EQs have gotten pretty versatile in the era of in-the-box music production, don’t you think? While some faithful reproductions of vintage equalizers are extremely common, plugin EQs have learned some pretty cool new tricks in the past couple decades. I personally can’t imagine my workflow without a couple specific modern EQ plugins (shoutout to our own SweetEQ!) that allow me to pull off some mix moves that no vintage hardware is going to be able to manage.
One of the things modern equalizer plugins do really well is surgical EQing. I’m talking about hyper-focused EQ curves: narrow but often dramatic cuts and boosts that are aimed at solving very specific problems. Ugly ringing at 2.5 kHz - zap it. Stubborn room resonance around 500 Hz - close in on that and notch it out. Just a couple bass notes that seem to be lacking “umph” - give them a little love with a tight boost. The revolution will not be televised, but it will have a cool graphic interface and intuitive mid/side functionality. I’m here for it.
That said, there’s a time and a place for everything, and this sort of nitpicky, tight-Q-deep-curve EQing is not your friend during mastering. As much as conventional “rules” around mastering - who should be doing it (not you) and with what gear (analog) - have kind of been thrown out the window, the reality is that mastering is still not the place to be messing with what you might call “stock ticker EQ curves:” a jagged spike here, a sudden drop there. I’m rich! No, wait, I’m ruined! Either way, if my mastering EQ looks like that, chances are the result is going to sound pretty bad.
The thing about mastering is that by the time we’re in that phase of the process, the cake has pretty much been baked. We’re not really changing the recording during mastering, it’s more about presentation. Easy does it.
Jagged EQ curves full of dramatic spikes and dips can be great - even necessary - on individual instruments in a mix. On a master, we’re going for broad and subtle. That’s why we designed Master Plan’s equalizer section to reward precisely that kind of EQing - gentle and musical, not surgical or corrective. Low, mid, and high. Simple. Got it? You and I both know you do.
Throw Master Plan on your mix and thicken up the bass. What frequency? Don’t worry about it. Turn the knob up - just a little bit! Like what you hear? Mm hmm. Scoop the midrange a bit to clear out some mud - hey, three mid bands to play with! We’ve got options - or boost it to bring out some body or add presence. Want a little sparkle on your high end? You get the idea.
When you’re ready to put the finishing touches on a mix, Master Plan’s got you covered. Use your ears, turn some knobs, and dial in some magic with an EQ section that you basically cannot overthink. Trust us, that’s a good thing.
