Empress Effects has just launched the Bass ParaEq, an EQ pedal that it says is the world’s first to be designed specifically for bass guitar. That’s right, it’s not just a guitar pedal that does a great job an octave down – everything here is tuned for bass frequencies.
After all, Empress already had an EQ pedal on the market that bass players liked. The ParaEq MKII Deluxe was already a super popular fixture on bassist’s pedalboards. It does a great job. But that, allied to the success of its bass compressor pedal, gave Empress the idea that a dedicated parametric EQ was a viable proposition.
“The Bass ParaEq delivers the same transparent, tone-sweetening power that made the Deluxe a favourite, but with frequency ranges, filters, and features tailored specifically for bass,” says the brand.
The Bass ParaEq is a typical Empress Effects design. The enclosure’s real estate is maxed-out with dials large and small – there are 14 in total – to give you complete control over your tone.
It runs on 9V from a pedalboard power supply, drawing 300mA, but an internal voltage booster ups this to 27V for increased headroom.
At the heart of the pedal’s design are three parametric bands, each offering 15dB of boost or cut. There is a footswitchable boost that can send up to 20dB to your bass amp – the boost’s level can be set via mini-dial.
Each of the three EQ bands has its own variable Q filter letting you “shape your sound as broadly or surgically as needed”.
Whether used with electric guitar or bass, there is a strong case to be made that the EQ pedal is one of the world’s must underrated effects – Tom Bukovac would agree.
It can be a life-saver in any number of musical situations, not just accentuating the frequencies you want to be heard, but putting the squeeze on those you don’t.
The Bass ParaEq offers high and low-pass filters to help dial out unwanted frequencies. It has a dynamic low shelf filter that allows you to dial in low end without muddiness.
Empress pivots to a more traditional Baxandall filter for the high shelf, which has a “gentle slope” that boosts or cuts frequencies above 1kHz by up to 15dB.
Fourteen dials seems like a lot. But the manual has some suggested settings to get you started, and once you get to grips with how the pedal processes your sound, that level control becomes invaluable.
That is what you’re paying for. At $374, it ain’t cheap. But it could be the hardest-working pedal you’ve ever bought. For more details, head over to Empress Effects.
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