KVR Audio

J4R1O · Post by **J4R1O** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 8:33 pm

Hi,

Just comparing the Waves API 560 and the IK Multimedia EQ PG and for some reason they seem to sound very different even with the same settings.

Waves API 550A and IK Multimedia EQ PA sound almost the same.

I'm about to sell my Waves Studio Classics Collection and the only plugins I'm gonna miss are the API EQ's - and that's why I'm looking for some good alternatives.

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 8:50 pm

J4R1O wrote:Hi,

Just comparing the Waves API 560 and the IK Multimedia EQ PG and for some reason they seem to sound very different even with the same settings. Waves API 550A and IK Multimedia EQ PA sound almost the same.

I'm about to sell my Waves Studio Classics Collection and the only plugins I'm gonna miss are the API EQ's - and that's why I'm looking for some good alternatives.

Maybe they modelled different consoles?

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:20 pm

Pop both into Christian Budde's Plugin Analyzer and see if you can match the frequency response of one to the other. Can they match up pretty closely? Do the curves look similar?

I've done this with the various Neve 1073 EQ's and I'll say that the IK version seemed like the odd man out in terms of the HP shape and low frequencies. The Sonimus Burnley, Slate, and UAD versions were all much closer to each other. I'm not making any assumptions about what that means, but that was my experience.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:30 pm

Funkybot's Evil Twin wrote:I've done this with the various Neve 1073 EQ's and I'll say that the IK version seemed like the odd man out in terms of the HP shape and low frequencies. The Sonimus Burnley, Slate, and UAD versions were all much closer to each other. I'm not making any assumptions about what that means, but that was my experience.

When I tried them out head-to-head (non-scientifically, no analyzer), I found that I had to use different settings to get them to match. However, once I matched them, I thought they sounded pretty close to each other.

I don't know how the IK 560 stacks up against the Waves one but I prefer the IK 550 over the UAD 550.

J4R1O · Post by **J4R1O** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:16 pm

Funkybot's Evil Twin wrote:Pop both into Christian Budde's Plugin Analyzer and see if you can match the frequency response of one to the other.

Good idea, but it's not available anymore...

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:43 pm

J4R1O wrote:Good idea, but it's not available anymore...

It is if you do a little digging

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:57 am

sprnva wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:43 pm
J4R1O wrote:Good idea, but it's not available anymore...
It is if you do a little digging

thanks

J4R1O · Post by **J4R1O** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:00 am

sprnva wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:43 pm
J4R1O wrote:Good idea, but it's not available anymore...
It is if you do a little digging

Thanks!

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:24 am

J4R1O wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:16 pm
Funkybot's Evil Twin wrote:Pop both into Christian Budde's Plugin Analyzer and see if you can match the frequency response of one to the other.
Good idea, but it's not available anymore...

You can also use this (free) tool : https://www.bertomaudio.com/eqca.html

Works as a plugin, insert one instance before and one after the eq you want to analyze.

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:27 am

Btw : As a fan and owner of API hardware i have to say that both Waves and IK emulations are not really sounding like API.

imo, the best API emulations are UAD 550 & 560 and/or Acustica Audio Pink 4. Softube American Class A ain't bad either.

AC222 · Post by **AC222** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 3:30 pm

Not to get too far OT but I am suprised if IK made a 550/560 eq, wonder why they wouldnt model a 2500. Would think the comp would have more demand than the eqs. Maybe the thrust features are hard to get right and in the works for down the road. Between the 2500 and dbx 160, those seem to be two glaring omissions from what is already a fairly complete universe of eqs and comps.

AKJ · Post by **AKJ** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 5:10 pm

The best (= best sounding, not the most exact model, since I have no idea how a real API EQ sounds) API EQ model is imo the Overould GEM EQ550. I also have the Waves and the IK products and clearly prefer the Overloud one. It also has the best feature set.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:55 pm

dionenoid wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:27 am imo, the best API emulations are UAD 550 & 560 and/or Acustica Audio Pink 4. Softube American Class A ain't bad either.

American Class A deserves credit for all that it adds and for being so brilliantly lain out. I often use the UAD API Vision realtime for tracking but I get better results with American Class A when mixing.

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:34 am

dionenoid wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:27 am Btw : As a fan and owner of API hardware i have to say that both Waves and IK emulations are not really sounding like API.

imo, the best API emulations are UAD 550 & 560 and/or Acustica Audio Pink 4. Softube American Class A ain't bad either.

You should try out the Red Rock Sound API 550/560. They also have a free version of the 560 without the saturation circuit modelled. Not sure how they compare to the hardware but they're better than the IK by miles.

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:39 am

AKJ wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 5:10 pm The best (= best sounding, not the most exact model, since I have no idea how a real API EQ sounds) API EQ model is imo the Overould GEM EQ550. I also have the Waves and the IK products and clearly prefer the Overloud one. It also has the best feature set.

They gave away the GEM EQ550 for free a few years back. I wish they'd do a 560 and a 2500.

Waves API 560 and IK Multimedia EQ PG - Same settings, different sound?