Ibanez Pentatone Equalizer PTEQ

This is my first guitar EQ pedal ever, so I have no reference to compare it to, however I do have experience with mixing, so I know my way around these type of EQs. I bought it mainly for my acoustic guitar, but I can now see myself using it in my electric guitar rig. I’m already very happy with the Nux Optima Air natural tone from a specific impulse response and some fine tuning on its EQ, but I wanted further control over it and not be dependent of the fixed bands on most mixers. I had already setup a perfect equalization for my acoustic guitar in an EQ plugin, so all I had to do was plug the Ibanez PTEQ through my reamp box and use PluginDoctor to get the same equalization I had in the plugin, instead of loosing hours of experimentation. The results were incredible and even a much better tone than the plugin (analog beats digital). The bands and the Q are pretty much on point and it was fairly easy and quick to replicate the same curves. The volume sliders are very sensitive, so keep that in mind. There’s no perceived noise in this pedal, which is a must for an EQ, and a big reason to give it five stars. I highly recommend it. The only thing I’d change is I’d add a white mark in the Q knobs, same as they did in the band knobs. It would make it easier to see how we’re changing the Q, but that’s just a small detail.

My first eq pedal was the old school Mxr 10-band eq (orange lights). After long dialing in I got great results but it came with extra noise. Later I used the Tc Spark boost as a simple eq for years, easier to dial in, no noise. A few years ago, the newer version of the Mxr 10-band came out. Again a bit more dialing to get the tone I wanted, but this time less/no noise. Had my eye on a Mesa 5-band pedal, but these are no longer available. This pedal can get you those exact same frequencies. This is now my favourite eq ever. Plugged it in, only 1 minute dialing in, no extra noise... It seems to combine the available range of a 10-band eq but with easier ways to hone in on the tones you want. And at a great price too! A perfect middle ground between my earlier experiences. This pedal also has blue lights but they are way less piercingly bright than the ones on the Mxr (which on some days give me a headache).