Software graphic EQs

The Waves Ltd. VEQ4 is a ‘vintage’ equalizer plug-in that is modeled after the classic Neve 1081 EQ’s make up. This plug-in can be had a few ways, but it’s mostly associated with the Vintage bundle from Waves that has three plug-ins in the same vein as this one, including the V-EQ3. Being modeled after the 1081, this has more in depth control than most other Neve EQ’s would, including the 1073 which the V-EQ3 is modeled after. There are five bands to work with here, including a dual high/low pass filter. The high/low pass filter has a series of frequencies to choose from on both ends, as well as a dual layered gain knob, while the other four bands have the same make up more or less. The difference with the high and low frequency bands is that you get a bandwidth button. There’s also an overall output knob as well as EQ, phase, and an ‘analog’ button. I haven’t had a gander at the manual for this plug-in… SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Currently I’ve got the Waves Ltd. VEQ4 plug-in running on my system at home but have also used it on the systems at the studio where I work. My home studio consists of a Mac Book Pro lap top with 4 GB of RAM and a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which also runs Pro Tools 9 for me. I can run a number of instances of this plug-in quite comfortably on this system… OVERALL OPINION The Waves Ltd. VEQ4 is definitely one of my favorite EQ plug-ins to use as it brings the best of both worlds here when it comes to plug-ins. It’s not going to match the warm, analog sound of a real Neve 1081, but it’s the closest you’re going to get when it comes to a plug-in. I love the configuration here but the sound is really what makes it worthwhile. It’s perfect for EQing of all kinds inside the box, as it’s brother plug-in the V-EQ3 which is also very effective and included in the same bundle. This is one of the best plug-in EQ’s out there and definitely one you need to know about if you’re working inside the box.

The mixture of vintage sound with the precision, reliability and response of digital stuff is always something that software engineers in the music industry are working to achieve. This is another vintage style EQ that Waves has made to help people get that vintage sound without having to buy the unreliable equipment. This is actually a clone of the 1066 and 1073 console EQs. It has a knob for different settings of the high pass filter, a knob for the LF shelf filter, MF bell filter knob, HF shelf filter, output knob, analog on/off switch and eq/phase switch. To enable this, simple call it up in your DAW on whatever buss you want to EQ. I tend to EQ first before doing anything. I never read the manual, but this is so simple that it's not needed. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Waves is really one of the best companies out there when it comes to implementing solid plugins with no real fuss. These plugins are always rock solid and super stable; this plugin is really no different. I've never experienced a single crash or hiccup while using this plugin. The plugin is also cross platform compatible, so Windows and OS X users alike can use these without any problems. There is one issue that I always gripe about, however. These plugins are 32 bit for OS X. Right now, I'm using a 64 bit DAW, and for me to utilize these plugins, it needs to launch a special bridge application. I'm not a huge fan of the way my DAW utilizes these, so I'm hoping they update these in the future. I've been using the Waves Mercury bundle for the past six or so months, and it's been a very enlightening experience to say the least. OVERALL OPINION This isn't exactly the most versatile EQ out there. It's more geared towards getting that vintage console EQ sound for those finishing touches more than anything else. It works fairly nicely, but I find myself just reaching for the default EQ whenever I want to EQ stuff. It's just easier for me to work with a paragraphic style EQ than working with these old school turn knob EQs as I was brought up in the digital age of recording. Good quality but not exactly something I'd use on a daily basis.

Tony Maserati is one of the top music engineers and producers. He's done stuff from the Simpsons to Tupac and nearly everything in between, but his major focus tends to be on the more R&B/rap/rock side of things. Finalizing mixes can be a huge pain, and for a plugin to have everything packed inside of it is quite a task. The plugin has knobs for sensitivity, output, lows, mids, highs and compress. There are also buttons for drums room, drums live, guitars, strings, keys, background vocals and master. To use this, simply enable it on your master buss, and you're good to go. I've never read the manual, so I can't comment on that. However, this plugin is fairly straight forward and shouldn't cause to much of an issue for first timers. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Waves is the king when it comes to things such as stability and overall performance. For one, this plugin doesn't take up too much RAM or processing power, and that's a big plus considering a DAW can have tons of different plugins and virtual synths running at any time. The plugins are all cross platform compatible, so anybody with an OS X or Windows machine can run these without any problems. I've never experienced a single issue while running this plugin when it came to things like stability and overall performance. There is one issue, however, that I did come across. These plugins are 32 bit inside of OS X. For me to utilize these in Logic Pro, it needs to run a special bridge application as my DAW is a 64 bit DAW. I'm not a huge fan as to how Logic Pro implements this, and I'm hoping that Waves updates these later on. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past half a year or so, and it's been awesome. OVERALL OPINION Trying to make a special master buss finalizer plugin can be quite a big task. While my favorite is still iZotope's Ozone, this plugin doesn't do too bad of a job. I've used this with my power metal band without an issue. It doesn't really work out too nicely for my death metal bands, but that has to do with the way it processes everything; it's just a different approach to mixing that doesn't seem to really work for that genre.

This is yet another EQ that Waves has made. This time, it's modeled after the famous graphic equalizer of the time. There are ten different EQ bands on this ranging from 31 Hz to 16KHz. On top of that, there is a Q control that can either widen or narrow the overall filter band. The moment people see this, they're going to mention its versatility. Yes, it's more versatile than the other ones. However, the other ones were more parametric EQs where as this is a graphic EQ. I find that this can work awesome for boosting a guitar signal into overdrive by applying it before the amp modeler, but it doesn't have that vintage EQ character that I enjoyed from the other ones. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Waves plugins are some of the best out there, bar none. For one, they're cross platform. For a Mac user, that means the world. I'm always trying to support companies that support Mac, and Waves has been pretty good about that since the whole Intel switch. I've used these in Logic without any problems. Although they're 32 bit plugins, Logic will add a bridge to allow you to use them in a 64 bit environment as to not limit you to the amount of ram you can utilize. On top of that, these things are rock solid. I've never had a crash with Waves plugins at all. OVERALL OPINION In one way, this EQ is a bit more versatile simply because it's a 10 band graphic EQ. On the other hand, I find myself using the API 550 series more because they're closer to parametric EQs, and they tend to be better suited for guitars and the such. However, this is still a great EQ, and I recommend you check it out if you ever get the chance. Just be sure not to pirate these as Waves loses enough money as it is thanks to the pirates out there.

Just answering standard questions about compatibility, manual,setup,functions etc. i can say everything is as it should be! SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE First release was not beta tested... But now everything is smooth! At least in Sonar under x86 OVERALL OPINION This tool provides 100% clean neutral sound.Mostly for mastering but not only due to low latency 0,01second and very low cpu load.Also audiophiles could enjoy high end quality. Shapes of bells,bandwidth,center frequency are matched carefully wright. Ability to draw and then correlate curve shape easily dragging, advanced routing! - and you can achieve desired result in a minute via Marvel coupled with tweaked SPAN. Usability and quality are on the top! But don't forget to read manual to get even more out of the plug-in! To be honest- there are few companies and plug-ins that could be placed on the same level with Voxengo stuff ,but they have as a rule several times higher prices, headache with ilok and then you'll have to pay for each update and bugfix.Voxengo doesn't suffer of this antiuser policy disease, while providing only what audio plug-ins are aimed to do in a best way-top audio quality,complete set of features you need and even don't yet but will, and very affordable price.

The Nomad Factory Music-Tone Equalizer is one of two plug-ins that makes up the Motown Studio EQ’s bundle, along with the Retro Film-Tone Equalizer. The plug-ins aren’t completely separate from each other, as they work best in compliment, often even stacking them, as they each have frequencies to choose from that the other does not. These are modeled after the old Cinema EQ’s that were used on all the classic Motown records, with URS also having a plug-in version of these EQ’s. I don’t own this plug-in bundle but have been using it a bit at the studio where I work. It’s a super easy to use plug-in, with the same interface as the Film-Tone EQ, just with different frequencies to choose from. It’s got seven bands, each fixed at a specific frequency ranging from 50 Hz to 12500 Hz. It also has an overall output knob and a phase reverse button, keeping with the original hardware versions. The plug-in couldn’t be any easier to use and unless you’re having a problem with installation, I’d say that the manual isn’t necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The studio I work at has the Nomad Factory Music-Tone Equalizer and the Motown Studio EQ’s bundle running on a few different systems, all of which are Pro Tools HD based. I’ve never had a problem whatsoever running the plug-in on either of the systems that I’ve used it on, but have also never had any problems at all with plug-ins in general. I’d still think that even if you were running this on an LE system or something comparable that you’d be just fine as far as performance goes. OVERALL OPINION While effective, the Nomad Factory Music-Tone Equalizer isn’t my favorite EQ plug-in out there. The Motown Studio EQ’s bundle in general isn’t all that impressive to me, perhaps because I’m more used to using the URS version of these plug-ins which to me sound better. This one is still pretty solid, as it’s easy enough to shape your sound a bit with it, but definitely use it in tandem with the Film-Tone EQ since they have different frequencies to choose from. I’d recommend the URS version of this bundle, but it’s still worth checking out the both of them to decide for yourself.

The Nomad Factory Retro Film-Tone Equalizer is one of two plug-ins that makes up the Motown Studio EQ's bundle. Also in the bundle is the Retro Music-Tone Equalizer. The two plug-ins really go together as they each have fixed frequencies that differ from the other, so stacking the two of them together is almost always going to be beneficial. I don't own this bundle as I've just used it a bit at the studio where I work, where it's installed on most of the systems here. Users will definitely be quick to learn how to use the plug-in, as it really doesn't get any easier. The interface is simply made up of seven bands of EQ, each with their own preset fixed frequency. On here they give you frequencies of 50 Hz, 200 Hz, 500 Hz, 1250 Hz, 3200 Hz, 8000 Hz, and 16000 Hz to choose from. The other plug-in in the bundle, the Music-Tone EQ, has frequencies in between each of these, with no direct overlap. The plug-in also gives you control over your output level and has a button for phase reverse as well. I can't see anyone needing the help of a manual with this one... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The studio I work at is currently running the Nomad Factory Retro Film-Tone Equalizer plug-in and the full bundle on all of our systems, which are all Pro Tools HD. Our main room has a MacPro desktop computer that has dual 2.66 Ghz Intel Xeon processors and 10 GB of RAM. To give you an idea, our next room is an Apple G5 Power PC that has 8.5 GB of RAM and a 3.2 Ghz processor. This is really just to say that we're more than equipped with the ability to run this plug-in without issues. OVERALL OPINION While it can be useful, in general I'm not a huge fan of the Nomad Factory Retro Film-Tone Equalizer. I understand that it's to be used with the other plug-in in the bundle, the Music-Tone Equalizer, but even so I'm not that impressed. URS has basically what is the same bundle - EQ's modeled after the Motown EQ's - but I prefer their incarnation of it much more. Nomad Factory's Motown Studio EQ's bundle sounds decent, but not great and doesn't add nearly as much color as you'd expect with something like this. If you're thinking about purchasing this bundle, I'd highly encourage you to check out the URS MotorCity EQ bundle before doing so.

The Anwida GEQ15V is a simple graphic equalizer plug-in that comes in both VST, Audio Units, and Direct X forms. It's not available for Pro Tools unless you've got a VST to RTAS plug-in wrapper. I used to have this plug-in on my old PC system, but haven't used it in a few years since I got Pro Tools. It's been a while so I don't remember the installation process very much, but since I had a Cubase SX system where VST plug-ins could be used, everything worked fine. Anyone and everyone should be able to use this right off the bat, as it's really just a 15 band EQ with no extra features really. The band frequencies range from 25 Hz to 16 kHz, and you can set the gain range to either 6 db or 12 db. It also has a gain output knob built into it. It's so easy to use that a manual isn't really necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE While I no longer have been running this plug-in, when I did it was in Cubase SX and with a Hewlatt Packard lap top computer. I was running Cubase SX 2.0 and later 3 with a computer that had a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I didn't have too much trouble running the Anwida GEQ15V as a VST plug-in in Cubase within this system. It's definitely not a high processing power guzzling plug-in, so I would think that most users would be able to run this without an issue. OVERALL OPINION I can't really say that there is anything that stands out about the Anwida GEQ15V equalizer except that it's available at a very low price for a plug-in. It can do the job, but looking back I'm not convinced that it's a professional plug-in. It just doesn't have the warmest or most authentic sound when compared with many of the EQ plug-in that I'm using now. It's an okay graphic EQ for what it is, and while it's cheap, I do believe you can find better sounding plug-in EQ's out there even at this cheap price. I'd recommend checking out some of the URS and Massey plug-ins that give a lot of bang for their buck before this one...

The Nomad Factory Essential Graphic EQ is an equalizer plug-in that comes as a part of the Nomad Factory Essential Bundle, which consists of nine 'Essential' plug-ins in total, all at a very low price. The bundle is basically a sort of all in one suite for all purposes for the home studio owner. Installing the plug-in takes place during the installation of the entire bundle, which is an easy enough process that should be uneventful. Using the plug-in is just as easy - it's made up of 15 bands with the frequencies ranging from 40 Hz to 16 kHz. It also has a parameter for setting the band width, as well as input and output leveling sliders. In addition, it has a built in limiter which just touches it a little bit. It's easy enough to use, so I don't believe the assistance of a manual to be necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've got the Nomad Factory Essential bundle and the Essential Graphic EQ on my home system, with is Pro Tools LE based. I'm running it on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM and I'm running version 8 of Pro Tools LE with a Digi 002R audio interface. This plug-in really doesn't seem to take up too much processing power, so I wouldn't be too concerned with performance with the plug-in or the bundle. OVERALL OPINION There's nothing really that stands out to me about the Nomad Factory Essential Graphic EQ, but at the same time it's a nice graphic EQ that can get the job done for sure. In other words, there's no special features here, but it's solid at what it does. Being that it's a part of the Essential bundle which is extremely cheap, especially when you break it down to price per plug-in. It's not the warmest sounding EQ, but it can do simple jobs for sure. Mostly I'll use my parametric EQ plug-ins, but this is sometimes nice and easy to just boost or cut a bit at the given frequencies. If you're a home studio owner on a budget looking for a cheap way to get a bunch of professional plug-ins, definitely consider the Nomad Factory Essential Graphic EQ as part of the Essential bundle.

The URS Vintage Cinema EQ is an equalizer plug-in that is part of the M Series bundle from URS. This bundle is made up of just two plug-ins, this and the MotorCity EQ, which is a similar type of equalizer with a different set of fixed frequencies. In fact, the two plug-ins compliment each other quite well in terms of the frequencies chosen, so it's definitely no coincidence that they're putting them out as a package together. As far as installation goes, there shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary here as from what I can remember it was a straight forward process much like installing any other plug-in or other software. It's compatible across the board, so there should be no problems here. Using the plug-in is really simple - it's got seven bands each at a fixed frequency ranging from 80 Hz to 16 kHz. As mentioned before, it compliments the MotorCity EQ well, so if there's a frequency you want that isn't here, chances are it will be on the MotorCity EQ. In addition to the seven bands, it has input and output level knobs and a slider for phase. I haven't seen the manual for this plug-in, nor do I think one would be necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm running the URS Vintage Cinema EQ plug-in on my home system, which is Pro Tools LE 8 based. I run it on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. Pro Tools LE 8 is running with a Digi 002R audio interface, and I'm monitoring with a set of Adam A7's. I haven't had much problems with performance with this plug-in within this system, as it seems to have been quite stable. I haven't tried to run one of these on every track, but so far it's been running smoothly for what I need it to do. OVERALL OPINION When paired with the MotorCity EQ, the URS Vintage Cinema EQ and the M Series bundle of EQ plug-ins is a nice set at an even nicer price. You've got yourself a solid EQ with the Vintage Cinema EQ. It will do the job more times than not, although it's somewhat limited at times since it doesn't allow you to choose your own frequencies. Stacking the two plug-ins in this bundle will do the job almost always, as you'll get more frequencies and more control. I like the way this EQ sounds, and they definitely have their own sound, which can be considered a helpful or hurtful thing depending on how you're using it. At this price, the Vintage Cinema EQ and the URS M Series bundle are definitely worth your time in checking out.

The URS MotorCity EQ is a software equalizer in the form of a plug-in for Pro Tools and other DAW's. This plug-in is included in the M Series bundle that also has the Vintage Cinema EQ plug-in in, both of which are pretty similarly laid out. I didn't encounter any problems with installation of the plug-in as it was straight forward and easy from the first step. Using the plug-in in general is also pretty simple, as it's a seven band, with each having it's own fixed frequency. The EQ is designed after an equalizer that was used on Motown records according to URS, although I'm not sure exactly what hardware EQ they're referring to. I generally prefer to use parametric EQ's since you get control over the frequencies, but even while I like to have as much control as possible, it's worth noting that the other plug-in in the bundle, the Vintage Cinema EQ has different frequencies to choose from. So between the two different plug-ins in the bundle, you have a more complete set of frequencies than what you see just on this one alone. Even so, you've got a pretty complete plug-in in itself here, as a lot of tone shaping can be done between the frequencies given here. I haven't looked at the manual for this plug-in, so I can't speak to it's make up. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've got the URS MotorCity EQ and the M Series bundle of plug-ins running on my home recording rig. It consists of a Mac Book Pro with a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I'm running the plug-in in Pro Tools LE 8 that runs with a Digidesign Digi 002 rack version audio interface. My system is pretty consistently powerful, so it's rare that I'll have trouble with plug-ins unless I've got a really big session going, so this one doesn't cause me any trouble. OVERALL OPINION Between the URS MotorCity EQ and the Vintage Cinema EQ that also comes in the M Series bundle, you've got a very nice sounding set of equalizers. On it's own, the MotorCity EQ works great on a variety of instruments, although I find it especially useful for fattening up a bass sound by boosting some of the low frequencies given here. It's certainly more versatile than just a bass EQ, but is what I usually use it for. The M Series bundle is cheap enough that it's definitely worth considering to have as an extra add on equalizer, but I don't think I'd recommend this as your first and/or go to equalization plug-in.

The URS A10 Series equalizer is a graphic EQ plug-in that is basically a software version of the API 560B 10-band equalizer. The plug-in is available as an individual plug or within a few different URS bundles if you're looking to get more bang for your buck, although it's a pretty good deal anyway. I don't own this myself, so I wasn't involved in the installation of the plug-in. The configuration of the actual plug-in itself is really simple, as it's just as you'd expect a 10-band equalizer to look. It has 10 bands that range in frequencies from 31 Hz to 16 kHz. In addition to the ten bands, it also contains sliders for input and output, and buttons for in/out and phase. The decibel range on each of the sliders can go to 12 db either way. I haven't had a look at the manual for this plug-in... SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've used the URS A10 Series EQ on a few different systems at the studio where I'm currently working. We have a number of different rooms with different studio configurations, but all of them are Pro Tools HD rigs and run with Mac Pro computers. We very rarely have performance issues within plug-ins or otherwise, so this set up isn't a great judge for how well this plug-in will run. Having said this, I'd be surprised if there were many users out there having trouble running it since it's a basic EQ plug. OVERALL OPINION Overall, the URS A10 Series is a more than adequate graphic equalizer. It's straight and to the point and there should definitely be no debate on how to use the features in here. The frequency range and the chosen frequencies are adequate for equalization for a number of applications. In my time using the plug-in I've found it most useful for use on snare drum and other drums where I'm looking to bring out a certain color. It definitely works well across the board however, as it's a general EQ with a clean sound - it's really just what you do with it. If you're looking to expand your plug-in palette with a graphic EQ, the URS A10 Series is a nice choice that can be had for a pretty reasonable price...