Mixing in Pro-Tools EQ plug-in advice?

[Nimrod]

I am relatively new to Pro Tools and have followed the threads on mixer quality etc. My observations are that to mix and get separation and sparkle to the sound, clearly the EQ techniques are critical. I feel the Pro Tools mixer can be made to sound good if the EQ techniques are well understood and employed. What plug-in EQ's are best for this purpose as plug-ins or do people use outboard valve EQ's. I use focusrite d2. Can anyone recommend a better method? Has anyone tried the Sony Oxford EQ plugin. Thanx for your advice/tips

[Frank S]

McDsps EQ plugins are amazingly musical and very easy on the DSP. Highly recommended.

[blake eat world]

i second

[Felix]

Waves RenEQ's are also great and have a nicer interface(IMO) plus more flexibility in some ways. McDSP is what i use often largely due to its much lower dsp options. (a RenEQ2 uses the same as a RenEQ 6 i believe). both McDSP and RenEQ are the ones to look into. if you only have one, i would lean towards McDSP. oh yeah, i'd be interested to know how the Sony EQ fairs. also, i think there is an eq plug by Massenburg Works which may be a winner also...

[ July 04, 2001: Message edited by: Felix ]

[Nimrod]

Thanks for the advice I will look into the REN and McDSP options. One further question is do they process at 48bit and dither, this has clearly got ot be important in light of other threads

Thanks

[jeronimo]

I used the Focusrite eq a couple of times... and it's a killer plugin... but I have a PT LE at home [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[Baixo]

The Waves RenEQ sounds very good. It dithers it's 48 bit output to 24. I have, however, been having along dialogue with Waves in Israel about a problem with the high-shelf in the RenEQ. Basically, since v3.0, it doesn't sound right. This is subjective, but it used to be that you could get 6 plug-in EQs up and make them all boost, say, 6dB at 12kHz and they'd all sound roughly similar. Now, the RenEQ's high-shelf doesn't sound anything like any other EQ's high shelf, and they reported to me that they did find a related issue they will fix soon (didn't make it in the 3.2 update).

The guy said he did, indeed, hear a difference, but that it was subjective and therefore not really an issue. Sigh. but it sounded better before...

Oddly, I've found it to be very pleasing to use wide, high-freq peaking with the RenEQ, where i once used shelves. Wierd, huh?

The only EQs that don't truncate are RenEQ, FilterBank (They don't dither, rather, a related technique) and ChannelStrip.

[Monte McGuire]

I'm a big fan of Renaissance EQ because it uses 48 bit internal processing and 24 bit dither, but yes, the shelves are odd. Actually, the peaking filters are odd if you're used to traditional state variable EQs like those in analog consoles. The REQ is much more like a Pultec or Manley Massive Passive style EQ in that the peaking boosts and cuts are not reciprocal. Cuts are narrower than boosts and have a different shape. Their shelves also have a peak and dip associated with then that is mostly annoying IMHO. The peaks are somewhat controllable with the Q parameter, but you can't make them go away, so I'm not a fan.

But, as Baxio mentioned earlier, you can use a high or low frequency peak with a low Q to get something close to a shelf. It takes a while to get up to speed with it, but it's a really good sounding EQ, so I think it's worth it. Their highpass and lowpass are also very nice and very useful.

[dunedan]

For what it is worth...
As a user of the3 EQ's mentioned - REN EQ, Focusrite, & McDSP - I find myself using the Focusrite most - there is something "musical" about it to my ears - whatever the f$@% that means -
I use the REN EQ if I just want 2 bands, and McDSP...very rarely.
Conversely, I tend to reach for the McDSP Comp & REN COMP and rarely use the Focusrite Comp. The McDSP Comp has a certain kick to it that I like on drums. The REN comp sounds nice to me on bass. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Jason Ritchie]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Felix:
also, i think there is an eq plug by Massenburg Works which may be a winner also...

[ July 04, 2001: Message edited by: Felix ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Speaking of the Massenburg EQ, has anyone heard about availability/price/sound/style?
Thanks!