New user here! Questions about EQ.

Hi everyone.

I'm a new user here, and been very interested in the GM 36 for its power, sound quality and practicality.

The question is the following: can channel EQ be set using the matching footcontroller allowing it to simulate a wah-pedal?

That way I really wouldn't need a separate wah pedal, just grab the head, footcontroller and off to play shows!

I suppose you *could* set up a CC pedal to control the mid value, but if you`re going to have a pedal do it, why not just get the pedal that`s actually designed to do that job? If your question is can it be done without any pedal at all other than the footswitch designed for it, the answer is no.

Wah pedals are fairly inexpensive and sound far better than something trying to replicate one.

Actually the ideia was NOT to use a wah pedal, keeping it really simple and with no need for any other cables than the MIDI one.

I hope to buy it soon, but depending on how much I like the effects on the GM 36, I may go the pedal route (wah, volume pedal and a Line 6 M13) to complement the amps basic sounds.

FWIW, the only actual "effect" I have on my board is a wah. I use the behringer FCB1010 midi controller to control the amp and an Eventide H9 that sits on my cab right next to the amp. The 1010 has two CC pedals built in. I use one for amp volume and the other for various parameters of the H9 (whammy etc.).

Like I said, no matter how you shake it, you`re going to need some kind of rocker controller for the wah effect anyway. For my live set up I run a stomp box style wireless so the only cables are the midi for the controller and the cable from the wah to the amp, and I`ve got them bundled together into essentially one fat cable as the midi signal has no chance of interfering with the audio.

It`s ultimately up to you. I`ve seen some pretty wacky rigs over the years that sounded just fine.Roll with what makes you happy

I apologize, on my original post I forgot to say that I intended to use an expression pedal connected to the foot controller.

This way, and considering the FS 432 Mk III has two expression pedal connections, would it be possible to have one control the Mids (emulating a wah) and the other assigned to preset volume (emulating a volume pedal)?

Another +1 for biting the bullet and getting a conventional wah pedal. An alternative would be using an expression pedal (in conjunction with  the FSM), assigning it the Mid control, but the results (IMO) would be sketchy at best. And then you're opening a can of worms with how Exp pedals behave with the GM. Either scenario calls for a pedal so I'd just get a real wah pedal and be done with it.

As Jeff said, I don't know of a way you're going to get some wah action without some sort of rocker type pedal (barring something along the lines of a Boss Auto-wah - but that's still a pedal on your board!).

As a side note I really tried getting a exp pedal to behave like a conventional volume pedal with the GM but I had to abandon it due to how the pedal assumes control of 0-100% of the volume knob. Not good for live use! I now have a volume pedal in the amp's fx loop and all is well. This means running a lot more cables back and forth than I hoped but whaddyagonna do....

Many wahs change frequency as you sweep the pedal - I don't think you change the frequency of a tone control on the GM36.

Me for the genuine wah pedal too.  Namklak said it right, the basic idea is to sweep a narrow peak up and down the frequency scale not just lift the treble or bass.  However...

Has anyone tried lifting the bass while dropping the treble and vice versa?  I just realised that there are cheap pedals out there with stereo pots in.  You could set one to control the treble and one to the bass (or the Resonance which seems to do more!) and simply reverse one set of the pot connections.  That way you get the treble up bass down effect.  It wouldn't sound like a wah pedal but it might be interesting although the GM36's limited tone control range might make it a pointless exercise.

Syn666 wrote:As a side note I really tried getting a exp pedal to behave like a conventional volume pedal with the GM but I had to abandon it due to how the pedal assumes control of 0-100% of the volume knob. Not good for live use!

I get your point about dangerously losing volume when playing live.  Did you realise you could just add a single resistor in series with the bottom end of the pedal pot to set a minimum limit to the range of control?  For example, using a resistor of the same value as the pot would prevent you from going below half level.  There are even cheap pedals out there with a second pot to set the minimum point.

I guess I'm convince.

Well, when I buy the amp I'll see how I fare only with the FS432MkIII, and maybe later on invest on a wah, volume pedal, and even maybe a Line6 M13 for additional flexibility concerning effects.

Thank you guys on your input!

I use a line6 HD500X to do the M13 plus wah, volume, midi, EQ, and some tube screamer. One box on the floor, and a GM36. Actually, the m13 does the EQ and tube screamer, too

Hmmm... that's an interesting proposal, considering that I already own a POD HD 500.

I also had a M13 on a previous rig, that allowed either DSP or True Bypass. Did you have any issues with the POD HD 500X matching its FX Loop levels in order to avoid signal degradation when in use with the GM 36?

Syn666 wrote:Hmmm... that's an interesting proposal, considering that I already own a POD HD 500.

I also had a M13 on a previous rig, that allowed either DSP or True Bypass. Did you have any issues with the POD HD 500X matching its FX Loop levels in order to avoid signal degradation when in use with the GM 36?

I think the only diff is the 500x has a better LCD display - you can see it outdoors.  Btw, you can get a 500x used from GC for $299 or less maybe now...

I don't use 4 Cable Method with the GM - I did with a TM and HD, and it worked fine.  I can't remember if I had to adjust something on the HD - but I got it to work well.  

But then I switched to the GM.  I do southern rock, and the GM's effects work well enough, so I don't do 4CM.  Obviously the GM built-in effects aren't anywhere as powerful/flexible as the HD/M13, but good enough.  I just use the HD for midi control of the GM, and input side effects like wah, volume pedal, EQ, Tube Screamer and Tube Buffer.  I generally use a bank approach, where one bank would include a rhythm and lead for a given player/song/style.  I view the midi presets on the GM in a bank manner too.  Also, I have a jumper cable across the HD Effects Loop jacks, and use the Return gain as a flat un-effected gain option.  Generally I have the HD Effects Loop Return gain set to +15, so switching that on pummels the front end of the GM - yum.  Many use a Tube Screamer with a tube amp - that combo of transistor and tube saturation works well - the model of the TS in the HD/M13 pretty much does the same job.  Dude, I love my setup - one box on the floor with two cables (signal and midi) back to the GM.

And since you already know how to use the Line6 stuff (not that it's hard) you are well on your way.

namklak wrote:

Syn666 wrote:Hmmm... that's an interesting proposal, considering that I already own a POD HD 500.

I also had a M13 on a previous rig, that allowed either DSP or True Bypass. Did you have any issues with the POD HD 500X matching its FX Loop levels in order to avoid signal degradation when in use with the GM 36?

I think the only diff is the 500x has a better LCD display - you can see it outdoors.  Btw, you can get a 500x used from GC for $299 or less maybe now...

I don't use 4 Cable Method with the GM - I did with a TM and HD, and it worked fine.  I can't remember if I had to adjust something on the HD - but I got it to work well.  

But then I switched to the GM.  I do southern rock, and the GM's effects work well enough, so I don't do 4CM.  Obviously the GM built-in effects aren't anywhere as powerful/flexible as the HD/M13, but good enough.  I just use the HD for midi control of the GM, and input side effects like wah, volume pedal, EQ, Tube Screamer and Tube Buffer.  I generally use a bank approach, where one bank would include a rhythm and lead for a given player/song/style.  I view the midi presets on the GM in a bank manner too.  Also, I have a jumper cable across the HD Effects Loop jacks, and use the Return gain as a flat un-effected gain option.  Generally I have the HD Effects Loop Return gain set to +15, so switching that on pummels the front end of the GM - yum.  Many use a Tube Screamer with a tube amp - that combo of transistor and tube saturation works well - the model of the TS in the HD/M13 pretty much does the same job.  Dude, I love my setup - one box on the floor with two cables (signal and midi) back to the GM.

And since you already know how to use the Line6 stuff (not that it's hard) you are well on your way.

Namlak, I'm considering the m13 again for my GMD40. Do you notice any latency using the M13's MIDI to change channels on your GM36?

Sorry, just noticed you use a POD, not a M13...