Vertically Aligned EQ plugins?

[_leras]

But of a dB question. Nearly every channel strip has all the things being asked for. Many channel strips have great sounding EQ. Whats the problem with the EQ being in a 'channel strip'?

Channel strips also usually have lpf and hpf.

If you want vertical, include channel strips, if you want the best EQ, don't limit yourself to vertical.

What's the point here? Some DIY console type affair with thirty eqs next to each other?

[kidslow]

Thanks for all the recommendations.

I like: StonEQ4k from Sonimus, SLP 538 EQ from Purafied Audio

Found those two after I posted. Exactly what I was looking for and the Purafied SLP 538 EQ might be the one. Will give it a trial and see. Seems to be tick all the boxes.

the querry is a bit confusing, in regard to the
vertical bit, i guess its vertically aligned knobs? not just a vertical layout.

Some of this was just a let's see what's out there, but I've been thinking about this too. When I see knobs where the high frequency is above the mids which is above the lows, it just makes sense to me immediately. Aligning them horizontally low-mid-high requires some sort of mental translation that is not as comfortable. Does that make sense? I have a very spatial oriented memory, almost uncannily so, and a vertical orientation of frequencies plays to that.

Like I posted, the inspiration came from seeing the Pulsar Modular and wondering what else is out there like it.

Just don't like channel strips. I find them too distracting, especially the analog modelled ones. I like to focus on a single tool at a time, so I am ok with channel strips that just display a single component (Lindell 80, Boz +10db) but generally I gravitate away.

Also I do a lot of work on a 15" Macbook, so looking for a plugin that doesn't take up as much screen real estate. I know the resizeable ones can be adjusted, but a narrow vertical strip is still preferred.

[kidslow]

But of a dB question. Nearly every channel strip has all the things being asked for. Many channel strips have great sounding EQ. Whats the problem with the EQ being in a 'channel strip'?

Channel strips also usually have lpf and hpf.

If you want vertical, include channel strips, if you want the best EQ, don't limit yourself to vertical.

What's the point here? Some DIY console type affair with thirty eqs next to each other?

Why can't I limit myself to a vertical single eq? People create all sorts of limitations with their tools, for all sorts of reasons. I don't like channel strips. Can't that be enough? I gave some more detail in the previous response. We are overwhelmed with choices for plugin eqs, so everyone should be taking the time to figure out which combination of features works best for their needs. Agreed?

[t.o.t.s.]

I’ll echo the PSP E27 suggestion. the full sized unit might not be to your liking as it’s more of a two channel square shape but the PSP E27se (they come together) is a simplified version of the plug-in (unified stereo channels instead of two separate controls for each channel). it’s got most of what your looking for i think and it sounds great. https://www.pspaudioware.com/products/psp-e27

[_leras]

I don't like channel strips. Can't that be enough? I gave some more detail in the previous response. We are overwhelmed with choices for plugin eqs, so everyone should be taking the time to figure out which combination of features works best for their needs. Agreed?

No, it's not enough for me, anyway.

For vertical eqs channels strips are nearly all like that so why exclude them just because they have a few extra controls that you don't need to use.

Also, many of the/my best EQs are laid out horizontally. Why rule them all out?

I mean, you do you, you don't have to be logical...

[El°HYM]

A lot of things are happening in our brain when being creative and we are mostly visual beings while dwelling in this world. So even such simple thing as a layout, which may not seem that relevant at first sight, can actually play a huge role in the end. It could of course also just be what we associate with a classic EQ, like in Consoles or a DJ - Mixer and our Mind suggesting us, that this is how it should be.

[pekbro]

I own 50% of all the plugins listed. heh
Well, all the suggestions anyway, tho I
do have the Lindell Eqs.

[_leras]

A lot of things are happening in our brain when being creative and we are mostly visual beings while dwelling in this world. So even such simple thing as a layout, which may not seem that relevant at first sight, can actually play a huge role in the end. It could of course also just be what we associate with a classic EQ, like in Consoles or a DJ - Mixer and our Mind suggesting us, that this is how it should be.

Maybe, this is true to an extent - but it's easily gotten past by learning the tools. Learning how things sound and react to different sources.

To me there are definitely tool EQs to just use, and more creative EQs to spend time with fine tuning something.

UAD Helios and 1073 plug ins both have great but slightly different high ends. Does it really matter what they look like if I want to try one or both of them on a track for that purpose? I pretty much know what these will give me, so I can go straight there and just use them.

UAD Massive Passive is a totally different beast and I'll choose to use it for more complex shaping and toning, but I know I'll need to spend sometime with it to get it how I want. This one takes more practice to learn, and often a while to dial in, but even then I know what sort of things I want to use it for.

There's also a lot to be said for channel strips. Not the most exciting EQs perhaps, but the consistency of curves and tone across a mix really can bring a 'record' sound. Main elements can always have more custom treatment.

On the topic of consistent UI and not being too visual, this thread has made me wonder if I need to create some 'presets' from some favourite EQs attached to macro controls so I don't even need to open a UI. But already I'm thinking, I'd it's for a simple EQ I don't need it, and for a complex EQ I'm pretty sure that I find the UI helpful for operation and for differentiating between different EQs in my mind.

[kidslow]

No, it's not enough for me, anyway.

For vertical eqs channels strips are nearly all like that so why exclude them just because they have a few extra controls that you don't need to use.

Also, many of the/my best EQs are laid out horizontally. Why rule them all out?

I mean, you do you, you don't have to be logical...

It's not even logical to me, but I think I probably have an undiagnosed ADHD. So I could say you're being ableist.

In the five years since I dove off the deep end into audio I would say I've easily auditioned over 1000 plugins. Easily. In my life I have navigated just about any UI made and have spent decades working with computer interfaces. I'm as at home on a DOS or Linux CLI, as on Windows 95 or 11, as I am on MacOS 7 or 11 or Photoshop or Microsoft Excel, an iPad, Android. Used them all. The way I see it at this point in my journey, it's not about finding my way around or working with the tools long enough to be more comfortable. Some interfaces will never be comfortable to each of us. I would say this is true for everyone, even in the small narrow world of audio plugins, or else there wouldn't be so many options that are beloved. At a certain point the bar for sound quality is crossed by many many choices, unless you have a golden ear or are a stickler and even then the bar is crossed by choices.

What I have learned after auditioning all these hundreds of plugins is that some of them spark joy and some of them are uncomfortable. We should all want to work with tools that spark joy in us. Isn't it wonderful we have so many options? Plugins that bring me joy may not be the same ones that bring you joy. To put it in computing terms, being able to navigate an interface as compared to one that sparks joy ... is the difference between typing on a computer keyboard hunt-and-peck style with two fingers versus touch typing at 60+ WPM with few to no mistakes. Some don't aspire to the latter, but the process is so much easier if you find your way there.

Channel strips to me feel like typing with two fingers. Maybe one day they won't. I have plenty enough horizontal and whiz bang Eqs in my toolbox, and my enquiry about vertically oriented Eqs does not suggest I will stop using them. Just that maybe I've figured out what I want in my next one.

[kidslow]

I own 50% of all the plugins listed. heh
Well, all the suggestions anyway, tho I
do have the Lindell Eqs.

Which of them do you find yourself using regularly and why those over the others?

[pekbro]

I own 50% of all the plugins listed. heh
Well, all the suggestions anyway, tho I
do have the Lindell Eqs.

Which of them do you find yourself using regularly and why those over the others?

Oh, I'm not a good example heh. I like effects, for me there is no such thing as a goto plugin.
I have many and go back and forth amongst them. My vst3 plugin count is 2104, and I dont
even have all of them installed. I don't sell stuff except the occasional dupe. Of course, I
can't use them all, all of the time, but I have my various plugins that I like to use together
dependent on the task, my mood, focus, level of sobriety etc. it's rare that too many of them
will sit idle for too much of an extended period, believe it or not.

My per-plugin usage preferences tend to be based on sound and often efficiency, over anything else,
since the computer I'm using currently is of modest spec. I do like a nice UI as much as the next guy,
tho I am equally fond of a minimalist UI vs a fancy replica of some piece of HW or some snazzy digital
UI with lots of graphical metering. I'm a trained artist, so my appreciation for design probably has a
lot more range than avg. I also crave complexity, the more complex and technical a plugin is,
generally, the more I will like it.

[art&sound]

UADx Helios?

[_leras]

UADx Helios?

Channel strip...

(A pretty good EQ though, especially the top end.)

[kidslow]

Oh, I'm not a good example heh. I like effects, for me there is no such thing as a goto plugin.
I have many and go back and forth amongst them. My vst3 plugin count is 2104, and I dont
even have all of them installed. I don't sell stuff except the occasional dupe. Of course, I
can't use them all, all of the time, but I have my various plugins that I like to use together
dependent on the task, my mood, focus, level of sobriety etc. it's rare that too many of them
will sit idle for too much of an extended period, believe it or not.

I find the way other people work fascinating, because we are all different. How do you keep track of them all? In your head? I keep prodiguous notes and even then it's been an iterative process to develop knowledge and a personal knowledgebase.

So how about if I ask this. The Purafied SLP 538 and the Sonimus StonEQ 4K are still, of those suggested in this thread, the most interesting to me. Where have you last used those?

Had to count how many plugins I have installed. 706. Doesn't include Waves or any other plugins that use their own loader architecture. I really sandbagged my earlier estimate. So it'd be 1400 or more that I've looked at since I started. Maybe as many as 2000, especially if you count all the airwindows. Chris has that many in his collection alone. I am actually just fine with the interface on them although the Airwindows Consolidated is a welcome improvement ... maybe because it's vertically oriented. Hmmm.

[_leras]

I mean, you do you, you don't have to be logical...

It's not even logical to me, but I think I probably have an undiagnosed ADHD. So I could say you're being ableist.

What I have learned after auditioning all these hundreds of plugins is that some of them spark joy and some of them are uncomfortable. We should all want to work with tools that spark joy in us. Isn't it wonderful we have so many options?

Channel strips to me feel like typing with two fingers. Maybe one day they won't. I have plenty enough horizontal and whiz bang Eqs in my toolbox, and my enquiry about vertically oriented Eqs does not suggest I will stop using them. Just that maybe I've figured out what I want in my next one.

I was kidding about not being logical, as you say everyone has slightly different preferences.

I think you just need to find ones you click with (sound wise) and try them on many different things. In doing so, you can learn the operation of the EQ as well.

I definitely have some goto EQs for different tasks, or depending on the importance of a part in the mix. I also have some that I'll try as options. And probably quite a few that rarely get used.