Empress Effects ParaEq User Manual

ParaEq

user manual

Introduction

The Empress ParaEq is designed to be a tool for sweetening the
tone of any instrument. We’ve noticed that the EQ sections of many
instrument amplifiers offer a very limited range of control. We’ve
designed the Empress ParaEq to give musicians a powerful, musical,
high quality EQ in a conveniently small package. The signal path of
the ParaEq is comprised of the highest quality components chosen
for their transparency, powerful tone shaping capabilities, and low
operating noise. With the Empress ParaEq, your instrument will still
sound like your instrument, only better.

Enjoy,

- Jason Fee

Sample Applications

General Sweetening: Say you really like the tone of your guitar but

find it could be a little brighter with a more high end detail. With
the ParaEq, 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’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 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 is a great way to push an already cooking tube amplifier
into musical overdrive.