Sensitive info none of them even verify. email account for spam + junk info. No payment method required? No problem.

 

Kinda lame anyways, innit?

 

Kinda weird thought, because we're talking about two fully digital plugins with zero non-linearities and completely matched curves. Which is the reason why the free, open-source plugin I posted above works just as great as any of these two EQs.

 

Ahaha, this is almost the same plugin as this old and free one: https://lkjbdsp.wordpress.com/luftikus/

They changed "640 Hz" to "650 Hz", renamed "High Boost" to "Sky Gain", added additional frequencies to the latter and removed useful knobs in the bottom.

What's a shame! They even sound identical.

 

Yeah that’s what I was wondering. Since I’m not gonna install it, is this actually a Maag plugin or just Antelope’s version of the EQ4? Looks like it’s modeled after the real thing but not officially licensed or anything.

The “Sky Band” kinda gives it away, the real Maag EQ4 has the famous Air Band, which is what makes it special. That’s probably why the PA version sounds more open up top; the Air Band boost goes way up there and adds that nice sparkle everyone talks about. Some people swear by the hardware version it emulates but the dual channel version is like 2000 bucks.

If you’re going for that “air trick” on vocals, the PA version’s the one you want. The Antelope has a bit more low end, but the PA EQ4 nails that open, sparkly top end. I only use it on vocals anyway, kinda like the natural sparkle you get from UA converters that vocalists like but don't know why..top end sheen or whatever. If you really want more than just the air band, I will sometimes use their Magnum-K plugin. Another one that does a similar effect is the Eiosis Air EQ, but that is Slate, and so iLok also. But already witched a few years ago.

Intrusive protection, i don't care about iLok either. If you have the Maag PA version, this thing is going to end up just hard disk space waster.

 

i don't have a phone and phone number ...

 

There are too many steps for a simple installation. If it's not ‘Press - Install - Ready’, then I'm not interested, and I won't even tell them my dog's name.

 

Yeah, good old Luftikum ;)

 

Good post!

Making it easy peasy because it's a freebie...https://www.kvraudio.com/product/luftikus-by-lkjb

 

This is a brilliant plugin

 

Slightly different the the Plugin Alliance version. More options along with previous mention sonic quality.

 

Anyone had any issues getting the plugin?

I created an account, linked my iLok account, the license went in there ok, installed Launcher, it asked me to sign in, used the credentials i signed up with, but they didn't work. Tried to login to the website, credentials didn't work. The username and password is correct. I did get a message when trying to sign in saying i needed to verify my account, but no verification email came through, not in junk. Tried to reset the password, nothing came though. Contacted support, waited a week no reply. Tried live chat, no reply, tried whatsapp no reply, even though they claim to respond promptly. So, I tried to create another account from a different location with a new email address, and exactly the same thing, no verification, can't login to the account. The initial signing works when creating the account but after that it will lock you out, send no verification, no password r4eset email, not thing and zero support.

I can see the license in my iLok but cant use it because your credentials wont work after the initial login to the online account if you don't verify, which they dont send, and dont respond to support in any fashion. So I can't get onto the launcher to download it even though i have a license in my iLok, because they're not sending verification emails, which stops you from logging into the Launder, or their online portal. They're a complete shambles! Those that have it installed got lucky. I'm not sure if the Launcher downloads a .exe or just installs from the Launcher like UAD native? If it downloads a .exe then I might be able to get past their BS?

 

This is usually where (actually long after) I normally will declare this plugin is not something I want to bother with. For me that happened when I noticed an additional program to download just for one plugin I already have. If it is like this today, imagine what it will be like in a year when it is in one of your projects you want to re-open. The real Maag EQ4 is the one everyone will return to anyway.

 

Yeah, you're probably right, if the hoops are too many then it's probably best to leave it. It's just frustrating because they're using it as a marketing tool but making it impossible to get it. cheers

 

The free MG4+ is really good!

If you don’t want to install iLok or the Antelope Launcher, stop reading now!

I already had both installed anyway — iLok because of a few UAD and Expressive E plugins, and the Launcher because of my audio interface: the Antelope Orion Synergy Core.

This little story is mainly about the MG4+ EQ, which is free for the last day today, but along the way I’ll also tell you how I’m liking the audio interface and its real-time plugins. I originally bought the Orion because of its huge amount of connections, the supposed audio quality, the incredibly low latency, and the real-time plugins. None of that has disappointed me — on the contrary. I did run into two major caveats, one of which has since been solved, and the other… actually turned out to be less of an issue than I first thought.

The first caveat was the quality/compatibility of the driver software (Thunderbolt 3) and the ecosystem (launcher, control panel, networking) at the beginning. This was a few years ago: lots of updates, mediocre hardware recognition, so yes, some frustration. And the low latency couldn’t be used with the AFX2 software, which is supposed to let you run the real-time plugins as VST/AU inside your DAW. That made it unsuitable for me because my music always starts in real time.

The plugins loaded directly into the Orion’s FPGA/DSP are real-time, and they generally sound very good. The “tricky” part is that you need to adapt your workflow so you use those plugins inside Antelope’s mixer/control panel, from where you can route them into your DAW. It’s a bit cumbersome, but it makes sense — you can’t just run DSP-based plugins as VSTs inside your DAW without introducing latency penalties.

A few plugins have become staples for me: Stay-Levin, the BBD delay, EQs, and a few others. These days the software is rock solid and the early teething issues have been resolved. One thing worth mentioning is how incredibly difficult it is for manufacturers to keep high-end audio-over-Thunderbolt hardware stable, and Apple’s constant “updates” play a big role in that. Many hardware makers struggled to keep their devices compatible, and for a lot of them it only worked after several months — or not at all.

Now that the native plugins (the versions you can load directly in your DAW without any Antelope hardware) are sold separately without a subscription, you can easily compare the MG4+ with the Maag VST version of the EQ. That’s when you realize how good the Antelope version actually is — at least, for me. I don’t know the original hardware unit both EQs are based on, but I can use the MG4+ almost everywhere, especially thanks to the Air Band with continuously variable frequency. The other bands also seem much more effective than those on the Maag version.

To my ears, the sound and usability of the MG4+ is much better than the Maag version. Of course, if you’re curious, you should try it yourself — I can claim anything I want, but hearing is believing.

(I wrote this in Dutch, CGPT did a translation)

 

its just an EQ, learn to use Parametric EQ ffs there is no magic EQ

 

While an equalizer may appear to be defined only by frequency, Q-factor, and gain, an EQ is never “just an EQ” under the hood. Its implementation—filter topology (biquad, state-variable, FIR/IIR), phase behavior (minimum-, linear- or mixed-phase), oversampling, rounding and quantization artifacts, and any non-linear or saturation modeling—all influence how it behaves and sounds. Over the decades, so many EQs have been designed, both analog and digital, that many of them ended up with a distinct character, sometimes unintentionally, which made them particularly suitable for certain tasks or musical styles. Still, none of this matters unless your ears can actually perceive the difference: some listeners are very sensitive to phase shifts or subtle harmonic traits, others aren’t—and that’s perfectly fine. If you don’t hear a difference in practice, then for you there is no difference, and any EQ that gets the job done is the right one.