When I bought this pedal I knew it is a noisy pedal, specially when you put the slides all the way up or down. Lot of hissssss
I was afraid I will get the SMD version (there are rumors in the web that some BOSS analog 'classics' are now crafted with Surface Mount Devices and, for this reason, they are unmoddable).
When I finally get the parcel, I immediately opened the pedal and there were normal "through hole" components!
What a relief!
I immediately swapped the infamous 022 IC's in favor of three 5532AP I had at home and some other minor cap upgrades.
The drawback is only power consumption, but if you use a power supply (as I do) you'll be fine.
Other drawback: you'll void you warranty (but who cares! if you are a pedal modder like me, you don't need warranty).
After the upgrade the pedal is considerably quieter and much more usable.
As for the slides, you don't need to "emphasize" the EQ too much in my own opinion, so a little shift will give you a noticeable and adequate increase in the selected frequency.
As long as you use this pedal in the proper way, you'll have quiet operation and GREAT results.
This pedal is AWESOME (but only if you know how to use it).
The BOSS GE-7 is a BOOSTER, is an equalizer, you can put it in front of the amp, as last pedal of the chain.
In this case you will have a super buffer, so you don't need to buy a separated and dedicated buffer. Boss's buffers are the BEST in the world (listen what Josh Scott [JHS pedal founder] says about Boss pedals).
True bypass technology is just a myth.
You ALWAYS need at least a buffered pedal if you run even just two or three pedals.....EVERY cable and patch cable is a notch less in your guitar tone (like if you turn down your guitar TONE pot a little bit every time you add a new true bypassed pedal). True bypass pedals ARE tone suckers! if you don't have a buffer at the end of the chain.
You can also put it in the SEND/RETURN effect loop if you want to boost and sculpt your tone AFTER the preamp section.
It's a 'must have' and a fantastic pedal for every guitar player.
The only big CON: it's noisy as Hell!!!!! So you need to mod it in order to make it quieter.
