Dynamic EQ Plugins

[Mustang Martigan]

Hey, I'm in the market for a dynamic EQ. What are your favorites? The Brainworx DynEQ v2 is on sale for $49 and the Waves F6 will probably be dropping to $29 during their Black Friday deals.. and I'd assume others will be dropping in price from now til Xmas.

I've read good reviews on the TB Fix, and it's cheap, but it isn't available in AAX format; I'm running Pro Tools. I've also seen good things written about the MDynamicEq.

Does the side chain on most of the dynamic EQs allow you to pick the frequencies of both the main instrument and the one being referenced in the SC? Or make you use the main frequency on both?

Thanks.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

the brainworx is an absolute steal for that price.

i'm not familiar with any of the other ones you mention. i usually use DMG essence, which is an amazing piece of work.

i'm not sure i understand your question about the sidechain. an example of how i use it: say i have a mix with a boomy bass drum. i want to reduce the boom. if there's no bass guitar on the song competing with the kick, i can just set the dynamic eq to say 50hz and dig in. and it will only engage when the kick hits. but if there's bass guitar as well, that might not work so hot. so i would use the sidechain eq set to a steep low pass to allow only the lowest subs through (which presumably would be from the kick) and use that to trigger the dynamic eq.

hopefully that makes sense!

[drumsound]

I use the McDSP AE400 quite often. Its a good sounding EQ in its own rite and the compression and expansion can be very useful when desired.

[joninc]

I use the Waves F6, C6, DMG Essence a lot and just got the brainworkx one - all do a decent job.

Essence is the most intense in terms it's depth and controls - also the most expensive by far.

[cgarges]

I have the Brainworx and it's really cool, but it's a little finicky sometimes. I got turned on to the Tokyo Dawn Nova not too long ago and I've been using it A TON in the four-band mode (not always using all four bands). It's got a GREAT display that really helps you zone in on problem stuff quickly and it's really flexible. It's also free, so it's got that going for it, but there's also a "Gentleman's Edition," that's like $40 or something and I bought it just to support the guy making those plug ins. (It has a few extra features, too.)

Hope this helps.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Mustang Martigan]

I have the Brainworx and it's really cool, but it's a little finicky sometimes. I got turned on to the Tokyo Dawn Nova not too long ago and I've been using it A TON in the four-band mode (not always using all four bands). It's got a GREAT display that really helps you zone in on problem stuff quickly and it's really flexible. It's also free, so it's got that going for it, but there's also a "Gentleman's Edition," that's like $40 or something and I bought it just to support the guy making those plug ins. (It has a few extra features, too.)

I totally blew it with the bx_DynEq; thought the sale lasted longer than it did. And at $200+, it looks like I'll never be owning that one.

Luckily there are a ton of others out there. I also have the Nova (think I might have already mentioned that) and the GUI seems to be similar to the F6.. although it's been a while since I demoed it. Has anyone A/B's the Nova and F6?

As far as the side chaining goes, with some dynamic EQs you can set it up so when the trigger is hitting a certain frequency (that you select), the EQ will engage and alter the frequency selected for the main band.
Some dynamic EQ's make you use the same frequency that's set to the main band on the ext side chain.

[Mustang Martigan]

I have the Brainworx and it's really cool, but it's a little finicky sometimes.

Finicky in what way? How is it on the CPU? Even though the bx only has one band, if it's light on processing then multiple instances shouldn't be a problem.

I wanna take advantage of these current sales and swoop one up.

It seems like the sidechain is where these dynamic EQs shine, so I'm basing my decision on that and, of course, sound quality.

The Nova AAX sidechain only runs in mono. Plus it's global (uses the key icon in PT), so even tho it has multiple bands, they only work on one external trigger. Is there anytime when you'd need more than one band for a sidechain? I can't think of one, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how that could even work (using multiple bands on one sidechain trigger).

I just found out about (and downloaded) the free Voxengo GlissEQ, but haven't had a chance to use it or check out the manual. I need to do that after posting this to find out about it's sidechain options, and what it can do in general.

I forget if I already mentioned it, this thread if fairly old, but I can't demo either of the Melda's dynamic EQs or the Waves F6. I used my trials a while back and never got around to trying them. It seems like you can setup an external SC on every band of the F6; not sure about the Melda's. I'm not familiar with either of Melda's.. does the excess of the more expensive Auto version make it worth the extra cash? Cuz I don't have much to throw around. I've read the spectrum analyzer in the Melda's is great. I already have SPAN, and a couple other freebies, so that isn't a deal maker.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

dyn-eq is on sale again for $49 through the weekend!

[Mustang Martigan]

dyn-eq is on sale again for $49 through the weekend!

Ya, that's why I revived the post.. to ask what was "finicky" about the DynEq. I figure that if I need more than one band I can use Nova, and when I need to sidechain, I can call on DynEq.

I just wish I could demo Melda's MDynamicEQ. It's on sale for around $30 and gets great reviews. I'd also like to try the F6 again so I can compare all of them side by side.. see what works better for certain tasks.

[Mustang Martigan]

I ended up grabbing the F6 for $29. I didn't have the extra $20 for the brainworkx.

Can someone please explain a situation(s) where having a sidechain available for multiple bands is useful? I get ducking the bass to let the kick thru or ducking the guitar to give the vocals room. Those examples only require one band tho.

Thanks.