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I am building a rack guitar system based on analog, valve preamp and poweramp. I've read a lot about the power of pre-EQ, that is, having an equalizer before the preamp distortion. Since I have everything in a rack, there's an abundance of quite cheap rack EQ units that would suit my needs.

However, as I understand it, those devices require line level input and won't properly work with a passive guitar plugged directly into them. Some research in guitar pedals made me realize that every EQ pedal is essentially a preamp, which allows it to work properly. Incidentally, that's also how overdrive stompboxes work.

So what are my options here? If I understand that correctly, I can:

  • Get a pedal-format EQ and put it in a rack shelf
  • Get a rackmount guitar-specific EQ with a preamp built in
  • Get another, ideally completely transparent guitar preamp before the EQ to drive it properly

Are there any other ways? Is there anything I should be aware of in this case? One thing that comes to mind is the fact my tone-shaping preamp will receive a different signal (not just equalized, but also buffered/on line level), which I'm not sure if is gonna have any impact on its operation (since it's accepting high-Z input by default).

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  • P.S. Not endorsing any, but some of the options that I've found that fit this scenario are Boss GE-7 and GE-20, TC Electronic tc1140 and Furman PQ-3.
    – Bartek Banachewicz
    Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 14:06

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Yes, you require a preamp if you want to use a line level EQ.

But any of the other options you give are fine.

The simplest route for a guitarist is one of the standard EQ pedals. This will let you experiment with more tonal qualities (currently you are limited to the tone controls on your guitar for pre-amp tone) as well as gain.

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    Yes, but putting EQ pedal into drive stage may be quite noisy
    – teodozjan
    Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 12:49
  • Always true teodozjan - the earlier in the chain you put amplification, the more gain your drive or distortion stages will have so more noise.
    – Doktor Mayhem ♦
    Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 19:45

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