Tried the Sonalksis EQ

[trmupstage]

I have both Eqium and the Sonalksis EQ's. I like them both for different purposes. I sometimes think we get too caught up in "what's the best" that we never get around to recording anything. I know I'm guilty of that. Some astounding music has been recorded on far inferior EQ's to anything that's available today.

[ArneyS]

What do you people use on the master bus? Presumably all the EQ's mentioned here are used on a per channel basis?

[Frippertronix]

Have you tried GEQ-7 from www.kjaerhusaudio.com ?

Haven't installed it but it sits on my desktop waiting. If it's just as good I'd be pleased since it costs less than half as much. Here's hoping.

It takes about 10 seconds to install ... i'd love to hear what you think. I think it's magical, but I don't have a UAD-1 for comparison.

Only waiting because I'm going to be out of town for a while coming up pretty soon and I don't want to be rushed trying it out. This is an important decision for me because I need an EQ that can give me more pronounced boosts than I get from my main EQ right now, which is Gliss. I love that plug but it is more on the subtle side. I want something that is a bit more "in your face" to work alongside with Gliss.

[Frippertronix]

Well, I'm creeping ever closer to buying Sonalksis because I just can't get over how huge it's making my low end but not muddying out. I just boost a little around 1K and then give a slight but very effective high shelf and it really cuts through while giving me a really dazzling low shelf all the way up to 2 or 3 hundred.

I still agree about the harshness and sort of 80's radio mix sound of the highs, but it's tough because whatever it is that this plug is doing that I like, I like so much I don't know if I can do without it.

[Frippertronix]

When I was choosing an EQ for myself, I was comparing Sonalksis and GEQ-7 with each other. They both gave quite a nice and punchy sounding boosted bass... I bought GEQ-7.

Try the GEQ-7. You might actually like it

I'll do that, thanks for the tip.

[Frippertronix]

Flippertronix,

one more thing I forgot to ask. Do you hear the slight change in sound when running audio trough the sonalksis EQ, even with all settings at flat? It's a good ear/monitor exercise.

- bManic

I'll try that but I think the answer is probably yes. It is doing "something" to the sound and my hunch is it's an "on all the time" sort of effect.

Like I stated above, it's kind of '80's but not in a bad way necessarily.

This is definitely not a neutral and transparent effect.

[Frippertronix]

sounds the same as waves ren eq to me, except a bit stronger response in the low end, big deal jus give waves ren a little more gain, also both have pretty much the exact same harsh highs.

mad considering the times they were made, and the hype!

It's growing on me. I've never heard the Waves EQ. I really like the huge low end I'm getting in "smile" config with the highs achieving good definition. The lows are so warm on this plug, but I agree about the harsh highs and I would throw in nasally mids.

Still I'm considering it since I'm not sigularly amazed by any EQ I've tried, though I obviously haven't been able to get into the UA stuff since I don't have the card.

although its not very good for surgical stuff, i actually use cubase Q for things like low cuts, cause hydra cant seem to do it with much precision and transparency.

I have a general problem with Hydratone in the lows, and I've been trying with all the hardware impulses. I was trying to replicate the bass boost with definition that I could get on Sonalksis but doing it on the HT and every time the bass sounded weaker, even brought up to ostensibly the same db's.

It seemed to be blocking some of the punchy dynamics, which may have been why the db's didn't register as well, because the punch was sucked out more. Or...something like that. Some kind of major psychoacoustic difference is going on between SEQ compared to HT in the lows, at least on the material I was trying.

What I love HT for is where you want to shave some high off and fatten the mids, but more softly. I like it on analog synth leads especially.

[jmh]

bManic Only the animals that navigate using soundwaves and you can hear the difference

JMH

it's pretty obvious for me, try it with harsh percussion or some digital synths, and compare. i actually like it(the 'warming-algo'), but wouldn't use the sonalksis as a generall clean track-eq for that reason. but it's nice on tracks, that benefit from this effect.

when you compare eqs always match the loudness, and compare solo and in the mix.

Hence the winking smiley - I'm well aware of the effect, thanks in part to bManic mentioning it ages ago and consequently hearing the effect properly on his excellent Genelecs...

Regards,

JMH

[kilroy]

I want something that is a bit more "in your face" to work alongside with Gliss.

Aleksey's Lampthruster has lots of dynamic character and colour.
If you can't get "in your face" with this...

[greendoor]

GEQ-7 has four modes - you can do extreme surgical stuff, or softer musical stuff. I really can't understand any reluctance to try it out. Maybe it's hard to accept that a reasonably priced and non-challenge/response product can kick it with the corporate whores ...

[zimba]

[quote="ArneyS"]What do you people use on the master bus? Presumably all the EQ's mentioned here are used on a per channel basis?[/quote]

Personally I use Pultec and Ozone 3 EQ on the master buss, but usually with only slight adjustments. Id like to use Valvetone but I cant get it to work on my system without problems. If I ever get it too work glitch free it will probably replace Pultec for coloration and punch duties.

[martian]

Flippertronix,

one more thing I forgot to ask. Do you hear the slight change in sound when running audio trough the sonalksis EQ, even with all settings at flat? It's a good ear/monitor exercise.

- bManic

yer this is good hearing excersise because there is NO change in sound!

[martian]

another funny thing about this eq is, i can get a boost anywhere to almost entirely cancel out with one on 5 year old waves ren eq! and if i could change boosts with 0.01 precision then i believe they would completely cancel.

food for thought.

[AKJ]

I want something that is a bit more "in your face" to work alongside with Gliss.

Aleksey's Lampthruster has lots of dynamic character and colour.
If you can't get "in your face" with this...

yes, absolutely true. try the combination of glisseq and lampthruster for the more "brutal" work

akj

[defjamm]

Flippertronix,

one more thing I forgot to ask. Do you hear the slight change in sound when running audio trough the sonalksis EQ, even with all settings at flat? It's a good ear/monitor exercise.

- bManic

yer this is good hearing excersise because there is NO change in sound!

get a musicfile, put it on 2 tracks, on one you put the ren-eq(with bands on but no gain), on the other you inverse the phase. it will peak at -390db(according to samplitude).
now exchange the ren-eq with the sonalksis, enable the shelves(with no gain), this file peaks at -104db. you can see it with the free voxengo span. i'm no programmer, don't know about dsp, but something must go on according to this or not? can somebody answer this?
and they DON'T sound the same, ren-eq is a little harsher. but both suck compared to hydratone.