Program EQ · v2.1.2
TxB EQ
Two program EQs in one. A valve TUBE face and a clean Baxandall face, each with per-band Push-Pull dynamics.
TUBE + Baxandall
Push-Pull
Push-Pull
Open →$39 →
Lane · Program EQ
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How do I shape a whole mix without making it sound handled?
Program EQ is the broad, musical end of equalisation: wide curves, gentle slopes, decisions made about the whole record rather than one problem frequency. It is the tone shaping you do on a mix bus or a master, where the goal is a record that sounds like it was recorded that way, not one that sounds corrected.
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1 plug-in in this lane · $39 each
The problem
The tools that survived in this role are old, and they survived for a reason: their curves interact. Boosting the top on a passive EQ changes the shoulder of the mid, and the result reads as one gesture rather than three independent ones. A clinical parametric will give you exactly the curve you drew, which is usually not the curve you wanted.
The second half of the job is dynamics. A fixed shelf that sounds right in the chorus is too much in the verse, because the source arriving at the shelf is not the same. Per-band dynamics let a boost lean in on the quiet passages and ease off when the section arrives loud, which is what an engineer riding the EQ by hand would do.
Phase behaviour is the thing to ask about before anything else on a master. A shelf that shifts phase where it lifts will change the stereo image and the transient shape along with the tone, and on a mix that is already dense that reads as smearing rather than as brightness.
Two things to check before you commit a program EQ to a master. First, boost the top shelf and look at the phase response: if the image narrows or the transients soften as you brighten, the curve is costing you more than tone. Second, drive it hard and then null it against silence at unity. You should be able to hear exactly what character it adds, on its own, rather than inferring it from a louder, flatter-sounding version of the mix.
What we ship for it
Program EQ at RTM.
Every RTM plug-in runs a full 14-day trial with every feature unlocked and no card. An RTM account is required to activate; the trial needs no card. One-time purchase, 2 machines, no subscription. Updates are free for as long as we sell the plug-in.