Decent Graphic EQ for "Quick" mixing

[Chris F]

I'm using a MOTU 1224/Mac G4 setup, with the input being routed through a Soundcraft Spirit M12. I'm looking for a decent 31 band stereo graphic EQ to do some cleanup of "quick" recordings I need to make (rehearsals, demos, stuff to give the players i do sessions with, etc.). I know that most pros don't care for graphic EQ (preferring parametric instead), and I respect that, BUT....I really enjoy the ease of use of a Graphic EQ where I can dial in the sound I'm hearing very quickly and visually. It takes me forever to do the same with an 8 or 16 band parametric, and I'm looking for something that I can get in the ballpark quickly with.

While I can't say that money is no object, I don't require the cheapest option just because it's cheap. There are so many dual 31 band EQ's out there that my head swims when I think of what to try...I just want something reasonably quiet with a decent reputation, and if possible with a cost ceiling of around $300-$400.

Any ideas?

[t_chance]

If your putting this all on your Mac. I'm a PC man, but once it's in the box, it's an instant fix.

[Chris F]

Originally posted by t_chance
If your putting this all on your Mac. I'm a PC man, but once it's in the box, it's an instant fix.

Try as I might, it takes me forever to find a sound using plug-in reverb and parametric EQ. It may be the plug ins, or it may be me, but I can find the sound on my outboard reverb in about 15 seconds, and my experience with graphic EQ has been the same. If there was such a thing as a decent plug in graphic EQ, I'd be willing to try that, but I still like getting my hands on the controls.

[Michael Jones]

I have a dual 15 band Graphic EQ made by DOD; model SR-830 that I'll let you have on the cheap ($110)
and I'll pay shipping.
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp...dio_Processors

It has input gain control, and low cut filter, and you can bypass the EQ with the flick of a switch.
It's not the best, but it's not cheap either. A decent unit with low noise.
I'm selling it because I now have a parametric eq that I use.

[Chris F]

Thanks, I was kind of hoping for a dual 31 band, but I'll keep that in mind. Before I decide to purchase anything, I guess I'll have to read all of the stuff that all of the "GRAPHIC EQ'S ARE THE SPAWN OF SATAN" folks have to say, and see if their arguments are any more persuasive now than they were last time I heard them.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by Chris F
BUT....I really enjoy the ease of use of a Graphic EQ where I can dial in the sound I'm hearing very quickly and visually. It takes me forever to do the same with an 8 or 16 band parametric, and I'm looking for something that I can get in the ballpark quickly with.

You don't actually believe that when you cut or boost at 320 hz on a graphic EQ that you are really only boosting/cutting at that frequency, do you???

Use a graphic EQ on some white noise thru a specturm analyzer and you'll quickly see how imprecise and ineffective a graphic is....

Id seriously reconsider your stance on parametric EQs if I were you....!

[Chris F]

Originally posted by Blue Bear Sound
You don't actually believe that when you cut or boost at 320 hz on a graphic EQ that you are really only boosting/cutting at that frequency, do you???

Not really, I figure that I'm cutting a bandwidth of about 1/3 octave around that frequency. Is this inaccurate? How is this different from using a parametric set to the same bandwidth? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't understand what the difference is.


Id seriously reconsider your stance on parametric EQs if I were you....!

If I could get the sound I'm looking for out of one, I'd reconsider in a heartbeat. I think I saw an ad in a magazine for a plug in that was a combination of a parametric EQ with a graphic interface. I'd like to try that.