2019-07-01_Computer_Music

Packagingessentialtone-shaping
featuresintoa colourful,user-friendly
interface,it’ssafetosaythatFabFilter’s
powerhousePro-Qisthisgeneration’smost
popularcommercialequaliser,havingfound
itswayintomoreproducers’pluginfolders
thanwedaretomention.
Theheadliningnewfeatureforv3(10/10,
266)isitsDynamicEQmode,wherebyanyBell
orShelvingEQbandcanautomaticallyboostor
cutinresponsetotheleveloftheincoming
signal.It’sespeciallyusefulforsuppressing
momentaryjumpsina particularfrequency

range,astheentiresignalwillonlybeEQed

whenthosetonesarepresent,leavingother

elementsunaffectedwhentheoffending

frequencyisn’tthere.Conversely,thistechnique

canalsobeusedtodynamicallyemphasise

frequenciesthatpokeabovethestatusquo–

that’sdynamicexpansion,natch.

It’sworthnotingthat,unlikemanyother

dynamicEQplugins,Pro-Q3 doesn’tallowyou

toadjusta dynamicband’sattack,releaseor

kneeresponse.Fastidioustweakersmaymiss

thesecontrolsonpaper,butinpractice,the

plugin’sprogram-dependentintelligenceand

operationalsimplicitymakethisoften-complex

mixtechniquea loteasiertodialineffectively.

DynamicEQisn’ta newconcept,ofcourse,

butitsconvenientinclusioninsuchanall-star

pluginwillsurelyopenupthepotentialofthis

techniquetonewcomers,whichiswhywe’re

goingtotakeyouthroughitsoperationand

usesinthetutorialbelow.

Don’tworryif youdon’townPro-Q3 – simply

headovertofabfilter.comanddownloada

30-daydemo.Alternatively,thefollowing

techniquescanbeappliedtoanydynamicEQ

pluginyoumayalreadyown.

>Stepbystep

DiallingindynamicEQ

Here’saninstanceofPro-Q3 loaded

overa fullstereomix.Harshvocal

sibilanceissporadicallyjumpingout.By

hoveringthemousepointeroverthis

range,Pro-Q3’sSpectrumGrabfeature

showsusthatthesibilanceoccursat2.5-

3kHz.Weclickanddragdowntocreatea

newEQbandandnotchoutthesibilance.

1

Thisstaticnotchaffectsothermix

elementstoomuch,soweresetGain

to0dB.Timetogetdynamic!Draggingthe

Gainknob’soutercollarsetstheband’s

DynamicRange(ie,ratio)– negative

valuesforattenuation,andpositivevalues

forexpansion.Putsimply,thisisthe

amountofdynamicboost/cutapplied.

2

ThetrickhereistosetthisDynamic

RangevaluesotheEQnotchonly

attenuateswhenthesibilanceispresent,

andresetstounitywhenit isn’t.With

carefuladjustment,a negativeDynamic

Rangevalueofaround-5.6dBcausesour

EQnotchtodipdownthesefrequencies

onlywhenthevocalsibilancejumpsout.

3

Bydefault,a dynamicEQbandin

Pro-Q3 usesanautomaticthreshold

value,meaningthatit’sconstantly

listeningtothevolumeoftheband’sinput

frequenciesandadjustingaccordingly.To

seta manualthresholdamount,we

deactivatetheAutobuttontoreveala

Thresholdslider,thensetthisto-26dB.

4

Fromhere,weadjusttheband’sQ

widthjustlikea regularEQ,precisely

lassoingourdynamicEQnotcharound

theexactarearequired.Finally,toggling

theBypassDynamicspowerbutton

allowsustoA/Bbetweentheunprocessed

signalandEQ-notchedversion– an

essentialevaluationtechnique.

5

NEXT MONTH Ableton Live’s 10.1 update in action

#01

76 /ComputermusiC /July 2019

POWER TIP

Deep ducking

Advanced users will want to explore

the possibilities opened up by the

plugin’s external sidechain

capabilities. Pipe another track into

Pro-Q 3’s external input and that

signal can be used to dynamically

boost or cut a band – for example, if

you want to notch out a specific

frequency from your bassline only

when the kick drum fires.

Note that a dynamic EQ band can

be applied to the left or right

channel, or to the mono (Mid) or

stereo (Side) component of a signal.

Oh, and a dynamic EQ band can

operate in Linear Phase mode, too.

focus

Dynamic EQ with FabFilter Pro-Q 3

In the first of a monthly focus on a particular plugin or key feature, we’re

going to explore the blurred line between equalisation and compression...