

What you can't do is to first unlink the channels and apply a corrective offset to one, and then apply a linked boost/cut to the same band. (Very occasionally, in v1.0, changing the link/unlink setting triggered a bug in the master output level control, making it apply only to one channel.) In the lower panel, though, you can choose to unlink the channel controls, including the bypass. By default the two channels are linked for L‑R stereo operation, so clicking either bypass button bypasses both channels. The EQ In button is a bypass, as you'd expect, except that it applies not only to the EQ bands but also the various other top and bottom panel controls. Its real use, though, is for boosting to find undesirable resonant frequencies, then hitting Invert to take them out, and then scaling those cuts to taste. On occasion, I also found it useful to exaggerate what I'd done - rather like a magnifying glass that led me to refine some decisions before dialling the Gain Scale back again. Many is the time that I found I'd boosted/cut the right frequencies, but had generally overcooked things, and backing things off on the Gain Scale control delivered the desired result really quickly. The Gain Scale knob and Invert button are thoughtful features. Nonetheless, it's a useful facility.īetween the two channels, are more controls. I'd have preferred it if the value remained constant (when still in range) but the knob moved accordingly, and a global button for this might be helpful too. Worth noting is that if you've already moved the knob from its neutral position, and then click the ☗/☑5 button, you'll change the amount of boost/cut on that band. The latter generally proved more useful to me in mastering and on master-bus EQ - both roles in which this EQ serves well - as it makes fine control much easier. Beneath each gain control is a switch to change the scale from ☑5 to ☗ dB. Gain is at the top, bandwidth in the middle and frequency at the bottom. The LP/HP filters are at the outside of each channel, and on each channel the bands run, reading left to right, from low to high.

Much as I like to think I'm not swayed by what I see, I find I make different decisions, and largely better ones, with less assertive boosts and cuts, when I use an EQ with this sort of interface - where the sound and the position of the knobs are all I have to go on - than I do when using something like, say, FabFilter Pro‑Q3.ĭespite the profusion of virtual knobs, buttons and LEDs, the layout is clean and intuitive, particularly when you have the lower panel hidden. There's no frequency analyser or visual representation of the changes you make to the frequency response, of the kind we've grown accustomed to seeing on so many digital EQs, but I actually like that. So there's plenty of flexibility here, though you can't select L‑R/M‑S per band, which would be nice.

The two channels can be linked/unlinked as you prefer, and can be configured to process the Left and Right or Mid and Sides channels. There's generous overlap between the five parametric bands.
#Eq 8 for mac review plus
There are additional 12dB/octave high- and low-pass filters plus a Mono-maker elliptical filter, a Mid‑Sides-based stereo width control, and a THD harmonic distortion control. This is a dual-channel five-band parametric EQ, each band of which is individually bypassable, but it boasts many other features.
#Eq 8 for mac review pro
Installation on my MacBook Pro (Mac OS 10.14.1) was hassle free, and I tested the AU and VST2 and VST3 versions in Reaper and Cubase. The Amek EQ200 is available in the common plug‑in formats for Mac and Windows.
#Eq 8 for mac review software
They've taken the opportunity to extend the functionality in software too, with new features and some that were introduced on previous Plugin Alliance software. Rather, the Brainworx team set out to create a hybrid that builds on what Ulrich considers the most desirable control elements and tonal characteristics of those processors. Before you rush out to compare it with those frighteningly expensive mastering units (or plug‑in emulations of them), I should point out that this doesn't directly emulate either. This Brainworx EQ is inspired by esoteric mastering hardware.ĭespite the Amek branding, Plugin Alliance's new Brainworx Amek EQ200 is actually inspired by owner Dirk Ulrich's love of certain mastering hardware, notably EQs made by Sontec and GML.
