Hey Jarrod, good input my friend and nice to hear from you (been a while ). IIRC this is an area close to your heart/passion LOL. Jarrod is indeed correct, not all amps include cut, mostly boost (unless like some boogie amps etc, they have a graphic eq along with the tone controls) but depends on the amp (hence my earlier post), but in general SC is on the money... If you want an MP1 to sound great, turn it up to gig level (I know it's nice they can be turned down (to accommodate city living)) but they are designed/meant to be stage volume, and in my experience with both MP1 and 2 they don't need additional eq. That said, the 9 band graphic in the MP2 was/is a feature I use a little.
Active eq ? what do you mean ? there are a quite a few ways to make filters (eqs). The overriding comparison was between digital and analogue (hopefully midi programmable) eqs but yes there are active active and passive analogue eq circuits. Which sound better to you Jarrod ?? I do take your point that M1 eq is active (but still analogue).
Hahaha I've been around, just havn't really decided to post much of anything till I saw this thread here
But anyways, when it comes to the whole digital vs. analog debate, I don't have much I can really say on the matter. I believe analog sounds better than digital in SOME situations and completely depends upon the device being used and how it is being used. For instance, I really like the sound of my quadraverb which is a digital device, but digital chorus effects and EQs sound pretty 'meh' to me.
I think digital CAN sound as good as analog, it just depends upon how its being used, what the device is, and how high of quality that device is. However... the human ear hears in analog and not digital, so to me, analog will ALWAYS have a slightly upper hand...
When it comes to passive vs. active eq now, its all personal preference really. After my MP-1 I have a graphic eq (which would be an active device) which I use to fine tailor my sound. I wouldn't ever use a graphic eq to majorly shape the sound of my MP-1, but just tweak it to my own personal preferences. For example, depending on the cab I'm using I'll either boost very slightly or cut a bit around the 250hz and 400hz frequency in order to help either clear up some mud, or bring some body back into the sound (if the cab is particularly thin sounding). I find boosting above around 4-6db in any frequency begins to sound a bit unnatural and overproduced, so I tend to cut unwanted frequencies instead of boosting good frequencies as cutting tends to typically sound more natural and 'real' versus boosting.
And yes, turn those MP-1s up! They were meant to be played loud and proud and won't sound as good as they should at low volumes! Crank it up to stage level and let your walls shake hahah!