Different EQs for different tasks, for clean corrective EQ into a channel the DAW stock EQs are fine (Protools & Logic for me currently) or Pro Q.X does a decent job especially in min-phase mode. I like API emulations though I haven't really found one that does the same thing as a real 500A/B or 5500 I have the UAD ones and the new Lindell Channel ones. I like Harrison hardware EQs but so far haven't found anything that actually sounds like them in. I like Toneboosters EQ4 it is very well thought out and easy for me to use quickly and I appreciate the discrete control it has over it's built in D-EQ functions and it sounds good in it's HQ settings.

I like PSP Eqs especially the E27 which comes close enough to 500 series Avedis Audio E-27 for hand-grenades but not for horse shoes.

As far as GUI is concerned I like things that speed up workflow and decision making. I prefer modern clean GUIs over things that look like hardware for ergonomic reasons. I hate small fiddly knobs and switches that are hard to click. Might be okay for some people but if the Parkinsons is acting up something that easy to grab and move with an unsteady hand is much better than something that looks like rack gear but I can't actually get a hand on it. I also like plugins that let me enter values and allow me to tab between parameters for the same reason, not cause I can't use my ears, but because if your hands are shaking it's sometimes infuriatingly difficult to even get within 1dB of where you want to be - fuck plugins that force me to use shift and then don't even drop down in value enough for me to even get close to where I want to be.

It's rare outside of percussive high transient instruments though that I prefer an emu over a clean digital EQ and although I prefer physical hardware equalizer for tracking or entire mix post I tend to prefer digital of mixing & mux work.

 

Oh that reminded me that I use EQuilibrium & TBProAudio DSEQ2 also. But are they supposed to be emulations?

 

It can scale. It sounds best when used for it's shelving functions, the bells don't narrow that much even with high +/-, it is good EQ to push hard as you can trim it if you have the dexterity. So use it the same way you would use a Clariphonic, just more control over bands and more of them. For me it's too fiddly but it sounds nice.

 

EQuilibrium - yes and no.
DSEQ - emulates a SOOTHE! hahahahha. and done a good job about it

 

EQuilibrium is brilliant, on the heavier CPU side for me but still amazing nonetheless. Really does sound like as pristine to me as he describes. But I thought it was it's own creation that wasn't trying to emulate a real hardware unit in the real world.

Sooth & DSEQ2 are both phenomenal tools I admit. They do what they do & they do it well but those are also their own creation I think. All are absolutely useful though, no doubt about that.

 

Yes, H-EQ got something unique going on,
if you A/B it on a Master Bus/Mastering session you'll see what I mean.

However being of a "past generation",
it might be more of a middle term thing between Digital/Analog..

As far as analog realism goes it's probably not comparable to more modern/advanced stuff,
like the Nebula, Brainworks, Softube kind of stuff. Or even the usual SSL EQs..

But I can tell you it's not too bad, and I actually prefer it to some of those,
like for instance the Lindell stuff, which I find too exaggeratedly colored for my taste.

However, mind you I'm not a regular user of this kind of analog/emulated EQs,
I only use DMG EQuilibrium, Fabilter ProQ, Redline EQ and Sonnox Oxford.

Goal being Cleanness/Transparency or a Natural sound.

But yeah by all means, it's more than worth a try

(As is Elysia Museq, if you want something much more Subtle/Clean, yet Organic/Warm and Musical,
and yes the GUI/controls are strange/cramped, but if you dial the thing and A/B it on the Master Bus, you'll see what I mean)

 

About the API 550B emulations, I like it for guitars, I sometimes use a digital eq first (Pro-Q and MAAT thEQblue) and try to use the proportional bell style boost but it seems different and rarely get what I want from it. What is really the different with the APIs EQ ? I like the Waves 550b and been using it for as long as I can remember and it does the job, it stays. E-27 is my another go-to. It's has stronger response IMO but tonal shaping possibility is wider plus all that transformer saturation for extra umph. But I don't like it for transient heavy stuff.

yeah GUI is important for me, I want it to look pretty! doesn't matter if it doesn't look the same as hardware. I like the Pulsar MU because of its beautiful GUI and added features. It's a good thing they didn't have the full license to make exactly like the Manley.

hate small fiddly knobs, and always expect to double click and enter the amount manually. wondering why some developer don't want to add that simple feature.

 

One more thing about the labeling in Clariphonic, do you like it that way, with all the Kush-ish kind of naming Sheen, Silk, Shimmer etc (Their FATSO hardware does this as well). Do you like it to be mysterious (although we got pretty good idea the center frequencies, and they are mostly shelves) like that ? or it is better to put a numerical values to it like a standard EQ ? I personally like it as is, character!

 

Same. I kind of do like it when they name it as is and I like the newer trend of plugins hiding what it is under the hood because the results should only matter anyways.

For example, the NeuralDSP plugins aren't obvious what they are even if you listen intensively so you have to go look up what it is because you just can't tell off the bat since their UI hides it. That's both fun & annoying at the same time.

Because the OCD in me wants to know the brand it was modeled after but the ears on my head can't be fooled either way because they will choose what they choose no matter the model based purely only on sound.

 

Just a last word about H-EQ..

If had to describe it, I would say it has a Tight and Energic sound,
it makes things more Forward sounding.
(that's what's unique about it)

And it's quite balanced in terms of Cleanness and Coloration,
it manages to somehow do both things, being Precise as a Digital EQ, but adding a certain flavor..

It's probably not for all styles of music tho, even if precise, I wouldn't put an Orchestral track through it..
But if you're working on more modern styles, like Electronica, Metal, VGM, or any style that needs to be Energic/Forward sounding..
It may very well be on the ballpark.

 

Welp, looks like I will have to start using my H-EQ. I use H-Delay but not H-EQ. Da fucks wrong with me?

 

Mike Dean's favorite EQ…

 

Because there's a rather complex routing going on in the background in Calriphonic. It's doing parallel EQ.

 

In the physical world for most mixing tasks a 550A will be more than enough, you can push the boosts and cut by quite a bit and it never sounds nasty. I'm kind of meh on the waves version, it a little brighter than it needs to be and can get quite piercing if pushed hard to with large moves.

The transistors and filters in the physical ones do cause a slight brightness when pushed because of addition harmonics but it's always nice and it rich. The hardware also fudges transients but in a nice way where the initial bottom of the transient is nice and clean and it just gets rounded off as the voltage causes the cap to become non-linear, not as quickly or as extreme as tape transients but it sounds punchy and the slope added by the caps isn't in the range that it's audible so even on transient heavy material the 550A helps to get you in a pocket without being a cudgel and it can take a lot of fast heat without ever getting ringy or fuzzy like a say a 1073.

The ones I use are UAD API 550a, 560, API Vision Channel Strip, Logic's Vintage 560, PSP preQursor2, Overcloud EQ550 and now I am toying with the Lindell 50 series it is going to be a while before I rely on it as much as the other because I have to get used to it's particular nuances but it's a process. They all tend to exaggerate the amount of color added which can be nice sometimes but also very frustrating when things get thick and they sometimes require a bit of correction from a digital or are just not serviceable.

v.s. the real deal the plugins just do too much to stand out from each other, it could be because particular item they are modeled after was that way or maybe that's what people want in plugin land. It certainly has it's uses sometimes.

 

i like the IK Multimedia EQual i think it's a bit underrated, it has Pultec, SSL and API filters that sounds nice and is very flexible at the same time. the downside is that it doesn't have an output gain, i hope they fix that soon.

 

It does borrow the EQ curve from some of the famous EQ unit out there. I think what they are trying to offer is those curves with pristine cleanliness you can expect from the a digital EQ. At its full potential, IMO it is always better than Pro-Q3 if used correctly, but me personally, I don't quite understand yet about the impulses options plus some other complex stuff in it. That turns out to be its main weakness as well I guess, to harness the true power of the EQ, it's not an easy job, and surely not as quick as Pro-Q3.

yeah, i prefer the DSEQ2 and must say Sooth is a little overrated, not that it's not good, but from the reviews it was described as something you will use on every track.

 

Do you think a good EQ emulation should be something like this ? with wide range of possibility and character to choose from plus the visual spectrum view. I mean, a collection of EQs combined and represented in a more modern approaches but still have all the mojo you'd expect from a hardware unit and also with one, two switches you can turn all that off and go full digital but with the modeled EQ curves.

Edit : probably not gonna happen with UAD, Softube etc because it would be bad for business.

 

Last edited: Mar 7, 2021

Oh cool, I love both EQ's from DMG & Fabfilter alike.

I actually like them both, I think that DSEQ2 might respond faster but Soothe covers more frequency space so DSEQ2 is probably better on single mixer channels & Soothe might be better for busses or masters. I personally like Sooth more but I have a place for both dynamic EQ's in my toolbox.

 

I understand that 550A doesn't have the famous API proportional bell, only the 550B if im not mistaken (correct me if i'm wrong). Lol, i'm aware of the bad reviews for Waves ones, but like I said earlier, it works for me and it stays. It is one of the oldest APIs EQ plugin out there, outdated code already.

This is new to me, thanks.

 

yeah agree about that one. also I like the Softube American Class A for API. I don't know if that is really a sound of an API console but it is surely punchy af if used within a full mix. I've replaced the Slates VMR (picked API console EMU) in my old project and compared to the American Class A, and it surprises me. My favorite for the last 2 months. I like it more than the Lindell, but I haven't spent that much time with the Lindell because I heard there's a bug or something, setting is lost upon loading the project.

Must add, I like the class A because of it has some sort of transient designer and Drive. Should pay more attention to the EQ after this.

 

Last edited: Mar 7, 2021