[Dana Nielsen]

Hey, @lucastlee! What an excellent question. I’ll respond briefly here with my practical “take” on EQ differences rather than diving deep into a technical answer. I’m also going to assume you’re referring to EQ plug-ins rather than analog hardware EQ units.

Here are a few possible reasons as to WHY:

1. Physical model: When plug-in manufacturers attempt to capture the sound of, say, a vintage Pultec EQP-1A (one of my favorite musical EQs), the resulting plug-in’s “sound” is derived from a specific hardware unit; and hardware units can vary in tone (and electronic components) from year to year, model to model, and serial number to serial number, especially as they age. This is one explanation for why a Waves Puig-tech might sound different from an Avid or UAD Pultec, even when they’re all EQP-1A models.

2. Algorithms, processing, and math: Each manufacturer will employ different means by which they recreate a familiar analog sound or circuit into a digital plug-in, which can also create sonic differences for the end-user to notice and compare.

Here is my philosophy and WHAT I do about it:

1. “huh … interesting.” I notice these differences all the time.

2. Move on. 😂 I, long ago, took a decidedly “meh” approach to gear paranoia and elitism with regard to hardware and software. Arguing over 1176 revs is so not my style and utterly pointless to me. You won’t find that kind of attitude here on Mix Protégé. There’s already plenty of that whining on Gearspace (see below).

3. I’ve got LOTS of options to choose from in my plug-in EQ collection. Several versions of the EQP-1A by different brands, several Neve and SSL recreations that are identical by model number but differentiated by plug-in manufacturer. I try them ALL, and honestly for the most part I LOVE them all! But choosing my “favorites” will come down to a few simple considerations:

• It sounds great and operates as expected
• It loads fast in my DAW and isn’t a processing-power-hog (bonus points if it’s available in AAX DSP, since I’m on a Pro Tools HDX system)
• It has some extra features that make my life easier and/or routing more flexible, especially for dynamics processors — like a mix/blend knob, key input, input/output control, sidechain filter. Even when those features are not true to the vintage analog version, they sure make my life easier and are welcome additions in a plug-in emulation.

Lastly, FWIW, here’s ….

My process for any EQ -digital or analog- and any other effect. Err, scratch that, this is pretty much my process for MIXING ANYTHING:

1. Have desired sound in brain/imagination
2. Pick tool that will get me there quickest (with zero F$%#s given about the brand name of the tool)
3. Experiment with tool until the sound in my brain is coming out of the speakers
4. Repeat steps 1-3

Hope this helps you (and anyone else reading), and sorry, I guess it wasn’t so “brief” after all! 🤓

[Dana Nielsen]

My man! Ok, so listening on real speakers now … so amazing, @JLEW – great work! Here a few thoughts:

• the whole first section is so cool – bass synth so deep and the music building in such an intriguing way that makes me excited to hear what comes next!
• once it hits the loud section, mixwise, I feel like the snare is perhaps too loud and the kick not nearly loud or deep enough … me wants more sub-y punchy kick-y-ness!
• there’s a sizzly sound effect in the left speaker occasionally that sounds out of phase. Try inverting the polarity of the L or R side of that stereo sound effect and see if it feels more in focus (in phase)
• the acoustic guitar on the right side during the softer section feels very compressed. Might be fine as-is but caught my ear. Maybe turn down the ratio and/or increase the threshold for a more breathable natural sound, if you want

I just love hearing what you’re cooking up in your studio, homey!! Keep it comin, and keep up the incredible work — musically and technically/engineering-ly! 🤩

[Dana Nielsen]

OMG, Jesse, this is so freaking badass! I love it! Just listened on my laptop speakers and can’t wait to hear it on the studio speakers! Will circle back tomorrow once I’ve given this awesome piece a proper “spin” on the ol’ “hi fi”! ⚡️🔥❤️‍🔥

[Dana Nielsen]

Yeah man, I think the main difference is Mac compatibility on the regular one. If you’re not planning on switching to Apple in the near future the new X USB one would be fine. They both have two UAD processors (i.e. “duo”), tho it looks like you can order the original Twin X in quad configuration too (four processors).

The original X says it’s linkable with additional apollo units (which is a handy futureproof feature when you want to expand your studio with more inputs). However, I don’t see that option listed for the X USB version. (My guess is this is a data throughput thing only possible with Thunderbolt).

Also worth noting (tho not that important) is the X version comes with “legacy” plugins whereas the X USB comes with the newer “heritage” plugin versions. Honestly, this is just naming/marketing… both plugin sets will be robust and awesome and similar.

Hope this helps! Stoked for your new studio gear!

[Dana Nielsen]

DUDE!! Fantastic work here, man!!! Seriously, great job. Here are a few things that came to mind:

• the telephone effect on the intro vocal is cool but I expected the vocal to become more full-range hi-fi once the band entered (or was the stem sent w/ the radio/telephone voc effect baked in throughout?). If ur the one adding that cool effect, I’d try leaving it on for the intro and outro but let him be hi-fi “classy expensive” vocal sound for the main part of the song
• Kick attack and top end sounds sick – the drum kit in general sounds fab! Makes sense … you’re a drummer! haha. The snare is rich and beefy and full of body, but has way less top end than the kick and rest of kit. Maybe try adding some 5-10k to that snare to match the top-end profile of the kick? Or a diff route could be to dial back the top end on the Kick, but then add a healthy 5-10k boost on the entire kit sound altogether.
• If that acoustic guitar in the center plays throughout the song u could try boosting that, as it gets lost in the sauce at times.

Again tho, amazing work @Jon_Plett!!! Keep it up!!

[Dana Nielsen]

Sure thang!! 🙏🏻

[Dana Nielsen]

My pleasure, man!

[Dana Nielsen]

Heck yeah homey! You are crushing it. 💪 And … nuthin wrong with a loud-ass snare if you’re feelin it. If it were to stay as loud as it is now, I might just try taming the top end on it a bit and making sure the kick has equal impact and power as the snare so that it doesn’t feel overly represented in the snare department and “wah-waaaah” in the kick department [insert sad clown face here]

[Dana Nielsen]

DUDE – u are set!! Very exciting!

[Dana Nielsen]

Hahah, what a great informative hilarious reply @Jon_Plett 😂 – and very true, there are lots of really good interface options on the market these days! I would also even add the Focusrite stuff! All of my system sounds and most of my voiceover for video/zoom etc all is done on a Focusrite Scarlet 6i6 and I’ve got no complaints whatsoever about that thing!

@KNGGRG the preamps in the UAD are amazing – probably one of their strongest attributes! I love the UAD interfaces. They do, however, tend to be some of the most expensive when compared to other brands with similar number of inputs and outputs. This is due to the built-in processors used to run their proprietary UAD plugins. UAD make very high quality plugins and they’re very popular, but they’re not “mandatory” haha. There are lots of other brands of interfaces on the market, as mentioned by Jon, that will perform well if you find you’re not satisfied with the UAD.

[Dana Nielsen]

Sweet!! Congrats on your new awesome gear, man!! That’s super exciting.

Definitely will need an XLR cable to connect the mic to the interface. That said, it seems odd that there’s no thunderbolt or USB-C cable included with the UAD interface … hmmm. Always good to have extras of all that stuff anyway, so I would pick up some cables from Amazon or your local store. Other things you’ll likely need:

• Mic stand with boom arm
• pop filter
• headphones

[Dana Nielsen]

Oh interesting u didn’t get a notification … huh. Lemme know if u get this one!

[Dana Nielsen]

Well hello there, @MoM! What a nice surprise! I think all of these mics would sound perfect on your sweet voice and the V67 would be a winning choice! Hey, that rhymed!

[Dana Nielsen]

Love it man – so happy you’re getting lots out of the community and courses. That means a lot to me 🤗. And … you’re crushing it! Keep up the awesome work, @Jon_Plett, and look fwd to hearing what u do next!

[Dana Nielsen]

Try the 3 dots menu for “Edit Post”. It’s possible that only I have that option as admin? 🤷🏻‍♂️. Lemme know, man, thanks! And thanks for trying out the mp3 file attachment – that’s perfect, and I think will be the best route moving forward 🙌