pro tools op

Sony Oxford REQ 3 Plug In (now known as Sonnox)

Ease of Use
8

% of projects I use it on
100

Sound Quality
8

What it is:
5 Band EQ with low and hi cut filters, Parametric and switchable low shelf
4 different types of Q presets

Why I like it
-    This is my first call EQ. 8 out of 10 times, this gets the job done
-    The filters are excellent. They switch between 6, 12, 18 , 24 and 36 db / oct for mild or steep filtering along with a frequency control from 20 to 400 hz for high pass and 20k to 4k for Low Pass
-    4 switchable voices for every day use, surgical eq, or very broad stroke “artistic” eq
-    Sounds really good and is incredibly transparent
-    Visual representation of eq moves (a good and bad thing)
-    Switch bands on and off very easily

Why I don’t Like it
-    Sometimes it’s a little too transparent… (and that’s not what I’m looking for)
-    Copying settings between the A&B profiles isn’t really possible (or else I haven’t been able to figure out how to do so…)
-    Sometimes it’s not always a good thing to see a graphic representation of the eq you’re making (makes me use my ears less…)

Tips / Examples of Use
-    This is the first high pass filter I reach for. It’s quick and easy to use, you can dial out low end all the way to 400hz with 5 different slopes and it’s pretty transparent, no weird phase issues, not a very noticeable bump at the cutoff frequency.
-    There are 4 styles of eq. Usually I stick with A, which is a general purpose eq. The “B” style is more surgical and is great for taming problem frequencies (particularly on drums). C and D have very broad Q’s (with D being the broadest) and more like a vintage style / artistic eq. All of the settings are very useful. There is an extra “Massenburg emulation” setting that you can pay more for, but I’ve been pretty happy with this one as it is.
-    I keep this in the preferences as my first eq, one of the nice new features in Pro Tools 7.3. Quickly gets the job done.
-    I have some presets saved for things like kick drum (cut 400hz, boost 70 hz and 3k), SM57 vocal compensation (steep high pass, cut the lows to reduce proximity effect, high shelf boost at 7k, and bump up 2-5k a bit for lead vocals) and so forth…
-    Use the low pass filter to tame 451’s and other very bright edgy sources
-    Use both high and low filters on extreme settings to get a mid rangey honk / piercing intercom effect