OK, so this is a bit of a silly question - everyone's tastes vary and all that - but I'm curious what people use as their go-to choices for EQ when mixing.

For me, the UA Harrison, Pultec Pro and 1073 get used a lot on individual tracks, and the UA Massive Passive and Brainworx bx_digital V2 get used on groups and sometimes the master buss. DDMF LP10 sometimes for surgical correction, and sometimes in MS mode on a group/buss.

They're not the only ones that get used by a long way, but they'll generally get used more than the rest.

The Abbey Road stuff gets used less than it probably deserves. Sometimes I like the Liquid Mix emulations for adding air. Really not feeling the love for Nebula, but maybe others can convince me with recommendations for impulses.

So... what are *your* favourites?

Software...

Waves SSL 4k channel eq gets a lot of use. I use the Massenburg 3 and 5 band quite a bit. Metric Halo Channel Strip also sounds really nice and clean. I occasionally use the Waves Puigtech and other more coloured options but actually in software I often prefer the cleaner options. I also use multiband compressors like the Waves C6 as an eq. The Waves phase linear eq also sees a few outings on vocals.

Hardware...

Pultecs for vocals and bass usually. Again the SSL. GML8200 is worth a trip to the recall sheet.

Overall I'd rather use an 8200 on the mix than a plug in (if that's what I'm doing) but overall I'd rather do the more coloured outboard eq's at tracking so that I dont have to use and thus recall them for the mix. If I can use a clean plug in to nip and tuck when I'm mixing then I'd rather do that.

Jack

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www.jackruston.com

Cheers Jack... I meant to specify software rather than hardware! I've been getting more and more into hardware processing again... loved the Great River Harrison EQs & the Kush Clariphonic. Still don't think the software can touch this stuff (the Harrison certainly doesn't - I ABd the Great River & UA). Hence the question... hardware's just not practical/affordable for me over a full mix.

There are three that get serious usage round these parts:

SSL Duende Channel is usually the first one I fire up for bread and butter duties. I keep it in G mode. It sounds good on just about everything you can throw at it. The way it can add air and sparkle is phenomenal.

The Abbey Road TG12412 is the number 1 colour eq. I still get impressed with the way you can push or pull the gains really hard and it still sounds sweet and musical. Especially good at shaping samples from crusty old Akais and Emus. The TG12414's Presence control is also amazing at lifting snares and vocals.

112db's Redline Equaliser is the third and final. Proper underrated and so versatile. This can shape (or fix) anything and has saved more mixes and masters than I care to think about. Absolutely mammoth. Linear or nonlinear, harmonic distortion controls, dynamic eq, 5 bands each with a selectable response curve and two lowpass and highpass sections... the options go on and on.

There a couple of others that get pulled out every now and again - Bootsy's BootEQ mkII and Stillwell's 1973 - but nowhere near as much as the above.

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www.loadedaudio.com - Audio Mastering and home of the Mix Fix
www.audioslap.com - Audio News, Reviews and Interviews

Cockos ReaEQ. Pricey, I know... Just deals with technical EQ tasks in a no-nonsense fashion.

Also URS Console Strip Pro (the Pultec emulation), Stillwell Audio Vibe EQ, DDMF LP10, and recently Sonimus SonEQ. The UAD Harrison does sound fantastic, too, although I tend to save it for high days and holidays.

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Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio
A complete mixing method based around the techniques of the world's most famous producers.

Given that I have some lovely hardware EQ that pretty much does everything I ever need, short of replicating itself(!), I’ve frequently considered whether a good software investment would be Waves Q-Clone. Maybe that approach is worth considering for you?

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

SSL Duende & Liquid Mix are both "go to" choices.... but there's lots of others also , SPL & Abbey Road, for example, and Waves Q Clone , to make more use of my hardware EQ


depends what is in order..... for surgical CUTTING, then , frankly anything with decent control set up and minimal side effects will do..... whether PT or Logics own plugs, or someone else's .

when it comes to colour , then it gets harder to choose.... i'll often find myself , quite deliberately quickly auditioning 3 or 4 almost randomly chosen EQ's from the available list , to see if anything "happy accident" like happens.... before i will allow myself to gravitate towards my gut instinct choice for the job at hand.... .

(i say almost randomly, it's not really, i more often deliberately look to choices i've not used for a while, and that i wouldn't actively have gone for "based on perceived wisdom" )



using Q-clone is always a good way to expand the application of one's hardware...


and then of course, there's the EQ on the desk....

I'd totally forgotten about Q-Clone. I do like it, though it's rather a faff. I tend rather to bounce audio through outboard to free it up.

Glad to see I'm not the only Liquid Mix fan, then. It seems to get such a bad press, but it works so well (half the time!).

Sadly I've never tried UAD and Liquid Mix ... Or may of the newer EQs, apart from PSPs ... But here are some of my faves:

Me also, for surgical I always go to Logic's own Channel or Linear Phase EQ (I swap and see which I prefer)
Tritone - HydraTone, ValveTone and especially ClassicTone PEV ... Nice.
Wave Arts - Tube Saturator. Costly on oomph, but RatherNice for ovearall tone shaping
Sonalksis - SV517 mk II
PSP Vintage Warmer II. I love these for broad adjustments of EQ, quite apart form the limiting functions
PSP Micro Comp ... Those sideband filters in 'listen mode' ... Oh, yes!

I have a few more, but never seem to use them.

But I'd love to have some actual EQs I've heard: Decca Passives (with fab new active buffers), A funky 6-way valve graphic, Some Neve channels, SSL channels, and some more I can't remember the names of! BUt even more, I'd like even better monitors in a better room!

Now off to work mixing some classical concerts. This means getting off the net, making a cuppa and coming back to this laptop!

G

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PA stuff on FB

Quote Mixedup:

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Glad to see I'm not the only Liquid Mix fan, then. It seems to get such a bad press, but it works so well (half the time!).

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Me too, me too. It works great for me (now - took a few goes and updated drivers etc)

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getting better all the time..

I like the PSP sQuad eqs.

Is anyone else using the Oxford EQ? To my ears, it is far better than any of the built in EQs I have (Sound Forge, Vegas, Pro Tools and Cubase) and is subjectively superior to the Izotope mastering bundle.

Edited by twotoedsloth (11/10/11 12:29 AM)

Recently bought the PSP NobleQ (which is sort of Pultec-like), and I'm using it more and more. It also includes NobleQex, which adds another mid band.

Other than that, my two other go-tos are Izotope Alloy and the Massive Passive model ("Huge Tube") in the Liquid Mix. Between these three, I feel I've got everything I need. Although I still use the built-in Pro Tools EQ for utility jobs.

I'm going through a Nugen and Softube vibe at the moment. Software and affordable.

On the hardware front there are many and I have always been a fan of the MP. The HI Def used to be nice but the legending ruined my early teens. The IBIS is quite nice too but there are so many boutique bits of gear that sound nice that it is almost impossible to pick a fav....API, Millenia, AD2055, GML, Masselac blah blah....and let us not forget the loin vibrating Chandler TC. Jack is about to buy me one for Xmas.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Quote mcguirk:

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Recently bought the PSP NobleQ (which is sort of Pultec-like)

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I'm enjoying the NobleQ too - so quick and easy to use, and good results every time


Martin

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YewTreeMagic

Quote Zukan:

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...and let us not forget the loin vibrating Chandler TC. Jack is about to buy me one for Xmas.

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Ed, if it weren't for the incessant financial demands placed upon me by my wife, my mistress, my girlfriend, seventeen illegitimate children spread across three continents, assorted subscriptions to websites which let you see naughty pictures on your mobile phone, and my eunuch (Alan), it would certainly be yours.

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www.jackruston.com

Vintage Warmer which is not just eq per se...

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www.descentintomadness.com

Quote Martin Walker:

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Quote mcguirk:

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Recently bought the PSP NobleQ (which is sort of Pultec-like)

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I'm enjoying the NobleQ too - so quick and easy to use, and good results every time


Martin

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Off to try the demos, nice one chaps.

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PA stuff on FB

I'm a total convert to Fabfilter's Pro-Q. It sounds really good and has the best interface of any EQ I've ever used.

SSL Duende works on most things, and I also bought this thing called Tilt EQ from softube.
It just pretty much has one knob to emphasise / de-emphasise the treble or bass content- plus some filters. At first I thought it was just a bit of snake oil, but after taking the challenge, I can nearly do a whole mix with it - providing there are no serious corrections needed.

Anyway its a great lesson in the art of simple balance being the main reason for eq.

Liquid mix is lovely, and I use the knobs, looking away fron the screen. A plug-in and controller for that price is excellent value.

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Yeah, I ilke the Tilt EQ. I also tried the Togu Audio Line one that does the same thing. Really nice and it's free!

I actually never use the controller for the Liquid Mix. I wish there was a native version so I could lose the temperamental box. Alas, I don't have a PT HD system to use that version.

Another one I forgot to mention is the TC Powercore's Dynamic EQ, which is side-chainable. Really really useful that one.

I've not tried the Fabfilter one Sam. Must give it a whirl when I have a spare moment. I must say, though, that I've never really felt any EQ GUI was lacking. I mean... there are a few controls and I set them by ear... or am I missing something?! The only time it bothers me is if I want a waveform display on there, so I can hone in precisely on a problem resonance or over-prominent note or some such.

Quote Jack Ruston:

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Quote Zukan:

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...and let us not forget the loin vibrating Chandler TC. Jack is about to buy me one for Xmas.

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Ed, if it weren't for the incessant financial demands placed upon me by my wife, my mistress, my girlfriend, seventeen illegitimate children spread across three continents, assorted subscriptions to websites which let you see naughty pictures on your mobile phone, and my eunuch (Alan), it would certainly be yours.

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I understand.
Eunuchs are hard to dress.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Quote Zukan:

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Quote Jack Ruston:

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Quote Zukan:

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...and let us not forget the loin vibrating Chandler TC. Jack is about to buy me one for Xmas.

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Ed, if it weren't for the incessant financial demands placed upon me by my wife, my mistress, my girlfriend, seventeen illegitimate children spread across three continents, assorted subscriptions to websites which let you see naughty pictures on your mobile phone, and my eunuch (Alan), it would certainly be yours.

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I understand.
Eunuchs are hard to dress.

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If this were facebook, this would get a like.

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Squarehead Jam Jar Facebook Jam Jar

Quote Mixedup:

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I must say, though, that I've never really felt any EQ GUI was lacking. I mean... there are a few controls and I set them by ear... or am I missing something?! The only time it bothers me is if I want a waveform display on there, so I can hone in precisely on a problem resonance or over-prominent note or some such.

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What I love about the Fabfilter interface is that they've sat down and thought about the best way to interact with a piece of software. It's proper software GUI design, not a slightly adapted virtual hardware interface. You fire up the EQ and are greeted with a blank screen, rather than six bands of three or four controls each -- it only ever shows the information you actually need.

Quote Sam Inglis:

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You fire up the EQ and are greeted with a blank screen, rather than six bands of three or four controls each -- it only ever shows the information you actually need.

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Just had a look. Kinda puts me in mind of DDMF's LP10... though with a bit more clutter. Looks good though.

Bought the NobleQ ... Very Nice... And only 65 US Dollars. Absolute bargain.
May buy the sQuad bundle of four very different character EQs.

G

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PA stuff on FB

Apart from my desk EQ, I pretty much only use the built in EQIII in Protools now. Sometimes use the Abbey Road brilliance plus for top end.

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Neil Haynes - The Parlour Recording Studio
The Parlour FaceBook Page

Hi!

If you mean software eq's these are my 2 cents.

I usually just use the pro tools EQIII. It's all about your ears anyway. And since all software EQs are the same you just need to find that sweetspot. Sometimes I use the VEQ3 and Softtube TubeTech just because it's a bit faster to achieve the results..

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http://www.standstraight.se

Quote Mike Senior:

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Cockos ReaEQ. Pricey, I know... Just deals with technical EQ tasks in a no-nonsense fashion.

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I'd agree - I very rarely use anything else.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

Quote ChrisSnyder:

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It's all about your ears anyway.

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Can't argue with that...

Quote:

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all software EQs are the same...

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...but I can with that! Perhaps all well-designed linear-phase EQs sound the same, but there's more to a lot of EQ plug-ins (and hardware) than that. You're not seriously telling me that a decent Pultec or 1073 emulation sounds like the built-in Cubase Channel EQ? Or that trying to lift the air a little with the Abbey Road suite is not different from using EQIII? Because that's not my experience

Not all soft EQs are the same! There are different algorithms, quite apart from the soft EQs that use convolution, or circuit emulation.
I have just used some new (to me!) PSP EQs, that for the classical piece I've been working on, have been much better for what I needed than one of my old faves, Tritone's HydraTone, or the bundled Logic EQs, good though some of them are.
G

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PA stuff on FB

for me its the SSL X-eq, Sonnox Oxford EQ, and mcdsp filterbak for general stuff. Softube passive-active if I want some color

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Dangerous D-box, Lynx Aurora 8, empirical labs mike-e, RME fireface 800, m-audio profire 2626, JDK R24, chameleon labs 7720, Softube plugins, SSL duende plugins, McDSP plugins, and more

I'm liking NobleQ as well.Other than that I use the stock EQ in Studio One which is very good.

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10% discount off FabFilter plug-ins for new customers pm me for details.

+1 for the SSL Duende channel strip. Easy to use, sounds great - just like a good analogue desk.

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www.thediplomatz.com