EQ's??

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by JuanPC

curves matched, there is a harmonic & phase difference, not as noticeable as knobs value matched...

+1. Phase is a huge part of the sound, it's weird that it seems to be something that is rarely mentioned in reviews and forums.

Also cramping near nyquist freq. Not that it's a bad thing in and of itself, but it does have a different sound than non-cramping filters. I think this is probably what contributed to the "analog is always better" mindset.

[DonaldM]

Interesting thread. One thing I've wondered about for a while, so I'll ask you guys, since you're all pros. I know you all have your fav "go to" EQs for most things. Are there any EQ plugins that you tried and just found unworthy? Especially among the popular/reputable developers (ie Waves, IKM, etc)

[albee1952]

Call me crazy, but waves Q gets zero use here, and RennEQ gets very little

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by albee1952

Call me crazy, but waves Q gets zero use here, and RennEQ gets very little

Can you tell me why...just curious?

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

Can you tell me why...just curious?

I just find it rather ordinary(or am I missing something) For 'regular" EQ needs, the stock EQ III 7-band covers a ton of ground. Pultec clones cover most anything that needs "something special" and FabFilter is getting more smiles from me, the more I use it(not for sonics as much as for the visual feedback). I also have Waves H-EQ, which is pretty cool, but again, I(we) have so many choices these days, I wonder if we tend to over-think this stuff

[JuanPC]

Originally Posted by Raoul23

I hear lots of people talk about using certain EQ's for different things but why are they different and what makes them different. I did experiment last night. My go to EQ is normally waves Ren EQ so I took a vocal track and EQ'd it to sound good with the Ren EQ and then placed those EQ settings into Sonnox EQ to hear if they sounded different. They did, the Sonnox sounded cleaner of that makes sense. So my question is when would you use a certain EQ, wouldn't you alway want to use the Sonnox as that's cleaner??

once i did a mind blowing test...

emulated the EQ settings of a Mackie 24 8-Bus analog console with Waves R-EQ, burned a CD, and both tracks sounded EXACTLY the same... at 44.1Khz 16-bit

was eq´ing a LinnDrum LM-2.

R-EQ is a nice EQ...

if you match both EQ´s with pink noise and Voxengo SPAN, the difference will be smaller... you will need a really good DA & loudspeakers & room acoustic...
to hear the difference...
but is easy to hear in BIG PA/Club Loudspeakers, specially in hornloaded.

McDSP G EQ is cleaner than Sonnox R3 EQ,
latest versions...

but is not about clean vs. dirty/vintage...

is about what feels right...
at some point... for some things one EQ would feel better, than others...

in the TDM/HD era, where DSP was limited, using one EQ or the other was a matter of DSP allocation... how to squeeze more DSP out the the chips.

in practice... EQ´ing subbass with a Clean EQ is not as nice as a Vintage EQ,
EQ a hi-hat with a Vintage EQ is not as nice as Clean EQ...
or vise versa...

EQ´s add flavor... like Ketchup, Mustard, Garlic, BBQ, Ranch, etc...
All Mustard? All garlic? All Ketchup? All BBQ? All Ranch?

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by albee1952

I(we) have so many choices these days, I wonder if we tend to over-think this stuff

Thanks for the feedback. I wonder if saying we "tend to over-HEAR this stuff" might be more accurate? Maybe we're fooling ourselves and hearing what isn't there. I try really hard to make myself be audiologically honest. If I really can't hear a difference with a plug, I just take it out.

I agree with you about the EQ III 7 band. I go to it all the time. I also like the IKM T-Racks Classic EQ. On vocals and acoustic instruments, it just sounds real clean and, I don't know, smoother...if that makes sense. I like the way it adds air to a vocal too. So, I use that one a lot as well.

[JuanPC]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

Thanks for the feedback. I wonder if saying we "tend to over-HEAR this stuff" might be more accurate? Maybe we're fooling ourselves and hearing what isn't there. I try really hard to make myself be audiologically honest. If I really can't hear a difference with a plug, I just take it out.

I agree with you about the EQ III 7 band. I go to it all the time. I also like the IKM T-Racks Classic EQ. On vocals and acoustic instruments, it just sounds real clean and, I don't know, smoother...if that makes sense. I like the way it adds air to a vocal too. So, I use that one a lot as well.

The difference is there, the problem is your monitors, or your room acoustic, or your loudspeaker placement in that room, or your DA, or you have too much wax on your ear...

[albee1952]

The difference is there............sometimes And sometimes we fool ourselves(its amazing how often someone asks for some change in there headphones, only to say, "that's better" before I made any adjustment).

Wax in the ears does happen(so be aware of it and maybe have your hearing tested every other year). Speaker placement and room acoustics are always at play, so again, be aware.

Learn your monitors(in the room as it is) and remember that a small change can make a big difference(IOW, moving your monitors so you can run some new wiring, and not getting them back in the exact same spot might alter the sound.

Back to the original intent of this thread; more opinions on what EQ you prefer and why?

[EGS]

I like Renn EQ for most purposes. The user interface is cool and it sounds good. The Pultec emulations are nice for some "magic". I also use 1-band EQ3 a lot for hi-pass.