Ibanez GE10 Graphic EQ

Well, since today just so happens to be my birthday (thank you, thank you), I thought I’d review a pedal that’s almost as old as I am…almost. Graphic Equalizer pedals tend to be easily dismissed by a lot of pedal people, but I’m here to reassure you that they have their place in any rig. This one in particular, the GE10, was made from 1985-1989, so it’s got a couple of miles on it, but don’t let that steer you away – how many of the most “sought-after” pedals today are at least as old as this fella, if not even older?

The GE10 features seven octave range sliders that fluctuate between 100Hz and 6.4kHz, for a wide range of options and configurations to choose from. Plus, with a +/- 15dB of equalization on each octave slider, the tonal possibilities are truly endless. There’s also a main master volume control as well, which provides an additional +/- 15db of boost that is unaffected by the seven octave bands.

With each of these sliders providing the ability to boost or cut the seven frequencies (100Hz, 200Hz, 400Hz, 800Hz, 1.6kHz, 3.2kHz and 6.4kHz), the GE10 EQ is a complete tone shaper for your guitar rig. We placed it at the front of our pedal chain, but it can also be used very effectively after overdrive and distortion pedals, to tame some of the unwanted frequencies produced by many of those types of pedals. These sliders will add boost, cut some of the mid-range and add sparkle and clarity to your guitar’s tone, and although it takes a little work to get them to all work together, it’s totally worth it in the end, as this is most definitely an always-on pedal once it has been dialed in.

Although this pedal is your basic EQ effect, it has a warm sound to it that isn’t always present in other pedals of this nature. Perhaps due to its age, or its rock-solid construction, or maybe the special blend of internal components and wiring, the GE10 Graphic Equalizer from Ibanez is a welcome addition to any pedalboard, and will really let you find and create your signature sound. Plus, you can find them used pretty easily and pick it up for a low price, too! Now, back to the main task at hand, which is grabbing a delicious and icy cold beer and celebrating the fabulous day that it the 20th of January. Cheers, everyone!