What are your thoughts on it and using it for adjustments on the master bus? Or do you have any other lp eq recommendations?

Also is there a waves compressor thats good for the master (single band) ? Waves is running a deal right now and I wanted to get the ssl but it seems it only comes in the bundle; I use ableton if that changes anything

I don't suggest any linear phase EQ, and their API 2500 plugin is by far the best for the master bus.

IMO, on the Master should be most definately a Linear Phase EQ. Although I have Waves Mercury I prefer Fabfilter PRO-Q for its options (Zero latency mode to various Linear Phase modes), also love the GUI plus built-in spectrum analyzer.

Hm, so you would prefer it to the SSL too? I've heard great things about it, I produce mostly progressive house if that helps at all

Yes, I prefer it over the SSL G-Master compressor for any musical style.

The 2500 is good but it doesn't do the SSL thing and if you want *that* sound then the SSL compressor is the obvious choice. It's a shame Waves doesn't sell the plugins individually, there's always Cytomic's The Glue which is a very good compressor, more transparent/less colored than the Waves.

I recently demos the waves mercury and i have to admit one of the few plugins that impressed me out of ALL their supposed emus was the api. Not having used the hardware equivalent i couldn't compare, but whatever it is it sounded so sweet. That includes the eq (actually usable boosts), and the compressor.


but i wouldn't use waves linear phase for master bus, it's a very limited outdated eq. If you must have linear phase, please get fabfilter or equality, or in fact juts save your money and get ddmf LP10 which is now more flexible than both of those (and TONs better than the waves)

I am with shy though i am kind of anti LP. Was reading Paul frindle's dismissal of them ages ago then i started to investigate further and i am afraid i agree. there is actually no need to ever really use one.

Bob Katz talks about Linear Phase EQ's here:

"Some people (including me) believe that once you hear a Linear Phase equalizer you get hooked! I do like the fact that when I boost the high hat frequency or the ride cymbal it doesn't get in your face like it does with minimum phase. Assuming that's the effect you want on the project you are mastering!

If you are equalizing an individual instrument in a mixing situation I don't think the differences or advantages/disadvantages of linear phase will be that obvious or even useful, but in mastering the differences are more obvious. "

Bob says many things. I know what gives me the best results in mixing as well as mastering and it happens to not be linear phase equalizers. Generalizing minimum phase EQs (which includes all analog EQs) as "getting in your face" compared to linear phase EQs is a blanket statement. I found even Algorithmix's PEQ Red and PEQ Orange to be far less useful in mastering situations and pretty much any situation compared to PEQ Blue. Whadya know, minimum phase still works.

+1 Shy man, It is a personal fave here
with the 2500, Waves have it nailed really rather well to the point that unless overtly abused/hammered it holds up side by side against the real deal when i had the chance quite a few times. Although i would of course shell out for the real deal if i were still crawling around tangled up in XLR cables, postioning mics painstakingly or engineering/mixing full-time oppose to very much part-time due to numerous circumstances. The API 550A/B EQs are not that shabby either but nothing really, really special. Easy to dial in or out/fast workflow wise. I do sometimes have Q-Clone on the master with some of the curve captures stacked up that can be handy...but not exactly speedy to work with All just my very humble honest opinion.

Regarding linear-phase, Personally never have had one on a master output. I have a few which i use if something does require it but never that i recall one individual channels, aux/return tracks/busses or master out. Usually inside sound forge on individual sounds or a multi-sampled thing where i f'ck'd up a little with the mics so need some work, So really its more phase-allignment than Equalization. Voxengo's PHA979 is probably the one used most along with betabugs phasebug. As mentioned by ttoz DDMF's LP10 is so much VFM that it feels like stealing especially if that 50% has not ended. If your on PC then Matt Lindsay did a goodun for the last DC (NCL PhaseEQ) and their are others which i can not think of off the top of my head

All the best to all and happy new year: hope you all have a good year

Dean

So I did some research and the waves api 2500 seems to be the real deal; what I'd like to know though is what you guys like so much about it or what you find it useful for ie. bass, synths, drums

I'll have to demo it either way but just want to know what to look for really.

Also for anyone who uses the cytomic glue, it seems the oversampling is generally needed to get the right sound out of it so which oversampling setting would u recommend? I've heard great things about the duende as well, many seem to prefer it to the glue

Thanks and happy holidays guys

Yeah, the SSL comp only comes with the SSL bundle (two channel strips and and SSL EQ). I have it and I use them all even though I though I wouldn't care for the strips, but I was surprised that I liked them.

I already asked several times how does the 2500 hold up with higher GR...does it break up or distort easily? Or its better to use it lower GR like 3-4 db max?

With broad boosts/cuts in the high frequency area there is no audible difference between a linear phase EQ and a minimum phase EQ.

The difference gets more obvious the higher the ringing is. And high ringing you will get in low frequency areas and with steeper filter curves.