Maxon GE 601

Just received it yesterday. First piece of Maxon gear I have ever purchased. I am 51 years old and have been playing since I was 10, you do the math. Tried it out last night. This Unit will not even pass any kind of signal wether it is on or off. Tried it with the power supply I purchased, which was made for the unit, and also with a brand new battery...NOTHING!! I couldn't believe it. I tested the power supply and at least it is working. It makes me wonder how anybody can let a product get out of manufacturing that is 100% DEFECTIVE, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS PRICED TO GIVE YOU THE IMPRESSION THAT IT IS HIGH QUALITY. It will be interesting to see what they do and how they will react now that they have my money and I have a completely useless piece of pricey "Boutique" gear. BUYERS BEWARE!!! Now I get to ship this thing all over the countryside (at my expense) just to replace a piece of gear that I will never trust. Good job. Thanks and have a nice day. (That always seems like it is suppose to make everything OK).

Can't tell.

Doesn't work right out of the box. Won't pass any kind of signal.

What difference does it make? They have my money and I have a useless piece of metal.

There are sample settings in the manual (the manual also features settings for other Maxon effects). I use the 'active pickup bass' setting and 'single-coil sounds for humbucker' setting.

I'm using a Jackson low end model Dx10D superstrat into a MXR Super Dyna Compressor into the Maxon 6-band Graphic eq into a Crate MX65R solidstate amp. The pedal enhances crunch which I initially bought it for. But it can be used as a pickup booster and 'emulator', enhancing tone and inducing feedbck. It's not to noisy but I play rock.

Dependable. Dependable on getting you called 'sissy boy' and 'Nancy' 'cause of the baby blue casing, sheesh! Buy a backup for use as a weapon, seriously!

Never dealt.

I play punk metal (though not inspired by punk). I use passive pickup's but enjoy active pickup crunch. I can achieve that crunch exactly! Iv'e been playing thrash inspired hard rock for 10+ years and am a Jackson guitar man and use Crate solidstate amps since 2000. I use Monster rock cable, MXR Super Dyna Comp,and Morley Pro Series 2 wah. I love the sound quality, 6-bands, and compact size (can fit in cargo pocket) with smallish levers (frequency controls). I can't forget the single coil sound I can get now without having to buy a sratocaster (not ultra exact but close enough to fool even the greatest tonehead). The most dislikeable thing for me about this pedal is the color:baby blue? But the tones totally make up for this. And if you don't like the color change it somehow, right? We're musicians, we're resourceful. The pedal was pricy but you get what you pay for and I feel I totally got my monies worth. A battery was included and to replace the 9 volt battery you must remove 4 small screws located on the bottom.

Well, it is a 6-band EQ, and although the design is similar to any other graphic, it's a little more complicated to get a good sound than just "drawing" a smiley face w/the sliders. Took me a while to dial in exactly what I needed, but worht the time...

Late 70's Gibson SG into an original Colorsound Tone Bender into this unit into a Boss DM-3 delay w/a '69 Marshall. I use this unit mainly for boosting between 400-800 Hz to simulate the 1/2 cock wah tone ala Schenker, etc. It's extremely useful for this which helps bring you out in the mix during solos. Also starting to use it to simulate single-coil tone for a couple of more jangly numbers my band is doing now. The Maxon does exactly what I need it to do and is very quiet. I read some guys complaining that it changes you tone - hey, it's an EQ - wake up!

So far gigging steady w/it for over a year. Very classic pedal design - hammond style box, steel switch and jacks, etc. Seems very reliable to me. Sliders tough to see onstage, but right now I'm only using one setting so no biggie.

Had no contact with them, but their website was very helpful and the settings in the manual were useful to help me see the multiple uses this pedal can have - no need for repair so far and hoping it stays that way!

I do original retro stoner rock, gig several times a month in the southern Jersey area - Playing about 10 years and feel I have a good handle on my tone. I really like what this pedal adds to my sound, but if lost/stolen I'd look for a used one first as my main complaint was the price.

This pedal is pretty easy to use. The controls are elementary (6 bandwidths and an overall boost. It took me a little bit to master graphic style eq , but this pedal made it easy.

I play mostly Jazz gigs (from weddings to free improv). I'm using a 60's Guild T-100 thru the GE601 into a 2 x 10 100w Musicman combo. The Guild has flatwound 11's and the amp is tubed with Svetlana 6550's (no Sovteks...I am not into pyrotechics). When I solo I need a clean boost in volume. Someone reccommended using a Boss EQ pedal...well it sucked. The freq sliders were very over dramatic, causing an unnatural division from one freq range to the next. In addition, there was an overall gritty quality to my tone when the pedal was on. I had given up when the sales person suggested the Maxon pedal. It is very transparent. I am able to give my upper mids a slight boost along a little low end for some punch, yet my tone is neither griity or cold. In a word awesome.

The platis slider knobs make me nervous, but I've been using this pedal for years with no problems. I suppose there are harder gigs for a pedal, but we are talking a 100 or so gigs a year.

Never had to deal with these guys.

This pedal is very is great...I usually poo-poo pedals but this is a great item. It has definately helped my playing. I would definately get a new one if I had to. My only complaint is the color..it's well...fey. It's bad enough the rap jazz guitarists get without having to pull out a baby blue pedal. Plus it can be hard to see in low light situations.

The unit is easy to figure out, the slider's work well. Some folks may find the sliders are to small, but I actually prefer them smaller (even with my fat fingers!), just because it makes the unit that much more compact. I usually get my setting and then forget about it. The only thing that bothers me is that I have to unscrew the bottom to get at the battery.

I was able to get the best solo tone I ever had on record with this unit! I ran my 335 into this eq and then straight into a modified old fender twin (w/extra gain stage). The eq allowed me 1. to hit the input really hard with lots of signal 2. To filter out and boost frequencies that made the AlNiCo's really sing. I ended up with a sound right between Warren Haynes and Dickey Betts. I used this set-up the whole record, and I didn't even have to take my OD808 out of the gig bag! It's also an extremely quiet unit, which is why I originally bought it.

Never had a problem with it. I'm notoriously hard on my gear, and it's held up well. I've used it on just about every gig.

I lost a couple of screws from this unit, and had to contact Godlyke to order replacements. They responded to my e-mail within an hour. What else can I say?

Contrary to the other opinion's in this section, I've found this unit to be an invaluable part of my pedal board. I use it on all of my jobbing gigs in New York, whether it's folk, jazz, brazillian, or blues. I've found it really helpful at festival gigs where amps are often provided (and you don't always get what you ask for!), the eq allows me to compensate for bad amps with rigid new speakers, etc. I can approximate my sound anywhere I go! As mentioned above, battery access is a headache, but otherwise I'll continue to recommend this product to my friends.

I'm using the Maxon with a fender delux reverb and a custom shop Srat. Also it using with a Ibanez Artist with Seymore Duncan pick-ups.
Paid a good penny, as far as pedal EQ's go. I am very disappointed in this product. Surprising, since I have heard good things about their company.
After making a number of adjustments, I would characterize the sound as Brittle. This is about as bad a thing one could say about a tone!
I plan to attempt selling the thing on consignment, and know I am going to take a hit.
I thought, mistakenly it seems, that if I paid top dollar I'd get a quality product. I was wrong and hopefully have learned a lesson.

Decidedly unmusical. I am really kicking myself over this one.

Very easy to use, but impossible to get a warm/toneful sound out of this thing. Came with the general purpose Maxon manual.

I use a 52 reissue Fender Tele with ancient Evans Pull String Bender installed. The signal chain is: Maxon Compressor; Boss EQ; Boss TU-2 Tuner; then into a Maxon Analog Delay. (Note: The Maxon Compressor and Delay are FANTASTIC in every way! The EQ Maxon makes is a stinker, not a keeper.) Next the signal goes into a fully restored Fender Blackface 85Watt Showman head with Mullard CV4004 preamp tubes and NOS Philips Mil Spec. 7581a Output tubes. I use a custom Rodgers cabinet with a floating baffle board, and one JBL-E 120 12 inch speaker. (Cabinet is rough blonde tolex with maroon grill...)

The GE 601 Graphic EQ I purchased had to be returned. The first one I received was BROKEN out of the box! The second unit worked, but killed my vintage tone...just murdered it!!!!!!!!! Maxon products are the best in my opinion, but I guess they can not all be winners.

Who can say? The first unit was busted out of the box. The second unit sounded terrible.... The GE 601 is the cheapest looking unit Maxon makes.... Looks like it would not take a life of hard knocks very well.

Guitar Heaven in Nashville gave me great customer support. They exchanged the item with little problem. Great company, great people.

I would not grade the Maxon GE 601 with an F, but with the grade of (T K) Tone Killer. This thing made my entire rig sound thin, and bad.
Maxon should pull this unit model from their product line in my opinion.