Tired of band limitations? Then this is the EQ for you, because if you need another band, just add it! This is perhaps the major selling point for the ex-Elemental Audio EQ. Adding another band is simply a matter of clicking, no waiting, lagging or loading, it just adds it and off you go. You can choose between parametric, low shelf 1&2, high shelf 1&2, low pass, high pass, band pass, notch and harmonic 4&8, in other words, pretty much everything you need.

There’s even more features to it, like a couple of displaying options, zooming, band soloing (as well as individual band muting), channel splitting, and something I always enjoy seeing in a plug-in, dual workspaces. It makes it so simple to compare settings, on the UNIQUEL-IZER it’s done by simply clicking on the A or B buttons. Not bad, huh? Another cool feature is the possibility to lock a parameter so that you don’t accidentally change it. The UNIQUEL-IZER also features an innovative automation system with different “handles”. As you understand this plug-in is way too feature-filled to go into detail on everything here. Don’t worry though, if you get lost using it there’s a good manual included as well as a lot of presets.

But what about the sound? I don’t know where this prejudice comes from, but I always think feature-rich EQs are going to sound transparent and this holds true for UNIQUEL-IZER as well. All in all I find it very nice to work with, both regarding GUI and sound results. There’s also a very cheap LE version out for the budget-minded, I haven’t tried it yet, but as far as I know the real difference is that it’s limited to 7 bands, which are plenty in most cases anyway.

Roger Nichols Digital

McDSP FilterBank

If you have tried McDSP CompressorBank or Analog Channel then you probably know what this EQ is about. Yeah, that’s right, emulating every EQ ever made. That’s not a small task, but if you’ve read the previous Spotlight on tape emulators then you probably know that I think they did a mighty fine job on Analog Channel.

First of all, FilterBank don’t show up as one plug-in, but as… 10…! The first of these, B1, is simply a band pass/band stop filter, a one band filter, perhaps mostly used for eliminating hum. F1,F2 and F3 are configurations with 1,2 or 3 filters. P2, P4 and P6 are configurations with parametric EQs only, and you guessed it, they have either 2, 4 or 6 bands. Finally we have the E2, E4 and E6 which features, filters, shelves and parametric EQs.

That’s a large number, but not enough for emulating every EQ, so how do they do it? Every EQ have different types of curves right? Right, and that’s the trick, McDSP uses something called P-S-D (D-S-P anyone?) which stands for Peak-Slope-Dip and basically let’s you control the curve of any band. It’s a bit hard to explain in word so just take a look at the picture and I’m sure you’ll understand how it works.

As with most other McDSP plug-ins, FilterBank is easy on the CPU, induces no delay and comes shipped with a huge number of presets, all visible in every configuration, so it’s easy to see what could be suited for what. There’s also a well written manual supplied with a lot of data if you find that interesting as well as descriptions of some classic EQs emulated by FilterBank.

Holy cow, that’s a lot of words without even getting to how the damn thing sounds! As you might guess, it’s colored. What color? Haven’t you read a word I’ve written? It emulates every EQ out there, it’s a frickin’ rainbow! Does it do a good job then? Who knows, I haven’t tried every EQ out there but I definitely like the sound of it on pretty much everything. But… if you’re looking for a transparent, surgical EQ I wouldn’t really get this, even though I suppose it can emulate that as well. Anyway, this bad boy could very likely retire half of your EQ collection.

McDSP

Massey vt3

These type of EQs look so damn boring, three knobs, bass, mid and treble, a peak meter and nothing more. But for one thing, this is not a beauty contest, and the GUI itself is pretty nice anyway, like the other Massey plug-ins. The other thing is that these three band EQs are usually pretty handy. I like using them on auxes but also on individual channels as well. There’s not much more to say, turn a few knobs and you’re done…

… Oh! Right! The sound! Well, what do you think? It’s Massey, the sole ruler of cheap plug-ins in high-end land. It sounds as good you’d expect. The only downside is that he hasn’t released an EQ with more bands, but I can’t really blame this plug-in for that. Go try.

Massey plugins

Conclusion

As I’m sure you understand, the EQs mentioned here are very different from one another, from the two ultra flexible McDSP FilterBank (Flashback! Flashback!) and RND UNIQUEL-IZER to the extremely stripped Massey. The funny thing is that even the two flexible EQs are very different and flexible in different ways. All three are different animals, go with whatever works for you. If you don’t own a simple three-bander though, then I can’t imagine a better purchase than vt3, but it’s obvious it won’t work as your only EQ.

Also don’t forget to check out the Eiosis AirEQ review, a very nice plug-in indeed, and by gawd, don’t count out Digidesigns own FREE EQ III, I still use that one even with all these (and more) at my disposal. Keep your eyes open for Part 2, there are still a couple to go… Perhaps there will even be a part three.

Spotlight on EQs part II
Spotlight on EQs part III
Spotlight on EQs part IV
Spotlight on EQs conclusion