Originally a custom-designed pedal for Steve Stevens, the Rockaway Archer Overdrive is now available. It is based on the original Archer overdrive pedal but adds a 6-band octave graphic EQ. The six faders allow up to +/- 18dB boost/cut for the following bands: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1,500, and 3,200 Hz.
Like the Archer Overdrive, the Overdrive EQ is capable of clean boost (Gain zeroed-out) and has both Volume and Gain controls. The pedal is powered by an internal 18-volt voltage doubler but runs on standard 9-volt pedal board power and draws 30mA.
I like that, when the pedals is activated, the "tops" of the six faders light up so you can spot a particular EQ "shape" of things looking down--even on a dark stage.
Users find the Rockaway Archer useful at the end of the pedal board signal chain just before the amp--kind of like a mastering processor for your guitar effects/pedal board. Pushing a frequency fader upwards will add volume--up to 18dB so it is easy to push level into the front of your amp to the limit! The designer recommends "subtractive EQ"--dialing back certain frequencies as usually a better strategy.
rockettpedals.com/product/rockaway-archer
Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer who has worked on over 30 gold and platinum records. He has recorded and/or mixed Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs and more. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and loves teaching audio engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. He is a lifetime Grammy-voting member of NARAS and a contributing editor for Mix Magazine. barryrudolph.com
