Well, there's a lot in play there. First: what "sounding good" or "better" means? Second: in what context? And third: how did you measure that? Bias is a quiet mess, take care to properly AB and analyze your plugins if you don't already, that will help you answer a lot of questions in the long run.

Anyways, if that works for you, awesome! I personally either go for Pro-Q 3, Spectre or SieQ

 

Last edited: Jul 15, 2024

Usually you can find AIR in most streaming platforms, Music stores, etc.

 

Blyss by Kush also has a high shelf at 28k or something, which I suspect is for air.

All these invisible boosts above nyquist are cool and all, but the real way to create air is by leaving open spaces in your mix that you fill with carefully tweaked reverbs, delays etc. Mix you low and mid registers well, then let your instruments/voices resonate in the high register => cool breeze.

This, of course, is an oversimplification and I don't know how to mix. I once used OTT on Motown style bass just to have HF presence. Don't listen to me.

 

I'm not a fan of on-trick ponies that don't do anything special.
When I want air, I just use Sonnox Claro or - if I want harmonics - PSP E27.

 

Try PSP E27 guys

 

When you compare high shelves aka "air", you need to take two aspects into consideration.

Firstly, different slope:

Spoiler: TDR Nova 5k vs 15k

As you can imagine, these will sound audibly different.

Secondly, added harmonics:

Spoiler: Blyss before high shelf

Spoiler: Blyss after high shelf at 28k

As you can see the harmonics are boosted way more than the freq range.

Spoiler: Spectre Solid

Spoiler: Spectre Diode

This again will result in an audibly different sound.

The problem is, you can't predict which one sounds better to your ears on which source - unless you have a bunch of experience with exactly these. And the more options you have, the more difficult this becomes.

 

This air-band effect is one of the main selling features of the Maag EQ-4 500 Series 6 band EQ. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EQ4-500--maag-audio-eq4. The Maag EQ4 plugin gui is identical, just horizontal. The "Air band" setting can be set from 2.5K to 40K values. Isn't it a parallel eq? Otherwise that would be awful and wouldn't be there.

 

Dolby 361A, or the software version of it (AudioThing Type-A or Overloud Gem Dopamine). There's also Mäag EQ4 with the wide bell at 40k or 20k, but it's "just" an EQ to increase the frequencies above 10kHz (air band).

 

maybe you know already but i got good memorys of this : Acustica Audio D361A Special Edition v1.3.609
--

others said its a shelf but i highly supect that you are right

 

I stay away from Acoustica Audio and other bloat. But that's just me. But thanks for the additional suggestion, if I run low on air EQs and air compressors/saturators. ;)

Ah, crap. I confused Mäag EQ with Pultec, which uses bell EQ for the "air band". EQ4 uses shelving, as you said.

 

Assuming the filters are decramped or oversampled, does it make a difference if it's a bell or shelf?

 

I recall using this somewhere else. From what I remember it was great results.

 

It might, but it isn't a bell. We're talking about the Same Maag EQ4 plugin, right?

https://files.plugin-alliance.com/products/maag_eq4/maag_eq4_manual.pdf

 

Modelled on the hardware Avedis E27, which is excellent.

 

As I corrected myself: it's a shelf. The Pultec EQ uses a bell.

 

As others have mentioned the Dolby shit, shout out to u-he's Satin with its several compander algorithms and shit, including the Dolby shit, which can add some really nice air shit and shit.

 

doesnt have a pultec have scoops in the curve ,maybe that why the high boost resonate well ?

 

Many people like to boost to 15k but don't know how to tame it. shhhhh.... sounds amateurish to me