Build Your Own Clone Graphic EQ

The Graphic EQ is one of the newer pedals to come out of the BYOC workshop. It features a ten band EQ, input and output slider all housed in a single 125B enclosure. How they managed to fit this all in there is beyond me. It's crazy cramped inside, but given how simple the actual circuit is, it's not too bad of a build. Just be sure to go slow, especially on the sliders. This is where most of the people mess up.

UTILIZATION

BYOC has everything laid out quite nice in this kit. The instructions are clearly written, and everything is laid out in a way that it makes it easy to solder the next component in line. This helps prevent any unnecessary wobble that could cause a cold solder joint. The sliders are very high quality, and the true bypass is the icing on the cake. In reality, there's not a ton of stuff going on in this kit that can go wrong. The biggest thing you need to pay attention to are the sliders. Make sure they're lined up properly and don't move them around too much while soldering.

SOUND QUALITY

The BYOC circuit is actually an original circuit. The closest one out there is the MXR 10 band EQ, but even that is not the exact same. The input and output sliders allow you to really shape how much signal is going in and out of this. It can be used as a clean boost, to boot. On top of that, you can easily change the frequencies of the sliders by adjusting the capacitors. This allows you to shape the EQ to whatever your heart desires. It's truly one of the most versatile pedal EQs out there.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're thinking about buying an MXR 10 band EQ pedal but can solder, I recommend checking this pedal out. Not only is it smaller than the MXR and more versatile, you won't have to deal with that nasty 18v wall wart on your pedalboard.