30 Of The Best EQ Plugins In The World

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About the Abbey Road ones.. You could mention that they are missing 64 bit versions.
Finally!

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I still can't see the full list with 30 EQs. On my EeePC, I can only see 10 EQ's, on my i7 studio rig, I can see 20. But not 30.

One way or another, that post is superficial and subjective at best. It has a focus on the most expensive EQs on the market, and totally ignores the difference between parametric, semi parametric, fixed frequency, or specific design like Tilt or Baxendall EQs.


I also recently proved that you can get great sounding productions with a two band EQ design by Altec or even Siemens/Abbey Road. So in the end, it's not "what's best" out there, it's how you use them.

Take for example the DMG Equality EQ. If I remember the settings from Nomad Factory's British EQ, it's boundaries and how it behaves, I can pull of just as good EQ filtering as directly using the BritishEQ itself.


I also don't see where the Waves Pultec Clone is any better than the Nomad Factory, IK Multimedia, the URS or free Leftover Lasagne one, heck even the G-Sonique Pultronic.

Like I said - this list is subjective at best.


If I had to choose only a handful or just two of them, I'd clearly go by either Fabfilter or DMG Audio (but EQuick in this case), and for linear phase maybe DDMF. Invest once, have a versatile weapon.


Come to think of it, I miss a lot of EQs in there:
- VoS BootEQmkII
- AixCoustic ElectriQ (which was superceded by Fabfilter so to speak)
- MeldaProduction's EQs
- HOFA
- certain Neve and SSL Designs (again: Nomad Factory)
- the Redline EQ (I like the concept of switching certain EQ filter characteristics)



Furthermore:
The "Brilliance Pack" is just a passive, non-powered supplementary filter (see it as bandpass and the rest is attenuated only) for either the Altec/Abbey Road 2 band EQ. Alone they're totally worthless IMO.


So next time, less advertising, more information please. Else it's just another "what's the best" thread here on KVR.
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codec_spurt wrote:
herodotus wrote:
I think if the analog vs. digital debate were to assume its proper place as an academic exercise for obsessed gear heads there would be fewer problems. The problems start when some hardware proponent comes to a place like kvr and implies that anyone who doesn't use their favorite expensive gear is a 'kid' or an 'amateur' or an (insert dismissive title here).

I am sure something like this happens the other way as well, though I certainly see less of it, as I haven't frequented the Womb or Tapeop's forums for a while.

You want to get yourself over to GearSlutz mate, and tell them you use FruityLoops. :D
No, I certainly DON'T want to get myself over to GearSlutz. :hihi:

Seriously, though, the main reason is that I have no interest in being a recording engineer for a living, and that seems to be the core constituency over there.

I had no idea that there were so many Rick Rubin wannabes in the world until I visited that place...

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I was kidding bout Genwave earlier, but +1 on these...

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"MQ57 is parametric equalizer designed for mastering. It is powerful, but quite easy to use after you understand what each knob and button does, so learning curve should be very mild for everyone who grasps basic principles of equalization...."

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"PQ33 is a freeware VST equalizer loosely based on Portico 5033 hardware unit. The goal was to create effective processor that won't distract with flashy graphics and animations, that will disregard exact numerical values and place focus on the sound and finally, prioritize user-friendliness over complexity..."

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"QX24 is one half equalizer, other half exciter. It is authentic design and there are just few other plugins that offer comparable functions without getting too complicated. Using it properly you'll be able to accent parts of spectrum where instrument's character resides making it more prominent, while gently reducing remaining frequencies that often clutter the mix. Sound gets harmonically enhanced mostly with first two harmonics, but if you push it past moderate drive levels it gets much brighter - experiment and find the best way to utilize it."

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For me both DMG EQs (maybe just EQuick!) and a nice "emulation" such as NI Massive Passive, Softube Trident A, or SPL Passive would suffice. But really, it is real luxury to have more than two/three EQ, in my opinion. "Minimum phase" that can do linear and one different GUI to have some strange behaviour should be good enough.

Compressors, on the other hand... they are so pretty :D

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A.M. Gold wrote:
lacandon wrote:
Dave use but after he processed the audio with Shadow Hills and bunch rack eq's for sure plugins will help after that :).They are still not there ,for me digi eq's personally sounds harsh and small yet !But the knowledge progress every day so we may see unique eq's witch may sound better from the hardware as well :).For sure itb is the future is much cheaper and time saving.
He has the Maag Audio rack EQ but he never stated he uses it all the time. About the only h/w he seems to stick to constantly is the Bricasti reverb.

This argument is still fairly irrelevant for the simple reason that I know for a fact he uses Metric Halo (and those are old plug-ins) EQ's on a very regular basis on tracks. He doesn't send all his tracks out through the Maag. He also uses many, many software compressors on tracks, including McDSP and UAD.

Just because he has a few h/w processors (and the Shadow Hills comp is relatively new for him) doesn't in any way mean his sound would fall apart without them.

This whole thread turned into an argument (and a reasonable one, I'm not denying that) about whether you could get a "professional" sound completely ITB now.

ABSOLUTELY you can because it's done all the time now. Can you get a sound like the tape reels for Fleetwood Mac in 1977? Of course not, but that's not the issue (unless you personally want it to be). The issue is whether you can get a current level of professionalism totally ITB, and the answer is yes.

BTW, none other than super-engineer Michael Brauer says he can't tell the difference between the UAD-2 Massive Passive and the h/w on a digitally recorded track.
I do agree here with you about the Uad Massive Passive it's sounds bigger that's true the same as Uad Trident A ,also the upcoming Sknote EQ will be awesome for sure.But they are few eq's witch sounds so good Massive Passive don't work everywhere and on everything .In the future with developers like Sknote, Uad ,Slate , Cytomic the time is not too far for us to see eq beasts itb .For surgical purposes any u pick it's do the job perfect .

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Compyfox wrote:I still can't see the full list with 30 EQs. On my EeePC, I can only see 10 EQ's, on my i7 studio rig, I can see 20. But not 30.

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If I had to choose only a handful or just two of them, I'd clearly go by either Fabfilter or DMG Audio (but EQuick in this case), and for linear phase maybe DDMF. Invest once, have a versatile weapon.
So you haven't read the whole thread and article, because it's clearly said, that the rest will come later...

Also i don't see a point using the DMG and DDMF, because there is nothing the DMG EQs do that the FabFilter EQ can't do, so you can save money here. Plus the FF has got a lower CPU usage. And FabFilter also provides three stages of Linear-Phase (minimum, medium, maximum), so no need to use the DDMF also.

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The Main Event wrote:So you haven't read the whole thread and article, because it's clearly said, that the rest will come later...
Then it's even more(!!!) hidden marketing for his "ebook" and great articles. Sorry, but I have to pass.

The Main Event wrote:Also i don't see a point using the DMG and DDMF, because there is nothing the DMG EQs do that the FabFilter EQ can't do, so you can save money here. Plus the FF has got a lower CPU usage. And FabFilter also provides three stages of Linear-Phase (minimum, medium, maximum), so no need to use the DDMF also.
This is a matter of preference. I test drived both EQ's and the differences are really subtle. For the example, the DMG Equality has more dB/Oct cut options than the FabFilter one. But the Fabfilter one is darn simple to use, no matter how many dots there are on the screen, due to the separate dial section. The DMG GUI is resizable, the FabFilter one is not. The FabFilter has 24bands at max, the DMG has 32bands maximum.

Like I said, subtle. I'd go with Fabfilter since I like their packs and they're a tad longer around. But I'd also go with DMG, since the ideas are just as intuitive, but even though the plugins are regulary maintenanced, who knows how long either of the companies exist.


I'd get additional DDMF stuff mainly only for the custom courves. But mostly I'd go for the Portico "clone". Then again, that one is not Linear Phase.


Whatever, in the end, they are all just tools to me.
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herodotus wrote: No, I certainly DON'T want to get myself over to GearSlutz. :hihi:

Seriously, though, the main reason is that I have no interest in being a recording engineer for a living, and that seems to be the core constituency over there.

I had no idea that there were so many Rick Rubin wannabes in the world until I visited that place...
I agree that there does seem to be a hardcore of 'engineer types', but the funny thing is, I learned how to use an EQ thanks to KVR, and I learned how to use a compressor thanks to the good folks of KVR. Now why is that? I have my theories.

I've lurked and read the Gearslutz forum for a long time. I think I've even registered 3 times or something coz I've totally lost my login coz I haven't posted in so long.

I've learned much much more about much more things at KVR. Gearslutz has its place. Those a rung up the ladder can learn from those a rung up the ladder from them. A guy that works in a studio and has some hardware and is a 'professional' in that he earns money, can get tips from how Bruce Swedien placed the microphones on Thriller. Or the finer points of the Manley Passive can be discussed by those that know. It's not a place where you learn that much really, it's more where those that already know, take advice. Having said that, there are some real gems from people such as Pensado and Brauer, who are on the whole quite humble chaps considering their success. But hey, who needs to behave like an asshole when you've made it? Leave that to us struggling bitter and twisted types.

:lol:


Yeah, a lot of people want to be Rick. Or rather they want his success. Nothing wrong with that in a way, but really, it can't be stressed enough, be true to yourself, find out what you like, what you can bring to the table and how you can make a difference. But I wouldn't say that phenomenon was peculiar to Gearslutz, it's across the board in the music business - wannabes abound.

Then there are the true gear fetishists. Maybe that's where the name comes from?

:o

And I suppose that is why we are talking about it in this thread. Alright, it's a semi-hijack, but not a full on steal-the-bus-and-drive-off-with-the-kiddies-still-in-the-back jobby. That's another reason why I love KVR. It all gets discussed at the end of the day. It might not all be in the relevant thread, but it gets covered. We don't get our little bottoms smacked for skiing too far off-piste because as long as you somehow keep it tenuously relevant, you will be indulged. Well for the most part. I'm sailing close to the wind, so I'll wind my neck in...

So back to why we are talking about this in this thread. Well, I had a look at that survey of the 30 best EQs and a lot of them, I just don't see a need for as EQs. Some are very expensive, and I think someone has already asked the question, in a roundabout way, can anyone really tell the difference between say DDMFs EQs and a Waves SSL clone? They seem to appeal to gear fetishists. There are so many ways to better spend that money.

I'd love to have a proper studio of my own with soundproofing and proper monitoring and hardware in 19" racks, but while I don't have that and work in the box, I don't feel I'm missing out or sorry for myself with my MKDR-Q Pack and DDMFs stuff, plus quite a few free EQs that are simply amazing. But hey, if you got the cash, and you think it makes a difference, what do I know? I've got a few other paid for EQs as well, but nothing that cost me over a hundred quid.

What would be interesting would be a 30 of the best FREE EQs in the world, or say free or under 50 quid or something. Now THAT would be a challenge. Anyway, I enjoyed reading the survey. If someone is serious about something then I am happy to hear their opinion and I usually learn something from it. Plus there was a few EQs I'd never seen or heard of before. Jeeze, how many EQs are there in the world? It's starting to get silly now (says the man with 40 EQs in his FX folder). :shock:

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codec_spurt wrote:
herodotus wrote: No, I certainly DON'T want to get myself over to GearSlutz. :hihi:

Seriously, though, the main reason is that I have no interest in being a recording engineer for a living, and that seems to be the core constituency over there.

I had no idea that there were so many Rick Rubin wannabes in the world until I visited that place...
I agree that there does seem to be a hardcore of 'engineer types', but the funny thing is, I learned how to use an EQ thanks to KVR, and I learned how to use a compressor thanks to the good folks of KVR. Now why is that? I have my theories.
I'll be honest with you, when I have learned anything about audio on either forum it was usually from checking someone's assertion against my trusty Audio Dictionary and finding the assertion to be wrong.

I have certainly gotten helpful links from people. I would probably never have heard of the 'Synth Secrets' series at SOS were it not for kvr. I doubt I would ever have seen 'the Alchemists of Sound' without kvr either, and that is a real gem.

But most of the audio information I have gotten online has been from places like the Rane Library, where actual scientist types write the material.
But hey, who needs to behave like an asshole when you've made it? Leave that to us struggling bitter and twisted types.

:lol:
It has been my experience that assholes come in all shapes and sizes. Kevin Garnett sounds like one of the biggest A-holes in the world and he is one of the most fortunate men alive.

Yeah, a lot of people want to be Rick. Or rather they want his success. Nothing wrong with that in a way, but really, it can't be stressed enough, be true to yourself, find out what you like, what you can bring to the table and how you can make a difference. But I wouldn't say that phenomenon was peculiar to Gearslutz, it's across the board in the music business - wannabes abound.


Oh no, I know. What was remarkable wasn't that there were wannabes, but that they want to be Rick Rubin.

I guess that have never really viewed the 'guy behind the glass' to be that cool as a role model or whatever. I mean...

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:?:

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schnapsglas wrote:For me both DMG EQs (maybe just EQuick!) and a nice "emulation" such as NI Massive Passive, Softube Trident A, or SPL Passive would suffice. But really, it is real luxury to have more than two/three EQ, in my opinion. "Minimum phase" that can do linear and one different GUI to have some strange behaviour should be good enough.

Compressors, on the other hand... they are so pretty :D
absolutely. that's all you ever actually need, but with all the options it is difficult to make the choice.

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i like the pultec when alan parson is turning the knobs.
Has anybody ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

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TheoM wrote:well i agree besides just a couple with the top 20 so far.. i think the OP has very good taste and is pretty spot on.
Thanks mate 8)
Hope I haven't soiled my track record with the final section!

Pleased to let you guys know that the complete list of 30 EQs is now up on GetThatProSound.com, enjoy!
“The height of cultivation runs to simplicity.” – Bruce Lee
http://www.getthatprosound.com

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so how many KVR members is that have review blogs now? :)

you'll not get any of my ad-clicks revenue :)
Has anybody ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

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