KVR Audio

iainduncan · Post by **iainduncan** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:00 am

title kinda says it all. It seems to me that ReaEQ is very well designed, and the Cockus lead certainly has the background to have pulled off a great EQ unit. But I'll be honest and admit I don't know much about EQ. Curious what other people's thoughts are as too whether $200 EQ plugins are really better and if so, by how much and in what ways?

thanks!
Iain

Aubrey Lamont · Post by **Aubrey Lamont** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:28 am

Demo some. FabFilter provides 30-day demos.

Only you can decide if they're "worth it."

mothballs · Post by **mothballs** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:47 am

I've been eqing things for decades and have tried gazillions of eq plugins and really can't answer this question to my own satisfaction.

ReaEQ is fantastic and completely adequate for any application but you still may want to use others for color or grit or just because you like the GUI or whatever.

Just try a bunch out and see what works for you. I use ReaEQ for just about everything but if I was going to buy another one at the moment it might be the Waves H-EQ or possibly the Melda ones. Of course, everyone who posts will recommend a different favorite that they swear by.

bungle · Post by **bungle** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:00 am

I like the multiple channel overlaid analyzers and stretchability of IIEQ Pro by DDMF, but if it didn't have those i would use ReaEQ instead.

meloco_go · Post by **meloco_go** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:11 am

ReaEQ is nice. There's very little to gain from the pure quality point. However, the way controls are layed out on the EQ (windth, frequencies, even the range of gain control) may have a major effect on your workflow. Think of EQ controls as sort of "preset". Different "presets" may drive you in different directions. And of course there's bunch EQs that offer you stull like hamonic distortion etc.
So in essence, I'd repeat what other's said -- try some. Do not focus on the sound, and don't try to match one EQ with another right away. Look at what EQs offer for you, see how they fit your workflow.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:14 am

[DELETED]

crimsonwarlock · Post by **crimsonwarlock** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 7:26 am

ReaEQ is my basic goto EQ, I have it inserted automatically on each channel and mapped to my control-surface (which deals with any GUI-issues

). But I use it mainly as a channel-EQ, so purely to 'correct' things. I have/use several other EQs for 'dialing in some color' here and there. All free stuff like pushtec, bootsy's baxter, etc.

Moonwrist · Post by **Moonwrist** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:38 am

I think that first you need to ask yourself: "Is the reaEQ plugin limiting my mixes or is it my skills that are limiting my mixes?"

Great way to check this is trying a demo version. If you don't hear difference there either isn't a difference between reaEQ and the plugin you have for demo or your skills aren't there yet. If you hear difference then the new plugin might be a step to next level for better mixes.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 10:37 am

[DELETED]

crimsonwarlock · Post by **crimsonwarlock** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:02 am

TheoM wrote:Unlimited bands with choice of filter per band is something not even some of the expensive ones offer.

I think it does up to 15 bands. Someone on the reaper-forum recently tried it. I think he wanted 31 bands.

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:03 am

crimsonwarlock wrote:
TheoM wrote:Unlimited bands with choice of filter per band is something not even some of the expensive ones offer.
I think it does up to 15 bands. Someone on the reaper-forum recently tried it. I think he wanted 31 bands.

maybe for the VST version it's 15, but the native REAPER version really does unlimited bands. i've just created 33.

crimsonwarlock · Post by **crimsonwarlock** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:05 am

Burillo wrote:
crimsonwarlock wrote:
TheoM wrote:Unlimited bands with choice of filter per band is something not even some of the expensive ones offer.
I think it does up to 15 bands. Someone on the reaper-forum recently tried it. I think he wanted 31 bands.
maybe for the VST version it's 15, but the native REAPER version really does unlimited bands. i've just created 33.

Oh, great. Didn't try it myself, just what I read lately on the reaper forum

CableChannel · Post by **CableChannel** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:07 am

I have tried a bunch of freeware EQs, I have Waves Q10 and the Cubase EQ. I did a comparison with equal settings and I wasn't able to hear any significant differences. So I didn't bother to try any 200$ EQ.

For me, differences in EQs are so subtle, that's almost like the hifi peeps talking about sound differences in gold plated USB(!) cables.

IIRs · Post by **IIRs** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:36 am

ReaEQ cramps up in the high frequencies, so as you get close to nyquist (anywhere above about 10k if you're working at 44.1) the shape of the cut or boost goes all skewed and departs quite significantly from the analogue model.

A well designed EQ such as Pro-Q is therefore much better for high frequency "air" boosts etc.

For low frequency or mid range work ReaEQ is fine, though I would hate to give up the ergonomics of the Fabfilter plug, or the MS stereo options. I do like the fact that you can show phase response in ReaEQ however, and I occasionally load it up for the Allpass filters.

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 12:04 pm

[DELETED]

Is it worth buying pricer EQ than ReaEQ?