FabFilter releases Pro-Q 4 Equalizer Plugin

FabFilter has announced the immediate availability of Pro-Q 4, the latest version of its flagship equalizer plug-in.

Pro-Q 4 builds on the powerful feature set, sound quality and intuitive workflow that have always set Pro-Q apart with the addition of dynamic spectral processing, unified multi-instance control, direct curve drawing, analog-style saturation modes, a fresh new look and much more.

Spectral Dynamics

Taking problem-solving EQ to new heights, Spectral Dynamics extends Pro-Q's existing Dynamic EQ mode with the ability to apply expansion or compression to only those frequencies within a specified band that exceed the threshold, leaving all other frequencies unaffected. Making light work of suppressing harshness and unwanted resonances, this form of processing has always required a dedicated plug-in, but Pro-Q 4 simply integrates it as another per-band option alongside the conventional dynamic and static EQ modes users already rely on every day.

Instance List

The new Instance List button at the bottom center of any Pro-Q 4 running in a project opens an overview of all Pro-Q 4 instances, zoomable from a rack of miniaturized spectrum displays all the way up to fully interactive displays in which curves can be created and edited as usual - including with EQ Sketch. Activate the Auto-Zoom option to automatically focus on the instance currently under the mouse pointer, and use the Filter, Quick Jump, Search and Minimap features to easily navigate between all Pro-Q 4 instances, no matter how numerous. The Instance List can save a ton of time when mixing - and is a feast for the eyes in Full Screen mode.

EQ Sketch

Pro-Q 4 further improves on the user experience with a whole new way to create broad-strokes filter response curves: EQ Sketch. Simply drag the mouse across the main display to instantiate a series of filters set up to match the curve you draw, with slopes defined by the steepness of your mouse movements. Ideal for quickly establishing general frequency-shaping starting points to be tweaked and honed using Pro-Q 4's regular controls, EQ Sketch is intended as a workflow booster, particularly when used in conjunction with the new Instance List.

Character modes

Pro-Q 4's new Character modes bring the circuit-modelled distortion Pro-Q, imbuing tracks and mixes with analog flavor. Switch to the Subtle mode for gentle program- and frequency-dependent, transformer-style saturation, or the Warm mode when more obvious tube-style saturation is called for. The default Clean mode, meanwhile, retains Pro-Q's original transparent, uncolored sound.

Key features:

• Professional mastering-grade EQ plugin with up to 24 bands, a huge range of filter types, 6-96dB/octave slopes for all filter types, plus Brickwall slopes for the High Cut and Low Cut filters.
• New: Draw response curves directly into the display with EQ Sketch.
• New: Target problem frequencies with Spectral Dynamics.
• New: Control all Pro-Q 4 instances in a session from a single interface with the Instance List.
• New: Bring analog-modelled color and warmth to your sounds with Character modes.
• New: Copy and Paste EQ curves between plugin instances.
• New: Full-featured preset browser, with tags, favorites, search and filter functions, and new factory presets.
• New: Fractional filter slope settings, so e.g. 3 dB/oct Low Cut or 14.2 dB/oct Bell filter can now be created.
• New: Apply phase adjustments with the All Pass filter type.
• New: Parameter editing directly in the EQ parameter value display, via dragging or mouse wheel scrolling.
• Improved: Fresh new design, with resizable GPU-accelerated graphical interface and full-screen mode.
• Improved: Context-sensitive curve creation previews.
• Improved: Attack and Release controls for Dynamic EQ curves.
• Improved: Fine-tune Dynamic EQ response with sidechain filtering.
• Improved: Greater precision for Linear Phase mode.
• Improved: Better analog matching in Zero Latency and Natural Phase modes.
• Dynamic EQ option for every band.
• Natural, Zero Latency and Linear Phase processing modes.
• Per-band Stereo, Left, Right, Mid or Side mode.
• Surround support, supporting up to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 with flexible surround channel linking.
• EQ Match for imposing the tonal characteristics of one signal on another.
• Spectrum Grab: grab and adjust filters directly in the spectrum analyzer.
• Intelligent multiband selection and editing, and band solo mode.
• Powerful real-time spectrum analyzer with separate mastering (3/6dB) and mixing (12/30dB) display ranges.
• Piano Display switches the frequency scale to musical note values.
• Plus: All the usual FabFilter features: perfectly fine-tuned knobs and controllers, interactive MIDI Learn, undo/redo and A/B switch, Smart Parameter Interpolation for smooth parameter transitions, an extensive help file with interactive help hints, sample accurate automation, NEON and SSE optimization, and more.

YouTube.com/watch?v=IXWkViqU2K8

FabFilter Pro-Q 4 is now available for EUR 169, USD 179 or GBP 144, supporting both Windows and macOS in VST and VST 3, Audio Units, AAX, AudioSuite and CLAP plug-in formats. Bundles with FabFilter Pro-Q 4 and other FabFilter plug-ins are also available at: www.fabfilter.com/shop

Existing FabFilter customers can purchase or upgrade to FabFilter Pro-Q 4 with attractive discounts by logging into their online user account at: www.fabfilter.com/myaccount

System requirements are either Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) and a VST 2/3 host, CLAP host or Pro Tools, or macOS 10.13 or higher (64-bit only) with Intel or Apple Silicon processor, and an Audio Units host, VST 2/3 host, CLAP host, or Pro Tools.