Alesis microEQ

The Alesis MicroEQ is a simple, single channel parametric equalizer that can be used in any situation where you'd want to use some equalization. The connections that the MicroEQ has are XLR for both your input and output. It does require a wall wart power supply, which is kind of a pain. It isn't really rack mountable, but it takes up a 1/3 of the size of a single space rack, so I guess you could fit three of these within a space in a traditional casing, but I have not done so.

UTILIZATION

The Alesis MicroEQ is definitely as basic of a parametric equalizer as you'll find. If you know how to use a basic parametric equalizer, you know how to use the MicroEQ. It's got a knob for your overall input level, as well as three bands of equalization. The three bands have double tiered knobs, with frequency and gain parameters for each. Each also has a button for setting the Q (bandwidth), but you've only got two settings to choose from there. Lastly, there's a bypass button. The manual is complete for the MicroEQ, but not necessary.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of the Alesis MicroEQ is about average. It can certainly equalize your sound if you know how to use it, but definitely doesn't have the cleanest overall quality. While it does the job just fine for most applications, it can be somewhat noisy at times. I can't really complain too much about the overall sound, but at the same time it isn't a piece of gear that blows me away with it's sound. For basic jobs it's adequate, but I'd probably only use during mixing rather than tracking. I can't say that the MicroEQ sounds too much better than some of my EQ plug-ins.

OVERALL OPINION

This day and age, I'm not sure that home studio owners need an outboard parametric equalizer like the Alesis MicroEQ. I think that nowadays if you're going to have outboard gear that it should sound immaculate and certainly better, or different than plug-ins. I believe that I can get a clean sound from some plug-ins that I have in terms of EQ, which I'd rather use than this, mostly for convenience purposes. This is definitely cheap enough for anyone who wants an outboard EQ, but definitely try it out before you buy it to see if it would work well for you.