Studio Application 1
Mix engineers resolving masking between kick and bass, or between electric guitars, keys, and lead vocals.
Fat Berry DSP / EQ plug-ins Buying Guide
Make room for the part that matters.
Equalisation (EQ) plug-ins carve frequency separation between competing instruments, remove room resonances, and shape tonal balance across tracks and buses. Choose surgical parametric or corrective filters to clean up problem resonances, or musical tone-shaping curves for broad, phase-coherent mix voicing. Band Practice: A 24-band EQ with ten filter shapes and three phase modes. Name the problem before moving a band: a vocal may sound boxed in, a bass may mask the kick, or a cymbal may cover the words. Make a small change and listen with the arrangement playing. Broad moves can establish the balance before narrow cuts tackle a distraction. Keep the level similar when comparing. Return to the complete mix after listening in isolation, because a pleasing solo sound can take too much space when the other instruments return. Start free with Band Practice, which is free to keep.
Written & tested by Rory Browne (Founder & DSP Developer) · Last updated:
Compare 1 eq plug-ins
Use Cases & Fit
Who eq plug-ins are for — and how to choose
Every instrument in a mix shares the same 20 Hz to 20 kHz canvas. Equalisation works best when you treat it as an allocation problem: deciding which instrument owns the sub-bass, which owns the low-mid warmth, and which claims the 2–5 kHz presence range.
Studio Application 2
Recording engineers cleaning up proximity-effect boom, mic resonances, and harsh upper-mid build-up.
Studio Application 3
Mastering and bus engineers making broad, musical tilt and shelf adjustments without clinical harshness.
At the desk
How do you choose and dial in eq plug-ins?
Locate the masking conflict in context, never in solo
A guitar track that sounds full in solo often masks the vocal fundamental around 250–400 Hz in the full mix. Make your EQ cuts while listening to both competing tracks together.
Cut narrow for problems, boost wide for tone
Use a higher Q factor to notch out a ringing snare overtone or room mode, and use gentle, broad shelves or bells when adding air or low-end weight so phase shift stays musical.
Compensate output level after every broad boost
Boosting 3 dB at 3 kHz makes the whole track louder, which always tricks the ear. Trim the output gain down so you judge the tonal balance change fairly.
Check surrounding notes before committing a deep cut
A deep cut that fixes one booming bass note can leave the rest of the riff sounding hollow. When only one note jumps out, automate the band or use dynamic control instead of a static notch.
Signal-chain placement
Place corrective subtractive EQ before compressors and saturators so unwanted resonances do not trigger dynamics; place broad tonal boosts after compression.
Side-by-side specifications
EQ plug-ins comparison table
The specifications below come from the published catalogue and release metadata. All licences are perpetual single-user licences (3 machine activations, 14-day full refund window).
| Plug-in | Price (USD) | Formats | OS Support | Best For / Sonic Role | Walkthrough |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band Practice | Free ($0) | VST3, AU | Windows 10 or later, 64-bit (x86-64) · 11.0 | A 24-band EQ with ten filter shapes and three phase modes. | Audio & specs ↗ |
How we test at -16 LUFS
Listening tests & common mix mistakes to avoid
Primary listening check
Play a full sixteen-bar section with the competing instruments active and toggle the EQ bypass. Keep the adjustment only if the lead element is easier to understand without making the supporting track sound unnatural.
Four-step studio audition checklist
- High-pass non-bass tracks just until you hear the fundamental thin out, then back the cutoff frequency down by 15–20 Hz.
- Sweep a modest 4 dB boost (not a +15 dB whistle sweep) to confirm the exact frequency region causing boxiness or harshness, then invert the gain to cut.
- Match overall loudness with the output trim before comparing bypass.
- Listen on both studio monitors and headphones to verify high-shelf air boosts do not turn brittle.
Common mistakes when using eq plug-ins
- High-passing every track at 120 Hz by habit and leaving the mix sounding thin and top-heavy.
- Sweeping a narrow +12 dB Q filter until everything sounds resonant and cutting out the musical body of the instrument.
- Boosting high end on five different tracks instead of low-passing the dull background elements.
The tools
EQ plug-ins, made by Fat Berry.
Each card links to current formats, controls, demos and the live price on its product page.
Equalization
Band Practice
A 24-band EQ with ten filter shapes and three phase modes.
Hear and inspect Band Practice ↗In-depth technical guides
Related production & mixing guides
Studio notes
Read it, then hear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
EQ plug-ins FAQ
Is there a free EQ plug-in in the Fat Berry DSP catalogue?
Yes. Band Practice is available free ($0 USD) in the Free Pickings collection, alongside paid tonal and console EQ processors in the main catalogue.
Should I EQ before or after compression?
Do both when needed: remove rumble and mud before the compressor so the detector reacts only to musical energy, then shape the final tone and air after the compressor.
Why does cutting a competing track often work better than boosting the lead?
Cutting 2 dB at 2.5 kHz on rhythm guitars uncovers the lead vocal without eating mix headroom or emphasizing vocal mouth clicks and sibilance.