Source Audio EQ2 Ultrawave Multiband Processor

The Source Audio EQ2 Ultrawave Multiband Processor is a programmable EQ pedal from Source Audio, a combination graphic and parametric equalizer with ten fully adjustable frequency bands¹. Where a fixed graphic EQ gives you ten sliders at set frequencies, the EQ2 lets you move each band anywhere from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with up to +/-18 dB of boost or cut and adjustable bandwidth²¹. That makes it a tone-shaping tool that can act like a surgical parametric EQ, a graphic EQ, or both at once.

It is the follow-up to Source Audio's earlier Programmable EQ, adding stereo I/O, more presets and deeper routing options³. Guitar World's reviewer Trevor Curwen summed up the pedal as a stage-ready tone tool:

A programmable EQ with ten adjustable bands

The core of the EQ2 is its ten bands. In its 10-Band Graphic Equalizer mode, the bands are set at fixed frequencies ranging from 31 Hz to 16 kHz with 18 dB of boost or cut, which works like a traditional graphic EQ for broad tone shaping². In Full Parametric Control mode, each band can be moved anywhere up or down the frequency spectrum, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz². Each band also has adjustable bandwidth, with adjustments up to 10 times more narrow than the default, so a band can be a broad shelf or a tight notch for pulling out a problem frequency⁶.

For a player, that range of adjustment means the EQ2 can cover jobs a fixed graphic EQ cannot: notching out feedback on an acoustic rig, taming a boomy room, or boosting a narrow slice of midrange for a lead sound. MusicRadar's review described it simply as "a 10-band EQ offering heaps of control over your sound"⁵.

The pedal is also a stereo device. Its routing options include mono to stereo, stereo to stereo, and a Split Mode that splits the signal and simultaneously runs two discrete EQ presets, one for each stereo output³. Used with the Source Audio Editor software's routing options, Split Mode lets you treat the two outputs as separate EQ channels, for example running one EQ curve to a guitar amp and a different one to a bass rig or a second amp²³.

The controls

The front panel is deliberately minimal. Besides a small Output level knob, there is a rotary encoder knob with push and turn actions, a Select button, a control input switch and a Bypass footswitch¹⁵.

Guitar World's reviewer found the encoder approach works well in practice, noting that it "works extremely well to quickly dial in an EQ curve on the fly"¹. The 1/8" control input jack connects with the Source Audio Tap Switch for channel swapping, preset scrolling, tuner access and parameter changes³.

The pedal has four presets instantly at hand, scrolled through via the front-panel Select button, although all 128 of them can be recalled directly from the pedal by turning the encoder while holding the Preset Select button²¹. In Preset Extension Mode, eight presets are available onboard². MIDI control provides access to the full 128 presets⁷.

Announcement and release

The EQ2 was presented at NAMM 2020⁶. At the announcement, Source Audio expected to ship the pedal in March 2020⁹.

The release followed in May 2020, when Source Audio began shipping the EQ2 to retailers at that $269 street price⁴. GuitarPlayer reported it available for $269 at launch, with ten frequency bands, 128 MIDI-accessible presets and an onboard tuner¹⁰².

On pricing since launch, the sources differ slightly: Guitar World's review lists the pedal at $265, while Source Audio's own product page (October 2026) shows a sale price of $289²¹.

What reviewers said

Guitar World's review highlighted the pedal's depth of control and its stage practicality, with the verdict quoted above that its "highly detailed sound sculpting makes this a consummate stage tool"¹. MusicRadar credited it with "heaps of control over your sound"⁵. In Guitar World's later roundup of the best EQ pedals, the EQ2 is listed alongside the Boss EQ-200, with the same ten bands and stereo in and out, but with the caveat that it requires an app to reach its full capability⁸.

Questions