Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Knockout control details
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August 25, 2009 at 1:07 am #78842brennieParticipant
Hi, I’m wondering if anyone could help me figure out exactly what the Knockout does. How do you set it “flat”? What frequencies does the Low knob cut/boost. Is 12 o’clock flat/unity? Same thing with the high knob. What frequencies are being boosted? When the Dry control is 100% cw, shouldn’t we hear the input signal unaffected. Doesn’t seem to be. Sorry to be daft, but this thing has got me stymied. I like some of the sounds I’m getting, but if I knew the parameters, I think I could get better results.
What I’d like to do is simply boost the high freqs (7-8k), while retaining my original tone.
Thanks
August 28, 2009 at 5:20 am #100964brennieParticipantOk, here’s what I’ve figgered out so far: When the Dry knob is fully CCW and the Low and High knobs are both fully CW, it sounds like the pedal is flat. There is a boost (6 db?). From there you can boost highs (freq unknown) or low, while retaining your basic sound.
Still trying to figure the Dry knob out. Hmmm
August 28, 2009 at 10:49 am #100968mhuxtableMemberFrom the EHX webpage for the Knockout…if you look to the right there is a link for instructions:
LOW Knob -The LOW knob is a volume control for the low or bass frequencies. The further you turn the LOW knob clockwise, the louder the low frequencies will be. The LOW knob controls the output volume from the Knockout’s 7-Pole Low-Pass Filter. The low pass filter has a fixed cutoff frequency of 85 Hz. The LOW knob is responsible for contouring the bottom end in relation to the total sound.
DRY Knob – The DRY knob is a volume control for the signal present at the Input Jack. The output volume of the dry signal will increase as this knob is rotated clockwise. Use the DRY knob in conjunction with the LOW and HIGH knobs to create your tone.
HIGH Knob – The HIGH Knob is a volume control for the high or treble frequencies. The further you turn the HIGH knob clockwise, the louder the treble frequencies will be. The HIGH knob controls the output volume from the Knockout’s 6-Pole High-Pass Filter. The high pass filter has a fixed cutoff frequency of 6.5kHz. The HIGH knob is responsible for contouring the high end to the total sound.
August 28, 2009 at 6:51 pm #100981brennieParticipantquote author=”mhuxtable” date=”1251474583″]From the EHX webpage for the Knockout…if you look to the right there is a link for instructions:
> Thanks so much for the post. I have read the instructions several times, but they aren’t specific.
LOW Knob -The LOW knob is a volume control for the low or bass frequencies.
> Which frequencies specifically?
The further you turn the LOW knob clockwise, the louder the low frequencies will be.
> How much louder? 12db?
The LOW knob controls the output volume from the Knockout’s 7-Pole Low-Pass Filter.
> I know what a Low-Pass filter is. But what is a 7-pole LPF? How does it behave?
The low pass filter has a fixed cutoff frequency of 85 Hz.
> ??? – Does this mean freqs below 85 are unaffected (the same freq as a low E string)
The LOW knob is responsible for contouring the bottom end in relation to the total sound.
> That could mean anything. What kind of contour. A mid-scoop. A bass roll off? A simple boost?…
DRY Knob – The DRY knob is a volume control for the signal present at the Input Jack.
However, if you turn the knob to its max position, it is does not give you your uneffected input signal.
The output volume of the dry signal will increase as this knob is rotated clockwise. Use the DRY knob in conjunction with the LOW and HIGH knobs to create your tone.
HIGH Knob – The HIGH Knob is a volume control for the high or treble frequencies. The further you turn the HIGH knob clockwise, the louder the treble frequencies will be. The HIGH knob controls the output volume from the Knockout’s 6-Pole High-Pass Filter. The high pass filter has a fixed cutoff frequency of 6.5kHz. The HIGH knob is responsible for contouring the high end to the total sound.[/quote]
> The same questions apply as those for the Low knob.
I read the manual, but it doesn’t really elucidate the function of the controls. I do like the sound of the pedal. It imparts a nice sparkle. But I’m afraid that I may be trying to use it for something it is not – a plain old EQ pedal. Like I said, I’d like to figure out how to retain the unaffected to of my tele, using the Knockout to add a little air for that glassy fender tone.
August 28, 2010 at 7:31 pm #111131srinivassaMemberI love EHX, and I have been trying to decide on buying this pedal. It seems like it would be good for not only changing the brightness of your attack style. No one says what it does when low boosting is applied to a humbucker. Could be another good way to get a darker tone. I love the Metal Muff or a Big Muff boosted by a Tube Screamer. Nice dark dirty distortion. I was wondering if the pedal would give me a stomper for less of the same.
The thing I don’t agree about with the above post is the boosting. You claim a 6db to 12db boost to the selected frequency range, but that does not really make sense. From the description of the pedal, it seems like it would only cut. No boosting action was ever described. A 6-7 pole filter is a very steep corner cut filter. I am guessing essentially only affecting freq <85Hz for low and >6.5kHz for high. The fact that the pedal sounds flat with both tone knobs turned fully CW (zero cut) and dry fully CCW (no dry) supports this.
Now, if you ran a booster in front of this, that could be a different story. That sounds like a pedal I would buy. That would allow you run fully CW low and high freq filters at a significant boost. Dry would also boost when turned far enough CW.
Seems like a better pedal that way to me. Don’t know why they didn’t include a boost knob on it. It’s a bit subtle running like it is now.
August 29, 2010 at 7:01 pm #111139electro-melxModeratorI think you guys really need to try one, there’s really nothing confusing about it in use. It’s a tone shaping tool that really can make humbuckers sound like a stratocaster. Don’t think of it as boosting anything volume wise, think of it as ‘changing the treble’ rather than ‘boosting treble’ for example.
It’s a bit like turning a ‘mid sweep’ control on a parametric EQ, it changes the sound of the mids rather than boosting/cutting them like a regular mids knob.
I know nothing about the technical side of it, but that’s how it seemed to work in practice.
August 31, 2010 at 5:26 pm #111180srinivassaMemberI am probably all wet about the booster pedal. It would still just cut the boosted signal on the top and bottom ends, below the actual notes on the instrument. You wouldn’t be able to boost high or boost low.
Probably our friendly neighborhood EHX representative is right. It does what it says it does, changes the characterists of your attack. Makes an lp sound like a fender, etc. Not something I would appreciate much, personally. I’d rather just A/B my fender and my lp.
EHX usually makes very cool pedals though. It’s likely that this is right up somebody’s alley. The video included on the site is cool, but you better have good audio because the difference in the pedal settings is extremely subtle.
Still, this could be a solution for people who want a split coil but don’t want to mess with coil tapping. Or it could do the reverse for people who play single coils.
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