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Hatsubai « 4 band EQ »
Published on 06/15/11 at 20:29This is the next EQ that Waves offers in conjunction with their other vintage EQs of this APi series. The Waves API 550B is more versatile than the A, and it has even more usages. There are four overlapping equalizer bands with seven switchable filter frequencies, five octaves per band, a special Q control that widens or narrows the overall mix and has a few other special tricks in there.
I find that more people will be using this instead of the API 550A. For one, this is a much more versatile EQ. Because of that, you can fine tune the EQ a bit. However, both have their own unique flavors, and it depends on what you're going for. If you only need three bands, the API 550A might be just what you're looking for.
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
I tend to go back and forth between this and the API 550A. For one, this is a bit more versatile as it has more bands to adjust. On the other hand, I sometimes find myself thinking that the API 550A is a bit more musical. I'm not sure if that's purely a psychological thing or what, but in the end, they're both killer EQs that can be applied to nearly everything, although I find they're not quite as useful on drums as they are other things. Check it out!
I find that more people will be using this instead of the API 550A. For one, this is a much more versatile EQ. Because of that, you can fine tune the EQ a bit. However, both have their own unique flavors, and it depends on what you're going for. If you only need three bands, the API 550A might be just what you're looking for.
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
I tend to go back and forth between this and the API 550A. For one, this is a bit more versatile as it has more bands to adjust. On the other hand, I sometimes find myself thinking that the API 550A is a bit more musical. I'm not sure if that's purely a psychological thing or what, but in the end, they're both killer EQs that can be applied to nearly everything, although I find they're not quite as useful on drums as they are other things. Check it out!