Toned-MAX

It's time for me to write a review of this one, as I've used it for quite some time, on off in between testing other EQs, always trying to find that thing that just works. I think I've bounced between Toned-MAX and others because it had minor bugs some time back, they are all fixed and more features have been added as well, so yea, here it comes.

First off it's said to shine most at mastering, and while it's excellent for that, i actually almost only use it for mixing. The reason why is because it's just so fast and easy to work with while being complex if needed. It has lots of filter types with as many slopes as possible (or usable), with 96db in pass and shelf, it has analog styled types, a new vibe style, also an analog emulation, all pass also up to 96db, constant-Q bell, notch, tilt, and of course band pass. I find it very sufficient and has not met a barrier here, no matter what i want to do, from classic analog low shelfs to super precise surgical bells, it is very handy and sounds top notch while being that.

BUT, it's not only an EQ, it's also a analog circuit emulation, with various types and saturation methods, variation in L<->R and added noise which both can be activated/deactivated according to the job and purpose. The emulations sounds pretty good, and the variation is nice, but the naming is hard to understand, at least for me, as i have no clue what it does or what it's emulating, but i can hear a difference when shifting between the emulations, so i'm forced to use my ears when selecting, which in the end is all that matters.

BUT, there's more, it also has a good gain stage toolbox, with pre or post clipping and drive gain, that effect the analog emulations as well, input and output controls is also there, making it easy to master the volume pre and post effect.

BUT, yes, even more, it also as a stereo toolbox, with width control, a low mono filter to force the low end to roam in mono, a panner, channel switcher R<->L, and a phase flipper.

And to top it all of, the EQ bands can work dynamically with an adjustable threshold, attack and release. It's not as versatile as what i would like, as there's only one dynamics control that controls all the bands that's set as dynamical EQ band, so no one band one threshold mechanics unfortunately, but it's still useful in some situations, mainly in mastering.

The interface is easy, dark mode in clear colors (adjustable), and i like it, it's not trying to look like anything else than a versatile EQ, and i love that. Its spectrum analyzer is showing current and average spectrum, but it's a bit slow, no not slow, it's just not updating as fast as i would like it to be updating, like it's running 30hz or so; it's not really a problem, it's not annoying, but still something i would change and make faster.

Adding bands is done fast by double clicking in the spectrum, like you would imagine, changing type, fine tuning and so on is easy in the bottom box, which can be hidden if needed, or by right clicking a band. They are easy to drag around, easy to adjust Q with middle mouse button, double click again and it's deactivated, very standard controls and industry demanding, so standard is good in this case.

It also has oversampling in minimum and linear modes, in LQ and HQ modes, but i never use them, never really felt the need.

I want to say it has a sound, and not really, it depends how you use it, which is the beauty of it, and i cant hear any quality issues; with that said, I've tested it in PluginDoctor, and it has a rather high noise floor compared to other top quality EQs, but when using it in a mix, and a lot, this is not audible at all, i actually find it opposite, the mix sounds crisp a clearer compared, and trust me, I've compared, as i started out saying, I've compared it with almost everything.