Multiband Compressor as Hi Quality EQ.

[barefoot]

In case you didn’t know, your high quality multiband compressor can make an excellent low phase distortion EQ.

For example, Waves C4 has very nice crossover which I use all the time as an EQ. I created a preset with all the compression “turned off” - see attachment.

Ratio = 1 (or Range = 0)
Threshold = 0dB

Then I use the Crossover and Gain adjustments for EQ. The white dotted lines are the frequency bands and the purple line is the resulting EQ adjustment. The Q adjustment controls the steepness of the crossover slopes and hence the sharpness of each band. Q=0.5 is optimal for minimum phase distortion. Bandpass and Notch filters can be achieved by various combinations of the solo [S] buttons for each band.

This is obviously not a “pinpoint” EQ. But sharp EQ’s create a lot of distortion and should only be used as a last resort. Consider this type of setup when you want to shape the spectral balance of your track with a minimum amount of degradation to its detail and transients.

You paid a lot of money for that multiband compressor. Get the most out of it and improve your mixes to boot.

barefoot

attachment: 55KB