equalizer help

[so-fye]

are some equalizers better than others, like i use fl studio 8 eq 2, but i also have a waves eq and oxford. do one work better than others, or are all eq's works the same in getting the job done.

[bugbrain_04]

Originally Posted by so-fye

are some equalizers better than others, like i use fl studio 8 eq 2, but i also have a waves eq and oxford. do one work better than others, or are all eq's works the same in getting the job done.

I know that all EQs function on the same fundamental principles.
My guess (someone please verify/correct this) would be that it would mainly be an issue of features. One thing I really like about the waves EQ as opposed to the Digirack eq3 is that if I started with, say, a 1-band eq as a hi-pass filter, but ended up wanting to upgrade to a 3-band eq, the waves eq transfers the existing settings for the hi-pass and automatically sets it up in the new 3-band. EQ3 doesn't do this, and I would have to either write down my settings and re-enter them, or stack multiple eqs, unnecessarily chewing up valuable cpu power.

I'm not familiar with FL Studio's effects, so maybe its EQ 2 has this feature as well, but that's my take on the matter.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by bugbrain_04

I know that all EQs function on the same fundamental principles. My guess (someone please verify/correct this) would be that it would mainly be an issue of features.

Exactly. There was a huge thread over at Gearslutz where some guys proved that all "normal" (not phase linear) EQ plug-ins are the same. They proved this by nulling them against each other. Some EQs have added intentional distortion for "color," so those did not necessarily null completely. Bottom line is there's one "textbook best" way to design an EQ in software, and that's the code all the vendors use.

--Ethan

[bozmillar]

Not to pass judgement or anything, but the fact that you have the waves and sonnox eq's but don't know how or why they would be different just screams bittorrent.

That aside, and for discussion's sake, different eqs sound different. To say one eq sounds fat or musical or smooth is more a description of what the eq does relative to what you expect it to do rather than a characteristic of the eq itself. It is certainly possible to write a bad sounding eq, but filter equations are no secret, and not hard to implement.

So really, if an eq reacts the way you expect it to react, then it is a good eq. Old people like the sound of SSL eqs because that's what they used for years in their expensive studios. These guys turned those knobs every day for who knows how many years, so they know how they sound.

We new guys like the sound of SSL eqs because the old guys tell us they sound good and we believe them. FL studio could have the best sounding eq ever made, and nobody would ever know it.

[bugbrain_04]

Originally Posted by bozmillar

Not to pass judgement or anything, but the fact that you have the waves and sonnox eq's but don't know how or why they would be different just screams bittorrent.

He's got a point.

[so-fye]

thanks guys

[willjrockstar]

As long as you are cutting gain with an EQ and not boosting all EQ's are created equal.

[bugbrain_04]

Is this only the case with EQ plugins? I would imagine that any outboard analog effect would color the signal simply due to the electronics, versus rigid 0's and 1's. This would explain why the big dogs like the SSL's so much.

[mindundermatter]

Uhhhhhh no. Not even going to start this argument again. At least not with Ethan lurking around.

[paul999]

I've purchased a couple of analog eq's lately and I can tell you that the good ones add soooo much positive mojo that the plugs look pretty cheezy. Price is not as bad as you might think to.