What is your favorite FREE EQ VST?

[sjs94704]

I am currently using 'Blue Cat's' Free VST suite. I was just wondering if you guys can offer your suggestions of what FREE EQ VST that you like to use. And, can you please say why?

Note: I do not yet have a trained ear and am just learning the concepts of EQing, so any suggestions you make of EQ VSTs you suggest should be in your opinion good for beginners..... I am also not that familiar with EQ terminology, so please be nice (Ha Ha!) with the terminology you use to explain why you like the VST your talking about

Thanks so much in advance for your suggestions .....

[Rockkley]

Liftikus (lkjb) especially for an option for adding 40k boost

[sjs94704]

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=1500

[pmarinomusic]

Check out the EQ plugins from Tokyo Dawn Labs. I paid for the full 'Gentleman's Editions' for the whole set, but you get high-quality versions for free. Highly recommended.

[ivansc]

I find myself reaching for the "broad brushstrokes" end of EQ more and more these days. Baxandall and Pulteq style. Have both free and paid versions of both.

Maybe I am getting better at getting a decent sound in the first place....

[Magicbuss]

Melda Mequalizer
TDR Slick EQ and Nova
SonEQ
Luftikus air band

[beingmf]

RED EQ and Ochre

[colonelporridge]

it would have to be the DDMF iieq pro Soudbytes magazine edition. Essentially the same vst as the paid version but with only six bands and a few less features. ddmf do it right for sure
http://mixingroom.de/soundbytes-ddmf...alizer-plugin/

[bFooz]

For learning, stick with the ReaEQ and use an analyser, this one http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/ . Just make sure you set the slope to 3dB to show a pink noise horizontally.

[BaniBani]

For broad changes I found that SlickEQ sounds amazing
With 'broad changes' I mean it boost/cuts big chunks of frequencies. You can cut/boost a little or a lot, but it's pretty much no more and no less than a fairly flexible lo-mid-hi EQ. It also has a
- high pass filter (cuts everything below x frequency)
- different selectable sets of filter shapes (the filter shape determines how the eq cuts/boost)
- optional saturation or whatever (adds coloration... I just click until it sounds better...)
- A/B button (to compare different settings)
- optional automatic gain compensation that's on by default (avoids that you fool your ears by keeping the sound from getting quieter or louder)

The Ignite Amps PTEq-X also occasionally does some unique things (works like an analog pultec EQ, so look that up if you are interested)

And for having 20 bands and pulling and adding like crazy reaEQ is still undefeated...

But if you are looking for one yourself DO check https://bedroomproducersblog.com/201...r-vst-plugins/
and https://bedroomproducersblog.com/201...r-vst-plugins/

[Megagoth1702]

Originally Posted by Magicbuss

TDR Nova

http://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/

+1 for TDR NOVA

Excellent EQ / Dynamic EQ, solves lots of headaches with all kinds of problems.

[Coachz]

https://www.pluginboutique.com/produ...9-Boot-EQ-MKII

[Tod]

I gotta ask, what is there about ReaEQ that you folks don't like, and what ever it is, please explain?

[JamesPeters]

Originally Posted by Tod

I gotta ask, what is there about ReaEQ that you folks don't like, and what ever it is, please explain?

If you compare ReaEQ to some other EQ plugins you'll start to understand why someone would use other plugins. Here's my list of reasons I don't use ReaEQ all the time:

-The high shelf warps toward the nyquist limit.
-It doesn't have every curve type I might want to use.
-It has no saturation.
-It doesn't have mid/side operation.
-I can't link EQ bands without doing parameter linking through Reaper. Sometimes I like that.
-It's not a super simple "just turn this one knob" sort of EQ (tilt, x/y axis type like TB EZQ, etc.)

(Plus there are more reasons that other people care about like soloing of EQ bands, automatic gain matching and so on.)

That doesn't mean I don't find it useful. But for those scenarios I go to other EQs, mostly JS EQ plugins but also Airwindows and some other freeware/donationware EQs. Try Airwindows "Highpass" and tell me you can do the same thing with any other plugin, for instance.

If I had to use only one EQ, put-a-gun-to-my-head situation, I could use ReaEQ. It's not as though I absolutely need Baxandall operation or Pultec-style curves specifically. I can also use some of Reaper's own functionality to make more basic EQs more flexible (split frequency bands and add saturation that way, split mid/side and EQ that way, etc.) Sometimes it's just faster using another EQ though. Every EQ has its limits, even some of the most-feature-filled ones.

As it stands though there isn't a single EQ plugin that does all these things.

[hamish]

for basic peaks, notches and shelves ReaEQ is fine

for resonant HPF/LPF the liteon applefilter JS

for extreme problems and precision Nova is great

for tilt EQ also the liteon JS one

for mastering graphic EQ I like voxengo Marvel

So those five free plugs do me for pretty much all my EQ

[sjs94704]

I truly appreciate all of you for your contributions to this discussion!

[Tod]

Originally Posted by JamesPeters

If you compare ReaEQ to some other EQ plugins you'll start to understand why someone would use other plugins. Here's my list of reasons I don't use ReaEQ all the time:

-The high shelf warps toward the nyquist limit.
-It doesn't have every curve type I might want to use.
-It has no saturation.
-It doesn't have mid/side operation.
-I can't link EQ bands without doing parameter linking through Reaper. Sometimes I like that.
-It's not a super simple "just turn this one knob" sort of EQ (tilt, x/y axis type like TB EZQ, etc.)

(Plus there are more reasons that other people care about like soloing of EQ bands, automatic gain matching and so on.)

That doesn't mean I don't find it useful. But for those scenarios I go to other EQs, mostly JS EQ plugins but also Airwindows and some other freeware/donationware EQs. Try Airwindows "Highpass" and tell me you can do the same thing with any other plugin, for instance.

If I had to use only one EQ, put-a-gun-to-my-head situation, I could use ReaEQ. It's not as though I absolutely need Baxandall operation or Pultec-style curves specifically. I can also use some of Reaper's own functionality to make more basic EQs more flexible (split frequency bands and add saturation that way, split mid/side and EQ that way, etc.) Sometimes it's just faster using another EQ though. Every EQ has its limits, even some of the most-feature-filled ones.

As it stands though there isn't a single EQ plugin that does all these things.

Thanks James, your answers are good. I was not asking becuase I'm in love with ReaEQ, I was just seeking
reasons why other EQ's might be prefered. You've listed Some good things here, but I think some of functions
you list are kind of outside of a regular EQ's functions.

-The high shelf warps toward the nyquist limit. I have a vague understanding of this, but in all hoensty,
I wouldn't know it if I heard it. Could you explain how this would affect the high shelf of ReaEQ? Would you
be able to hear it?

-It doesn't have every curve type I might want to use. I do understand this, but I don't think I've ever
had an EQ that has various curves to select from. However, I think it could be very unique.

-It has no saturation. This is a funtions I think is best left for a dedicated plugin.

-It doesn't have mid/side operation.: I could see this as being quite useful, but how exactly would you
use it? In my mind, it would be no different than using the bandwidth correctly. Unless, it was an "active EQ",
where you could define a threshold for the mid frequency. However, I could be missing something here, perhaps
you could explain a little more.

-I can't link EQ bands without doing parameter linking through Reaper. Sometimes I like that. Okay, you got
me here James, what does this do, and what does it accomplish? I've never done that before and don't know why
I would. Please explain, I have a feeling I'm going to learn something here.

-It's not a super simple "just turn this one knob" sort of EQ (tilt, x/y axis type like TB EZQ, etc.) No, It's not
a "one knob EQ", and it's not meant to be, nor is any professional EQ that I know of, and I know you know that.
Along with the "high and low pass", as well as the "high and low shelf", the "Band" EQ is probably the most used
and the most important. It has Frequency, Gain, and Bandwidth (Q), which are aslo available with high and low
shelf. Now I might be going out on a limb here, but I think the least understood adjustment is the "Q". It's much
easier to pin point a frequency and adjust the gain with your ears, but finding the best bandwidth is not so easy.
At least it never has been to me. Even with spectrum analysers, it's not as visible as the frequency and gain is.

I guess, comming from the old school, I find ReaEQ to be quite adaquate for nearly all my needs. And it isn't
because I don't have other EQs, I've got some paid for EQs from NI, and I think a couple of others I can't even
name, although I'm not sure of that. Over the years, I've had most of the "Waves" EQs, that was back in my old
XP days. I had all the Sonar EQs, when I was using Sonar. I don't know, I've either had or tried a lot of EQs, but
for my purposes, I've never found anything better than ReaEQ as a genuine basic EQ.

Heh heh, of course I don't look for anything but the basics when it comes to an EQ. In all honesty that's all I want
in an EQ, but like I said, I'm an old fart, from the old school.

[JamesPeters]

I actually meant to say that the bands will warp near the nyquist, not the high shelf. Take the high frequency band, boost it a bit so you can see a curve, and slide it over towards the right. Watch the curve warp on the right side. Oversampled EQs don't do this. As for how it sounds, check it out. Lots of plugins besides ReaEQ overcome this with either "analog-style bands" or "nyquist bands" they might call them, etc.

Sometimes saturation is actually best in an EQ, not in a separate plugin. That is unless you want to split the frequency range up and do saturation in separate EQ ranges, requiring a minimum of 3 more plugins (splitter, saturation, joiner) plus having to adjust more than one plugin for the sake of "fattening the mids" for instance. It's your choice. Again I'm saying it's possible to do without a specific plugin for this task, but sometimes I prefer to grab an EQ that has saturation in it (Stillwell 4x4, for instance). Imagine shaping an EQ easily while also adding some saturation in a frequency range you want while boosting those frequencies. It's handy.

Mid/side EQ is a whole topic to itself. One thing I'll mention though which should make sense right away: keeping your bass frequencies more centered in a mix.

As for the simpler EQ types, and that "I know you know that"...ok maybe read what I said again, and realize this isn't an attack on ReaEQ. I don't need a lecture about what's professional either because tilt EQs are in fact considered professional. I'm just saying sometimes I want a very simple EQ for tilt or whatnot (check out what Toneboosters EZQ is for instance; it's free and very useful/fast for a specific purpose). If you've never used a tilt EQ, you should try it. They're useful in a way you might not realize. There's one included in Reaper as a JSFX. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSO9tMqaksk

Linking bands? So you can adjust two bands at once. Imagine making 2 peaks together such as DDMF's ColourEQ (https://ddmf.eu/freeware/) Look at the two peak bumps. You can adjust the peaks, distance between them, and their position all at once. Using two bands together like that sounds neat. Again I'd recommend you try it sometime because you might care or you might not.

As to why you'd want to do any of these things, I'm not saying you should want to. It's up to you. I'm not trying to convince you of anything other than I have my reasons. You asked. If you don't want to try the free EQ plugins that do these jobs, including the ones that have been included in Reaper since 2006, that's up to you.

[RDBOIS]

ReaEQ - without and with automated parameters/sidechain (i.e. making it act like TDR Nova, specific bands ducking to taste, for example, with much much less CPU usage -transparently thank you - ====> can have this dynamic-eQ going on as many track as I want - no problem).

Can do mid/side with encode - decode and pins.

Color and saturation elsewhere.

Not saying it is better, just that I like it like that = a heuristic low cpu tool

[Tod]

Hi again James, I was by no means tying to suggest anything that would be derogative to what you were saying, you are obviously more informed about some of these things than I am.

I was just trying to find out why folks don't use or like ReaEQ. Many of the things you mention are newer type aspects that I've never considered to be part of an EQ, but that just shows my age.

[JamesPeters]

The world is your oyster these days with DAWs especially Reaper. You can use ReaEQ and a saturation plugin and mid/side splitters/joiners and frequency splitters/joiners and you can link parameters and you can use parameter modulation for dynamic EQ changes. Yes. That's a given.

However sometimes it's a major pain in the ass to set that up when you're thinking "I want to quickly do a tilt EQ here" or "man it'd be nice to make this sound like a Neve EQ saturating the mids". When the CPU difference is negligible and the plugins are free (most are included), why not try other EQ plugins. Then maybe you're not messing around as much with other methods.

It's your choice.

PS. Keep in mind, parameter modulation isn't necessarily as good as a plugin that has its own dynamic response... https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...56&postcount=7

[Tod]

Originally Posted by JamesPeters

However sometimes it's a major pain in the ass to set that up when you're thinking "I want to quickly do a tilt EQ here" or "man it'd be nice to make this sound like a Neve EQ saturating the mids". When the CPU difference is negligible and the plugins are free (most are included), why not try other EQ plugins. Then maybe you're not messing around as much with other methods.

I'm pretty much a straight ahead regular FX guy, I don't mess with all the various FX that are out there now days.

Ha, I didn't even know what a "tilt EQ" was until I googled it. It was actually created back in the 70s, but I'd
never heard that term, "tilt EQ" before, which is strange, because I attended several AES conventions back then.

I came close to getting Waves Dynamic EQ yesterday, it was on sale for $29. There was a video showing how it worked
with vocals, basically sidechaining them to the rest of the mix so that the center of the mix would lower when the
vocals happening. I was rather impressed with that, but in the long run I don't think I'd use it much.

"man it'd be nice to make this sound like a Neve EQ saturating the mids"

Do you think those saturating plugins really work? Personally I don't know, I guess I've always been skeptical
about things like that. I've tried various saturating FX but I couldn't tell if they helped or hurt. I have to
admit, back in the old days there were many times we pushed our final mixes pretty hard to get that compressed
type of sound that I guess they call saturation now days. It could be I don't hear what these saturation FX are doing
because of my hearing loss in the high end.

[JamesPeters]

Originally Posted by Tod

I'm pretty much a straight ahead regular FX guy, I don't mess with all the various FX that are out there now days.

Ha, I didn't even know what a "tilt EQ" was until I googled it. It was actually created back in the 70s, but I'd never heard that term, "tilt EQ" before, which is strange, because I attended several AES conventions back then.

I came close to getting Waves Dynamic EQ yesterday, it was on sale for $29. There was a video showing how it worked with vocals, basically sidechaining them to the rest of the mix so that the center of the mix would lower when the vocals happening. I was rather impressed with that, but in the long run I don't think I'd use it much.

Your recordings sound really good. If you don't want to use other plugins or other workflows, then don't. It's not like I'm saying you're missing out.

I also restrain myself from buying plugins as much as I can because I've been down that road before and it doesn't lead anywhere useful. Instead I'll try a plugin that interests me, comparing it to others I use (or haven't used yet, but were included with Reaper) to see if it's useful in a new way. Most times it isn't. And sometimes I realize I already had a plugin that despite its plain looks was actually a really good plugin (whether it's one aspect of the plugin I had overlooked, or just that I hadn't gotten around to trying a particular JS plugin). I'm now completely unconcerned with fancy-looking UIs and having meters all over the plugin, but I am concerned about the results they get. I also don't expect any one plugin to be "the answer" for something, so much as a tool that I can add to my toolbox.

Originally Posted by Tod

Do you think those saturating plugins really work? Personally I don't know, I guess I've always been skeptical about things like that. I've tried various saturating FX but I couldn't tell if they helped or hurt. I have to admit, back in the old days there were many times we pushed our final mixes pretty hard to get that compressed type of sound that I guess they call saturation now days. It could be I don't hear what these saturation FX are doing because of my hearing loss in the high end.

I don't like adding much saturation, and not often, not even with hardware (including things like Neve preamps). The odd time, I do. If an instrument seems it could use some fattening harmonically (generally speaking a bit "bigger sounding" with a bit less definition), ok, what sort of saturation should I try and where (frequency-wise) do I want to apply it. These plugins do work. You can test and see the harmonics generated by them (JS plugins for signal generation and analysis are included in Reaper, and Jon aka Reaper Blog did a video about this on Youtube).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT9vC_68Frc

Whether you want that harmonic fattening or not, that's another story. It sounds appealing to get "more harmonics", but most times it isn't. Like I said, I don't always want this in a plugin, but sometimes it's nice. Good thing for me there are at least 3 JS plugins included in Reaper that do it (not counting harmonic exciters or the bass-specific "enhancing" ones). They also work with no latency, unlike some other EQs that have saturation built in (I like avoiding PDC as much as reasonably possible for a couple reasons).

[heavymetalmixer]

1) TDR NOVA

2) TDR SlickEQ

3) ReaEQ

4) Ignite Amps PTEq-X

[PitchSlap]

-Liftikus. Same as the Maag plugin with more features. I tested with an analyzer and it's nearly identical.

-Ignite Amps PTEq-X. Finally a replacement for the UAD-1 Pultec Pro! The initial release was missing 8kHz, but they were nice about adding it after I asked.

-Meldaproductions likely has some great free EQs too.

-ReaFIR really shines for some tasks though I haven't used it in years.

[heavymetalmixer]

Originally Posted by PitchSlap

-Liftikus. Same as the Maag plugin with more features. I tested with an analyzer and it's nearly identical.

-Ignite Amps PTEq-X. Finally a replacement for the UAD-1 Pultec Pro! The initial release was missing 8kHz, but they were nice about adding it after I asked.

-Meldaproductions likely has some great free EQs too.

-ReaFIR really shines for some tasks though I haven't used it in years.

Mmmm, I forgot to mention Luftikus, it's one of my favorites too.

[Judders]

Originally Posted by Tod

Ha, I didn't even know what a "tilt EQ" was until I googled it. It was actually created back in the 70s, but I'd
never heard that term, "tilt EQ" before, which is strange, because I attended several AES conventions back then.

They were made before that, but were called "balance" EQ's.

Shelly Yakus talks about bouncing piano and bass onto one track, and then using a tilt EQ to shift the balance between them if needed. I guess that was back in the 60's.

[jonboper]

Another +1 for DDMF: https://ddmf.eu/freeware/

I've tried a few of the others here, all totally usable.

[colonelporridge]

Originally Posted by jonboper

Another +1 for DDMF: https://ddmf.eu/freeware/

I've tried a few of the others here, all totally usable.

The soundbytes magazine ddmf iieq pro ( no subcriptioin or buying a copy needed). This is really good, the only limitation is six bands of eq but in fairness thats enough. Reminds me of the renaissance eq but so many more options. And free, the paid version has some nice extras like multi channel analysis etc but this one is beast. http://soundbytesmag.net/sb-plugins/