Ableton Forum

For mixdown, I'd like to add a small EQ to each channel that has 2-3 chanels of EQ, like a mixer has.

Any suggestion for a light weight EQ like that I can put on a bunch of channels?

EQ8

Da hand wrote:EQ8

Was hoping for a VST that emulated the EQ on classic mixers. Maybe a Mackie EQ, a trident, etc.

I can use EQ8, but not sure what freqs and Q it takes to get similar response.
Mackie seems to use 80hz and 12khz, but the Q isn't easy to find.

.71 is Ableton Live default, and I'd imagine not at all whats used on classic mixers.

Try the eq3 - similar to a 3 channel... will take some research to find out the exact Freq points (that you can adjust, of the mixer eq's you want to simulate. Google is your friend there.

eq3 will color the sound a bit.. but then that might be a good thing if you like it.. take a good listen.

EQ3 is a poor choice.
There is no adjustment of bandwidth on the eq3 and with +6 and down -60+db it's nothing like a multichannel hardware mixer would have.
The EQ8 is much closer, but not perfect.

I'm surprised no one on makes an emulation of the channel EQs on a Mackie 1604 or whatever.

80hz +/- 15db
12khz +/- 15db
mid parametric from 100 to 8khz +/- 15db

levimoniz wrote:Why would you wanna use a dj-style eq to mix anyway? Respectfully, if you think this is the way to go I'd strongly recommend thinking it over... a lot

These are not Dj mixer EQs I'm asking about.
These are EQs from legacy hardware studio mixers.

EQ 8 is the way to go. lightweight and you can make it sound like anything.

hwelsh wrote:EQ 8 is the way to go. lightweight and you can make it sound like anything.

I still would need to know the bandwidth (Ableton Live calls it Q) needed to reproduce a Mackie eq.
But, knowing the frequencies isn't enough. Hardware eq also has characteristics like distortion, phase shifting, that won't simply be reproduced by an eq8.

eq8 will never sound "just like" anything, but an eq8.

I wish someone made a true emulation, but I guess they don't unless it's a fancy high end strip.

If you have a Mackie or whatever lying around, you could always send some white noise thru it into Live, put a Spectrum plug on the input channel, manipulate the Mackie EQ and have a look at the results. Then re-create similar visual curves on the Spectrum with an EQ8.

Quick 'n' dirty but it might work. Don't forget the high quality option in EQ8, too.

Pitch Black wrote:If you have a Mackie or whatever lying around, you could always send some white noise thru it into Live, put a Spectrum plug on the input channel, manipulate the Mackie EQ and have a look at the results. Then re-create similar visual curves on the Spectrum with an EQ8.

Quick 'n' dirty but it might work. Don't forget the high quality option in EQ8, too.

Clever idea!

Pitch Black wrote:If you have a Mackie or whatever lying around, you could always send some white noise thru it into Live, put a Spectrum plug on the input channel, manipulate the Mackie EQ and have a look at the results. Then re-create similar visual curves on the Spectrum with an EQ8.

Quick 'n' dirty but it might work. Don't forget the high quality option in EQ8, too.

if you are trying to emulate a vintage eq you will need to turn the high quality option OFF most likely. some guy emulated the waves ssl eq perfectly (with analog mode on ssl turned on!) just by using abletons saturator and eq8, he found that he couldn't do it with hi-quality on because that forces a second pass (oversampling) to occur and was simply too clean!

to the original post, i believe URS makes a great eq for this very purpose!

Pitch Black wrote:If you have a Mackie or whatever lying around, you could always send some white noise thru it into Live, put a Spectrum plug on the input channel, manipulate the Mackie EQ and have a look at the results. Then re-create similar visual curves on the Spectrum with an EQ8.

Quick 'n' dirty but it might work. Don't forget the high quality option in EQ8, too.

This is how I modelled the Xone62 eqs for my EQ3.8 rack.

Is there some source of white noise in Ableton Live?

googling "white noise wav" found this: http://www.burninwave.com/#whitenoise

Tarekith wrote:

Pitch Black wrote:If you have a Mackie or whatever lying around, you could always send some white noise thru it into Live, put a Spectrum plug on the input channel, manipulate the Mackie EQ and have a look at the results. Then re-create similar visual curves on the Spectrum with an EQ8.

Quick 'n' dirty but it might work. Don't forget the high quality option in EQ8, too.

This is how I modelled the Xone62 eqs for my EQ3.8 rack.

Any chance that I could convince, beg, or bribe you to do this for my Rane Empath EQ?