No love for Crave EQ?

[MogwaiBoy]

I'm looking for a linear phase eq. I already have the "Frequency EQ" that comes with Cubase but I dont like the UI (should be larger or resizable). During my researches for Fabfilter Pro-Q I found a thread, over at Gearsluts, where a few guys were praising the Crave EQ from Crave DSP.

I'm one of those people praising Crave EQ but I have to admit I haven't fully explored or compared the Linear Phase mode to pro-Q... I'm not much of a linear phase EQ'er.

As a longtime Pro-Q user, I've found Crave EQ to be brilliant and in my tests nudges ahead of Pro-Q in sound. Pro-Q 3 is very advanced though with all the extra features it has (not least of which is dynamic bands), but Crave in Transparent and Analog modes is the pinnacle of digital parametric EQ to me. Note: I would like to try Equilibrium one day but the price and ugly interface don't pull me in (Equick looks more like my kinda thing though).

As mentioned, the purple/teal colourscheme is garish but that will change in a future update.

[Passing Bye]

Note: I would like to try Equilibrium one day but the price and ugly interface don't pull me in (Equick looks more like my kinda thing though).

You can make it look same as Equick in preferences, actually when you launch it for first time it will give you numerous options to choose, than you can go and add/remove/configure it to look as you prefer.

[MogwaiBoy]

Note: I would like to try Equilibrium one day but the price and ugly interface don't pull me in (Equick looks more like my kinda thing though).

You can make it look same as Equick in preferences, actually when you launch it for first time it will give you numerous options to choose, than you can go and add/remove/configure it to look as you prefer.

That's good to know! Thanks for the heads up

[bk]

I'm one of those people praising Crave EQ but I have to admit I haven't fully explored or compared the Linear Phase mode to pro-Q... I'm not much of a linear phase EQ'er.

As a longtime Pro-Q user, I've found Crave EQ to be brilliant and in my tests nudges ahead of Pro-Q in sound. Pro-Q 3 is very advanced though with all the extra features it has (not least of which is dynamic bands), but Crave in Transparent and Analog modes is the pinnacle of digital parametric EQ to me.

What he said.
Crave is incredibly cpu efficient, sounds fantastic, is easy to work with, and does everything I need an EQ to do.
Even with the analyzer on, the cpu usage smokes most other EQs I've tried.

[Rickskii]

Crave has replaced all my other choices...

[audiot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZb-3qimewA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrq4PaZLLxI

If interested, look at a few different videos because some people miss obvious things. They can also show hidden features. A wide view and/or a read of the manual is advised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bDIMBhMqQY

^ Even the above video doesn't cover 100% of everything special about the plugin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIQf9AtBjE

Looks like a fine character EQ but the curves are not directly editable and i'm more looking for a good sounding workhorse EQ. I keep it on my radar.

[audiot]

I'm looking for a linear phase eq. I already have the "Frequency EQ" that comes with Cubase but I dont like the UI (should be larger or resizable). During my researches for Fabfilter Pro-Q I found a thread, over at Gearsluts, where a few guys were praising the Crave EQ from Crave DSP.

I'm one of those people praising Crave EQ but I have to admit I haven't fully explored or compared the Linear Phase mode to pro-Q... I'm not much of a linear phase EQ'er.

As a longtime Pro-Q user, I've found Crave EQ to be brilliant and in my tests nudges ahead of Pro-Q in sound. Pro-Q 3 is very advanced though with all the extra features it has (not least of which is dynamic bands), but Crave in Transparent and Analog modes is the pinnacle of digital parametric EQ to me. Note: I would like to try Equilibrium one day but the price and ugly interface don't pull me in (Equick looks more like my kinda thing though).

As mentioned, the purple/teal colourscheme is garish but that will change in a future update.

Yes I saw your posts there and thought: hey you know that guy from kvr

[audiot]

My current conclusion:

I am torn between but Crave EQ and Acon Equalize 2. Acon Equalize 2 doesnt look as sexy as Pro Q or Crave EQ but the workflow feels so intuitive and smooth. I was not expecting that from the screenshots. That special slope shaping is something I havent seen in any other EQ and the mixed phase mode sounds great. Tough decision ...

DMG Equick seems to be a great workhorse EQ but I prefer the other ones and Equilibrium is to expensive for me. I havent tested Hornet Total EQ because it's not linear phase.

[Passing Bye]

Acon Equalize 2 doesnt look as sexy as Pro Q or Crave EQ but the workflow feels so intuitive and smooth. I was not expecting that. That special slope shaping is something I havent seen in any other EQ and the mixed phase mode sounds great. Tough decision ...

I told you, that was exactly my findings too, I assume you already utilized key commands (shift/alt/ctrl + mouse wheel), version 2 was free update for version 1 owners also, which is pretty generous gesture from the developer.

EDIT: Ok, tried the Crave EQ, to tell you the truth, maybe I got used to Equalize, but GUI isn't really more appealing, Equalize does more and it's faster overall, for me Equick wins the beauty contest tho.

[TheD20]

I considered CraveEq quite heavily, but bought ProQ3 instead. For me and my ears I just like ProQ3 better, but Crave is an incredible EQ as well!

In which cases it sounded better? I havent installed the Pro Q demo anymore. I find that both are great at boosting frequencies - less distortion, which has to do with that linear phase thing I think. I couldnt hear a noticable difference in that case.

I demo'd CraveEq and Proq3 at the same time. I tend to cut more than i boost when it comes to EQ. Boosting with Proq3 on drums sounded great! I compared the two above to others i own. Those being Equality, GlissEq, and the stock Cubase Eq. To my ears Proq3 just sounded better to me. That being the main reason i went with it, it also makes my workflow much faster. I can pull Proq3 make some quick decisions and the move on. Very quick to get EQ decisions made and then move on. That is very important to me as well.

[audiot]

I considered CraveEq quite heavily, but bought ProQ3 instead. For me and my ears I just like ProQ3 better, but Crave is an incredible EQ as well!

In which cases it sounded better? I havent installed the Pro Q demo anymore. I find that both are great at boosting frequencies - less distortion, which has to do with that linear phase thing I think. I couldnt hear a noticable difference in that case.

I demo'd CraveEq and Proq3 at the same time. I tend to cut more than i boost when it comes to EQ. Boosting with Proq3 on drums sounded great! I compared the two above to others i own. Those being Equality, GlissEq, and the stock Cubase Eq. To my ears Proq3 just sounded better to me. That being the main reason i went with it, it also makes my workflow much faster. I can pull Proq3 make some quick decisions and the move on. Very quick to get EQ decisions made and then move on. That is very important to me as well.

Yes lowering the oposite frequencies is always better than boosting ... at least people are saying that this is best practice. But boosting the lowend with Crave EQ sounded really good in some cases and produced less distortion than all the other plugins I am testing. It seems that Crave EQ is doing that even better than some of my character eq's.

Workflow-wise i slightly prefer Acon Equalize but sound-wise it's Crave EQ

[audiot]

Final decision:

I will buy Crave EQ. Workflow-wise i slightly prefer Acon Equalize 2 but sound-wise it's Crave EQ. It's a hard decision but Crave EQ is only 60 euros and at gearsluts I read that the developer is already working on version 2 which could also include dynamic bands. With Nova GE I am covered in that scenarion but it would be a nice addition. If a newbie would ask me for the best workhorse EQ at the moment I would recommend to download Crave EQ and Acon Equalize 2 and see what fits best. To me it's Crave EQ!

Thank you all for your tipps and impressions.

[NeonNightflyer]

Final decision:

I will buy Crave EQ. Workflow-wise i slightly prefer Acon Equalize 2 but sound-wise it's Crave EQ. It's a hard decision but Crave EQ is only 60 euros and at gearsluts I read that the developer is already working on version 2 which could also include dynamic bands. With Nova GE I am covered in that scenarion but it would be a nice addition. If a newbie would ask me for the best workhorse EQ at the moment I would recommend to download Crave EQ and Acon Equalize 2 and see what fits best. To me it's Crave EQ!

Thank you all for your tipps and impressions.

My understanding was that the developer was developing a separate dynamics plugin and did not want to turn Crave EQ into a dynamic EQ. Regardless, I don't think you can go wrong with Crave.

[codec_spurt]

dfghj

[foosnark]

I like the color.

But to me mid/side is pretty important in an EQ like this, more so than linear phase, so I'll stick with Toneboosters