Product: Carvin ME1 Master EQ
Price Paid: $200 (full price $325) (NZD)
Submitted
12/28/2005
at
03:42am
by
Kelvin Reynolds
Ease of Use
:
8
7 band EQ with level boost/cut. basically anything you do will sound ok, just depends on what you like. it's pretty intuative though. knowledge of Equalisation useful or just experiment. no manual but you dont need one. has DC in and is also footswitchable so you can put it in you amps effects loop and have it on top of your amp to minimise cables. all jacks are on top for close side by side arrangement, which is just as well because it's already a big pedal (13x8cm).
Sound Quality
:
10
my setup is: 1984 Ibanez Roadstar II RS135 -> Fender PT100 Tuner -> Carvin ME1 EQ -> Guyatone OD2 Overdrive -> Crowther Audio Bluesberry Hotcake -> Laney EA65.
not noisy at all, no noticible signal degradation, good by-pass. sound quality is what you would expect from such a high end pedal.
I mainly use it for beefing up my Roadstar (strat) for higher gain applications. boost the lows, cut the highs and boost the level and you've tamed a strat for music you would normally reach for a humbucker equiped guitar for. useful for other things as well- boost the mids, highs and the level for a clean solo boost. or cut the mids for 'scooped mids' metal. many possibilities.
Reliability
:
9
large, solid metal case. its not going to break anytime soon. the sliders are plastic but something pretty drastic would have to happen to break them off as the metal case offers side protection.
battery compartment could be easier, needs philips screwdriver and comes with a foam pad to stop it rattling around. metal door though so it'll last.
seems very dependable and wont need a backup.
Customer Support
:
10
I bought it from the New Zealand importers and they were very helpful and friendly. have dealt with them in the past for repairs, etc and they were excellent.
Overall Rating
:
10
I mostly play modern worship styles for church services and it is good for that. I have been playing for 5 years and own gear listed above, as well as an SX acoustic (w/ shadow pizo/preamp), an epiphone SG special, and a sonic acoustic bass (w/ belcat pizo/preamp).
if it were lost/stolen i doubt that i could get it at the price i got it for, so i would probably go for a boss.
An EQ pedal is a very powerful tone shaping tool. do not forget one on your pedalboard. your amp EQ is not enough! you need pre-preamp equalisation to get the tone your after.
