PTEqx excels at shaping the mid-tone in particular and most controls are geared towards this range, but it absolutely can add beef in the low end or air in the top if you need it. If you’re no stranger to chasing classic studio tones, Ignite Amps have provided this generous free EQ modeled on a famous suite of hardware equalizers. If you’re a real big fan of what this plugin does, you might also want to check out the premium “gentleman’s edition” that adds a Japanese EQ model, several extra distortion types and other goodies like automatic tone matching. Those that need a quick tone-shaper with handy presets and a fresh look will find SlickEQ gets the job done with little fuss. Unfortunately, automation of the controls seems to be a no-go – presumably, the plugin has to do too much number-crunching every time a setting is changed and this results in clicks in the sound. Once again, subtlety is the key here and it’s difficult to hear much distortion even when playing with the ‘calibration’ control, though there certainly is a character that stock parametric EQs lack.Īnother handy feature is the automatic volume leveling to ensure that the audio coming out of the plugin is the same volume as what goes in, avoiding careless mixing mistakes where the louder signal is perceived as being better. Saturation shaping can be found in the ‘output stage’ section, offering 4 different models (‘silky’, ‘mellow’, ‘deep’ and ‘funky’). If you’re really struggling to hear it, first check that the ‘EQ Sat’ button is pushed in – it’s off by default and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s merely a label. Subtle touches of saturation are applied designed for gentle harmonic enhancement rather than extreme heat. The four models (American, British, German and Soviet) change how the EQ plugin controls respond rather than the actual sound itself, and the manual includes helpful charts for those that want to nerd-out over the specifics. The first plugin to be tested is the very fine and professional looking TDR VOS SlickEQ, a free EQ that boasts a range of tone-shaping possibilities with a variety of EQ and saturation models. Pro-Q 2 has a mindboggling potential in terms of EQ functionality, and it’s also easy to use, with a fun but reassuringly accurate plot across the frequency spectrum.6 Best Freeware EQ VSTs/Plugins 1. It’s the King, and the Queen, of EQ plugins. This plugin also comes equipped with a piano keyboard display to help locate specific note frequencies, and it has a ton of view options. Each of them can be run to process two-channel stereo as normal, or mids, sides, left or right signals. The whole idea behind this plugin is that you can mix and match bands using circuit models of classic filters.ĮQuilibrium has 19 bell filters, ten high- and low-pass types, eight shelves and one Notch. If you love using classic EQs, and if you love getting anal about filtering, EQuilibrium is the one for you. Softube’s PE 1C is just such a plugin, and it’s available as part of the Softube Tube-Tech Equalizer Collection and Complete Collection, which include other vintage hardware-modelled plugins as part of the package. The Pultec EQP-1A hardware EQ might just be the most modelled EQ of all time, thanks to its tube tone and its legendary reputation. We couldn’t do an EQ round-up without including an archaic piece of hardware, or a ‘classic’, as some people would call it. The Gain Scale brings the gains of all the bands up or down together, relative to each other.ģ. SplineEQ’s visualiser displays frequencies in a more musical way, and it lets you visualize your cuts and boosts above and below the curve. There’s also loads of useful EQ features such as Tranpose and Overall Gain, to move the entire curve up or down in frequency or in gain. SplineEQ uses Bezier splines to set its curves, meaning that you can have asymmetrical or even practically vertical curves. It’s not new, but SplineEQ is a very unique EQ indeed. Audition only the audio that’s being processed, making it easy to make changes to the dynamics controls. You get five bands of their Oxford Type-3 EQ filters, which offer proportional-Q and an onset detection feature. With so much movement going on, you need an EQ you can trust, and Sonnox’ EQ pedigree makes this a dependable little plugin. If you’re not familiar with Dynamic EQ, imagine that every band has its own compressor settings, and you’re basically there. Free Demos at Plugin BoutiqueĮverybody should have at least one dynamic EQ in their collection, and we reckon it should be this one. In this video, producer Tim Cant runs through 5 of the most popular, some might say best, software EQ plugins (VST) money can buy.
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