7 Best EQ Pedals For Guitar (All Budgets)

• What are the best EQ pedals on the market today?
• We review 7 of the best EQ pedals for all budgets
• Also, check out our post on how to use an EQ pedal like a pro.

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You probably all know the feeling. You’ve got a cool amp, some nice-sounding pedals, and a good guitar, which in combination sounds great.

However, there’s a tiny tonal thing you would like to improve. This is where an EQ pedal will come in handy.

In this article, I’ll give you my top picks for EQ pedals. Let’s get to it!

Also check out Guitar EQ Cheat Sheet (Areas To Pay Attention To & EQ Tips)

What are the Best EQ Pedals for Guitar?

My top pick for an EQ pedal is the Boss EQ-200, packed with many features like preset recall, and much more.

If you are looking for the best bang for your buck EQ pedal, look no further than the Boss GE-7, which has been on countless pedal boards.

If price is not an issue, the Source Audio SA-270 might be the boutique EQ pedal that piques your interest.

Without further adieu, let’s get into the best EQ pedals for guitar today!

1. Boss EQ-200 (Our Pick)
2. Boss GE-7 (Best Value)
3. Source Audio SA-270 (Premium Option)
4. JHS Haunting Mids
5. MXR 10 Band Equalizer
6. Behringer EQ-700
7. Wampler EQuator

1. Boss EQ-200

This is my top pick for a few reasons. The EQ-200 is a digital pedal, which allowed Boss to put a whole lot of features into this pedal.

The pedal has ten bands of EQ which can boost or cut by a whopping 15 dB.

On top of that, you can run this pedal in stereo and use different EQ settings on the left and right sides.

This is great for stereo rigs. Let’s say you have two amps, one very bright and one very warm sounding…

Instead of using two EQ pedals to add warmth to the bright amp and add highs to the warm amp, you can use the EQ-200 and use the stereo feature to address the issues you have with both amps.

Another feature I liked was that it has an onboard preset switch.

This allows you to create an EQ setting for a rhythm sound and another one for a lead tone.

If one preset switch isn’t enough, you can also use MIDI to program up to 128 user presets!

If you gig regularly and are worried about slamming the EQ faders, no need.

You can lock the sliders with a simple program change, which allows the faders to move around without altering the tone.

All in all, this pedal is an absolute beast on a tone tweaker’s pedal board.

2. Boss GE-7

This pedal has been the mainstay EQ pedal on many pedalboards, and for good reason.

It’s not the most expensive EQ pedal you can get, but it’s very robust, the components are of good quality, and it’s very easy to use.

Sporting seven EQ bands and a volume fader, all of which have a reach of +15 and -15 dB.

If you need an EQ pedal that doesn’t take up too much space and is rock solid, the boss GE-7 is the one for you.

If you want to check out the boss GE-7 in action, see this video by session legend Tim Pierce who has played with Michael Jackson, Joe Cocker, and many more artists.

3. Source Audio SA-270

This pedal is one for the nerds. Packed with features similar to the Boss EQ-200, this pedal goes one step further.

There’s a USB out on the pedal, allowing you to tweak away to your heart’s content.

You can change every frequency band’s designated frequency and respective Qs. A frequency’s Q is the width of the EQ band.

If you want to tweak a specific frequency, you’ll want the Q to be high, ensuring that most of the signal will remain untouched except for the area you wanted to change.

If you need something that’ll do broad strokes, simply lower the Q.

When you open the editor, you are welcomed by many features, which might be daunting.

Luckily there are loads of demo videos that explain the editor, such as this one.

4. JHS Haunting Mids

If you love your guitar tone, but there’s one frequency bump or dip that’s bothering you, the JHS Haunting Mids might just do the trick.

With only three knobs and a toggle switch to control the Q, this pedal is a straightforward and powerful addition to any setup.

Set to halfway, the volume knob adds 0dB boost or cut, so turning it clockwise or counterclockwise will boost or cut.

The mids control dictates how much of the frequency gets boosted or cut. Below halfway, it cuts. Above halfway, it boosts.

If you are looking for an EQ to add some character to the midrange of your guitar’s signal, this pedal is something you should keep in mind.

However, if you want to shape your tone more elaborately, you might not find a single EQ band sufficient.

The sweep control allows you to select the frequency you want to boost or cut.

Having had a few JHS pedals on my board, I can tell you these pedals are very sturdy and are at home on any live player’s pedal board.

5. MXR 10 Band Equalizer

MXR has been around for a long time, and this particular pedal is no exception.

Since its introduction in 1976, it has been on the boards of many great players such as John Mayer, Joe Satriani, and Slash.

This equalizer features ten bands ranging from 31.25Hz to 16 kHz. I also really like it for live use, because it cannot be missed on a dark stage.

All 10 EQ faders light up when you engage the pedal, so visibility is no issue, yet it doesn’t look inappropriately flashy.

This pedal would be a good fit if you have a large empty spot on your board. But if space is tight, you might want to look elsewhere.

6. Behringer EQ-700

The Behringer EQ-700 is the cheapest equalizer pedal on my list, but it’s on there because I have used it for many years.

I had two on my board when I started branching out my pedal collection.

Surprisingly enough, those two EQ pedals have been on my board for at least five years, and they have seen messy bars and large concert venues without ever breaking down on me.

This pedal is great for the guitar player who wants to see whether or not an EQ pedal would work for them without spending top dollar.

Because of the low price, some corners had to be cut. The biggest one of them is the EQ700’s construction.

It’s made out of plastic, which means that if you’re a player that plays live a lot, it might be better to save up and get something like the Boss GE-7 for durability.

If playing live isn’t something you do regularly and you want a good EQ pedal for a very affordable price. This one is certainly one to keep in mind.

7. Wampler EQuator

Brian Wampler is known in the guitar community as the king of overdrive, but this man and his company have made more than just good distortions. The EQuator is one of those pedals.

Much like the JHS Haunting Mids, it boasts a parametric midrange EQ (two of them, actually), but it also has a low and a high band, allowing for more tone-shaping options.

These features make this EQ pedal great for both accurate boosts and cuts or broad strokes.

One of the reasons I like the Equator is that it can get very precise.

If a tiny frequency area is bothering you, you can simply turn up the Q control and notch it out without altering the core tone too much.

Having the extra options of the high and low bands allows you to make quick adjustments at a gig or to get the nice top-end shine that’ll allow you to cut through the mix of a big production.

Closing Thoughts

When it comes to equalizer pedals, there are naturally lots of options out there, each with its strong suits.

Whether you’re using it to fix a frequency issue or to change your sound completely, an EQ pedal is, in my opinion, an essential piece of equipment to own.

If you get the chance, go to a store and test the various EQ pedals to see what works for you because there’s no right or wrong way of finding your tone!