EHX Knockout pedal - turn your humbucker into single coil?!?

  • I got a new pedal 30 min. ago - the Electro Harmonix Knockout Attack Equalizer.


    I tested with my Music Man Stingray guitar and wanted to see if it really can turn the humbuckers into something similar to single coils ^^


    I did not turn the knobs much and just hit record button to hear what it does. (Beware. This recording was not meant to be shared, so sorry for the playing. And I am sure I can dial in the pedal better in a few days.) First impression is surprisingly good.


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    EDIT: Second demo (see descripiton in post #6)


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    1 Neck Humbucker

    2 Keyztone Exchanger Hot Texas

    3 EHX Knockout

    Edited 5 times, last by Ibot39 ().

  • - CONTROLS -


    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.

  • I could not play much guitar, because I have both arms injured atm. But here is another short demo recording.


    First pedal off, then pedal on. The pedal can sound much more extreme (or subtle of course). It can really transform humbuckers into single coily sounds better than expected. But here I tried to show a few more options (using a humbucker in a Strat):

    First bridge humbucker sounding more "acoustic", next two examples the splitted bridge sounding brighter (more Tele) and the last one the opposite - giving a humbucker more bottom.


    Cheap, simple to use and very useful pedal in my opinion!


    Manual also says: "...yields a very rich and defined tone that cannot be obtained from an amplifier or much more complex equalizing system." I don't think this is completely true, but I never used an EQ that gave the promised results that easy and intuitive.


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    Edited once, last by Ibot39 ().

  • What sounds very interesting / good with the EHX Knockout: Using in-between settings with a Strat (single coils position 2 and 4) and adding LOW, slightly reducing DRY signal and HIGH off (or to taste). You are reducing the quack and adding humbucker like warmth. The result is a very full and warm tone that still cuts through the mix.


    This pedal definitely will stay!

  • I have one of those sitting in a drawer, from pre-Kemper days. I was curious and it was cheap, I would still prefer a quick guitar switch, but If Kemper had an internal version of the Knockout I bet it would get a lot of use.


    In the end I keep returning to right guitar > right profile > minimal to no effects > right speaker. But sometimes “curated” eq’s can be inspiring, stuff with minimal, slightly mysterious controls that go after special-ish sauce.

  • ...I was curious and it was cheap...

    Same here ^^


    I was surprised it isn't a gimmick, but delivers convincing tone and very useful options. Atm I use it with my Strat, humbucker splitted plus middle single coil. The pedal adding LOW with slightly reduced DRY signal. It sounds pretty unique that way - almost like a hollow body humbucker guitar. I love that tone for some blues.


    I will also compare to the Keyztone Exchanger Pedal (that I have ordered) soon. But it seems the Exchanger works very different (and of course much more sophisticated). It takes the input from the pickup and neutralizes it to a linear value, than adding a specific new characteristic. The EHX Knockout on the other hand works WITH the signal it receives and blends the dry signal with the shaped sound of the filters.

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    1 Neck Humbucker

    2 Keyztone Exchanger Hot Texas

    3 EHX Knockout