H-EQ for mixdowns/home mastering?

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Can't resist those waves deals but i seem to have used my demos up on some stuff.

Just been demoing Scheps 73 and well impressed with for livening up a mix so was thinking about getting H-Eq as well, i don't have an EQ like it and closest i can think of is DMG Equilibrium which i know i highly regarded and i read H-Eq is in similar territory so no brainer in the sale? :phones:

Cheers!
Latest release and Socials: https://linktr.ee/ph.i.ltr3

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Equilibrium is a way more powerful EQ than H-EQ.. same territory? Not even close.

H-EQ doesn't let you solo frequencies or select the type of EQ filter on a per band basis.

it has some nice preset curves (equilibrium has WAY more but also many extra "modes"), but it's too limited to be an all in one do anything EQ.

The note feature is nice to select frequency by pitch, that's basically the main thing I like about it.

Equilibrium has phase response choice, proQ2 has way more bands, etc.. there are so many differences between h-EQ and top shlef eq's that it doesn't really rate. it's the EQ that can do a bit of something here and there in a very easy to use interface, but by no means is it a powerful EQ. More for beginners.

Going through all the better options and why would take too much time right now, i would suggest you demo it.

My quick recommendation is to get acon instead for 79 whilst on sale which can reproduce any curve H-EQ could as well as a ton of extra features, low cpu usage, and just an all round best in class (for the price) product.

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Hmmm, H-EQ is a bit of a weird one, it's somewhere between a clean/flexible eq and a modelling one. It sounds good enough though! But I think its main attraction is the various models per band. If I were in the market for a clean one (like it seems you are) I'd probably choose one from DMG, Fabfilter, SIR or Acon. More so since the H-EQ isn't the most CPU friendly - not a hog either, but I found it too much to use on every channel for instance. Plus the ones mentioned are more flexible, more bands/filter types etc.
I think it's a good EQ, but personally I preferred others, so I sold it a while ago (I use ProQ2 exclusively now). But I guess H-EQ is dirt-cheap now? That makes any of the other brands a much harder sell ;)

I see Theo has a much more comprehensive story to tell, which I agree with - still posted this, because why not :)

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musikmachine wrote:Can't resist those waves deals but i seem to have used my demos up on some stuff.

Just been demoing Scheps 73 and well impressed with for livening up a mix so was thinking about getting H-Eq as well, i don't have an EQ like it and closest i can think of is DMG Equilibrium which i know i highly regarded and i read H-Eq is in similar territory so no brainer in the sale? :phones:

Cheers!
I guess it depends on what you mean by "home mastering." Maybe Theo is spot on, but then again, maybe his standards are higher than necessary. I remember adjusting the EQ on my first few tracks, it went something like, "that track needs less bass, that track needs a touch more treble." Mackie had that ad campaign where they were talking about musically useful EQ, bass at 80hz where you need it, not 100hz, and treble at 12k, not 10k.

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It's a fine EQ for many don't get me wrong, but the OP asked vs Equilibrium.

FWIW, if anything, i PASSED on equilibrium because it was way too complicated for me in the *options*, i thought it was borderline crazy, and it cost more than 3x the acon..

But for what's ultimately more capable, there is no contest between HEQ and DMG is what I was trying to say.

It's also fairly cpu hungry to be using on a lot of tracks.

I settled on one main Eq too, the acon, which is what i always recommend for price vs features.. It's also incredibly easy to use and no pages of options.

I use plenty of other UAD ones for vintage vibe but when i want a surgical EQ it's the acon. I could never survive with just H EQ as it's missing to many things for me.. but without knowing the OP's expectations it's hard to answer with certainty.

If he wants a 5 band +2 cut filter EQ with various vintage shapes that can do basic required eq tasks, then it's fine.

If he wants notch filters, to be able to sweep frequencies in solo, to choose linear/mixed/min phase, low cpu, more than one cut filter, reasonant cut filters, have full control over curve shape himself, have auto levelling on the output to not choose "louder equals better", and much more, then H-EQ won't cut it.

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Good info, Theo. I had the $17 waiting to spend on it but was hesitating since I have a bunch of EQs (including the new ones acquired by my recent Izotope bundle purchase) but none with the note feature. So either I jump on H-Comp even though I have Slate and The Glue, or keep my $17.

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I've got EQ8 and PSP Neon HD which sounds like it is a more versatile eq. I was thinking of something to add character with the analog modelling to lift sterile mixes.

By territory i meant the quality of the EQ curves, surprised it's not more capable for the regular price so i'd expect the quality of the curves to be top notch.

Reviews on the waves site rave about how good it is but then there's the odd one that sys kinda meh lol.

I always like to demo things, don't like to buy blind so i think i'll pass in light if the suggestions. Schep is really nice, that's why i asked but the $30 dollar coupon is a one time thing anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated! I'll give Acon a try. Just trying to get my BF purchases in order but i just read Waves runs until the 6th anyway!

Cheers!
Latest release and Socials: https://linktr.ee/ph.i.ltr3

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macmuse wrote:Good info, Theo. I had the $17 waiting to spend on it but was hesitating since I have a bunch of EQs (including the new ones acquired by my recent Izotope bundle purchase) but none with the note feature. So either I jump on H-Comp even though I have Slate and The Glue, or keep my $17.
oh, $17.. that's different lol. Probably worth it if you are good with pitch, to be able to just hit a note and adjust away.

Which izotope bundle did you get, the one with alloy AND ozone advanced? You don't *need* any other EQ if you have ozone advanced. The only bugbear in the entire program is there are no steepness choices on the resonant cut filters, but you can stack 3 or 4 and just boost or cut the resonance of the last one.. sort of...
Other than that (and considering there are a gazillion plugs with nice slop selectable resonant cut filters anyway), they are excellent EQ's, especially advanced which has the vintage stuff as well.

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Good. Yep, that bundle. I'm new to the EQs in there, so appreciate your input. I don't like to buy redundant plugins unless there's something really special. I don't know that there's anything in the Waves $49 sale (making it $17.10 with the coupon) that I really need. Other choice might be the H-comp but I also have Slate VVC and VMR, PSP VW and the Glue. And all Logic X. Those coupons are too tempting eh? ;)

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macmuse wrote:Good. Yep, that bundle. I'm new to the EQs in there, so appreciate your input. I don't like to buy redundant plugins unless there's something really special. I don't know that there's anything in the Waves $49 sale (making it $17.10 with the coupon) that I really need. Other choice might be the H-comp but I also have Slate VVC and VMR, PSP VW and the Glue. And all Logic X. Those coupons are too tempting eh? ;)

No buy a coup;e beers instead. Ozone advanced literally has all the eq you will ever need i promise.

The only thing you might ever want in addition to their pultec is like an api or neve, something else vintage, to use now and again :)

By the way, you hold down alt and left mouse click anywhere in the blank space of the graph (but not on the eq points themselves) to sweep through solo frequencies :)

Ozone, alloy, have bypass gain compensation which is awesome, and many other cool features. And honestly if i hadn't bought acon EQ, i would be using ozone eq as my track eq :) it's that good.

EDIT< i am changing my mind, for $19 go for it cause it does give you neve and ssl curves i think, all selectable easily from a drop down list. Maybe this is worth having as your "vintage" EQ and for the note feature.

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It's difficult advising on eq. The truth is you can mix or master (there really is no such thing as a 'mastering' eq btw - it's mostly marketing and things like restricting the boost/cut range to something like 6dB instead of the usual 24+) using any eq you like - you just have to demo them and see which 'fits' you best. It might be down to the interface/workflow more than the sound. It might be down to the 'weighting' on the virtual knobs that let you 'feel' your way as you're making your adjustments. It depends how you personally use eq too. The eq's I've settled upon are a mixture of paid and freeware and, if I'm honest, it's mostly because I like the interface. Eq's are the one thing where there's pretty much no difference in 'sound' between one and another - it's about workflow and options. Different curves will produce a different effect of course but actual 'quality' is debatable. I've only ever found one eq where it consistently smeared transients on pretty much every boost situation I ran it through (it's a free one that I'm not going to reveal because it's a little unfair to do so) - other than that I could happily use almost any eq to do my work.

H-eq looks like a fine choice for such a low price (almost bought it myself earlier today).
Mastering from £30 per track \\\
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the preset curves do help when you need quick fixes though IMO.. Like i know what a pultec is going to do and when to grab for it if i want to do the low end trick, for example. I can reproduce it other ways but with the uad pultec i can do it in about 5 seconds.
This is why i like having a variety of vintage flavours on hand.

Any curve can of course be reproduced with a properly coded digital EQ, and i have done this to perfection with some to an almost total null, but there are also some that are impossible to null because of the component modelling they might have. Like for example softube trident. i can't null it to completion with anything. Softube tubetech also has a base sound when the EQ is totally flat that adds up over the mix, it can be rather pleasant on the right styles of music. There are quite a few other eq plugins that have some sort of mojo going on.

You are right about mastering vs mixing eq's.. it's sort of like the famous bus compressor discussion.. something called a bus compressor is still a compressor and can be used anywhere you like.
Just like a track EQ can be used to master and vice versa. The most important thing is that the curves are coded properly ie not distorted and it has the features the user wants for their particular working style.

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TheoM wrote:the preset curves do help when you need quick fixes though IMO..
Absolutely - I use the ranger eq's, for example, all the time for when I'm nearing the end of a mix and I want to subtly push and pull things around in terms of focus. Their huge wide Q really helps here - would be very difficult to replicate in most other eq's.
TheoM wrote:Any curve can of course be reproduced with a properly coded digital EQ, and i have done this to perfection with some to an almost total null
Me too and it's one of those weird moments where you consider just having one eq for everything.. but then you quickly come to your senses lol.
TheoM wrote:but there are also some that are impossible to null because of the component modelling they might have. Like for example softube trident. i can't null it to completion with anything. Softube tubetech also has a base sound when the EQ is totally flat that adds up over the mix, it can be rather pleasant on the right styles of music. There are quite a few other eq plugins that have some sort of mojo going on.
I don't know if you ever tried the Sir Elliot eq's - they certainly had some interesting things going on too - couldn't null them. Shame I had to ditch them due to the Synthmaker buggy tendencies.
TheoM wrote:You are right about mastering vs mixing eq's.. it's sort of like the famous bus compressor discussion.. something called a bus compressor is still a compressor and can be used anywhere you like.
Just like a track EQ can be used to master and vice versa. The most important thing is that the curves are coded properly ie not distorted and it has the features the user wants for their particular working style.
I slapped the brainworx opto pedal - with very heavy compression - in parallel on a master recently. It was the only one that produced the result I wanted to hear on a track that was really lacking weight and density. It doesn't really come up in mastering compression discussions.. Sshh don't tell anyone.. :D
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TheoM wrote: By the way, you hold down alt and left mouse click anywhere in the blank space of the graph (but not on the eq points themselves) to sweep through solo frequencies :)
Theo, thank you for that tidbit and all your other detailed (and good) info. You always are such a help. :) I didn't have time to read up on them yet to learn that. That's a feature I will be using, so glad to know.
Last edited by macmuse on Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Sorry what i meant was an EQ that could be used surgical use and to add a bit of colour. By home mastering i meant tracks that i would play out, i don't master myself, haven't got the setup for it.

But i see two or three different types of EQ, the surgical/ linear phase type, character emulation and then swiss army stuff like this. I know there's a few i'm missing. I was kind of thinking between this and Puitec H-Eq would be more useful for mixing and mastering duties.

Anyway i caved and bought Soundtoys, simply cause i like them and what they do for my music but it'd been on my list for a good long while.

I'll give Acon a whirl, i'm sure Waves will have a special or two in the near future, just a feeling i have, no idea why lol so i'll see if i can get the trial renewed.

Yeah great info Theo, cheers and thanks for all the input.
Latest release and Socials: https://linktr.ee/ph.i.ltr3

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