Hello,

By the stroke of sheer luck, I recently discovered D16’s new Pultec emulation, and to my surprise, I found it to outperform both Softube’s and Overloud’s EQs (in my personal opinion). Having tried dozens of analog based different EQ plugins, I didn’t expect to find one that stood out so much.

I’ve noticed that many users on the sister site mention having dozens of Pultec emulations from various vendors. I’m interested in exploring more of these, as the Pultec-style EQ is quite popular and offers a unique sound. I’m certain that UAD also offers a Pultec emulation, but since it’s not available on the sister site, there’s no way for me to try it out.

For reference, the D16 R2R release was also missing from the sister site, and although I generally don’t trust other sources, I had to obtain it elsewhere. This isn’t an isolated case—there are quite a few releases missing from the sister site—but that’s not the main focus of this discussion.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't personally think there's a lot to be earned from a discussion like this, because just like the LA-2A, two Pultecs won't sound exactly the same... It's really a matter of taste. Instead, I would rather have the following mindset: which Pultec emulation is the most reliable and goes beyond what the hardware can offer? In this case, it wasn't the D16 for me. My go-to is still the Overloud.

Edit: worth noting that there were several accusations about the D16 being a fully clean EQ with no non-linearities. Many people tested and said it nulls with a digital EQ (like the recent Kazrog Avalon EQs). If you fooled yourself in thinking the D16 is "more analog" than the others, it might be time to rethink everything. In my opinion, if you like it being clean, then you already got the perfect Pultec. You should always stick to what you like.

 

Last edited: Aug 3, 2025

Nomad Factory - Pulse-Tec EQs v2
- Emulation of the Legendary PULTEC EQs

www.nomadfactory.com/products/p402-Pulse-Tec-EQs-v2

Is included here:
Nomad Factory Retro EQs Bundle 2.1.0-TeamCubeadooby
or
Nomad Factory Retro EQs Bundle v2.0.1 Incl Patched and Keygen-R2R

 

That's when you don't read the thread.

 

Love D16 but it really depends on your metrics I guess bc that it's a completely clean digital EQ, curves only... Nothing wrong with that perse, but in terms of Pultec "emulation" there is clearly more going on than just that.

 

This is not a direct Pultec emulation, but an emulation of a Pultec clone by Bettermaker/Plugin Alliance. Here are the things I love about it:

1. Frequency Flexibility: While 99% of people using a Pultec boost and cut at the same frequency, this plugin gives you the option to dial in a different frequency for the low band. It's great to have that fine-tuning capability you never thought you need, well until you try it.

2. Band Audition/Solo: It's unusual to have a band audition or solo feature on a Pultec, but it's incredibly helpful. When you combine it with the option to select different frequencies for the boost and cut, it makes it much easier to dial in the right dip (usually between 200 and 500 Hz) when EQing the low end. I find this especially useful for bass instruments.

3. Customizable Analyzer: Many analog emulation plugins now include an analyzer to give users a visual aid, but this one stands out. You can adjust the analyzer's resolution and slope to your liking. I find this really useful because different elements in a mix require you to see different kinds of detail on the analyzer. I have my Pro Q4 analyzer dialed to a certain settings so it's good to have some consistency with the analyzer.

4. HEAT Mode: The HEAT mode does two things. First, it internally boosts the input to get more saturation. Second, when you boost the high band, it decreases the bass. I'm not sure if this is a good thing in all cases, but it's helped me get better results. For one, it prevents me from EQ things to smiley curve EQ (it's removing midrange) too early in the mixing stage, which can really hurt me in the later stage.

 

My personal favorite pultec's are Acustica's Purple suite, there's 3 Pultecs, 2 mid band units, and a "mastering" grade. Plus a filter unit and a preamp suite. When i say Pultecs, i mean they sampled Pultec style eqs, either actual Pultecs, or clones of them. Nebula also has an excellent option, which is Tim P's Dual Tech and Tube Mid-Range.

Aside from Acustica, i also love the Bettermaker one Stevie posted. Its great.

You can try UAD's pultec by running a demo from them btw.

 

I would have to agree with @Stevie Dude, was very surprised when Bettermaker/Plugin Alliance came out with this Pultec clone, as their pervious plugin (Edit: EQ232D) had the worst GUI you could ever dream up, there is no use having a great sounding plugin when the GUI is shit and difficult use. But what a turn around, since that one bad start, their newer plugins have have been knocking it out of the park, great sound, flexible, clear and fully resizable GUI and great price if you already own one. I highly recommend anyone gives them a shot.

 

Last edited: Aug 3, 2025

There was a gret thread on AS about WHY emulations are limited to the original design.
And i could say the same about ANY old hardware emulation ... including guitar amps.
Especially when you know there is a design flaw needing to be fixed.

In the guitar domain, guitarists know a dual rectifier is going to be flabby in the bass domain when you raise the gain ... so WHY not making a simple switch to cut the bass before preamp on the emulation ?
There are countless digital sims ... and NO ONE ever made a f*k*n tight/bass cut switch. Yes ... a simple low cut.
On my side, i solved the problem by HATING dual rectifier (real and sims) and getting 5150/6505.
Because buying a 100 bucks pedal to make a several thousands amps "work" is a joke.
Problem solved

A simple funny question : WHY only "outsiders" amps makers put a parametric EQ on their amps ? (Randall, Krank, Blackstar ...) and NOT Marshall, Fender, Mesa ... ?
Because instead of selling several amps with different voicing, they could have sold only one
Yes, we can get much more voicing choice with a simple "sweep", ISF ... pot with a fixed Q.
Not good if you want to make 5 amps with different voicing ...

BUT on the other side, some ppl LOVE limitations. Less choice to make, the usual "it always worked like this" ...
And devs love it too : they can sell several plugins instead of ONE.

I solved this problem by using separate EQ AND saturation after it.
So i can choose whatever curve i want AND whatever saturation i want.
And trust me ... it greatly reduce plugins number
Problem solved (again)
No more "need" for 10 different EQs.

 

Bruh, D16 really missed the mark with their pultec emulation if there are no non-linearities. Like bruh, what were they thinking? Don't get me wrong, I love D16 and have bought many of their plug-ins but that juicy warmth is part of the revered Pultec sound... That said I like Acustica Audio Purple myself, might be bit of cpu hog tho

 

Really like the Apogee models. i am yet to hear the Mixwave model or the D16 one. UAD adds weird whips to transients that come up through mastering because of their oversampling solution, the Kiive one sounds blurred somehow, years since i tried the IK Multimedia one, but i remember it being odd, generally do not like Overlouds modelling so didn't bother to try their model either, Red Rocks would be my second current favourite after the Apogee, but i generally divert to the Apogee for most things

 

I am de-railing the thread bit here sorry but I am interested to hear more about this UAD oversampling thing, does it affect also their other plug-ins? I don't have their Pultec emu but many other plug-ins. I'm not sure they updated their Pultecs like some for their other plug-ins so maybe it is based on old code and the newer ones have better oversampling?

 

It only seems to be an issue with the Pultec. probably older modelling and oversampling solution, yeah. i have the Massive Passive in a stereo bus template and i haven't heard the same issue with that or the Hitsville EQ.