Based on the popular MKII-Graph EQ, the Black-EQ adds many new features, including:

32 and 64Bit linux VST 2.4 support.
Basic JACK session support.
Automatic GUI upscaling - improves usability on hi-res screens.
More responsive UI with improved anti-aliasing.
Context menu for filter types.
Preliminary LV2 1.0.0 X11UI support.

More information and a free demo is available here:

http://www.linuxdsp.co.uk/download/lv2/download_black_eq/ind ex.html

Congrats ! Will you include it in the bundle ?

Eventually it will supersede the MKII Graph-EQ, and when that happens it will most likely also be included in the bundle, but the MKII still works (and should do for the foreseeable future) and most likely represents a more cost effective option for users who don't need the extra features / compatibility that the new plugin provides.

It would be nice to have a diff between what features Black EQ introduces compared to MKII Graph-EQ

The differences are pretty much as mentioned in the original post

e.g



In other words, these are the features you don't get with the MKII. The audio engine is largely unchanged, the improvements are more geared towards usability, and compatibility with new features and API standards in LV2, with a few extras such as VST 2.4 support on both 32 and 64Bit

Ok.

Thanks !

Ouch.

So I have to buy a full version, to get an EQ that is sonically really no different than what I have, just to get the ability to properly load and save?

@Ricardus: the ability to load and save is planned to be a free upgrade if and when it happens, and will most likely be rolled out across all the plugins. In the screenshot the Load and Save buttons relate to the JACK version(s) which have always worked this way. This is entirely seperate from the extra functionality which you get with this new version.

One or two people have questioned what the differences are, and it seems to have stirred up some controversy (at least, via email) so, to be clear:

The new EQ will gradually supersede the original MKII Graph-EQ, adding the following extra features:

32 and 64Bit linux VST 2.4 support.
Basic JACK session support.
Automatic GUI upscaling - improves usability on hi-res screens.
More responsive UI with improved anti-aliasing.
Context menu for filter types.
Preliminary LV2 1.0.0 X11UI support.


To take each one of those features individually, which may help to show the amount of work involved:

32 and 64Bit linux VST 2.4 support - effectively we've built and tested four extra plugins (32, 64, mono and stereo) this now allows you to use the EQ with renoise, energyXT (possibly BitWig studio if / when it appears) and other linuxVST hosts such as Ardour3, Qtractor etc.

Basic JACK session support - the JACK session API is still in development but the EQ has perliminary support for it such as it exists.

Automatic GUI upscaling - depending upon your system dpi setting, the UI will scale, which means you can use big hi-res monitors or small screens and the UI will adapt (this has required significant re-writes and enhancements of the main X11 UI engine

More responsive UI - also included in the UI engine re-write, this allows the EQ to be used on lower power machines without loss of GUI responsiveness

Context menu - this is a usability function, right-click on any of the EQ marker 'balls' and you get a context menu to select filter types / display the current type

Preliminary LV2 X11UI support. This has also required significant testing and development - but if we are to keep up with the direction in which LV2 UI support appears to be heading, then a certain amount of future proofing is necessary (this is one of those developments which requires a lot of 'under the lid' tweaks, but if it works correctly you will likely never even notice). However I think the time and effort spent is worthwhile in the long term - I prefer users to have software which they can be confident will continue to work and can be relied upon rather than products which one day just mysteriously stop working because of some host API update or other.

As it stands at the moment, the upgrade is entirely optional - the old MKII still works, and I hope it will for the foreseeable future. New users have the option to purchase the cheaper MKII or spend more on the new version. Existing users have the option to buy the new version if the features seem worth it. There's a free demo so anyone can evaluate it and see if it justifies the cost.

Did you change it so you could narrow the Q to 1/12th an octave? I sometimes could use narrower, but 1/12 is fairly standard. That would be one BIG reason for me to upgrade.

I've only just learned about Black EQ - this looks excellent and I'll be buying it shortly.

Thanks for leading the way with pro-quality Linux plugins Mike! I realise its a very small market you're catering for at the moment - Mixbus is great but a bit pricey for most and lacks MIDI, renoise is a bit scary and techy for the average musician, as is stuff like PD and supercollider but the impending releases of Bitwig and Ardour 3 should massively increase the number of musicians who could/will start to consider Linux as a serious contender as a pro-audio production platform so hopefully all your hard work will pay off soon!

As for me, I'm just waiting for full automation editing support in qtractor ie cut, copy and paste - its the main reason I'm learning c++, just in case Rui doesn't do it himself!

It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds - this is pure speculation, but I get the feeling that some of the other platforms / operating systems are moving in a direction which is making it increasingly challenging to develop some of the tools and traditional workflow that is required for serious pro-audio production. The emphasis seems to be on content consumption (which is understandable as it's where the biggest market is) rather than content creation. I'm hoping that linux won't blindly follow in that direction and as such will provide a more flexible alternative.




I think Mixbus offers great value for money, when you consider the amount of development involved - of course, as an alternative it is possible to take Ardour3 (and of course make a donation to ardour.org ) - add the linuxDSP Workstation Plugins Bundle http://www.linuxdsp.co.uk/download/lv2/download_wpp/index.ht ml and have a fully featured DAW complete with some great channel processing (with possibly some 'big console' DNA... http://www.linuxdsp.co.uk/about/index.html)

Hello,

I've baught it

I have 2 questions :

- Will the updates be free ? (for example, changing v1.0 to 1.0.1 or 1.1)

- Is there a way to launch the Jack version a so it loads automatically a preset I've saved ?

Thank you !

3rik

Improvements and of course bug fixes are always free - so normally V1.0 -> V1.1 or V1.0.1 -> V1.0.2 etc would be free. We do charge for significant feature additions, and in some cases compatibility updates, if that requires a significant re-write of the plugin (for example, conversion to a completely new plugin format)



Unfortunately not, it will always remember the last state - so its a bit like real hardware in the sense that when you come back to it the controls will be just how you left them, however you can't select individual presets yet. The reason, is because although it's relatively easy to do (and we may add it in future) - it was also part of the (JACK) session support, and, at the moment, while there are many competing 'session management' APIs on linux, all of which are completely incompatible, none shows any sign of being the 'accepted' standard, and most remain in a constant state of 'beta' or are not 'stable'

It was hoped that this would eventually crystalize into full and complete support for whatever the 'standard e.g. commonly accepted' session API turned out to be, supporting preset management and all of that other good stuff. We don't want to waste resources duplicating the same functionality many times over, but it may be necessary to add a simple command line switch etc in a (free) future update.

Hi,

Thank you for the quick reply ! I might not understood everything (not that good at english).

You said it remembers the last state : So if I set the EQ the way I want, then close Black-EQ (reboot or shutdown PC) and then reopen it, my EQ settings will automatically be used ?

Thank you

3rik

P.S. : haven't tested it yet...

Yes, for the JACK versions of a plugin, the next time you launch it, it should come back exactly as it was last time (even if you re-boot)

For LV2 / VST plugins, the settings are saved as part of the session - the manual has more detailed information. In this case, some functionality is dependent on the host application.