the importance of a good EQ

[jrisreal]

What are some suggestions of some plug-ins?

fabfilter pro-q. it's love. not free but worth the money.

I am currently in love with ReaEQ ... freeware and its perfect for me.

[Redderious]

What are some suggestions of some plug-ins?

fabfilter pro-q. it's love. not free but worth the money.

I am currently in love with ReaEQ ... freeware and its perfect for me.

Thanks!

[flatfaced]

read the features - sometimes it says linear EQ or mastering EQ
the other thing is that you could twist the graphic however you want and it doesnt behave unpredictable...

for non-linear - yes it isnt a big thing when you're using it on a single sound - but try it on a whole track - make a bandpass or low/hicut and watch - sometimes your meter goes red without boostin...

look at what happens when you cut/boost at particular points with REQ :

http://fader8.com/audioblog/waves%20ren ... %20eq.html

for example 100Hz cutoff with various Q settings from min to max :


the first graphic shows it perfectly - you're cuttin but the phase gets distorted and goes up and boosts the peaks of your lowend

[gen_]

Im sure distortion isn't audible in all sounds? Or is it?'

I really appreciate the knowledge.
I guess what i'm really trying to find out is, how can I tell if an EQ is linear/non linear?

A non-linear eq is one that tries to dress up the sound whilst EQing with saturation and black magic . Most of them (like most basic effects on the market) will try and say it sounds like xy vintage eq. Some, like waves REQ and Logics channel eq sound pretty good to my ears.

The problem is the sales dudes saying its adding warmth and color is like a salesman telling you theliving room in your new flat is cosy. Technically he means small and technically your color is distortion.

[macc]

EQ works specifically BECAUSE it changes phase. That's how and why it works. To say eq is bad because it causes phase distortion is like saying coffee is bad because it perks you up - usually that's exactly why you have it.

All processing has a trade off, linear phase eq included. Learn what the pros/cons are and make sure you can HEAR THEM - don't do something because a forum said you should - then use as appropriate.

And for more real-world practical peeps, get an eq that you like using and stick with it. Get good with that eq and your ears will follow along, then eventually you may outgrow it and find one you like better. Like any instrument, being comfortable with it helps you to play it better, until you outgrow it and upgrade to something that raises your 'ceiling'.

[macc]

A non-linear eq is one that tries to dress up the sound whilst EQing with saturation and black magic .

A nice post. Technically you're on the money, but that's not the non-linear people are talking about in this thread though, they mean in terms of phase, most usually the correct term is minimum phase eq (not non-linear). Basically you're talking y-axis and everyone else is talking x-axis

Just trying to clear things up loike

[paravrais]

After using Ableton for about a year I decided that the EQ was letting me down and that my mixdowns could improve if I purchased a more high-end one. I demo-ed quite a few and particularly liked fabfilter-q but I found in the end that having your EQ integrate the way EQ8 does in Ableton is worth not having a spectrum analyser etc etc.

Also I found fabfilter have a particular 'sound' to their products. The highs cut really ultra smooth and whilst this tends to sound really nice it made me think there was some definite colouring of the sound going on there. I'll take my harsh, abrasive, unforgiving EQ8 any day of the week

(for what it's worth if you want a badman EQ and can't afford fabfilter-q get this http://www.apulsoft.ch/apqualizr/)

[flatfaced]

macc as youre here could you tell me what is that preringin that everyone's talkin about in linear phase ?

as I said i've just tried to boost a linear phase all the way to the top on single sound and i really cant hear something destructively bad

[Redderious]

Well its been proven in other forums that most of live's built in plugins are pretty low quality. (pretty much everything imo except operator, 3 and the other new synths) Just try playing something out of simpler compared to playing it just dragged and dropped into an audio track. I can't find it now but there's one that even goes on to suggest that EQ8 doesn't actually do what you tell it to with your top end. That was enough for me, I didn't like the colour it gave when I used it anyway.

Grab yourself a digital EQ (try here http://www.aixcoustic.com/index.php?id=3 and set the EQ to digital) and compare them.

REALLY???? is this true?? This comes as a huge shock to me. Im going to have to try some experiments to see this for myself, going to be lookin into alotttt of vsts over the next couple of days.

That EQ looks pretty sick, i wish i could try it but im running a OSX. If you know any PC/MAC programs that are worth trying you should send me another link! I suppose i'll start the search though the vast realms of the internet for the perfect EQ now...

[hifi]

fabfilter pro q

[nowaysj]

Macc, if we haven't lost you yet, have you listened to this:

http://dmgaudio.com/index.php?_view=products.product.0


I've heard a lot of hype about it.


Quote on their website:

This is the best mix EQ ever built - test the claim.

[Sparxy]

I still use EQ8. I'm fully aware of its faults but its just... easy innit. One day I might get a mac and give Logic a go, but until then im sticking with Ableton.

For linear EQ I quite like Voxengo Marvel GEQ - its free and it sounds great http://www.voxengo.com/product/marvelgeq/
Have got absolutely no complaints about that. I tend to use it where EQ8 simply won't do - on more finite EQing for example where there isn't much space in the mix

[Genevieve]

I'm with the Pro-Q crew on this one. FabFilter products are great in general. The discounts are awesome.

[safeandsound]

There are numerous great eq offerings available as said someone mentions Pro-Q, a good starting place.
Try some demo's it will not be long till you find something your like.

Cubase and Logic have 1/2 decent standard eq's for mixing as well, not so up on Live /Reason EQ's .

cheers

[flatfaced]

that Electri-Q introduces huge amount of latency on the channel - i didn't know that the program compensates even if the plug is turned off...

yeah i know the pro-q and gliss, waves SSL, sonalksis's, pultroniq, sonnox's are great but "welcome to the real world"
i didnt know there is a big difference but after a week tweakin basses i could clearly hear that massive's better than eq8...

[Karoshi]

fl's parametric eq2 ftw!

[flatfaced]

fl's parametric eq2 ftw!

is it solid ?

[paradigm_x]

for colour, get the bootsy VSTs. Or a UAD...

[symmetricalsounds]

Well its been proven in other forums that most of live's built in plugins are pretty low quality. (pretty much everything imo except operator, 3 and the other new synths) Just try playing something out of simpler compared to playing it just dragged and dropped into an audio track. I can't find it now but there's one that even goes on to suggest that EQ8 doesn't actually do what you tell it to with your top end. That was enough for me, I didn't like the colour it gave when I used it anyway.

Grab yourself a digital EQ (try here http://www.aixcoustic.com/index.php?id=3 and set the EQ to digital) and compare them.

bit of bollocks in this statement, the difference you hear between dropping something into simpler and then straight into an audio track is simply a volume difference.

live's built in plugs are generally pretty decent, eq8 isn't amazing but it can be useful. good quick tool for some m/s eqing, if you want a REALLY good eq then go for dmg audio equality.

[flatfaced]

bit of bollocks in this statement, the difference you hear between dropping something into simpler and then straight into an audio track is simply a volume difference.

live's built in plugs are generally pretty decent, eq8 isn't amazing but it can be useful. good quick tool for some m/s eqing, if you want a REALLY good eq then go for dmg audio equality.

man the filters of the sampler are not great