Boss PQ3-B

Three knobs representing three EQ bands Low, Mid and High, with the outer casing of the knob controlling the frequency and a smaller internal knob the level. There's is a fourth knob to control the overall volume +/- 18db. Quite easy to manipulate the unit, and pretty self explanatory once you know what you're doing.

Excellent. Very quiet for an EQ, with a slight hiss when the "high" volume knob is turned up fully. Although it's designated a Bass EQ, it can work on any electric instrument as its frequency range is from 25Hz to 16kHz. I'm using it with an guitar running into a with a one knob amp and it's fantastic. Small, simple to use, quiet. Couldn't ask for more.

Much more versatile than a graphic EQ. Although the graphic looks more complex, it's limited to the several preselected bands the manufacturer has selected for you. If you want to cut 500Hz, and there's not a band for 500Hz on your graphic EQ, you have no options. Also, much much quieter.

Typical Boss contsruction

Infinite number of options available. You can use it as a bass booster, a solo (mids) booster, a treble booster, to cut some bass from a poorly EQed fuzz pedal, a simple volume booster to drive your amp a little harder, probably even a kill switch..etc. I leave it on all the time, as a replacement EQ system for the one lacking from my amp. It took me a little while to track one down (even using ebay) - I won't go so far as to say they're rare, but they don't show up all that often, and Boss haven't been making them for more than 10 years. Actually I found a lot more of the later Boss PQ-4s, which have an extra "presence" band, but they generally go for $100 or more. Unless you must have more than 18dbs of boost, I'd choose this over other "clean boosts" like the MXR Micro Amp, Zvex SHO etc. Way more versatility at a fraction of the cost.

Pretty easy to use as long as we know what a parametric equalizer does. It controls bass, midrange, and treble with a range of 25 Hz to 16 kHz. This is close to the extent of human hearing. Each parameter and the overall volume is adjustable from +/-18 dB.

The tone can be stretched in rediculous ways with this device. The important part is that throught the extremes of knob turning, there is not a bit of background noise. The +/-18 dB range is pretty extreme, but at least we have that flexibility available. On most parametric and graphic equalizers, it is difficult to create convincing sounds when you stretch a knob or slider beyond +/-12 dB, but again the flexibility is a luxury to have at hand. This pedal is awesome as a customizable clean boost, and that is where the +/-18 dB range comes in handy.

I bought this used, and it works great. I have some pretty old Boss pedals, and I haven't had any problems with them. The only thing with this one is that it looks like the previous owner licked all the writing off of it. The pedal is finished in brown paint, and the "Boss PQ-3B Bass Parametric Equalizer" writing, which is usually in yellow paint, is rubbed off neatly. There is just a ghost label which can be seen from an angle remaining.

I have never had to deal with Boss before, but they seem cool.

I really like this pedal. I have an old Squier with a bunch of upgrades, a totally stock Epiphone baritone, and an Ibanez 5-string bass. Since I love messing with knobs switches, I have tested this pedal out extensively with my other equipment. Whether you use a solid state or tube amp, this pedal can be used to "tune" your sound for each piece of gear and for each room/venue. It can turn any overdrive or distortion into your dream sound. And because the frequency range is so wide, it can be used effectively for guitar, bass, vocals, and my DJ setup. This is one of my favorites.

Oh yeah, this is how I "tune" up a setup with this pedal:

I start with the overall level knob in the middle. Then I keep the bass and treble level knobs all the way down and the midrange knob all the way up. With the bass range knob all the way down and the treble range knob all the way up, I just move the midrange range knob back and forth until I come upon a harsh frequency. Then I turn the midrange level knob all the way down to cut out that harsh frequency, and I turn up the bass level knob all the way up. Then I repeat the process with each parameter a few times over. When I have found the harshest frequency within each range, I turn each level knob slightly low, rather than all the way down, and I end up with a really neat frequency response. Aside from this, the extremes can be achieved and much more; the capacity of this pedal is excessive, but that proves to be a positive point at times.

I have this pedal for about 6 years now and it was one of the first pedals i bought. There was no manual included...
It's qiute easy to use: 3-band parametric EQ, so 3 EQ knobs(low,mid, high), level knob. On the top of the eq-knobs are smaller pot's, they are boots pot's. So you can boost where you need it.
Very simple pedal, no fuss...

I've used this pedalwith many different amps and many different basses. I'ts best suited for use with passive basses because with active basses the pedal becomes somewhat useless or even a source of bas soud. It's a bit of a EQ overkill...
to my opinion it doesn't work good with Transistor amps because of the nature of transistor amps, it wotks great with tube preamps and full tube amps.
I use it with a Simms Watts 100 watt full tube amp. I've also tried it on a Mesa Bass 400+ and a traynor yba200. But these amps didn't need that extra EQ. The Simms did...
t's not noisy and everything is in working order.

Never broke down on me, but i've never used it live...

never had t deal with it

I play mainly Thrash metal, and it's a good match on the amp I use it on currently.
I've been playing for 7 years now. I own a guild b-302, ibanez edb500, ibanez edb605, Spector rex 5
a ADA rck bass amp, traynor yba 200, Simms watts CE 100, Mesa boogie bass400+, Mesa boogie diezel 1516 cab, Mesa boogie diezel 18 cab, Kustom 215b cab, a Custom made 4x10 with Eminece speakers.
If it wher stolen or lost I don't thik I will be able to replace it because they are rare...
It's simple, I'm no Boss fan. The make many, many products and there are only a few decent ones, but this is one of the good ones....

I find it's very easy to get a good sound out of it. You get the hang of it pretty quick.

My chain: Ibanez soundgear bass > PQ-3B > LM-2B > CE-2B > OC-2 > Trace Elliot amp. Its not noisy even at high volumes. The effect of this pedal is pretty dramatic. It adds a lot of depth, wartmh and it overall livens up the sound like you wouldnt believe. Of all my effects i treasure this one the most: it makes the biggest impact on your sound.

Its Boss: its build like it can withstand nearly everything.

Never had to deal with 'em yet and i dont suppose that will change in the future.

Like i said: its my most treasured pedal. If you ever see one, buy it! They don't come cheap but they will make a big difference to your sound.

too easy!
at 1st glance, you'll see 4 knobs.
but look closer & you'll see that 3 of the knobs are actually double action knobs so you actually have 7 knobs. this gives you virtually infinite tone possibilities!
never had a manual for this. just read the label on the knobs and you'll know what to do!

i know it was originally meant for bass but i use it for my acoustic guitar. it sounds killer!!!
not noisy at all.

my settings may vary depending on the PA and the venue but it's usually:
bass frequency: 1 o'clock
mid frequency: 1:30
treble frequency: 2 o'clock
bass volume: 2 o'clock
mid volume: 9:30
treble volume: 2 o'clock
main volume is set at 12 o'clock

my passive lrbaggs lb6 pickups in my acoustic to the pq3-b to an active direct box then to the mixing board. eq on the board is always set to 12 0'clock.

big, sweet, acoustic guitar tone!
this pedal is a miracle worker for acoustic guitars!
it's a rare pedal. i don't think boss makes it anymore. but they should! my friends wanna buy this thing from me for twice the price i paid for it, and it looks far from brand new! yup, it's that good!

very dependable! it's my only equalizer. i gig a lot.

n/a

i play acoustic rock, blues, ballads, etc...
been playing 11 years.
i love the fact the fact that you can choose the frequency you like and then boost it!
i've never tried this on a bass guitar. i just bought it coz it sounds killer with my acoustic! try it!

It's easy as long as you know how a parametric equaliser works.

Various passive basses into PQ-3B then straight into a solid-state power (slave) amp.
Not overly noisy.
Very powerful tone-shaping tool - in my humble opinion equalisation is the single most important factor in a great bass sound (given adequate speakers, etc.).

Seems very well-made. Has never failed.

Never required Customer Support.

This pedal is (for me) a complete pre-amp. As I said above, I use only this and a plain, solid-state power amp - that's a complete, and great-sounding, bass rig. I've had many more complex rigs but I love the simplicity of bass ~ pedal ~ amp ~ speaker.

Pretty easy... bass / mid / treble variables + corresponding level control + master level. I got mine used, but boss pedals come with a manual that is usually helpful (with reccomended settings). I can set it a bunch of ways and get useful tones.. great for me

I'll give it a '10' because it's not as easy as a graphic eq... but it's as easy as a Parametric EQ will get

Setup: fender p-bass (american Standard) -> Boss tu-2 -> dunlop 105Q -> boss pq-3b -> EH bassballs -> Ampeg SVT-II Pro -> Ampeg PR-410 HLF

Is noisy on higher settings (but that's normal)... gives you more control.. more versatile than most graphic eqs... almost always sounds great.. unless you don't know how to set it.

I give it a 10, because I'm more flexible with it.. it can boost my signal for solos and stuff.. and I can make it really bassy for a godzilla-type thud. I don't like it on really high treble settings though.. makes it sound tinny

I can rely on it... I would gig without a backup.. but my amp has a 9-band graphic eq anyways.. so I could always use that.

Boss has gay socks

Good pedal. Can be useful for anyone playing bass for any type of music. I probably would get another one if it were lost or stolen if I could find it for cheap... Versatile.. 10.0

Easy to use- 3 double knobs (outside shifts frequency, inside cuts or boosts level) and a level knob. It takes some practice of course, like any EQ. It's a taste thing. Also settings are different from room to room. I got it used with no manual, but you don't need a manual for this simple box.

Well, it changes your tonality. It can instantly turn your passive bass into an active. I use Fender Jazz Bass Fretless and a cheap P-style Yamaha (good bass too). It's not noisy. I use it at home through a computer subwoofer and at practice with my Hartke kickback 15".

Well, it's used and looks worn, but I would think it will survive into the new millenium. It's a Boss. It's tough. Gig w/o backup? What's a backup? :-)

This is a N/A category for most of my equipment, I've never dealt with any of the manufacturers. Either I'm just lucky or I have a good intuition about buying stuff. That's why most my reviews here are high rated. I'm not really trying to promote stuff, I just don't buy junk and toys (anymore). I've read about 20 reviews of Boss stuff here and nobody seems to ever have to deal with Support. Do these things ever break? A mistery.

I play rock and I'm trying to master slap'n'pop bass techniques and this pedal really enhances the sound. I'll also be using this as a preamp for our cello player for a while. It worked good as an acoustic guitar preamp, too. Been playing for about 3 years on bass and guitar. I also have the newer GEB-7 Bass Graphic EQ pedal by Boss wich I've also reviewed. Some people think that Graphic is better, that the parametric only gives you "3 bands". Yeah, but they are shiftable. Find the range that really affects your sound and then cut or boost, this is more versatile. It's like if you had a virtual graphic EQ on screen of a PC and you could move the actual faders across the range! This model should not have been discontinued. If you see it used, ask for price tag, I got mine for $20, that's a steal! If it's lost, I probably won't be able to find another one, so I'd have to settle with the new Graphic (which I also have). By the way the Parametric can go lower and higher than the graphic! This unit really helps me shape my sound and for 20 bucks it's a great preamp for lots of stuff. It gets a 10 cuz I got it so cheap! Nice. P.S. I'm getting a board full of Boss guitar pedals today (over $600, ouch!) so feel free to ask me about them. I've been researching and asking about Boss pedals for a while now and it looks like for most of em there's just no equal match.

Bought it used, so there was no manual, but you don't need one. It's your basic semi-parametric eq: 3 bands, freq and boost/cut. I set the low band all the way down to 25 hz, with the boost at about 1 o'clock. I sweep the mid between 1 and 3 o'clock, depending on the room. Same for the boost for this band. The high and overall gain I leave alone. With a 5 string fretless, this setting gives the ultra low the same dB as the the rest of the bass, and the mid settings give that elusive "growl" factor. Too bad Boss stopped making this puppy, it's a very good tone band-aid, and fits in my gig bag for jams. You never know when you're going to have sound good through a TNT 300/

Negligible noise at the settings I use. I suppose at extreme settings there would have to be some hiss.

Boss pedals are pretty roadworthy.

Never had to have a Boss pedal repaired. I had problems getting to reliably fix my TU-121 tuner, though.

I'd buy one again, in fact, I'm keeping my eyes open for another for backup. Murphy's law hasn't been repealed.