Adding an EQ option to your guitar pedal chain can help enhance your overall tone. Many guitarists are just fine with using the knobs on their guitars as a way to adjust tone, but having an EQ pedal gives you much more control than just using the basic knobs on your guitar.
With that being said, picking out the right EQ pedal for your particular needs can be quite confusing. There are so many options out there to choose from. Some EQ pedals have some awesome features on them, but some of the options out there fall short of expectations.
In this buyer’s guide, we found the top 5 of the best EQ pedals available today, and displayed them in an easy to read format so that you can make some comparisons, but most importantly, a smart purchasing decision.
Table of Contents
Boss Seven-Band Equalizer Pedal
With the Boss 7-band EQ pedal, you can completely control your sound and get rid of any unwanted feedback. Because of that, this pedal works really well when you put it after your distortion pedal on the effects chain.
No matter what genre of music you tend to play, the Boss EQ pedal can definitely transform your sound and clean up your boosted signal allowing you to play as loud as you want with less feedback.
What we love about this pedal is it’s wide range of EQ that’s perfect for a wide variety of guitar sounds from rock to jazz and everything in between. And just like every other Boss guitar pedal, you can hook it up via dc adapter or 9v battery.
Joyo 6-Band EQ Pedal
This Joyo 6 Band EQ pedal is one of the most affordable pedals on this list, but don’t let the low pricing fool you. With this pedal, you get a great range of guitar tone possibilities with it’s 6 different frequency bands.
Another great feature of this pedal is it’s true bypass option. Some EQ pedals don’t even have that, but this one does which gives you the ultimate control over your tone.
Whether you play an electric, acoustic-electric, or a bass guitar, this pedal works perfectly for any type of guitar. This one of the best EQ pedals that won’t break the bank.
MXR 10-Band EQ Pedal
The MXR Ten Band EQ pedal is built with bright LEDs, true bypass, and noise reduction circuitry. It’s also built with a second input so you can run two separate signal chains.
With this pedal you’ll be able to return treble response and punch to any pedalboard, which is perfect if your board has a lot of effects pedals. It also features additional volume and gain sliders, allowing you to use this as both an EQ pedal and a boost pedal.
Danelectro Fish & Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal
The Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ pedal is a cool little pedal packed with retro style. It does a great job of shaping your tone and it allows you to boost your volume and frequencies.
It requires a 9v battery and will work perfectly with any acoustic, electric, or bass guitar. I would say that the only complaint I have is that the unit is made of plastic. Plastic guitar pedals are usually not too durable, however this particular pedal seems to take a stomping pretty well.
Joyo R Series 10-Band EQ Pedal
The Joyo R Series 10 band EQ pedal is suitable for both Bass and Guitar. The frequency band ranges from 31.25Hz to 16kHz giving you absolute tone control with your guitar rig setup.
It also has volume slider that allows this pedal to double as a boost pedal. With the Joyo 10 Band you can clean up a noisy frequency, boost your sound so you can stand out for a solo, or bring life to a muddy mix of guitar tone.
This pedal is also built with a durable aluminum housing, so you can rest assured it will last a very long time. Other features include true bypass mode, volume control, and illuminated sliders that let you see the settings perfectly in a dark setting.
