinhead]

Outstanding. Well done; also, I laughed aloud at the funny bit. Thx!

[@CL_Audio_Tuning]

I was kinda hopping you were doing this to preview your new Wampler D'ESER Pedal! :D Very informative video sir! Thank you!

[@tdrake59]

Thanks for this very helpful primer.

[@stephenatgraceland]

Thanks for this enlightening video.

[@CraigDeubler]

Great video, thanks Brian. The idea of a multiband/parametric compressor pedal would be fantastic. I find with a lot of my favorite gain pedals, especially fuzz there's always some resonant frequency that I can never shake.

[@dwntgrnd]

Please make one! I'd love to see a high-quality, multi-band MINI pedal... a design challenge I'm sure. But I've been searching for one... of quality... You da man. Rock on!

[@strunkneb]

Super useful video! And thanks for using Logic: even if people don't use that DAW personally, I genuinely think the UI of the channel EQ "analyzer" is one of the best visuals to understand the audible spectrum of sound. I use it with my guitar students aaaaaall the time

[@83RED]

duuuude! it's great to see you again! The man with great ideas is back! a tool like that would be great!

[@wampler_pedals]

Thanks! Yeah, been very busy working on upcoming products. There are some REALLY great things coming out I’ve the next year or so

[@thseed7]

This is much easier to see and hear what is being changed across the range. I liked the first video too

[@Bobby_Digital37]

Great explanation! Thanks!!!

[@mpesta]

Nice one, thanks Brian!

[@nnguitar]

Thanks Awesome quick show

[@jwallguitar]

I learned a great deal. Thanks!

[@ROQSTAR]

Great video and entertaining intro 😆

[@tomh4244]

That pedal would be amazing, so useful!

[@Pandamasque]

9:43 there's great free plugin for this called TDR Nova. It's an EQ/MultibandCompressor with a parallel mix knob for each frequency and a freq analyser so you can see what you're grabbing and how gets affected.

[@omgnerv]

perfect timing :-) thanks!

[@lowlink534]

After producing electronic music for like 5 years, I finally understood how important EQ is. The frequencies involved change completely how we percieve sounds, and an EQ can control that to a great extent. In electronic music people often make drum sounds with very basic stuff, like one sine (or triangle or whatever) wave and noise, and depending on how you EQ this sound it will totally pass for like a snare drum or a clap sound or a hihat or what have you, or it will make it sound like total gibberish

[@soundofbluesthing]

Great video!!!👌

[@azcharlie2009]

Wamp, you are amazing!

[@MarkKirbyMusic]

De Esser pedal is a great idea Brian!

[@ruffryder13]

Man, awesome video

[@sonicmistress]

Nice Mr Wampler, and some great grounding in EQ, this is nice in isolation (Just Guitar) but viewers also may consider when trying to mix with other instruments and fighting for frequencies, but that's another skill I suppose to learn. Also when dealing with frequencies the other consideration is the audience amongst other things, humans can only hear approx between 50Mhz/20k and ones hearing drops off with age so to about 16/7k for older listeners. Any frequency outside of what you are trying to focus on is dead meat and can be cut, it leaves a bit more breathing space/headroom for other sounds/instruments. :)

[@slowraceultra]

Great vid. Thumbs up.

[@stevestarr6395]

Right Brian EQ’s can do a lot for your tone. I’ve got a Boss GE-7 that you can use as a boost and tone shaper getting anything from nice cleans to EVH and Tom Scholz!!

[@waitheman2078]

This was soooo helpful

[@niclastname]

13:48 "Maybe I should make one". That's always the correct answer, Mr. Wampler!

[@theoversouls]

Excellent info! I've been trying to find a Les Paul bridge pickup that tames the hump (roughly) around 900-1100 hz or so. Whether it's discussion groups or pickup manufacturers everyone seems to just use a generic term "mids" which is so incredibly vague, it's quite frustrating. There's miles of difference between 750 and 1200 (just throwing out numbers). It would be great if guitar players got a little more informed and articulate about frequencies, and you've demonstrated that brilliantly, here, Brian - THANK YOU. Then you could say if a pickup (or speaker etc) had "a hump at 700" vs. "a hump in the mids". "Mids" is way too general to describe these nuances.

[@shearfury147]

I have the mxr 10 band and I love it. (secret weapon really). your video gave me so much info. I could see and hear what your doing as I sat w the pedal in front of me. FYI if you diddnt know? the mxr 10 band ranges from 31.25 all the way to 16k! After watching this video i feel that this eq is huge! thank you!

[@regaudieguillaume]

EXCELLENT! And, yes, build a deesser pedal!

[@ajdsp]

Awesome !!!

[@picksalot1]

That was a particularly helpful video for those who use Modelers and are constantly fighting excessive highs, fizz, and sizzle in the quest to make their Presets sound more like a real Amp. It was surprising to hear that guitar Amp speakers are typically rolling off frequencies above 5k Hz. That was much lower than I thought. Thanks

[@wampler_pedals]

Many are even lower than that - For example, check out the Celestion Greenback response: celestion.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/T1221-G12M-Greenback-copy.jpg

[@picksalot1]

@@wampler_pedals That is a pretty shocking frequency response. I've been switching Mics on my Modeler to tame the highs, but it looks like I might get better results by lowering the High Shelf. Thanks for this really helpful information.

[@michaelmattson3515]

The 1000K 1200K just opened my mind of the honk sound I try to get rid of. Thanks 🙏. I had a Boss parametric foot pedal. Should of kept it.

[@dickranmarsupial4911]

brilliant! now i get it!!!

[@erikjohnson2324]

What would be great is a graphic eq pedal such as a Boss GE-7 or MXR 10-band, but that also included adjustable frequency high pass and low pass filter knobs to tighten the bottom and smooth the top of a distorted sound in those areas beyond the range of the sliders. And a built in noise gate ! This would work great in the loop of a high gain amp or after the overdrive/distortion stages of a pedal board.

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

AWESOME! (I'm not through watching, but I need to step away....) My favorite shape on a graphic EQ - 5 band in my car, 10 band at home or on a computer - ALWAYS looks like a W. Less, mud, less high mids, more thump, mid, and presence. Those top highs I mainly hear in cymbals and "S" and "T" in vocals, but I hear them in the pick attack here.

[@quintessenceSL]

Yep, I'm putting this one in my back pocket for future reference.

[@mikeblue385]

for decades my tone was all bass and treble. what i didn't know was that after the bass and drums inhaled all the bass, all that was left was treble. though it sounded good where i was standing. what the audience heard was thin and tinny. nobody told me. so thanks, mr wampler. shout it from the rooftops.

[@happygolukky]

Targeted compression pedal?!!!! Heck yeah - will pre order that now

[@happygolukky]

With midi please

[@PerpetuallyTiredMusician]

First off, great video as always and I hope you are doing well. If you made a de-esser pedal I would buy it. Had a rack one for a while but lugging around on rack stuff is less than optimal. That said, I dunno if most people would get one, it feels like a very niche want/need/know about piece of gear in the context of guitar & bass unless you dable in crossing the streams with your live gear and you studio equipment. This is how I figured out I wanted a de-esser on my pedal board but just like you I can't find a "real" one in pedal form. Peace and stay safe!

[@chipsterb4946]

As a guitar hack (not player really), you bring up a good point. I was really interested in Brian’s presentation because I’ve built a few amps and pedals. Never thought much about how “good” EQ for a clean sound might be very different from “good” EQ for a distorted tone. Also, I’m an old fart so I don’t use software at all. TL:DR really neat idea but don’t think there’s a big market for a de-esser pedal. Many people don’t even know how to use the Treble, Mid and Bass controls on their amps.

[@stephanematis]

Nice. Parametric EQ -vs- De Esser next!

[@EuropeSomewhere]

Thanks!

[@markhammer643]

Nicely done, Brian. Invaluable for those who get called upon in a pinch to work the house sound board. I guess the next step - which you may well end up doing as the sequel - would be a video demonstrating *combinations* of boost and/or cut in several bands to either "fix" or "revoice" a guitar. Great that you used a standard signal sample, and great that you made the point about the bandwidth of the amp speakers; many exhibit a sharp rolloff above 6khz or so. No point in attempting to EQ what the speaker can't provide. I might note that is true at BOTH ends of the spectrum. Of course you realize this all demands that you do a video of EQ and resonant boost *before* a drive pedal vs after. Do you remember the old Akai G-Drive? It had 6-band EQ before the clipping section *and* after it. One thing I would like to know, and perhaps you mentioned it and I missed it: how much boost and/or cut were you providing in your examples?

[@onenotesolo256]

Sounds like +/-15db to me ;)

[@markhammer643]

@@onenotesolo256 Could be, but still useful to know for those somewhat new to the EQ game.

[@andyhightides]

It's good ear training to have something you can sweep the bands, just to see where everything fits. If you could do a video covering amp settings at home versus live, that would be interesting, as far as eq to fit in the mix when you are moving air.

[@spaceavenger54]

Yeah I'd like to really see this settings at home versus in a band, I played in the band and I had no problem setting up stuff getting great tones using EQ but now I don't play in a band any longer and I'm sitting in my living room Ive sold most all my gear but I have a few pedals left and I'll be playing with the stereo and rhythm sounds good and the levels are great but then when it comes time to play a solo , it gets drowned out so I got an EQ pedal but now things are just way too loud and I can't seem to get it adjusted to just make it sound good hear in my living room so a video something like that would be great for me.

[@bassyey]

DAW can help that. Just sweep the knobs on the stock EQ plugin and listen to changes. I never had to ask for presets or anything, I just copy what I hear. You can get close real easy.

[@planzed.2]

Hi Brian, please make one!! Hope you’re well

[@garrymacdonald2770]

A little late to the party here, but. I use one of my Boss EQ-7s first in line as a pickup output compensator. I use several od/dist pedals, sometimes individually, sometimes stacked. I go into a clean amp or amp IR into my DAW interface. It’s a lot of work for me getting the various gains and levels on the pedals where I’m happy with how they all play together. When I switch to a different guitar with different pickups (hb/ sc) it interacts differently with all my various painstakingly set pedal gains and levels, and the amp tone and volume. Presently I have set everything to work with PAF type pickups as my bench-mark. So when I switch to a Strat/Tele I raise the EQ level (and adjust bands accordingly) to match the PAF output until I am hearing the same gain and level volumes. Or if I switch to a guitar with hotter pickups I lower the EQ level to match. It’s very easy for me to adjust one EQ pedal than adjust several of/dist pedals. I hope this is helpful to someone!

[@EzyoMusic]

5:27 - I wish you had a little more to say about that frequency area, because I've found that 1-1.5kHz area to be essential to be heard in a mix. The aggression in more heavily overdriven guitar sounds is in that area too.

[@gainbear8853]

The TC Electronic multi band compressor pedal can be used in the way Brian uses the De-Esser. You have to play around with custom tone prints to do it. I’ve had it on my board for 2 years to soften telecaster ice pick transients. It’s brilliant.

[@MadNoisy]

Great tip ^^ 🤘

[@greygardens81]

This is such an insanely well timed video. I was just feeling very 'meh' about my mesa mark V and was about to start looking into dialing it in a bit better via the on board EQ. Thanks, Brian!

[@yobanyhernandez125]

There’s a video by Sonic Drive studios about EQing the Mesa. Apprently you really have to crank the middle and treble and drop the bass hard to get those famous mesa tones.

[@jsullivan2112]

Check out the Source Audio EQ2! I've just gotten one to start using with my Mark IV and so far it's been pretty awesome.

[@nedim_guitar]

Your problem is the Mesa. 🤭

[@cuteasxtreme]

On the rotary knobs: Crank the mid, treble at 12, bass at 10 or so at most if it’s gain On the graphic: boost 80 and 2200, Scoop out 750 and drop 250, raise 6.6k. The mid boost into mid scoop really screams, but it retains thump and clarity. This setup really brings my little 5:25 combo to life.

[@jsullivan2112]

@@nedim_guitar To each their own. Mesa makes some great amps. The Mark IV is one of the greatest amplifiers ever built.

[@johnandersen9219]

Hi Brian… I know this was posted a year ago but I just wanted to say Thank You!! Reminded me why I needed to put my EQ pedal back on my board 👏👏 Still not sure where it would be best placed in the chain? Like you demonstrated, and if I was mixing, it would be at the end, before Delay & Reverb. Any words of wisdom?? Thanks, John

[@kevinstark1938]

Brian, who are your favorite bands to play along to? Your riffs are always so tasteful!

[@wampler_pedals]

Thanks! Normally I’m trying to draw upon my brent mason combined with Brad paisley influences. I love Brent’s way of playing the perfect part for the song and brads way of coming out of left field with something cool that I wouldn’t expect 😊

[@hydorah]

MXR 10 band is great. I find the newer one in the brushed finish enclosure sounds better than the old in the matt black crackle finish. They must have changed something inside it... Unless that's tone paint 😀

[@Ten80pete]

I've always, always had a difficult time understanding the uses and how a couple more subtle changes within audio can make so much difference. If there is anyone who could explain it in a way that a... less than creative/more technically minded person could understand, it'll be Brian. Making some of my favorite pedals and my go-to for all things maybe less than exciting, but equally important in audio. Oh, and he has now taught me what "Presence" is. When I messed with that knob on my amp all I could think is "That's treble. Why not treat it like the mids and just call it upper treble and lower treble or something?"

[@nedim_guitar]

I mixed my new song these last few days, and spent two days using the EQ to remove some of those awful frequencies. Muddiness, boxyness and an obnoxious high end around 5 kHz were the problem on most tracks, not just the guitars. But the guitars specifically were boxy and shrill. The shrillness wasn't very noticeable at first. I just heard that something didn't sound right. I sweeped with a narrow Q and found that awfulness around 5k. When I cut that spot just slightly, it made a huge difference! EQ is very important!

[@bmphil3400]

Yes and most people don't play with it enough to figure out what the actual usable frequencies are on an EQ. Many people scoop out the mids on rock guitars......that often gives a decent distorted sound but their clean tones are atrocious....

[@thisperfectworld]

Yes! Make a dual frequency de-essing pedal!

[@neoaureus]

“Reissue”. The expression and nod says so much hahah

[@officedurapquebecois]

Great video and subject! About the EQ sweep technique; a word of caution if I may. It's a good trick but ideally; it's best to do it with a conservative amount of gain (something like 6db or so). The real problem is that any set of frequencies will sound kind of annoying if it's pushed 15-20db (or more) upfront relatively to the rest of the frequency range. I've seen people sweeping their eq with a surgical Q and a 30db boost, to end up butchering their audio by cutting out a lot of frequencies unnecessarily. It's less instantly obvious with less boost, but you can train the ears to notice subtler EQ moves, and also to detect / ballpark which problematic frequencies you're hearing, without the sweep at all. On another note I would love a de-esser like pedal. Basically a 1 band dynamic EQ with selectable Q. Or even better, go all-in with a Low and high pass filter + 2-3 bands of parametric dynamic eq. I don't recall seeing anything like that, aside from regular parametric stuff Cheers!

[@peterknicked]

Low and high pass exists in the MXR/CAE line driver 406(?). If any good that is another question all together

[@alga1309]

@@peterknicked hello. Would like to know if you confirmed that out?

[@peterknicked]

@@alga1309 I have not tested the MXR lately, it was some time ago, if that is what you were asking me?

[@yobanyhernandez125]

Honestly EQ is so powerful, you can use it to make your guitar sound like it has different pickup styles. Like the Keystone exchanger, I’m pretty sure it mostly just EQs your guitar.

[@headbangerministries]

Hope you have a video on latency issues? I also have logic and barely started learning about buses but I'm still getting some latency though not as horrible as before.

[@PooNinja]

Know your Freqz!

[@mattcarl2190]

I've got thr mxr 10 band in the effects loop of my dsl40. I usually step on it as a solo boost whenever my amps already driven pretty hard. Don't know if it's the pedal, or if all eq's do this, but it gives off an 80s hair metal vibe. 🤔

[@diegoruizguitar]

Hi Brian, i own an mxr 10 band eq which i use a lot, honestly it became an important tool that helped me on many recordings, it would be great to know your opinion about this specific pedal. Your channel rocks! All the best

[@wampler_pedals]

I like it quite a bit! Thanks- glad you like the channel :-)

[@AmpleWarning]

Hi Brian, off topic here but... I really love the tone I get with the Wampler Black 65, with the gain boost engaged (through a Fender DR). Lots of oomph but remaining tight and articulate. Love the EQ. Can you recommend a more recent Wampler OD pedal that will give me a similar sound? (I can't afford what Black 65s go for these days)

[@danielpirone8028]

Several of the new Source Audio pedals can do multi band compression/ eq - but you need to use the software app to access the features

[@mattgilbert7347]

I just purchased their Programmable EQ pedal. Haven't delved too deep into the software on that one yet. Having presets is pretty sweet.

[@bassyey]

Sounds like I need to purchase one then. I just hope their software support isn't bad.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

0:26 The pedal version of the Arnold-percussively-gearing-up-for-a-showdown-in-the-80s sequence.