Electro Harmonix – Knockout REVIEW

The Knockout pedal from Electro Harmonix is an interesting take on what is essentially a tone-shaping EQ tool. The unusual filter approach in combination with the blend knob opens new tonal ground.

Electro Harmonix claims that the Knockout ‘Attack Equalizer’ will turn a Les Paul into a Stratocaster, and some online videos demonstrate how the pedal is in fact capable of at least ‘swapping ballpark’. Guitar is not my main instrument, but while I think the videos show how Knockout can make a humbucker guitar sound somewhat like a single coil guitar, it just doesn’t really nail it. Kind of like when you try to replicate a Precision bass with a Jazz bass by favoring the neck pickup. It may get you relatively close, but never actually there.

So, before plugging into the Knockout stomp box I had no illusions that it would be able to turn a Precision or Stingray bass into a Jazz bass – or vice versa. And the short answer is: No, it didn’t – not even close. But that doesn’t mean it’s useless for bass. In fact, EHX claims that it can do wonders for bass tones as well. I decided to wipe the board clean and just take a creative approach trying to dial in some nice sounds for various basses…

The way Knockout handles your signal is essentially by boosting low and high pass filters. The low pass filter is cutting at 85 Hz and the high pass filter is cutting at 6.5 kHz. In other words, it mostly tweaks the very highs and lows of your bass tone.

That is exactly why the DRY knob is so essential. On their own, the LOW and HIGH filters won’t be able to create useful sounds, but using them gently and adjusting your dry (and full) signal accordingly, you can indeed enter some interesting tonal territories!