I have never been clear on the difference between the two, do you just mean the more simplified eq common in guitar amps and the like? If so why not, I am sure it would find its uses in recording. There is no reason that I can see that it could not implimented into a mic pre successfully, it would just come down to if you like the sound or not. Why not stick a transformer on the input of a guitar preamp and see how it sounds, or just add some in on an existing eq lacking pre. Simple enough to try out. That is this is what you mean by tone control vs EQ.
adam