Description
Eplex7 DSP Equelectrium EQA-1 – VST plugin equalizer
There are many digital / plugin equalizers at the market. Why do we need another one?
This is a brand new technology and style of equalization, with totally different sound results
Our short article about philosophy behind Equelectrium EQA-1 and Sectio aurea EQing technology. Please read.
Comparing to real analog equalizers most of digital EQs produces harsh digital sound when boosting – sharp unpleasant digital sounding transients and trebles, harshness, squared bass, artifacts instead of color, etc.
Usually you can hear it better (or only) after mastering at high volume levels. (You can do test of equalizers – put EQ on master channel or equalize complex audio material with mixed many channels together and put limiter after it at commercial level like -8RMS.)
After mastering / limiting your track is probably sounding harsh and unpleasant on transients and trebles if you use boosting of digital eqs in your mix – you can hear it best with high quality hi-fi system or loud PA system in club.
You think problem is with your mixing skills, maybe too much limiting, compression etc. which causes distortion and artifacts, right?
Yes maybe, but surprisingly most of problems are usually caused by digital equalizers and too much boosting of various eq frequencies (mostly mids and trebles). Why?
Because digital equalizers works on different principles than analog one.
While analog equalizer works with real electric signal digital eq is boosting just numbers and doing digital calculations. This causes various problems with sound and sound become digital and unnatural. After discussions with many experienced mix and mastering engineers + our own experiences we realized that source of harsh unpleasant sounding mixes is mostly equalizer not just dynamic processors.
To be honest most digital emulations of analog machines are often just marketing illusions and produce more dirt and digital artifacts than real analog sound in digital domain. If you use it many times on many channels these digital problems / artifacts are counted together and amplified during mastering at high volume levels.
After more than 17 years of constructing analog audio devices and coding DSP software we accidentally got the idea of new way of equalization. To understand it better we would like to introduce you philosophy behind it.
When you look at universe, world, physics in detail you may recognize that many systems in universe works on similar principles and patterns. They have exact physical laws. After reading books of George Soros, who is very good academically educated modern philosopher (not just stock trader as many people think), we realized that many systems in nature, in society and not just in economy works on principles of “imaginary” co-called equilibrium.
For better understanding allow us few easy examples:
In nature when temperature in Summer is becoming too high “systems” in nature creates colder wind and or storm / rain to “stabilize” temperature in normal levels – equilibrium. This is caused by physical law. Cold air goes to place where hot air is and replace it. When the temperature of air is hotter then more steam is accumulated in atmosphere and more clouds are created – more dense clouds = bigger chance of rain. The temperature of this place is colder within few hours. When temperature of air is too high, usually strong storm is coming, hotter weather = stronger storm. When we warm-up global temperature too high with CO2 emissions etc. more and more anomalies can be recorded as more tornadoes, extreme swings of temperature, prolonged drought, heavy rain etc. It can be noticed by charts. The average world temperature is growing just a little but “volatility” of temperatures hot / cold swings is growing and swinging more. This means that nature tries to find balance (equilibrium) in many complex systems.
On similar principles works our body. While outer temperature is often in range from -10 to +37 Celsius degree, our inner temperature is in equilibrium usually from 35,8 °C to 37 °C. This is regulated and stabilized by many mechanisms inside our body (heating and cooling mechanisms) and similar mechanisms with pH of blood which must be 7,36 to 7,44 otherwise you may die.
Similar systems works also in economy. When markets goes to irrational overpriced bubble too much over level of imaginary equilibrium, usually the system / bubble burst and create inverted extreme – economic recession which has stabilizing effect. Because overpriced assets / markets creates instability too – like too much public loans which may be unpaid in future, extreme prices of properties, unemployment rate so low that it is difficult to find people who would like to work hard and seriously etc.). After some time “system” goes back from recession to normal state – imaginary equilibrium. George Soros described this behavior also on social establishments and systems like communism which was over equilibrium for decades and then burst and created revolutions. Simply put, moving any system too much over imaginary equilibrium (normal state) up or down creates instability, also in music / mixing!
As one of best philosophers of all time who was searching for secrets / principles of life and universe Siddhartha Gautama known as Buddha said: “always try to find golden middle way” in everything. More extremes we create = more problems and instability are the results.
Famous mastering engineer Bob Katz says in his book that if you must equalize record during mastering more than (if we remember correct 3-4 dB) it must be remixed again. You should sent it back to mixing studio because it creates too much instability / disharmony in overall sound.
Next important “pattern” in nature / universe is Fibonacci number or Fibonacci sequence (also known as Golden Ratio – Sectio Aurea) Fibonacci sequences appear in many biological settings, such as branching of trees, an arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruitlets of pineapple, the flowering of artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of pine cone and the family tree of honeybees.
Johannes Kepler pointed out the presence of the Fibonacci sequence in nature and using it to explain the (golden ratio-related) pentagonal form of some flowers. Field daisies most often have petals in counts of Fibonacci numbers. In 1754, Charles Bonnet discovered that the spiral phyllotaxis of plants were frequently expressed in Fibonacci number series.
Golden ratio technique was used in art, photography, architecture and music because it seems to be most natural for our brain.
For example photography composed in Golden ratio law is perceived as nicest / most esthetical by people. It is decoded by our brains as most natural composition, probably because it is closest to natural patterns in nature / universe).
Inspired by this knowledge we were experimenting with various new kind of algorithms.
After long time we created brand new dsp technique which draws from theory of equilibrium and Fibonacci / Sectio Aurea both in frequency and amplitude domain
This algorithm significantly removes disharmony in whole frequency range caused by equalization. It eliminates digital harshness – ugly digital transients and trebles, while the sound is boosting. The sound is more natural, trebles are softer less digital, transients are natural not sharp and artificial, bass is fat and round, similar to analog hardware equalization.
We also integrated many algorithms simulating real analog circuits based on our 17+ years of experiences with analog electronics and emulation of circuits / components in dsp.
Various methods of analog emulation were used from capturing hardware to digital simulation of electronic circuits and components.
Probably you don’t hear significant difference from one EQ to another until record is mastered at high volume levels. Where all problems like harsh trebles, digital artifacts, ugly transients are boosted 5-10x in mastering or when you use eq on just one channel like drums, synth or piano. But problems are accumulated when inferior equalizer is used on 8-20 individual mixer channels and then mastered. You are probably thinking why my mix / master is not sounding so good, so sweet natural and pleasant on good hi-fi or in the club.
Try to remove all equalizers (and other mix processors) from the mix.
Use just EQUELECTRIUM EQA-1 plugin equalizer on every mixer channel (and master stereo bus if needed). Make mastering and compare significant difference on high quality hi-fi system like Bowers & Wilkins, Tannoy, KEF, PMC etc. (not classic near-field monitors which usually do not translate high frequencies, color and transients well because are designed for long work to remove ear fatigue).
Do not worry with your mixes, do not spend tents of hours or weeks with them while still sounding digital, harsh and unpleasant.
Try new technologies and more comfortable ways.
TOP FEATURES:
– Game changing Sectio Aurea / Equelectrium technology of Equalization inspired by Fibonnaci / Golden ratio and system of equilibrium in nature. (Please read description and philosophy of development above) which removing almost all ills of classic digital eqs (and digital analog emulations) audible when eq is boosting like: harsh trebles, digital artifacts, sharp artificial digital sounding transients, squared bass etc. and imbalance in mix.
– Realistic emulation of analog circuits and components using various techniques from capturing real hardware to virtual circuits technology (based on our 17+ years of experiences with constructing own analog hardware and DSP coding, see Eplex7 DSP analog labs)
Equelectrium EQA-1simulates sound of solid state (transistor based) analog hardware equalizers and its color. Transistor based EQs / hardware has precise, less colored sound.
– High frequency air band (high shelf with more Baxandall type analog curve) from 8 to 19kHz, from classic analog treble to precise high frequency air – with clean detailed trebles and transients without unwanted harshness and artifacts
– Bass frequency band from 40 to 350 Hz, with fat round analog style bass
– Mid range frequency – band pass filter with frequency range based on frequency of bass and high frequency circuit. From 40 to 19 kHz with intensive warm analog solid state sound.
– Cut / attenuate circuit with adjustable frequency from 70 Hz to 8 kHz, from sharp to wide Q (bandwidth) control and cut from 0 to 10db. Very clean and “creamy” sounding cut inspired by passive filters.
– 2nd Cut / attenuate circuit with adjustable frequency from 350 Hz to 19 kHz, from sharp to wide Q (bandwidth) control and cut from 0 to 10db. Very clean and “creamy” sounding cut inspired by passive filters.
– Input knob to control level of input knob (and also amount of color – louder signal = more analog color and saturation mainly when analog drive knob is activated – turned right)
– Analog drive knob – To add analog hardware warmth of transistor based hardware with transformers from very gentle color and saturation to more intensive saturation, warmth + softening and rounding of trebles / transients caused mainly by isolation coil transformers in analog machines.
– Output knob to adjust output volume
– Preset manager: Only available in full version (settings are reset after every use / opening of project in DEMO version!)
TRY DEMO VERSION BEFORE PURCHASING:
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Here is what you get if you purchase FULL VERSION:
+6000 Plus GOOD KARMA Points (instead of -10000 minus Karma points if use pirated software 🙂
– Lifetime updates!
– Full version without any restrictions, with special wishes and registered to your name
– Preset manager
NOTE: We manually generate full files within 24 hours of PayPal / Stripe transaction confirmation. Thanks for your patience. If you didn’t received download link after 36 h, please contact us.
BEFORE PURCHASE: We require you to download the demo plugin and try a compatibility with your DAW. All demos here.
