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New computer, new me. I've been a loyal user of native DAW plugins for my bread and butter tasks but now I'm on the hunt for a third party, go to EQ and Compressor.

Please name your favourite EQ plugin and favourite Compressor plugin. Neither can be over £150.

FYI, on EQ, i'm already tempted by the FabFilter Pro-Q...

peace!

DMG EQuick is nice - I really like it's M/S capabilities, it's actually very similar to Pro-Q from what I've seen but cheaper.

For a single band compressor The Glue by Cytomic just sounds great - fact. I use it on a lot of things and on all my busses.

I wouldnt spent the money on Pro Q. EQuick is just as good. Or better yet, DDMF IIEQ. http://www.ddmf.eu/product.php?id=0 Much cheaper also.

Unfortunately i havnt found that magic compressor yet. I do hear really good things about The Glue though.

The glue is pretty sweet. Also check out fab pro-C and Softube FET. I use all 3 of those for different applications. Also ozones multiband compressor is pretty awesome, although I'm not entirely sure if you can buy it seperately from the entire ozone bundle. Check out some demos and see what you like the best

Mr 50 wrote:New computer, new me. I've been a loyal user of native DAW plugins for my bread and butter tasks but now I'm on the hunt for a third party, go to EQ and Compressor.

Please name your favourite EQ plugin and favourite Compressor plugin. Neither can be over £150.

FYI, on EQ, i'm already tempted by the FabFilter Pro-Q...

peace!

For EQ I am really quite impressed with the Pro-Q. The L/S and M/S splits make it an extremely versatile tool.

Here's a link to a site that someone just posted on the board coincidentally, but on this page in particular is the 30 highest rated EQ's. All the ones mentioned on here are on the list, plus many more. Enjoy

http://getthatprosound.com/30-of-the-be ... the-world/

Kit Fysto wrote:Here's a link to a site that someone just posted on the board coincidentally, but on this page in particular is the 30 highest rated EQ's. All the ones mentioned on here are on the list, plus many more. Enjoy

http://getthatprosound.com/30-of-the-be ... the-world/

Me

Ableton EQ (on high quality mode, else it sucks). I can't imagine why you would need another one. Every EQ is basically the same.

As for compressor, i haven't yet found one i use frequently, but i'm kinda lost in compression anyway so i tend to limit more. The W1 is my favorite, it's free and it's almost an exact replicate of the Waves L1 Limiter part.

RmoniK wrote:Ableton EQ (on high quality mode, else it sucks). I can't imagine why you would need another one. Every EQ is basically the same.

In two words: steeper slopes and Pre+Post preview mode (which will get corrected in Live 9). Yes you can emulate them using Ableton's EQ but it's not nearly as convenient and can cause some potential problem due to PDC when in HQ mode that can affect your transients, and not for good (same goes for the stock Saturator plugin).

Fruity Parametric Eq2 and fruity limiter. Stock all the way man. Although, I have found myself using the eq from ozone 5 advanced for it's mid/side feature, which is sometimes handy, and maximus for multiband compression duties. But they're kinda pricey... But both parametric eq2 and fruity limiter have a kick ass visualisation and all the basic controls you need to do whatever it is you have in mind. Anything else would be a bit specialised I suppose.

I just don't see the need to get anything else. It would probably be a similar story with ableton if the plugins had a visualisation (and I could change the bandwidth with my mouse wheel dammit XD), that's the only thing that bothers me about abletons eq8 and compressor.

If you've got the loot then definitely go for fabfilter products. When I have had the privilege of using them they've been amazingly intuitive to work with and sound wicked too. I've had serious battles with my morals over breaking down and actually getting a cracked copy of them (Yes, I'm one of those rare people that never do that fyi), so if that's anything to go on how good they are e.t.c.

On the other hand, don't knock freeware either! There's a bundle of vsts that used to be payware released by Jeroen Breebaart. He's a software developer employed by Toneboosters that released his entire bundle for free upon employment by toneboosters. It's a fairly recent endeavor and the plug-ins were previously comparatively expensive high end plug-ins.

The compressor "Red Phat", part of the bundle, is honestly one of the best compressors I've used, hands down. It's capable of some amazing things with a highly configurable set of parameters, some regarding aspects (hysteresis e.t.c.) not catered for any where else in the freeware compression market (in my experience).

As for EQs MY go to EQ at the moment is a magware version of DDMF IIEQ Pro released in a recent issue of Computer Music Magazine. It's got an amazing amount of filter settings (including Butterworth) up to 60dB/oct (now that's insane imo); a spectrum analyzer, series/parallel, and so on. You can get the CM version for about £6 by buying the magazine. Or you an get the full pro version from the DDMF website

Try the demo(s) where applicable, buy what you like best, don't forget to grab that bundle and have a play!

Hmmm, I thought a lot of people would mention The Glue.

So seen as i'm an Ableton user and the new native compressor is basically The Glue and the EQ8 is getting an update, I'm now thinking I shouldn't bother as I plan on upgrading to Live 9 anyway...

Another vote for Pro-Q and Pro-C. I also like the Glue a lot.

stevemac wrote:Hmmm, I thought a lot of people would mention The Glue.

So seen as i'm an Ableton user and the new native compressor is basically The Glue and the EQ8 is getting an update, I'm now thinking I shouldn't bother as I plan on upgrading to Live 9 anyway...

I agree and that will probably be fine, although the Pro-C has a few functions I enjoy that the glue does not provide. They are more advanced functions however and might not be worth it to everyone, but very powerful nonetheless

I still use Fruity Limiter at times for a quick, dirty, transparent compression. I use Kramer Tape and Virtual Tape Machine to squeeze a lot of stuff these days. Also a huge fan of CLA Classic Compressors don't have a favorite yet. PIE Compressor sometimes, it only sounds good in just the right situation (not sure what the pattern is yet TBH...kick drums!).

My favorite EQ is Voxengo Gliss EQ hands down no questions asked. I've got one on every pre setup channel in any template. I'll also through a Waves H-EQ on sometimes, but it eats a bit of CPU. Nice for HPF buss to eliminate sub frequencies...adds a tad of mojo to a buss that's usually just functional in nature.

Probably buying a hardware compressor this week though... : )

yeah, fragments, damn you-- bought a pair of dbx160a's, waiting for them to arrive. ugh.

compressor/EQ for what source?

1176 clones (CLA76, stillwell rocket, rough rider) usually sound good on almost anything, but 1/2 the time they're really too much in the way of compression-- like trying to shoot a pigeon with a tank. these days if something really needs compression, i'm finding better luck using outboard stuff-- just works faster for me. if it needs more after that, then either of those are my 1st choice.

w/ EQ, almost anything is good for cuts-- logic's EQ beats the standard waves REQ in my book. Pro-Q is good, has a lot more tools which can be both useful or a hindrance.
to sweeten sounds i like the waves Puigtec pultec emulation, the stillwell vibe EQ, and the stillwell neve EQ emulation-- especially for its 10k band.
to add high end, the waves Aphex exciter emulation ain't half bad at all.

Sharmaji wrote:yeah, fragments, damn you-- bought a pair of dbx160a's, waiting for them to arrive. ugh.

compressor/EQ for what source?

1176 clones (CLA76, stillwell rocket, rough rider) usually sound good on almost anything, but 1/2 the time they're really too much in the way of compression-- like trying to shoot a pigeon with a tank. these days if something really needs compression, i'm finding better luck using outboard stuff-- just works faster for me. if it needs more after that, then either of those are my 1st choice.

w/ EQ, almost anything is good for cuts-- logic's EQ beats the standard waves REQ in my book. Pro-Q is good, has a lot more tools which can be both useful or a hindrance.
to sweeten sounds i like the waves Puigtec pultec emulation, the stillwell vibe EQ, and the stillwell neve EQ emulation-- especially for its 10k band.
to add high end, the waves Aphex exciter emulation ain't half bad at all.

@Sharm: I pulled the trigger on a Joe Meek MC2. It's stereo, has character, stereo width and input/output gain. I was looking at RNLA as well because I *had* to have something with character lol.

Any point in buying a rack unit Aphex Exciter over the plug-in? Some of them are quite cheap. Cheaper than the plug in.

I've heard too many good things about Stillwell, they'll be getting a visit from me today.

Crimsonghost wrote:I wouldnt spent the money on Pro Q. EQuick is just as good. Or better yet, DDMF IIEQ. http://www.ddmf.eu/product.php?id=0 Much cheaper also.

Unfortunately i havnt found that magic compressor yet. I do hear really good things about The Glue though.

I've also heard good things about the Glue, I'll see next month though when I upgrade to Ableton Suite 9

From what I've heard people are using Fab filter ProQ

fragments wrote: Any point in buying a rack unit Aphex Exciter over the plug-in?

I use my 204 ALL the time. was like $180. so, yes!