Ibanez PQ9 Parametric EQ

Pretty easy to use--the other reviews nailed it. Three sliders: low (<75Hz), mid (variable between 75Hz and 5.6 KHz), and high (>5.6KHz). Each slider has 15 dB cut or boost. The midrange control has 1/2 an octave "Q" or bandwidth. Input impedance: 500K Ohms, output impedance <1K Ohm, Equivalent input noise -85 dBm (IHF-A), specs from a 9-series brochure I found on the web. From 75Hz to 5.6 KHz is an incredible amount of range to have available for the mid slider. I think of mids as 2-4 KHz. But I'm glad they did it that way. You could use this as a low boost and still cut 60Hz hum!

Used with Ibanez SZ(USA Duncans) Crate tube amp, and Maxon 9-series pedals (CS9Pro, SD9). This is not noisy at all! I used to have a GE-9 that I sold on eBay because that was too noisy. This is whisper quiet, probably because it messes with less frequency bands.

My god, this gives you almost total control over the tone of your guitar! I couldn't believe how powerful it was! In the first 15 minutes I owned it, it became indispensible! I know enough about frequencies to make proper use of this pedal, but you could just twist the knob, mess with the sliders, and get a decent sound anyway. I don't think I can take a graphic E.Q. seriously again after having this parametric one. I was thinking, "what if you could adjust the width ('Q') of the effect?", but then I realized that the width they set it at was perfect.

It made my good-sounding pickups better. It can be used to add tonal variety for different tunes; I'm not too much into emulating anyone's tone (though I will play cover songs), but if you were into that sort of thing, you could make great use of it. Bottom line: how did I every play without this? And like the guy below said: why did they stop making these? And if I had only one pedal: well, it would probably be my chorus, sorry, but this would come next, and THEN my distortion. It's that good.

By the serial number, mine was made in 1984. This is 2006. It seems to have been well cared-for, but Maxon (who made the 9-series for Ibanez) quality is legendary.

Ibanez themselves, no. Maxon, no. But I have talked with Godlyke, who is Maxon's USA distributor. They are great.

This is a great pedal, I can see why they don't come up too often on eBay. BOSS used to make something similar, the SP-1 Spectrum; those are ultra rare and cost in the hundreds. This is nicer looking, more versatile, and costs half the price, even in the "vintage" market. And I know I'm biased, but it probably sounds better. This pedal is easily worth what I paid, and then some. If Maxon had reissued this and cleaned it up, I would have gotten it new, but the vintage Ibanez version is fine. Wow...just wow, is all I can type right now, it completely opens up a whole world of tones I never thought I could get out of my rig.

This is a great little eq pedal - very easy to use: three sliders for highs, mids, and lows, and a rotary knob for the midrange band, from 75Hz to 5.6kHz. Very flexible midrange.

I got this because my boss ge-7 was just too noisy on the high end. This little guy's quiet and has a nice, thick color to him. I run a '57 RI strat to the PQ-9 to a custom made boost, right into my Dr. Z Mazarati head and 4x10s. The Dr. Z is real creamy, but for that classic strat sound, it needs a little smiley face eq. The PQ-9 gives me very nice, THICK highs, a tight bottom, and the mid is just great.

This is the best series of Ibanez pedals for reliability. The 10 series is really shotty with thier plastic pedals and what-not (I've got two). Strong and sturdy.

Any good tech can take care of these pedals for you - you're probably not going to get anything out of Ibanez.

It's no MXR 10 band, but it's not supposed to be. If you want a little something extra to your sound, this is a great pedal. And it's a very nice light blue color!

It's easy, 3 sliders- lo-mid-hi, the frequecy sweep knob and an on off switch. A monkey can work it out

Im using this little marvel between my Korg ax100G and a Laney all valve class A LC15R amp. Guitar is an early Yamaha pacifica strat, with modded pickups, it now has DiMarzio and jackson pickups. The pedal is a tad noisy, but I can live with it, nothing serious. This thing is the business, I'd have to agree with the other reviews here that its a very VERY useful pedal. My amp is no slouch tonewise but now sounds somewhat bland and flat without it. It adds great depth to the sound, marvelous, and can easily overdrive a valve amp, it has just the right amount of gain to do so. Sounds warm and analogue(which it is of course) Great stuff. It gets a 9 for being a tad noisy.

I have heard that the switches in the Ibanez 9 series can be dodgy, but I've got no problems. Great build quality, nice solid weighty thing, the sliders are positive and centre-notched. No complaints. Would happily gig it without backup.

Never dealt with Ibanez. I would certainly go to the ends of the earth to get it fixed if it broke down, no doubt.

I play all sorts of rocky things, and just got the Korg ax100G multieffect(pretty good thing it is too) when i stumbled upon the PQ9 on a Dutch classifieds site, i swapped it for a Korg AX1G which cost me about 50 euro.Been plaing for about 15 years, amateur level, done quite a few gigs in my time,I just love dicking aroud with guitars and toys. If it were stolen or got lost i would certainly get another one...if i could find it, these things are rare, really quite rare. Therefore if you see one, get it. Do not delay and buy the thing. Whip out 100 dollars if need be , 150 even, trust me, its worth it. You will not regret it. Everything about this thing is cool, useful, practical and musical. They got it right with this one. Indeedy...why on earth do they not make these things anymore???? Puzzling....Nevermind, I've got one, im sorted. Its 'vintage'Ibanez, comes in a lovely babyblue paintjob, and is extremely good at adding a lot of tonal texture to the sound, i use it to take the digital edge of my multieffect, and it does that superbly. This thing is complete, I wouldt change a thing. The parametric bit (the mid sweep knob) is just such a simple, clever and just very good idea to have on a stompybox, inspired. Again, ...they got it very, very right with this one

Easy. Three sliders to control the levels - bass, middle, treble; and one knob, which adjusts the mid-range frequency.

I have no idea why they stopped making parametric eq pedals. This is the most usefull pedal you can buy. An eq pedal in general is the most important pedal you should buy in my opinion. I have owned several rack mount graphic eq's, and several different (boss and MXR) graphic eq pedals. They were alright, but they always sounded "graphic", and never natural or organic. This pedal fixed all that. Between buying a good pickup which is eq'd the way you like, running a parametric eq, and using the eq on your amp - it would be impossible to not find your tone.

So far so good. No problems with it. But beware - every vintage Ibanez pedal can end up developing a bad switch.

Never had to deal with them.

Overall, this is the best pedal i've ever purchased. After wasting years of my time, and WAY too much of my money searching for that perfect tone I would hear on my favorite records, I really realized the importance of EQ. Graphic EQ's are alright on a stereo, but crap on a guitar. Being able to either cut a particular mid range frequency, or boost a particular mid range frequency will most of the times solve whatever your beef is with your tone. It did for me, and that is what this pedal does, as well as boosting or cutting the bass and treble already coming from your guitar. I've played guitar in an amateur capacity for 15 years. I would never imagine playing without this, or a similar pedal again. You want great tone???? Drop good pickups in your guitar that have an EQ and sound that you like, buy a parametric eq pedal, and plug into a tube amp and turn it up loud enough to get tube and speaker overdrive. Trust me - once you dial in the EQ on the pedal and amp, you will have found what you were looking for.

Easy to use, just three sliders and a knob to adjust the mid frequency. Adjusting the middle frequency can lead to alot of different tones.

The PQ9 is very quiet for a pedal. I'm using it in the effects loop of a Fender Concert. I loved the sound of this amp but since putting this pedal into the loop it's like a completely different beast - wouldn't want to be without it. I use the PQ9 primarily to boost the low end and mids.

It's old school Ibanez so the construction quality is good. Like all the other 9 series, I wouldn't be too suprised if the footswitch goes flaky someday. Presently it works fine.

I doubt Ibanez could offer much in the way of support for this one.

I've been using graphic eq's for the past 9 years; this is the first parametric eq for me. I've tried this pedal with single coil and humbucker guitars; it made a big difference for each one. By adjusting the mid frequency, tone can be altered from metalish scooped mids to full strength low-end to an ugly nasaly sound. If it was stolen, I'd get another one immediately - it helps alot more than I thought it would. Truly a great older pedal for the price; these are currently in the $50 - $65 range.