ParaEq MK2

Parametric Equalizer

The Empress ParaEq MKII is designed to be a tool for sweetening the tone of any instrument. We’ve designed the ParaEq MKII to give musicians a powerful, musical, high quality Eq in a conveniently small package. The signal path is comprised of the highest quality components chosen for their transparency, powerful tone shaping capabilities, and low operating noise. We’ve increased the headroom to 27V, similar to rack-mount equipment, to ensure clarity of sound no matter how hot the signal. Oh, and the whole package is now half the size. Who doesn’t love a small package?! With the Empress ParaEq MKII, your instrument will still sound like your instrument, only better.

General Sweetening: Perhaps you really like the tone of your guitar but find it could be a little brighter with more high end detail. With the ParaEq MKII, adding a small boost in the range of 3 kHz to 5 kHz with a wide Q will add a bit more detail, while still retaining the sound of your instrument. In a similar manner, adding a wide Q boost to the low frequency range will warm up your instrument’s sound.

Tone Correction: Say you’ve set your amp up in a venue and find that the acoustics of the stage are making it sound too boomy. By cutting some of the frequencies in the low mids (200Hz– 600Hz) with a medium width Q, you can minimize the negative effects of the room acoustics on your sound. If you find your guitar isn’t cutting through the rest of the band, you can boost the upper mid frequency range (1kHz–4 kHz) instead of simply turning up the volume of your amplifier, which could lead to you just drowning out the rest of the band.

Feedback Zapping: With a DI’ed acoustic instrument, playing live at stage volumes can sometimes be a nightmare. Feedback through monitors can quickly ruin a great performance. By using the ParaEq MKII’s mid and hi frequency bands and narrow width Q settings you’ll be able to cut the frequencies causing the feedback while retaining much of your instruments sonic signature. The narrow width Q setting ensures the range of frequencies being reduced is very small, preventing your instrument from sounding dull or muddy.

Distortion Enhancement: Having the ParaEq MKII before your amplifier lets you use it to shape your distortion sounds in radical ways. For example, if you want the treble of your signal to distort a little more you can boost the high frequency band before it reaches your amplifier. This lets you add a little sonic slicing capability to your sound without muddying up your bottom end. The boost control on the ParaEq MKII is a great way to push an already cooking tube amplifier into musical overdrive.