Artec SE-OE3 Acoustic Outboard EQ

I bought this as I have a number of instruments with passive pickups, including a banjo, mandolin and a few guitars.

The case is fairly substantial, I would guess lightweight aluminum, but enough to stop it getting broken. What I don't like, which is why i dropped it a few stars was the plastic battery compartment door. I guess for the price it is expected, but I would have much preferred the hassle of unscrewing the back completely or a metal screw door than this. This will be the first thing to break or lose, this additional would have only cost a few ¤ more and I would have gladly paid the extra cents. Anyway I will use this with a power supply. It is not the fact that I won't be using it, but if it breaks off and exposes the innards to the 'outside world' it opens the door to a whole world of possible problems.

It comes with a handy belt clip but realistically I can't see me using it, as it will remain on the pedal board and there are too many chances of accidentally changing the knob settings if it is pinned to you.

Sound-wise, there is quite a good range of boost and cut on each control and overall the unit is not too noisy. With the simple design it is very easy to find the sweet spot in the tone of your instrument. Also it is nice to have the level control as well as the tone controls to give an overall boost.

If I am honest to make this unit shine, plug in a TC Mini Spark for a super clean MASSIVE boost without any noise and then use this unit to 'fine-tune' it to your liking and you can get some really clean tones from your instruments.

On it's own it is OK (except the battery compartment which I really hate - but gaffa tape over it and problem solved), pair it with a separate clean boost and it is a really great unit.

Highly recommended

Handy little box for putting your instrument through if it does not have a built-in pre-amp.

Can tailor the sound to suit your needs and boost it too if required.

Great little problem solver to have in the toolkit too.

Use this with acoustic guitar and mandolin, sounds good on Uke too, pack one of these if you are heading for an open-mic night, as they can be notorious for bad sound, set up your instrument to sound they way YOU want it instead of relying on some random knob twiddeler.

At this price it's worth having 'just in case' you need it.