Ten of the Most Popular EQ Plug-Ins in 2023
by The Press Desk
DMG Audio EQuilibrium
It’s hard to think of another equalizer plug-in that is as deep and flexible as EQuilibrium. DMG Audio is known for developing plug-ins that are extremely customisable, offering users a plethora of options to adjust not only the incoming sounds but also many options about how the plug-in itself will look, from ‘super-complete’ with all the bells & whistles available to bare-bones basic controls and display info. Besides maybe saturation or “analogue”-style distortion, there’s very little that EQuilibrium can’t do - it’s basically a compendium of equalization curves from past to present with a myriad of deep-tweaking options that makes it arguably the most comprehensive digital equalizer ever made.
Empirical Labs BIG FrEQ
It would be fair to say that Empirical Labs Big FrEQ is an augmented software version of the company’s acclaimed Lil FrEQ rack mountable hardware parametric equalizer. Totalling twelve processing sections - four more than its hardware sibling - BiG FrEQ offers superior fine tuning controls and tone-shaping possibilities such as tape-like saturation dialed through its exclusive ‘Finisher’ section. The ‘slope’ control is a fourth EQ parameter that enables users to steepen the curves’ edges in order to provide flat top curve shapes allowing more frequencies to be adjusted equally in one single band, you can also expand the range of the gain knob an extra 15dB by making use of the ‘Range’ mode or switching ‘Focus’ on for easier fine tuning of the selected frequency.
FabFilter Pro-Q 4
If the GS chatter is accurate, the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 is arguably the king of equalizer plug-ins. It was selected by our members as the best EQ plug-in of 2016 and it continues to top most member’s “favourite” lists. Pro-Q 3 is the pinnacle of plug-in tech, hosting a tonne of amazing features - including up to 24 bands, many filter shapes, automatic gain compensation, an interface resizing tool with full screen capability, three phase modes - and to wrap it all up we have the highly innovative FabFilter interface which is widely acclaimed as one of the very best out there. Pro-Q 3 is also highly optimised and runs with zero latency, which makes it a very enticing tool to tackle any situation where equalization is required.
Kit Plugins BB Mo-Q
Following the Motown gear based software trend, Kit Plugins came up with Mo-Q, an emulation of one of the most important pieces of audio equipment made by Motown’s engineers during the 1960s. The company’s proprietary Full Range Modeling Technology (FRM) is capable of replicating subsonic and hypersonic frequencies from the original hardware ranging from 10Hz to 96kHz. The plug-in features straightforward operation across seven frequency bands for use in mono and/or stereo, selectable oversampling and over 100 mix ready presets.
Massenburg DesignWorks MDWEQ6 Parametric Equalizer (MDW)
How about tweaking a software equalizer designed by one of the inventors of parametric equalization? That’s just one of the things you’ll be doing while working with Massenburg DesignWorks Hi-Res Parametric EQ6 aka MDWEQ6. Highly regarded for its transparency and sound quality, the plug-in processes audio in 64-bit floating point resolution and offers optional 3 or 5 band operation, solo per band in order to scan target frequencies, A/B snapshot capability, real time graphic analyzer and much more.
Pulsar Audio Massive
Marketed as “the most complete passive EQ plugin” the Pulsar Massive is an emulation of Manley’s Massive Passive hardware EQ, an industry standard when it comes to mastering grade hardware equalizers. Meticulously modeled from the original unit’s parallel topology to its tubes and transformers colors, the Pulsar Massive expands with the addition of visual curve editing and a drive parameter in order to push tube saturation stages even harder. The plug-in features auto-gain, the ability to choose from three output transformer options, selectable oversampling mode, Mid-Side processing and more.
Softube Weiss EQ1 Plugin
Modeled after 1990s Weiss Engineering’s digital mastering hardware EQ, Softube Weiss EQ1 increases the functionality of the original algorithms while adding 32-bit / 192 kHz operation. The plug-in features seven bands of equalization that can be used as either a minimum phase EQ, linear phase EQ or a dynamic eq with attack, release and ratio controls for each band. Softube Weiss EQ 1 has four distinct user interface configurations with its knob layout changing according to its activated mode. The software also offers a Q-range of 0.2 to 650 M/S processing, solo/bypass per band and 64-Bit internal processing.
Three-Body Technology Kirchhoff-EQ
Developed by Three-Body Technology, distributed by Plugin Alliance and named after a famous 19th century German physicist the Kirschhoff EQ is nothing shorter than a complete equalization tool. This 32-band parametric EQ plugin brings 15 filter and 32 vintage EQ types emulations with surgical operation and yet musical sounding. The plug-in filter types allied with continuously variable slopes allows users to shape virtually any curve desired throughout the track while its switchable phase mode going across zero-latency, analogue, linear and mixed phase meets all your phase relationship needs. Kirschhoff EQ also features Spectrum Grab for locating specific frequency peaks, per-band directional EQ allowing each band to be set as M/S or L/R, lookahead, astonishing up to 117-bit internal processing, customizable mouse functionality and even a piano roll display!
Tokyo Dawn Labs Slick EQ M - Mastering Edition
Tokyo Dawn Labs continues to grow their SlickEQ line, and after the highly successful Standard and “Gentleman’s Edition” versions they have delivered something to delight the mastering engineers among us. The Slick EQ M Mastering Edition is all about offering plenty of control over the equalization process but doing so without overloading our brains with too many parameters, and to make it even sweeter it’s just as affordable as all the other Tokyo Dawn Labs plug-ins, so there’s no excuse left for those bad-sounding masters, except for maybe the talent behind the desk!
Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection
Universal Audio has arguably the most popular emulations of the highly acclaimed Pultec Passive EQs. An industry standard since the 1950s, the EQP-1A has always been attributed with characteristics such as ‘silky’, ‘warm’ and ‘smooth’ sounding other than being a go-to equipment in most professional studios. Alongside the EQP-1A Universal Audio’s Pultec Passive EQ Collection brings the Pultec MEQ-5 in order to tame mid frequencies often applied to vocal tracks and the HLF-3C low and high cut filters summing all the power and pristine emulated sound of the famous Pultec Passive EQs. You can even try the ‘Two Knobs Technique’ in order to tighten your lows or highs just as many professional engineers do with the original units.
All the plug-ins on our list are cross-platform with Apple Mac & Windows support and compatible with all major AAX, AU and VST plug-in hosts.
For more on EQ plug-ins, make sure to check out the Music Computers forum for in-depth discussions and comparisons.
