Plugin Boutique are offering a deal on SantaCruzEQ12 by MAAT for a limited time, now only £156.95 / $193.09, (usually £209.95 / $258.30). The offer ends January 31st.
Why develop yet one more minimum phase parametric equalizer (PEQ) when there’s already hundreds on the market? The answer is simple…’ Cuz there was room for improvement! It was customers of the original LinearPhase PEQ Red and Orange who asked Algorithmix to develop a classic EQ, for recording and mixing tasks, with unparalleled purity and transparency. Over several years, our Dr Christoph closely analyzed many of the best out there and compiled a vast knowledge base of analogue EQ best practices. Cherry-picking from that, he implemented not just one or two, but an entire collection of trad minimal phase EQs. The result? A distillation of analogue antecedents, while others are based on new ideas. MAAT know you’ll enjoy their dozen variations of blue, and find your favourite sound.
MAAT wanted to lift analogue to another level, so they reverse-engineered a variety of well-respected hardware EQs, creating idealized digital versions from that inspiration. Rather than models or simulations that carry analogue baggage, SantaCruzEQ has no noise, distortion or other secondary effects inherited from analogue.
SantaCruzEQ12 is the most complete collection of classic equalizer architectures ever assembled into one package. You get precise, idealized examples of legendary analogue equalizer circuitry, complemented by progressive new models. Whether it’s vintage, modern, or experimental, SantaCruzEQ is a sonic sandbox for every mixing and mastering engineer to mess around in.
The equalizer is perhaps the oldest and the most popular of sound processing tools. From its earliest days, the main function was correction or enhancement by boosting or cutting certain frequencies.
For a century, engineers have developed countless equalizers. A few became legends, our thEQorange is one. The most popular version in recording and post is the parametric equalizer or PEQ, first perfected by Massenburg in 1972. It offers maximum flexibility with only three controls. Properly used, the PEQ is a powerful tool and the best friend of every audio engineer in the quest for the perfect sound. As Spidey (and Voltaire) always reminds us though, “With great power comes great responsibility.” When designed by a clueless or cost-constrained software engineer, it can be your greatest sonic enemy.
SantaCruzEQ borrows the innovative code from both Algorithmix’s original PEQ Blue and our own thEQblue remix, wrapping it in a modern, higher fidelity environment designed to help you be more productive.
The contribution of distortion to the specific sound of a particular analogue equalizer caused by its respective electronics is largely what makes it “good.” Usually though, non–linear distortion, horrific group delay and other deficiencies produce more “nasty” than “magic.” Our philosophy, for PEQ design, has always been to make filters as precise and clean as possible. For controlled distortion, MAAT recommend high-quality tape emulation, a well-made pedal or other carefully applied studio magic.
With SantaCruzEQ12, you can call up twelve Sections from one of the twelve architectures available. For the first and last Sections, choose from a selection of shelving or cut filters. For the ten centre Sections, choose from nine freely assignable filter types, including bell, first and second-order low or high shelf along with first and second-order low or high cut.
The most significant filter types bearing the equalizer name are bells. Set to a particular Q, different bells change their bandwidth depending on the amount of boost or cut making comparison difficult between architectures. But wait, MAAT has made it easy…
Features include:
- The most complete collection of classic analogue equalizer emulations
- Twelve different equalizer types; in total, 10 serial & 2 parallel
- Up to 12 PEQ styles for every job: classic, vintage, modern and unconventional
- Different Q characteristics: classic, constant–Q, proportional, ideal–Q and special
- True high-resolution emulation of analogue equalizers, not modelling: no added noise, distortion or other non–linearities
- Support for up to 384 kHz sample rate, suitable for HRA and game production and post
- Extended centre frequency up to 80 kHz for filtering and correction in the ultrasonic
- Bell filters in all PEQ types are normalized to look identically at +6.02 dB of gain and Q of 0.71, ideal for quick comparisons between types
- Six Sections total, with four having freely assignable parametric filter variants: bell; multi-order high & low shelf; multi-order high & low cut
- “Outer” Sections, the first and last, offer multi-order high & low shelf and multi-order high & low cut
- Extremely low noise and low nonlinear distortion algorithms result in residual THD+N significantly lower than 24-bit quantization noise
- Adjustable Q Factor for bell filters
- Adjustable slope for shelving and cut filters
- Multiple low and high cut filters can be overlapped to achieve brickwall slopes
- Very low noise and distortion upsampling for analogue–like filters at baseband sample rates
- Insane 80 bit double precision internals virtually eliminate rounding errors and resulting distortion
- Resizable and zoomable frequency response graphing for precise adjustments
- Parameter editing via numerical fields or directly on the Graph
- Presets for quick setup comparison
- Several instances, each with different PEQ architectures, can be opened simultaneously
- Band grouping function lets you simultaneously alter ƒ, Q and gain for multiple Sections
- ƒ lock function when you’ve found your resonant frequency and want to alter just Q or gain
- True Peak metering alerts you to TP overs
- Sort button rearranges Sections in order, from low to high ƒ, with a single click
SantaCruzEQ12 is available to PC and Mac users (VST2, VST3, AU and AAX).
For more information on SantaCruzEQ12 and to compare prices, click here:
NOTE: Some of the links you click on may be affiliated. Clicking and purchasing using these links helps support and fund The Beat Community. Thanks for your support.
