Kuassa Equalizers – The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best NEVE and Pultec-Style EQ Plugins for Guitar Mixing. Are you a music producer or audio engineer looking for the best VST plugins to enhance your guitar mixing? Look no further than Kuassa’s range of NEVE and Pultec-style equalizer plugins. In this buying guide, we’ll break down each product, its applications, and strengths to help you choose the best Kuassa equalizer for your needs.
Music production is a process that requires attention to detail, patience, and a creative ear. To produce a polished, commercial record quality, one needs to clean up frequencies, separate instruments by frequency, and master the mix. The use of quality studio EQs is essential in achieving these goals. In this guide, we’ll take a look at Kuassa’s Equalizer products, their applications, and strengths.
Kuassa’s studio EQs are designed to help you shape your sound and clean up unwanted frequencies in your mix. Their EQ plugins provide transparent and musical EQ curves, allowing you to focus on the creative process of making music without worrying about technical details. Let’s take a closer look at each of these EQ plugins.
About NEVE EQs
NEVE EQs are a type of equalizer that were originally designed by Rupert NEVE, a renowned British audio engineer and founder of the NEVE Electronics company. NEVE EQs are known for their transparent, musical sound and their ability to add warmth, depth, and clarity to audio signals.
NEVE EQs are typically used in professional recording studios and are highly regarded by many audio engineers and musicians for their sonic qualities. NEVE EQs are often used on a wide range of sources, including vocals, guitars, drums, and more.
One of the most famous NEVE EQs is the 1073, which was introduced in the 1970s and is still in use today. The 1073 is a classic 3-band EQ with a high-pass filter, a low-pass filter, and selectable frequencies for the mid-range band. The 1073 is renowned for its smooth sound and its ability to add warmth and depth to audio signals without introducing harshness or distortion.
Other popular NEVE EQs include the 1081, which is similar to the 1073 but with additional frequency options, and the 31102, which has four bands of equalization and is often used for mastering applications.
Today, there are many hardware and software versions of NEVE EQs available on the market, offering a range of sonic options and features. The NEVE sound continues to be highly sought after by many audio professionals, and the use of NEVE EQs in the recording and mixing process is considered by many to be an essential part of achieving a high-quality, professional sound.
The EVE-AT Series includes two EQ plugins inspired by the classic NEVE 1081 and 1084 hardware units, called AT1 and AT4. Both plugins are available individually, as well. The NEVE EQs are known for their musicality and unique curve shapes, and the EVE-AT series emulates both the 1081 and 1084 designs and sounds. The AT1 offers more flexibility with wider crossovers between frequency bands and many more frequency settings, while the AT4 is more characterful and has strengths in broad brushstroke usage and bass boosting. The AT4 can also be used as a great mix buss EQ for sweetening, while the AT1 is better suited for correctional functionality in a wider range of applications.
EVE-AT1: The Ultimate NEVE 1081 Style EQ Plugin
If you’re looking for a powerful and flexible EQ plugin inspired by the classic NEVE 1081 hardware unit, look no further than Kuassa’s EVE-AT1. This 6-band EQ comes with stepped high- and low-pass filters, four main EQ bands with stepped center frequency settings, and central peaking bands for low-mid and high-mid frequencies.
EVE-AT1 is a 4-band parametric equalizer with an 2 other bands are the high-pass and low-pass filter. Inspired by the EQ section of a renowned British Classic –the NEVE* 1081 –this equalizer delivers a clear, smooth, and musical sound to shape your tracks. The EVE-AT1 posseses an additional parametric band with expanded Q bandwidth selection in the low-mid and high-mid frequency ranges as compared to the EVE-AT4. In addition, the AT1 impelements a different high-pass and low-pass filter, giving the AT1 a slightly more conventional frequency response in these areas. These characteristics mean the EVE-AT1 is suitable for a broad range of musical applications, offering flexibility, versatility and all-round utility.
One of the biggest advantages of the EVE -AT1 is its flexibility. With wider crossover between frequency bands and many more frequency settings than other Kuassa EQ plugins, this plugin allows for easy shaping of lows in kick drums, snares, basses, and other instruments. You can also use the low shelf, low-mid peak, and high-pass filter to scoop and cut undesirable frequencies from keyboards, guitars, strings, and pianos.
While the EVE-AT1’s curves may be less musical than the EVE-AT4, they’re more functional and precise. Overall, this plugin is best suited for correcting or enhancing individual tracks, and is perfect for engineers looking for a versatile EQ to add to their toolbox.
EVE-AT4: The Best NEVE 1084 Style EQ Plugin
EVE-AT4 is a 3-band equalizer with an additional high-pass and low-pass filter. Designed as a tribute to the EQ section of the Neve* 1084, which was created as the successor to the legendary Neve* 1073. Although the EVE-AT4 possesses fewer bands, a smaller frequency selection palette, and less Q bandwidth selection options as compared to the EVE-AT1, its strength lies in its unique filter implementation, producing an idiosyncratic frequency response not present on the EVE-AT1. The result is a particular tonal character; the sound and tonal shape of its original incarnation is a hallmark of many classic recordings from the 70s.
The EVE-AT4 is Kuassa’s answer to the classic NEVE EQs. With a design inspired by the NEVE 1084, this 3-band EQ comes with a low-pass filter, a more flexible EQ, and modernized controls and layout. The EVE-AT4’s broad “brushstroke” usage makes it ideal for adding sheen to acoustic guitars and vocals, or general bass boosting. It also works great as a mix buss EQ if you’re just looking for a bit of sweetening.
While the AT4’s filter range is limited, its smooth curve shapes and characterful sound make it perfect for creative sound shaping. If you’re looking to add warmth and character to your mixes, the EVE-AT4 is the perfect plugin for you.
Pultec EQs are a type of equalizer that were first introduced by the Pulse Techniques company in the 1950s. They are highly regarded by many audio engineers and musicians for their warm, musical sound and ability to enhance certain frequencies without introducing harshness or distortion.
One unique feature of Pultec EQs is their ability to simultaneously boost and cut the same frequency range. This is accomplished by splitting the signal into two paths: one for boosting and one for cutting. The boost and cut signals are then recombined to create a smooth, natural-sounding EQ curve.
Pultec EQs have been used on countless classic recordings across a wide range of genres, and vintage Pultec units are highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. Today, there are many companies that produce Pultec-style EQs, both in hardware and software form, offering modern updates and improvements while retaining the classic Pultec sound.
EVE-MP5: The Best of Both Pultecs
Kuassa’s EVE-MP5 is a combination of the MEQ-5 Midrange Equalizer and EQP-1A Program Equalizer. This plugin emulates two classic Pultec hardware EQ units and is perfect for those who want the best of both worlds. Pultec EQP-1A, which is a classic EQ with a low-frequency boost/cut, a high-frequency boost, and a selectable midrange boost/cut combined with the Pultec MEQ-5, which is a midrange equalizer with two overlapping bands that can be used for boost or cut.
Like the original Pultec EQs, the EVE-MP5 is designed to add warmth and musicality to audio signals. The plugins have been well-received by many users and are a popular choice for mixing and mastering engineers looking to add classic analog character to their digital audio workstations.
As a final addition, the EVE-MP5 features a unique Saturation unit on the input path with automatic level compensation for additional mojo. You can simultaneously boost and attenuate the same low frequency, and the distinct Pultec natural filter curve allows you to dial up a large amount of boost or cut without sacrificing naturalness and musicality.
Overall, the EVE-MP5 is a versatile plugin that can be used for Everything from correcting individual tracks to creative sound shaping. If you’re looking for a plugin that can do it all, this is the one for you.
Bonus stage: Kuassa’s Free BasiQ EQ
BasiQ is a simplified 3-band baxandall style equalizer plugin that is designed to be easy to use and has a clean, transparent sound. It features a low shelf filter, a mid-range peaking filter, and a high shelf filter. Each filter can be adjusted in frequency and gain, and there is also a global output gain control.
The BasiQ EQ is a great tool for beginners or for those who need a simple, no-frills EQ to quickly shape the sound of their tracks. It can be used on individual tracks or on the master bus during mixing or mastering. Although it lacks some of the advanced features found in Kuassa’s other EQ plugins, it is a capable tool for basic EQing tasks.
One thing to note, that is BasiQ is only available for VST and Audio Unit version and have not yet have support for ProTools AAX, VST3, or Reason Studio’s Rack Extension like other Kuassa commercial EQs did.
In conclusion, Kuassa is known for its high-quality audio plugins that provide excellent value for money. With its range of studio EQs, Kuassa offers musicians and audio professionals a comprehensive set of tools to help them achieve a polished and commercial-quality sound for their music. Whether you’re looking for a free EQ plugin like BasiQ, or a surgical precision of EVE-AT1 Equalizer, Kuassa has something for everyone. And with its Rack Extensions for Reason Studio, Kuassa is committed to making its plugins accessible to as many users as possible.