SOURCE AUDIO
PROGRAMMABLE EQ
BY JOE CHARUPAKORN
Rather than recasting the circuit designs of iconic effects, Massachusetts-based
Source Audio operates with a think-out-side-the-box ethos that’s resulted in products like the motion-controlled Hot Hand.
So it’s fitting that the company’s recently
released Programmable EQ is more than
just another run-of-the-mill tool for fiddling with frequencies.
The true bypass Programmable EQ is a
56-bit, DSP-driven, MIDI-capable digital
equalizer pedal that enables you to save up
to four footswitch-selectable settings and an
output control that works as a clean boost.
It’s easy to use too. With the unique Auto-Scroll feature that helps create a wealth
of truly unique sounds that you can use
onstage and in the studio, you can tailor
your rig to different guitars or drastically
shift your tone on the fly.
to hear audio clips of the pedal at
premierguitar.com/may2012
CLICKHere…
7-band EQ
Four EQ
presets with
Output control
with 12 dB of
clean boost.
Path to Equalization
If you’ve used any kind of EQ pedal before,
the Source Audio Programmable EQ’s basic
layout is pretty easy to decipher. There
are vertically oriented readouts for seven
frequency bands— 125, 250, 500, 1K, 2K,
4K, and 8K—that register incremental level
changes from +/- 18 dB boost or cut. Unlike
most EQ pedals, there are no physical sliders. Instead, there’s a pair of band-select
buttons on the pedal to get to the desired
frequency, a big encoder knob to adjust the
individual frequencies, and lights to indicate the levels. To quickly get all the bands
to zero, you simply press both band-select
buttons simultaneously. Just to the right of
the encoder knob, you’ll find the luminous
output knob, which has an LED indicator
with variable brightness. It gives you up to
12 dB of clean boost and glows brighter the
more you crank it up.
Hidden Agenda
The Programmable EQ also has a set of
functions that Source Audio calls Backpage
Parameters. One of the highlights of
Backpage mode is the Octave Extension
(denoted OE), a parameter well-suited for
bass that enables you to manipulate an extra
frequency of 62 Hz—one octave below
125 Hz—that can still be accessed after
exiting Backpage mode. Another available
parameter is Auto-Scroll (AE), which really
takes the Programmable EQ to places few
other stompbox EQs will go. This function
enables you to continually scroll through
all your saved settings, which can result
in unique effects that are able to sound
like a tremolo-meets-sequencer-meets-ring
modulator, depending on how extreme
your presets are. In some cases, the effect is
reminiscent of the Roger Linn AdrenaLinn
pedal (as heard on the intro to Green Day’s
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”). The effect
might not be for everyone, but in the
hands of a crafty sonic tinkerer, it can be
the catalyst for some pretty unreal sounds.
The speed of the Auto-Scroll function can
be adjusted with another parameter called
Switching Speed (SW), and the faster the
setting, the more extreme the results.
