What makes EQ plugins better than lives EQ8?

[Ill Frequencies]

Why do people like to go 3rd party and get an EQ plugin instead of using Lives built in one?

[psyfi]

I do use EQ 8 for general broad EQ jobs but I find for things like high passing I need something with a steeper curve than 24 BD. I can turn to EQ 3 but that is designed to not be very transparent plus its low frequency only goes to 50 Hz which can be to high for some jobs when dealing with bass and kick for instance is. Another reason people turn to third party plugs is the interface. in many they have spectral analysers built-in and people love that visual feedback especially if they are starting out.

[ze2be]

I do use EQ 8 for general broad EQ jobs but I find for things like high passing I need something with a steeper curve than 24 BD.

If you rack the EQ8, you can stack filters on the same macro. This gives you steeper curves.

[JuanSOLO]

I do use EQ 8 for general broad EQ jobs but I find for things like high passing I need something with a steeper curve than 24 BD.

If you rack the EQ8, you can stack filters on the same macro. This gives you steeper curves.

I have been doing that lately, but it would be cool to see some screen shots posted of how others are doing that.

[ze2be]

I do use EQ 8 for general broad EQ jobs but I find for things like high passing I need something with a steeper curve than 24 BD.

If you rack the EQ8, you can stack filters on the same macro. This gives you steeper curves.

I have been doing that lately, but it would be cool to see some screen shots posted of how others are doing that.

Theres only one way to do it with eq8, as far as I know. Simply assign 2 or more frequency bands to the same rack macro, and have the bands set up with the same settings.

[anybody human]

Steeper curves for one, as has been said. Also, I like to have the frequency analysis built in, as if EQ8 & Spectrum were one combined device. I use Fabfilter Pro Q a lot, but there are a handful of other eq's that have this feature.

EQ's do sound different though, Live's is fairly surgical which is a good thing. When you cut something, it stays cut so to speak. It reminds me of Waves Renaisance eq, while Pro Q is softer, more "musical" as people say. It also has a linear phase mode which is great for mastering, on the mix bus, or particularly stubborn individual tracks/elements.

Then you have your "character" eq's, but that's a whole other thing than your go-to, general purpose eq.

[anybody human]

EQ8 also has a mid/side mode, which is another huge plus. If anybody hasn't gotten a chance to mess around w/ mid/side, it can really come in handy at times.

The lack of different LP/HP filter slopes is the only real downside for me. I always flip around & A/B 12-24-48 at different cutoff points. A/B is another thing I guess, come to think of it. EQ 8 is still a really, really good EQ IMO though.

[MacGuffin]

some 3rd party EQs are modeled after vintage units (pultec, helios, neve, etc...)

[rydn]

Usability and visual feedback is better in some 3rd party EQs. I demoed EQuick and was really impressed with how much more tactile it felt to work with. You can drag the points around in the GUI while still making fairly subtle changes. EQ8 is very twitchy in comparison. EQuick sounded nicer/sweeter/smoother too, in a subtle way.

[H20nly]

...the need to justify spending the money.

[antarktika]

also, dynamic eq. For example voxengo's glisseq http://www.voxengo.com/product/glisseq/ which has a different behavior than a fixed eq. Also, it has multi-track monitoring spectrum analysis so you can see the frequencies occupied by multiple tracks overlaid in the same visual interface. This is the only third party eq I've got, but it's fairly awesome.

[nuxnamon]

parametric eq's are all pretty much equal (barring any vintage emulation GUI eye candy). at least that's what i got from the link below.. from what i remember, Ableton's EQ8 is included in his comparison of eq's..

http://rhythminmind.net/1313/?p=361

[Alfonso Muchacho]

I got the Sonnox Eq, pretty much off of recommendations. Wanted something steeper than the EQ8 could provide. I like it. The link above is very interesting though, really makes you wonder how much hype goes into these things when ultimately I suppose they are all very similar.

[JuanSOLO]

good read nuxnamon.

[mholloway]

the entire plug-in industry is built on the idea of selling us the same thing in new ways, every year, over and over.....and many fall for this. not saying everything is equal, god knows I could never replace my ArtsAcoustic Reverb with Live's native verb....but, there are places where people just go on "oh it's modelled on Solid State Logic!" and other such silly ideas......

bottom line trust your ears, instincts, and use the UI that suits you best. functionally, live's EQ8 could use the spectrum analysis.....other than that, I love it, and use it on every track.

-M