I was recently asked to mix a song using nothing but the bundled plug-ins that come with Studio One Professional. I have always been a big fan of 3rd party plugins from companies such as FabFilter, Waves, McDSP and Universal Audio. I normally dismiss the plug-ins that come standard with all DAW’s. The main reason being If I turn up to a studio and need to use another DAW in a session, I can still get the same results if I use my 3rd party ones as they work in all DAW's.

Fabfilter Eq Match

When I started this mix I was wondering how I was going to get by without a multi-band eq such as McDSP’s AE400 or Fabfilters ProMB. Also what was I going to do without my goto eq's and compressors? I know how to get the results i need out of these, and can work quickly and efficiently so that i can stay within the budget of the project.

• Since its original release in 2009, FabFilter Pro-Q bundle has become the trusted workhorse EQ plug-in for many engineers and producers around the world, widely praised for its superb workflow, excellent sound quality and extensive feature set. With version 3, we’re bringing Pro-Q to a new level, introducing features like dynamic EQ, surround.
• Jul 15, 2013 FabFilter Pro-Q is designed to help you achieve your sound in the quickest way. Via the large interactive EQ display, you can create bands where you need them and select and edit multiple bands at.

My goto surgical plug-in eq is Fabfilter’s Pro Q2. In this mix as I could only use Studio One’s plug-ins I opened up the PreSonus PRO EQ. I have used this plugin before but not really in a mix situation. I really thought I was going to be at a disadvantage not being able to use Pro Q2, but to my ears the PreSonus Pro EQ sounded just as good if not better in some aspects. I have to say this plugin really surprised me. The only thing I really missed is the way you can audition frequencies in the Fabfilter plug-in to really hone in on a problem area. With Studio One’s Pro EQ you have to create a peak then find the problem frequency then cut it. I am really hoping that in the future PreSonus will include this feature as I feel it saves so much time. I recently did a video comparing the two eq's which you can find here.

FabFilter released its latest EQ plugin, “Pro-Q 3” in November 2018, and claims that it offers everything that sound engineers could ever need in an equalizer plugin. It’s packed with unique features, including all those present in the past two iterations and many new features exclusive to the Pro-Q 3, for example, the dynamic EQ mode.

What I was immediately impressed with on Studio One’s Pro EQ is the sound of this plug-in. It works and sounds like a good hardware unit. if you boost or cut at specific frequencies you can clearly hear the difference, even when you only adjust by .5 of a dB. I was able to create the desired eq setting I was looking for by only adjusting minimum amounts.

One of my favourite plugins for boosting eq is the Manny Marroquin EQ by waves. Waves modelled Manny’s favourite hardware units and each band is a different eq. They modelled the SSL 9080 XL K for its high and low pass filters; Quad 8 or Neve 1073 for the low end; Quad 8 or Motown for lows/low mids; Motown, 1073 and API 550B for mids/high mids; and Avalon 2055 for its silky high end.

Im the sort of guy that likes to cut frequencies using an eq like the Fabfilter Pro Q2, and then I like to choose a more vibey eq like the Manny Marroquin one to boost frequencies. I felt that I could use the Studio One Pro EQ for both tasks.

I can honestly say that if I could only have one EQ in my arsenal, and that was the Pro EQ, I would be totally fine. Althought I must admit, in the future I really hope they include the solo frequency feature, (please PreSonus) So if you havent given it a go yet, I would whole heartedly recommend that you spend some time with it to see if you feel the same.

A fully-featured and well-designed audio equalizer that enables you to deliver high quality sound with just a few clicks of a mouse button

What's new in FabFilter Pro-Q 2.03:

• Fixed a bug that caused knobs and sliders to respond incorrectly to subtle mouse movements while dragging on OS X and on High DPI displays on Windows
• Fixed a bug in the VST 2 plugin (introduced in Pro-Q 2.02) that caused the Auto Gain setting to always be set to Off when loading sessions saved with Pro-Q 2.01
• Various small visual fixes and improvements

Read the full changelog

FabFilter Pro-Q is a versatile and powerful plug-in specially made to offer you high quality sound and a streamlined interface.

State of the art plugin that helps you design and model your sound

Sound equalizers are between the most used tools when it comes to mixing and mastering music and with FabFilter Pro-Q you can enjoy high quality sound and take advantage of the well-designed and interactive user interface.

FabFilter Pro-Q’s interface is simple and straightforward with an interactive EQ display that helps you create and adjust EQ band using your mouse. Thanks to the band controls you can quickly change the settings of the currently selected EQ band.

Quickly and easily gain access to the tools and features you need

From the bottom toolbar you gain access to features such as processing mode, channel mode, spectrum analyzer settings, gain scale, global bypass, auto-gain, phase-invert and output level and panning.

FabFilter Pro-Q’s large window displays all EQ bands, a fact that helps you to effortlessly create and edit new bands. Although, simple and intuitive, the EQ display comes loaded with smart and powerful features.

Experienced sound engineers will be happy to know that FabFilter Pro-Q offers top quality linear phase operation, zero latency mode, variable stereo placement of EQ bands, Mid and Side processing, as well as a built-in spectrum analyzer.

Features like Full Screen mode, Spectrum Grab, EQ Match, interactive MIDI learn,Smart Parameters Interpolation, A/B and undo/redo switch will significantly speed up your workflow and ease your job.

Precisely adjust EQ band parameters and obtain the desired sound

With the help of the floating band controls you can check the current settings of the selected EQ bands and make accurate adjustments. FabFilter Pro-Q also offers you the option to display a piano keyboard at the bottom of the main window and freely interact with the frequencies.

All in all, FabFilter Pro-Q is a well-thought-out plug-in that offers you a smart and interactive interface, as well as high quality sound for your music and audio.

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Fabfilter Eq Review

FabFilter Pro-Q was reviewed by George PopescuLIMITATIONS IN THE UNREGISTERED VERSION

• 30 days trial.

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• AU, VST, VST 3, AAX or RTAS host

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FabFilter Pro-Q 2.03

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Fabfilter Eq Presets

runs on:

Mac OS X 10.5 or later (Intel only)

file size:

12.9 MB

filename:

ffproq203.dmg

main category:

Audio

developer:

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