best software Eq

[Appalachian Boy]

So i recently realized that maybe i shouldn't use the MOTU parametric EQ because it sounds like sh*t.

I am wondering what the best equalizer I could use would be. I recently purchased a "Neve-replica" pre-amp+EQ made by "Chameleon Labs" of Sammamish, WA (can be had from "pacific pro audio" in Seattle, WA). I know that has a beautiful sounding EQ on it which i can loop my signal through. but I am wondering what the most clean, undistorted and best sounding EQ I can get to use within DP5.12 is?

any suggestions for the best sounding EQ i can use within DP? Mainly for convenience.

[Appalachian Boy]

time for bed. And i AM expecting useful answers (by tomorrow morning ) from you speedy unicornation users!

[blue]

So i recently realized that maybe i shouldn't use the MOTU parametric EQ because it sounds like sh*t.

Are you referring to the Masterworks EQ or the older para EQ? The Masterworks EQ is, IMO, a great sounding plugin.

[stephentayler]

Foe a variety of great sounding EQs I would recommend the Focusrite Liquidmix. Great compressors too.

I would second the Masterworks EQ as well.

Kind regards

Stephen

[kassonica]

Masterworks EQ both thumbs up here

[gearboy]

I have the Waves RenEQ, the EQ in Ozone, and the EQs in the Nomad Factory Vintage Bundle, and I still reach for and use the MasterWorks EQ 99% of the time.

[tomeaton]

The Sonox Oxford eq/filters plug is nice, too. Not the best GUI in the world, but sounds good.

-tom

[sdfalk]

Masterworks EQ..sounds lovely

[Phil O]

I second, or fifth, or whatever the vote for MW EQ. There are some other EQs that I have that have their own character, and I use them for that character, but for basic EQing tasks I reach for MW first. It's no slouch!

Phil

[thermos]

Masterworks: unfortunately not really. Not horrible, but not great. I like the Sonalksis eq plug ok, and all the tritone digital eq plugs are excellent. Also, the UAD neve plugs are great.

[sdfalk]

Masterworks: unfortunately not really. Not horrible, but not great. I like the Sonalksis eq plug ok, and all the tritone digital eq plugs are excellent. Also, the UAD neve plugs are great.

Shows how subjective this stuff can be..
dont really care for the tritone stuff to much

[chrispick]

Masterworks: unfortunately not really. Not horrible, but not great. I like the Sonalksis eq plug ok, and all the tritone digital eq plugs are excellent. Also, the UAD neve plugs are great.

The poster wondered about clean EQs. It's easy to miss that since he throws it at the end of his post.

The ones you site above are great. I love the UAD stuff - big Pultec and Neve 1073 fan (new convert) here, but I wouldn't describe them as clean. Just the opposite -- I think they add character, mojo, that kind of spicy thing.

I think the cleanest software EQs I've used would be the MWEQ, the UAD-1 Cambridge and iZotope Ozone's EQ. As it is, the MWEQ is almost always enough for me. In honesty, though, there are a lot of third-party ones I haven't tried yet.

[HCMarkus]

I wonder how different the algorithms are from plug to plug... or is it often just a case of a different coat of paint on the same old car? Regardless, I like MWEQ for its sound and flexibility, and the FFT function is very instructive.

[Appalachian Boy]

wow, so it has been right in front of me the whole time!

ive been using motu para-eq...never really thought much about it till i tried MWeq, so i figured there must a better eq out there.

so the MWeq is adequete for most things?

[Kubi]

MWEQ is good, and a great value since we all already own it.

But in my experience, the proof in how well a (clean) digital EQ performs is in the highs, where almost all of them crap out. This is what sold me on the Sonalksis, which is my favorite meat-and-potatoes clean EQ. ('Colored' EQs are a bit different, they are supposed to do weird things to the audio besides just eq-ing...)

Try it, take a nice clean cymbal or similar high-end rich signal and crank the highs (i.e. 10k or above) by 9dB or so. Make sure to lower the input first so you don't clip. Almost any decent analog EQ will do this without a problem, and while sounding overly bright (you are cranking the highs...) still sound smooth and clear.

I found that most digital plug-ins can't pull this off well and end up sounding grainy or shrill. The Sonalksis is the only one I've tried that can pull it off and sound clean. (Of course I haven't tried them all. The sonnox seems promising, as does the Waves Linear Phase EQ. But I wouldn't know...)

The MWEQ couldn't do it, nor could the RenEQ, and of course none of my 'colored' eq's. I still occasionally use RenEQ for it's ease and 'old-timey' color, and regularly use my URS EQs for the particular color they impart when needed.

Tritone's Hydratone and Angeltone were actually very good, depending on the model used, but they usually take down DP so they're on the sh*tlist right now. And I don't mean shortlist.

Of course I find I can still get great results mixing with the MWEQ - especially if I stick mostly to subtractive eq-ing, and keep boosts to 3dB or so max. Which more often than not is the better approach anyway. But I highly recommend demoing the Sonalksis, it's an amazing EQ that'll allow you to use it as if it were a decent analog EQ: sometimes you want to boost something by 8-10dB or more...