So I asked AI what is the best EQ plugin:

 

Last edited: Feb 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM

Digital of course Pro-Q 4

my new analog-style eq favorite is FlavourMTC. the HF boost sounds amazing. much better than maag eq4 or luftikus.

 

Lots of stellar EQ plugins missing here (UAD Neve comes to mind, bx_console emulations, Waves Abbey Road, and also pretty much the entire PSP offering) but par for the course for an ai scouring basic music tech websites to come up with that list there.

If we're going to use ai, how about "best underrated _____?" (as in best underrated EQ, Reverb, Compressor plugins, etc), or better yet, "best blues lick, rock riff, jazz phrase, drum fill?

Why not put ai to actual good use, one wonders.

 

If only Claro could have dynamic mode...

 

My Favorite Analog style EQ plugin for a long time and still in my top ten DDMF 6144.. People really don't talk about this plugin, but for years it has been my go to NEVE style plugin. It Just works, it has this analog vibe to it that just works on 95 percent of my mixing needs. It hasn't been updated in years and frankly i don't think it needs to be changed.

 

what about top end bax, avalon, better maker, curve bender, sontec gml, weiss, algorithmix, massenburg eq for coloring sound and clean shelf=)

 

long time a go i saw a spreadsheet with list of plugins and their functionality on tracks .. I have been searching again with no luck, anyway the lists are very close to mine btw.

 

I'd put DDMF's SmallEQ up in a mix against the much-touted ProQ-X just to anger-up people's blood.
Sure, there's no dynamics to speak of, and it's a bit sparse visually, but it's a 10-band EQ; I can coax a solid mix out of half that.

 

Haha, I saw your post after I posted my DDMF push. XD
The 6144 is always overlooked. That was the first thing I grabbed from DDMF years back and I still use it often. I do dislike the way the volume/bypass is setup though, and I'm far from the only person who's complained about that, but other than that, it's solid as-is.

 

Sounds about right. A bit outdated maybe, but it makes sense.

That's like 10 differnet EQ's on that sentence alone. We did it lads, we taught AI choice paralysis.

 

My Music Goal for 2025: Murder AI by forcing it to experience the rampant thoughts and crippling emotions of an actual musician.

 

Favorite Paid: FabFilter Pro-Q 4

Favorite Free: Analog Obsession SSQ

 

tone shaping:

Blonde Premixer from Acustica. Its a really gritty broad strokes shaping eq. You cant even change the frequency, but it works wonders for, well, premixing.

Diamond from Acustica. just crazy good. Aggressive and punchy, in your face tonal shaping.

IndigoTS Eq, Acustica. I forget what this is sampled from, but its a beast. 3 bands + 1 air band, no frequency select or q, but its beautiful. Has built in saturation which can really elevate a track.

Jade, Acustica. A suite of EQ's, including the Kush Clariphonic and Maag eq 4. Best representation of either one of those hardware that i have, and i have them all. I USED to have both of the hardware, and jade does both of them justice.

Rust, Acustica - Motown EQ. Excellent tone shaping. Makes the UAD one sound like a Wal-Mart for children.

Kazrog True 252 - i dont see this one talked about very much. Its a great EQ. super easy to dial in and get a great sound.

pultec style:

Acustica Titanium - its just great. insane low end. Sampled from a tube tech PE-1C

TBT DV Tubeshelf - i dont like the low end, but the hi's are nice. Very musical and not too harsh

Bettermaker Passive EQ Plugin Alliance - Pultec with a twist. Really well done like the rest of the bettermaker stuff.

Tim P Nebula Pultec - BEAST.

Acustica Purple - Not used as much but there are a couple units in there that are gold.

Acustica Smoke - buttery and smooth low end. Musical and sparkly hi's

channel strip / classics :

P450 MDN EQ - Pulsar Modular. Really nice API Style EQ

Black and Brown SSL AI from AlexB Nebula / Acustica. These are both seriously insane. When paired with his SSL AI channel and buss, just really hard to beat.

Acustica Gold - Neve Suite, 6 different units sampled.


"Mastering":

Black Box HG-Q. Wow, what a beast!!

Acustica Cherry - Musical and buttery. Excellent EQ

Acustica Coral - Baxandall style EQ. Great for shaping your master

Acustica Green - really nice rendition of a classic. I used to have access to the actual EQ, and Acustica did a great job with this one.

Newfangled Eqivocate - this entire suite is top notch.

P440 EQ - Pulsar Modular - Weird freakin EQ, but it does a really good job when it works.

Sontec 432 - Make Believe - A great EQ. Surgical yet musical.

Plugin Alliance SPL Passeq and PQ - The UI is annoying but excellent for super surgical EQ work.

TDR Nova GE - Parallel dynamic EQ. One of my all time favorite plugins. TDR does not get enough love.

Vertigo Sound VSE-4. Really, really nice EQ with saturation. Great for coloring and bringing a dull track to life.


Workhorse, General Purpose:

FabFilter Pro Q 4 - Duh

TB Equalizer Pro - Wowwwww. This thing is priceless. So deep its almost TOO deep.

Smart EQ 4 - really quite the EQ. Great for balancing out your busses, or tracks that are conflicting. Also a great starting point EQ.

Goodhertz Tiltshift 3 - sometimes all you need is a simple tilt eq.

Goodherz Tone Control - Sometimes all you needs is a simple

EQulibrium - DMG. I mean, its DMG, cant really go wrong. If one of your other go to's is boring you, pull this one out.

P422 Fairuz - Pulsar Modular - really interesting EQ. Relatively simple, musical, unique enough to pull it out and use it.

Melda TurboEQ - Huge collection of vintage modeled EQ's. Great for rapidly trying out different curves.

TDR Nova GE - Again, its TDR. Some of the best plugins out there.

special:

Erin EQ Mid from Acustica. This thing is really hard to beat. Its a three band EQ focused on the midrange. Two boost and one cut band. Focused from 200 hz - 5k. Its a very musical and buttery eq, and really shapes those sometimes problematic mid ranges.

Split EQ - theres more options now, but this one is still great.

Wavesfactory - Equalizer. It doesnt always work, but when it does its magic.

IK Multimedia Pusher - technically not an EQ i guess. A sort of dynamic multiband saturator or something. But it can be used for tonal shaping dynamically, and can really bring something to life.

Wavesfactory Spectre - also technically not an EQ but i use it as one. Multiband parallel saturation. Really good for adding some nice oomph or uber lows, as well as sparkle.

TDR Arbiter - easily one of my most used from this entire list. Extremely transparent dynamic EQ. Incredible plugin.

scaler EQ - eq that sets bands to the key of your song. More interesting for sound design, but useful for mixing as well. You can remove all nasty frequencies of a sample that may be slightly dissonant with the rest of your song.

Mastering the mix Fuser - interesting little plugin. Does a great job at unmasking, and can help address phase issues.

Abberant DSP Tectonic - more of a hybrid OTT compressor / eQ thingy, but its great for tonal shaping.

 

Who understands the mechanisms of this technology (eq and ai) realizes that it's more like the people who write about the best eq's are a bit paralyzed.

 

Do you rate Jade as superior to Kush's own Clari vst?

 

I should lead by pointing out Jade is not a 1:1 representation of the clariphonic. Its a sort of hybrid, taking the silk and sheen bands if i remember correctly. That being said, i do think it executes that aspect better than kush's own. Kush's plugin is still a great plugin, i just find Jade to be more musical, less brittle. Added benefit of Jade is that its a suite of plugins. 3 different eq's, including the Maag, Kush, and a focurite red (i think), as well as a compressor, limiter, and a large collection of preamps. Acustica's comp's are not always the best, but i like the one in Jade. Downside of jade? the CPU usage.

they are all great plugins, but i would pick Jade over kush.

 

Default in Ableton

 

I mainly use the FL Studio eq2 or fab q4 but I am having a bad time trying to eq vocals.

do you recommend a specific eq for vocals?

 

Excuse me?

 

I use cubase's pop up eq with uads 1176 mostly