ReaEQ 1.0

[airon]

ReaEQ 1.0 - What it needs

updated April 12th

Feel free to add your well thought out suggestions to these.

Automatable features

• Band On/Off
• Band Type
• Gain / Bandwidth relationship (oh dear for providing the opposite of what everyone expects on the q/bandwidth issue btw)
• Output Gain

Small list, but it's the reason I usually do not use ReaEQ when I need to automate an EQ. Everyone will first and foremost depend on ReaEQ however, so it really could use some of those improvements to be a stronger contender for regular use in automated mixes.

Collected suggestions from this thread:

• Multichannel EQ
  4-16 channels. The fun is actually being able to ignore one specific channel for stuff like 5.1 configs, where the LFE channel sits on channel 4(ITU setup), and you definitely don't want that high-passed.
  
  Some nutters around here will want to go higher
• Fixing slight flaw in the Spectrum Analyzer. (Done apparently)

  Apparently it's off by a few Hertz.

• Fix for "Volume fader range and shape should not affect other gain-related parameters" (Fixed?)
  

  This has been entered as a separate FR already but needs to be mentioned here.

• Fix for tabbed view having band gain jumping from -12 to -120 dB

  If you slowly pull a band down using the graphical editor, what you'll see when it gets near the bottom is that it jumps directly from about -12 to -120, without being able to reach the trim levels in-between those values. If you do the same thing going up, it doesnt do that.

• Resizeable GUI (DONE)

  Note: This in all probability refers to the graphical controls.

• Groupable controls (Done via linking)
  

  Some folks want to stack Hipass or Lowpass filters. One might also want to marquee multiple of the graphical controls, which would then enable simple one-time changes of gain, frequency and/or bandwidth through operating one of the fader controls or the selected graphical controls. That temporary band selection would be cleared by clicking in to empty areas of the graphical portion of the EQ.

• Rearrangement of band tabs

  Everytime you do that, it'll have to pause the playback as envelopes are shuffled around in memory, so this might get complicated. Sorting bands by frequency should never be an automatic option, and always a command the user needs to issue, since it will in fact shuffle envelopes around. Playback will need to be stopped.

• Copy/Pasting of bands

  This could work by CTRL+Dragging a tab on to another or right-clicking on graphical control or tab for context menu copy/paste commands. Single parameters can already be copy and pasted via the text boxes.

• Spectrum Analyzer On/Off switch
  
  
• Spectrum Analyzer options

  Low level signals can disapear, the response time and fall off might not be appropriate for the material. A little flexibility in this regard will be helpgull.

• Bandpass-isolated band solo (Auto Listen / Band frequency audition)

  This suggests a temporary method of placing a bandpass filter at the frequency of the selected band with the active or preference-selected bandwidth. The user can then concentrate on a specific frequency without distractions. This is sometimes called "Auto-Listen" in some EQs. It is quite populse for isolating problem frequencies without the hassle of having to change the bands configuration.
  
  Often this will be done by holding a modifier and dragging the bands graphical control around. In addition one could also place a SOLO button near the slider controls and treat the ESC key as an Unsolo operation to make for an easy exit from this mode.
  
  The first EQ to ever do this is apparently the Massenburg EQ, as demonstrated in this video.

Bigger New Features

• More hipass and lowpass filters, such as 6/12/18/24/48 dB

  The current filters are more of a resonant filter type.

• Per-band L,R,M or S processing
• Snap Frequency to Scale
• Freeze Analyzer

  Perhaps this could be done when turning the analyzer off. One less control to implement and worry about.

• New band type Harmonics

  Would require two more parameters, number of harmonics and falloff. Falloff would determine how much influence on the harmonics the band gain has. I suggest a dB falloff per harmonic. That way, linear falloffs can be produced or non-linear ones.

• Automatic output gain compensation based on loudness analysis (optional)

  Dipping the signal when a lowshelf boost lifts it up in loudness.
  
  The problem is how do you measure this ? Do you keep a measurement history, as most signals are not continously the same ? Do you base this on a momentary measurement and change the gain contiously ? No.
  
  Working off a static model is one way. Apply the EQ to a test signal behind the scenes, like white noise and measure the loudness of that. A never-changing signal means the automatic gain compensation would be static too and thus not dynamic.

[witti]

Hello airon,

first of all, it needs a correct display of the spectrum meter.
It's off by some Hz. (Compare it to SPAN!)
It's the same with Reaxcomp. For that reason i use older versions of these plugins.

+1 for better automation. (Always !)

An input/output meter would be also nice.
And maybe a "Floor" setting and an on/off switch for the spectrum meter.

[medicine tactic]

I would like the ability to copy and paste bands.

I would also like the ability to link bands so their points (frequency/gain) maintain their relative position.

These two features could be used in conjunction to greatly simplify using multiple identical bands to increase the slope of a high-pass or low-pass filter. You could, say, copy and paste band 1's settings into band 2, so they're right on top of each other. Then you could link them, and move the points around as one, hunting for the sweet spot.

[ballstix]

Resizable UI, it needs to be bigger (and prettier)!

[cjaxis]

would be cool to see variable slope Lo-pass and Hi-pass filters (and maybe Band-pass too)...

[evosilica]

Originally Posted by witti

And maybe a "Floor" setting for the spectrum meter.

YES! More sprectrum options in general (average mode, FFT size, peakhold, zooming amplitude and frequency axis)

Originally Posted by cjaxis

would be cool to see variable slope Lo-pass and Hi-pass filters (and maybe Band-pass too)...

YES! Hi- and Lowpass selectable at least from 1st to 4th order (6 - 24dB/oct)

Linear phase would be handy for some tasks.

Ability to rearrange tabs, or auto arrage from lowest to highest frequency.

[j79]

Originally Posted by evosilica

Ability to rearrange tabs, or auto arrage from lowest to highest frequency.

Small thing, but very important IMO! +1.

Nothing to do with automation, but i thought id sneak it in anyway

[Rachmaninoff]

Originally Posted by evosilica

Ability to rearrange tabs, or auto arrage from lowest to highest frequency.

Yes +1

[airon]

Updated the first post.

A linear phase mode seems highly unlikely, since there are so many other options out there for this, including free ones. It's a completely different kind of EQ, and automating such an equalizer is not encouraged either.

[evosilica]

Originally Posted by airon

Updated the first post.

A linear phase mode seems highly unlikely, since there are so many other options out there for this, including free ones. It's a completely different kind of EQ, and automating such an equalizer is not encouraged either.

Yes, you're right. Forget the LinPhase Mode Not the highest priority (but still nice to have)

[ballstix]

Originally Posted by airon

Resizeable GUI
Note: This in all probability refers to the graphical controls.

Yeah, the sliders and tabs are fine the way they are, but sometimes using the graphical curves in conjunction with the analyzer is the quickest way to get some surgical jobs done; it'd be nice to have more resolution for that.

[Lawrence]

Good list Airon. For the 2 workstations I use, I can only compare the two stock EQ's. They both get the job done but ProEQ is a bit more functional than ReaEQ in most (but not all) ways. Extract (or not) whatever may be useful and/or applicable for the list.

Third octave, FFT & Waterfall spectrums.
Dual FFT curves for comparison, sidechain + channel.
Response curve overlays, current or all.
High Quality mode (2x oversampling)
Output meter with Peak+RMS.
Auto-Gain, adjusts the output to compensate for EQ boosting/cutting.

And of course, you can automate the bands on/off, which (imo, mmv) is a rather odd omission to automation parameters, and change the curve / slope type with automation. Obviously, when you get into third party EQ's like FabFilter or EQlibrium there's a good bit more potentially practical functionality to discuss.

[j.herran]

Where is the vote button?

[j.herran]

wouldn´t mind having a colour for each band like other eqs have, it´s just easier to see what your are doing with each one.

See oxford native eq as an eg. http://www.sonnoxplugins.com/pub/plu...roducts/eq.htm

[Banned]

+ The "log-scale automated frequencies" should be improved. Imho, the CC# values should correspond to MIDI note numbers. Please take a look at my workaround here (1.9 MB QuickTime .mov), as it illustrates exactly what I'd like ReaEQ to do out-of-the-box when enabling this feature (the current behavior is arguably a bug, since the musical scale uses a log-scale - there really should be no need to use a transfer function with a *bump* in it).

+ The range of the band gain parameters should *not* be tied to the range of the track volume 'faders' on the mixer (TCP/MCP). Please see this FR. This design is perhaps understandable from a historic perspective, but it really makes absolutely no sense to me at all. (The same goes for gain-related parameters elsewehere, e.g. in other ReaPlugs or send levels.)

+ The OSC support should be improved. Currently it is arguably (imho, at least) too limited in functionality, and uses a poorly designed and overly confusing address space (see the OSC bugs / FR thread for a more extensive discussion).

[airon]

The coloured controls are a good thought, but the same effect can be achieved by highlighting the tab and the graphical control when the mouse is above either.

Since ReaEQ can have so many bands, colour markings might get nasty. Where to put the colours in the tabbed portion of the GUI needs to be considered as well. Any ideas ?

+ The "log-scale automated frequencies" should be improved. Imho, the CC# values should correspond to MIDI note numbers. Please take a look at my workaround here (1.9 MB QuickTime .mov), as it illustrates exactly what I'd like ReaEQ to do out-of-the-box when enabling this feature (the current behavior is arguably a bug, since the musical scale uses a log-scale - there really should be no need to use a transfer function with a *bump* in it).

Very, very interesting. Nice find. Please do a write as you would like to see it in the request, and I'll include it in the issue tracker post like that exactly. I'll need a title and a body of text. There are no length limits(AFAIK) in issue tracker posts.

+ The range of the band gain parameters should *not* be tied to the range of the track volume 'faders' on the mixer (TCP/MCP). Please see this FR. This design is perhaps understandable from a historic perspective, but it really makes absolutely no sense to me at all. (The same goes for gain-related parameters elsewehere, e.g. in other ReaPlugs or send levels.)

I had no idea. Another good find.

+ The OSC support should be improved. Currently it is arguably (imho, at least) too limited in functionality, and uses a poorly designed and overly confusing address space (see the OSC bugs / FR thread for a more extensive discussion).

This requires a good writeup as well. Looks like there's work to do.

[Lawrence]

There's maybe (dunno, or maybe it's a preference setting) a minor bug in ReaEQ.

If you slowly pull a band down using the graphical editor, what you'll see when it gets near the bottom is that it jumps directly from about -12 to -120, without being able to reach the trim levels in-between those values. If you do the same thing going up, it doesnt do that.

P.S. I should add that although I never paid attention before my version of ReaEQ says 0.75, not 1.0, but it was (I assume) installed with the pre-release. Should it be 1.0?

[Smurf]

The ability to SHUT OFF the analyzer, the thing just irks me...

[zappadave]

Bigger gui please (and everything else)

[j79]

Originally Posted by Smurf

The ability to SHUT OFF the analyzer, the thing just irks me...

I would like that too.

[medicine tactic]

Originally Posted by airon

Groupable controls

Some folks want to stack Hipass or Lowpass filters. One might also want to marquee multiple of the graphical controls, which would then enable simple one-time changes of gain, frequency and/or bandwidth through operating one of the fader controls or the selected graphical controls. That temporary band selection would be cleared by clicking in to empty areas of the graphical portion of the EQ.

Yes, good thinking airon. Being able to select multiple band points (via marquee selection, control click, shift click, the usual) would replace the need for grouping bands for me. Simpler and more effective.

[drakeblood]

resizable GUI is all what i need!!!

[medicine tactic]

Originally Posted by evosilica

Ability to rearrange tabs, or auto arrage from lowest to highest frequency.

Yes, this would be incredibly useful. I think it's the single biggest usability improvement here.

[jackacid]

Lawrence, mine says v0.75 as well. I think the title of the post refers to what we would like to see implemented when v1.0 arrives.

[Reno.thestraws]

- The possibility to switch each band to L,R,M or S
- snap frequency move to scale
- auto gain (compensate gain for cut and boost)
- freeze analyser
- display tab over 10 in the bottom of window (just under bandwith fader instead of the arrows)
- renaming band (tab)
- multi selectable band

[Swamp Ape]

I'm not sure of the technical name of this feature, or how practical it would be to implement, but Voxengo's Gliss Eq has a band/notch filter where you can select 4 or 8 peaks that follow the "root" harmonically - i.e. 60-120-180hz etc.

I discovered it while trying to remove some 60 cycle hum, but it's very useful for lots of stuff.

[EpicSounds]

what I want most is a channel option for each band - Stereo (default), Left, Right, Mid, Side

second to that I would like a slightly larger graph with more detail in the lowest frequencies.

Third wish is for an 'audition fequency' option like in the iZotope Ozone EQ. ALT-Click in the graph to solo a narrow band.

[evosilica]

Originally Posted by Lawrence

There's maybe (dunno, or maybe it's a preference setting) a minor bug in ReaEQ.

If you slowly pull a band down using the graphical editor, what you'll see when it gets near the bottom is that it jumps directly from about -12 to -120, without being able to reach the trim levels in-between those values. If you do the same thing going up, it doesnt do that.

Yes, almost forgot this. This should be sorted out, too. Very annoying bug.

[j79]

I agree with Epicsounds...mid/side would be really nice.

Probably shouldnt be top-priority, but eventually id like it in there.

[airon]

I've added most of the suggestions, and split them in to two categories. First, fixes & small stuff. Second, big new stuff.

Originally Posted by Reno.thestraws

- The possibility to switch each band to L,R,M or S

Big stuff. The EQ might have to use another processing engine for M or S bands. New controls will need to be setup to select this stuff.

- snap frequency move to scale

Big stuff. Needs a config option and there's not a lot of space. Interesting option, if your instruments are tuned properly.

- auto gain (compensate gain for cut and boost)

Did not add this for one reason. There is no reliable algorithm to calculate the necessary gain compensation yet. Even the ITU-R BS.1770-3 method is imperfect, and it said that there is no perfect algorithm because of the subjectivity.

From what I've been listening to, this is a manual process entirely, and automatic stuff will be too unreliable to be useful at almost any time.

- freeze analyser

Added to Big Stuff, though this could be done when switching off the analyzer.

- display tab over 10 in the bottom of window (just under bandwith fader instead of the arrows)

I'm not sure this is technically possible with the system GUI libraries, adding tabs that point upwards. Can any OSX/Windows GUi programmers let us know if this is even feasable ?

- renaming band (tab)

There's almost no space for that. We need to design a new display system for the band details to even have the space for more than three or four bands. If folks are fine with that, and perhaps having to use the scroll arrows after that, then I'll gladly add it.

Originally Posted by EpicSounds

second to that I would like a slightly larger graph with more detail in the lowest frequencies.

What problems do you have with the current range. Would a larger graphical display solve that problem ?

[semiquaver]

Originally Posted by Swamp Ape

a band/notch filter where you can select 4 or 8 peaks that follow the "root" harmonically - i.e. 60-120-180hz etc.

I discovered it while trying to remove some 60 cycle hum, but it's very useful for lots of stuff.

+1 Also Adobe audition has this. - very useful

[Reno.thestraws]

Ok airon, thx for reply!

[j.herran]

The coloured controls are a good thought, but the same effect can be achieved by highlighting the tab and the graphical control when the mouse is above either.

Since ReaEQ can have so many bands, colour markings might get nasty. Where to put the colours in the tabbed portion of the GUI needs to be considered as well. Any ideas ?

Both effects can be achieved, having coloured each tab depending on which freq we are and highlighting when selected a tab/point

Splitting freq. into 6 group/colour approach;

20-125; 125-500; 500-2000; 2000-8000; 8000-16000; 16000-20000 Hz

BLUE ; GREEN ; PURPLE ; RED ; ORANGE ; YELLOW

When a tab is selected it should highlight in the same colour (Blue > clear blue)

Depending on the freq you choose (when tabbing in the value or moving the point manually) the colour would automatically change when you slip from one colour-group to another.

Just the tab button and the area inside the curve should be automatically coloured.

The visual analyser should know go in a neutral colour as well as the background to make them easier to read. (I would suggest a black wave with a light grey or white background, but perhaps all this is more related to the gui than to the post itself)

Does all this make any sense?

[Lawrence]

Originally Posted by airon

Did not add this for one reason. There is no reliable algorithm to calculate the necessary gain compensation yet. Even the ITU-R BS.1770-3 method is imperfect, and it said that there is no perfect algorithm because of the subjectivity.

Right. It's not perfect, auto-gain, but it's better than nothing at all. The ear will always subjectively compare things based on perception of loudness so getting it closer is better than no attempt to match the signals at all.

But you're right, trying to match perceptual loudness perfectly in any and all situations is a pretty complex thing ... but many comp plugs (and some eq plugs) have auto-gain anyway... to help a little.

[Lawrence]

EQlibrium has a really nice function. When you right click on a band it isolates it by dipping all the other bands, like a band-pass filter, so you can really focus in on the adjustment you're making.

Nice.

It even has a little piano roll keyboard on it for placing the EQ bands directly on musical pitches. That is one great EQ plug.

[airon]

It never works for EQs Lawrence. Compressors can get it right if you feed it at the proper level, but that's about it.

I love the manual gain matching on the old TC hardware EQs as much as anyone, and I've never seen anything so far that didn't need a manual adjustment process.

Auto-matching loudness should either be scrapped or, if it turns out to be useful at least 50% of the time, implemented with the best loudness measurement algorithm we have right now.

If it's only right 10% of the time and within more than 3 dB, it's a waste of time. The quality has to be there.

[Lawrence]

Originally Posted by airon

It never works for EQs Lawrence.

I don't say this to argue the point but to reinforce what I suggested was that it keeps it closer to the original level than doing nothing at all, not that it ever gives a perfect level match... it doesn't... but if I boost my kick drum by 6db at 60hz it's level wont go way up... which kinda helps me (mmv)... because if it did go way up I'd manually pull it down a little... the output gain, anyway. So I find that using it keeps the signal more in the original gain range.

No biggie either way, it's just something other EQ plugs are doing that was mentioned here. As you said earlier, there are certainly more important things to do with ReaEQ, like automate the bands on and off... so there's no point getting too caught up on the semantics of one thing on a wish list.

That's the general idea behind brainstorming, everything is acceptable for the original list. It's really up to JCS to decide what makes the final cut, if they even do any of it.

Thanks Airon.

Sorry for the edits. I'm a very poor first draft guy.

[ivan.lt]

I think auto gain could be useful even as a rough approximate. A lot of times extreme EQing makes the signal clip or eats away the body of the sound. In these cases I'll turn the output down or up anyway. Why not let the plugin at least try to help me?

[MichaJo]

In this video you can hear which part of the frequency range is treated/cutted out by a low shelf.
That's what i'd like to see in ReaEQ

[airon]

Originally Posted by ivan.lt

I think auto gain could be useful even as a rough approximate. A lot of times extreme EQing makes the signal clip or eats away the body of the sound. In these cases I'll turn the output down or up anyway. Why not let the plugin at least try to help me?

If this gets you to a decent place, it works, and that's the point.

I guess with all those arguments for getting to a decent place, it's worth putting on the list. Colour me skeptical until the devs pull off something useful, but it won't hurt to ask.

In this video you can hear which part of the frequency range is treated/cutted out by a low shelf.
That's what i'd like to see in ReaEQ

Yeah, that's the Massenburg EQ that first had this solo-audition / auto-listen of a band. That's definitely in the list. The DMG EQs have this too.