Boss GE-7 Equalizer Guitar Effects Pedal Review

The Boss GE-7 Equalizer is a workhorse.  I just sold mine on craigslist to cough up cash for more studio rack equipment, but it was a loyal servant for many years on and off the stage.  On the stage, I primarily used it in the effects loop of my amplifier as a lead boost.  I would boost the mids just a little bit and leave everything else flat, such that when I hit the pedal on, I would be a little louder and more pronounced in the mid-range for guitar solos.

The reason I decided to finally let it go is because I didn't feel that I had enough control over my sound.  Don't get me wrong -- if you watch my demo video below, you'll see there are virtually limitless possibilities to craft your sound with this pedal, whether in front of your amp or in the fx loop -- but there are only seven (7) graphic equalizer bands to work with, and in my strong opinion they all add a slightly undesirable color to the tone of the guitar signal passing through the unit.

There are some people who have upgraded and modified their GE-7s to have higher quality parts with better tonality (check out the jhspedals.com magnum mod, for example), and that's something I honestly wish I would have tried out before selling it off.  Many report great results after these modifications.

In my case, though, now that I am playing more rhythm guitar it's not necessary to use as a boost, and I wasn't ever really using it to "shape" my tone in front of the amp anyways.  For me, this has become an important part of my signal chain philosophy: if it's not absolutely necessary, eliminate it.  I am moving towards being more of a signal purist, so I try to remove unnecessary "breaks" in the signal chain for pedals, loops, etc. before it hits my power amp and cabinet speakers.

When I do decide to throw an EQ pedal into the mix again, there are some other exciting EQ pedals I want to try out now, too, like the MXR M-108 Ten Band Graphic EQ (which receives 4.9 / 5 stars on musiciansfriend.com).  Might be worth looking into if you're in the market...