Artec Parametric EQ

Does what it says...

I would suggest you get a parametric one, like the Boss, or something else. The one band is actually limiting, even though it's customazible.

Solid-built and Medium Usability

Okay let's get the easiest part out of the way: this thing is built like a tank. The buttons are sturdy and rotate without any weird bumps or slides along the way. It doesn't feel cheap.

On to the functionality. I wanted to use this for Djent/Modern Progressive Metal to get that tinny bass tone, and it sort of did that, but too lightly to say it works for a recording. I'd say this piece is great for non-extreme adjustments to your sound, but if you want to bend your sound out of shape to something experimental, this isn't it.

Does the job perfectly... but it really shines as a booster

As a single band parametric EQ, it does the job perfectly in order to adjust your guitar tone before the preamp or tweak a bit your preamp sound if you place it in the effects loop. You know, remove muddiness, tweak brightness, add mids, adjust tone when changing from dual to single coil...

But I've ended up using it as a booster as it really nails it. Because of the 4 controls (level, frequency, freq. curve and gain), you can use it as a plain booster (just volume) or a custom booster that can add extra brightness, mid-boost or even a lower frequencies push when soloing without increasing the overall volume too much.

excelent

For this price i wouldn't be surprised to find some problems, but I don't see any. It is now permanently on the FX loop, powered by a shared switching supply. No noise.

Does its job if you know what you are doing

I've seen people getting parametric EQs because they have read silly articles on the internet claiming parametric gives you more control than graphic EQ. Needles to say, most of them get very disappointed.

Well, this is NOT a replacement for a graphic EQ. This is a special use tool which will let you attenuate (or amplify) one specific frequency band. Basically an active band-rejection filter.

As for this pedal, well, it does its job and it's the only parametric EQ in a really affordable price range, but it's definitely not professional as it claims to be.

The box is sturdy metal, but the button, pots, and especially the battery door look very cheaply made. The frequency knob is marked 1 to 10 instead of real frequency values and this is quite dumb. The width and gain knobs are super tiny and impossible to grip, let alone read their values. Why didn't they make 4 normal size knobs is beyond my understanding.

All in all for such a price its a good deal, I can't complain. Compared to other parametric EQs this one is dirt cheap and it's a no brainer to give it a go. It's interesting to combine with distortion pedals, you can make humbuckers sound like singles and you can get some wah-y sounds too.

Cheap & useful

It was cheap enough to buy for experimenting with. Seemed to work OK as a notch filter with my 7 strings low B string. Annoyingly there are no frequencies marked around the FREQ knob so I calibrated it using tones from Audacity. With smallest bandwidth I could find octaves between 125Hz and 1KHz. Couldn't find 62.5Hz or 2kHz. The only thing I don't like about it is that the low battery indication (flashing LED) seems very over sensitive and a corresponding ticking noise gets through to my amp speaker.

An EQ that can work as a NOTCH filter

I use it on an acoustic pedalboard. Aside very expensive pedals, like Tech21 , Suhr and MXR, this cheap little box does its job very well.

I mean it works perfectly as a Notch filter, and it is damn easy to make it work. Some people should learn from Artec. True bypass, looks good too, but has only 1 possible issue: when engaged, it is swapping phase! Why is that, I don't know. Maybe because when you want a feedback kill switch action, first thing is to swap the phase? We should ask Artec. Anyway, for this price it is a bargain. I though of having two of them. Recommended!

Q factor not good

This product is very good, but is no good for the purpose that I bought it:

I bought this product to use as a narrow band bass 'cut', to 'EQ the room' for my PA system, i.e to remove standing waves. The specification is RATED AS CAPABLE OF THIS, at 1/2 octave to 1/4 octave i.e, a 'Q' of 4 to 7. I find this not to be the case. The Q factor is too wide, and to remove a resonant bass frequency from a room, too many frequencies are lost. To prove this, I tested this product at my work on a frequency generator and scope at 400Hz and the Q factor is very wide at the narrowest setting. I would like to say the unit build quality is very good and has low noise and will work very well for anyone looking for a wider band lift or cut, it just doesn't work for me. I will try a bass EQ pedal in the future.

Great parametric eq for the price

I use it in front of a high gain amp, for tailoring guitar frequencies for specific needs such as solos or sound sculpting similar to setting a wah-wah at a certain point in wah-wah pedal "travel". When the pedal is turned on in front of high gain channels It is very noisy, but i have it in the loop of a noise gate, and there is a gate after my guitar amp signal in the band mix. For such a low price it does it's job well and is a good all around tool for guitar and bass guitar. I use it in the studio and have not used it live yet.

Beginner

I bought this pedal because was cheap, but I could never get a good sound from it.