You didn’t think we’d run an entire series of Spotlights on EQs without including those made by URS, right? The problem wasn’t if we would include them or not, but more like how many we would include. They have 10(!) EQs in their product line (not counting channel strips), and while we could make three additional Spotlights on EQs with only URS products, I don’t feel like that would be fair. So this is what I’ve done, shorter articles on the more “simple” EQs today, and a little longer articles on the two more “advanced” EQs in the upcoming part 4. OK?

A10 and N12

Am I the only one who was happy when URS introduced these types of EQs? No, I don’t care if the A10 emulates a API 560B ten band EQ and N12 is based on a Neve 1073 because I have never used the originals. I just liked seeing plug-ins that looks like my old stereo EQs.

These types are very easy to operate, even for beginners, and they are very quick to work with, especially with a control surface. Mapping these things to faders actually makes them quicker to dial than EQs mapped to knobs. Why you ask? Because faders are quicker to move. So just press that flip button on your control surface and of you go. Controlling them with the help of a mouse isn’t as quick as with a controller (duh!), but in a way it still beats turning knobs with a mouse. The only problem is that you sometimes end up changing a lot of controls which more modern graphical EQs have solved by simple click n’ drag in a graph. This makes you mouse around a lot. Still, I like these and think it’s awesome that URS decided to release two of this type of graphical EQs.

BLT

The BLT is what you’d expect from this type of EQ, three knobs, just-turn-to-see-what-happens-thing. I like these EQs, they are ugly and boring, but they are very useful for general character shaping. The BLT of course have to stand up against Massey vt3 which is no slouch itself. Personally I mostly use the Massey vt3 more, but you’ll be OK with either one, get the demos and try them both to see which one fits you best.

The A and N Series

I love the sound of API, both boards and their round EQs with proportional Q. The A Series tries to recreate the sound of the 550B. While I don’t have the hardware unit to compare with, the A series have the characteristics that I relate to API. I find the sound to be very smooth and nice on vocals but works for guitars and a lot of other things as well, almost anything actually. It might look like it only has five knobs, but it actually has nine, because each band (there are four of them) can be set to seven different frequencies by clicking outside the knob. In other words, it’s like controlling an outer knob as well.

The “N” in “N Series” of course refers to Neve and this particular plug-in emulates the 1084 which has three bands as well as HP and LP filters. It’s used in a similar way as the A series, so clicking just outside the knob lets you choose frequency. There are a few people who probably could kill me for what I’m gonna say now: I’m not a fan of this EQ. It basically boils down to two things, neither which have anything to do with whether URS successfully emulated the Neve or not, and those things are 1) I’m an API guy and am not crazy about the Neve sound (still I use emulations of it sometimes) and 2) ergonomics.

I’m going to elaborate on the second point. I don’t like the interface at all, the knobs are bad for mouse control, I don’t like having to click around the knobs to choose frequency. Also, it can sometimes be hard to see what the EQ knobs are set to. The A Series of course have similar problems, I use it often anyway. I guess that just shows that if you like the sound enough, you’ll use them whether you like the interface or not. They do have scroll-wheel support, which of course help mouse-mixers a bit.

If you use a control surface they (both the A and the N series) are better to work with however. Much better in fact, and I have to give URS kudos on this, all their plug-ins maps wonderfully to control surfaces. A big plus in my book. Last but not least I have to say this as a guy who’s not all that crazy about Neve: I agree with URS, the N Series is rather nice on drums.

Conclusion

One downer I see with the all the plug-ins mentioned here (save the BLT) is that they are ergonomically bad if you’re using a mouse, with a control surface on the other hand they are much better because they are all mapped really well. Feature-wise some of these EQs are really weak compared to the competition. This is of course a decision that URS made when they decided to emulate old analog EQs, and I’m sure that those out there that are looking for analog emulations don’t care about how feature-filled they are as long as they emulate the real deal well enough. If you’re one of those who like vintage styled EQs and care more about what hardware they emulate then functionality, then the URSes are plug-ins you have to try out, they are certainly among the best sounding in that category.

Unique Recording Software

Spotlight: EQs – Part I
Spotlight: EQs – Part II
Spotlight on EQs part IV
Spotlight on EQs conclusion