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.