Comments on: Intelligent EQ Plugins Comparison: soothe2, smart:EQ 3, Smooth Operator

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 21:26:11 +0000

Also worth considering if you do an update – Mastering The Mix’s “Reso”, reasonably priced akin to Smooth Operator, unlike Soothe2, which is out reach for, I would guess, a large majority of the reader-base of BPB, at least for those who pay for what they use.

Even more relevant for BPB – a free Max 4 Live device designed specifically to emulate Soothe2 called Boba. The dev actually does a tonne of “emulations” of much more expensive, well-known plugins to surprisingly decent effect. Some standouts are –
Cambridge Bloatinizer (Oxford Inflator)
Spectacle (Wavesfactory Spectre)
Jacked Brat (Sausage Fattener)
Lo-Fi (You guessed it)

Along with straight up useful devices. And doesn’t charge a penny (all donationware/pay-what-you-want).

https://ko-fi.com/s/c4a76e4f6a

By: kim

kim — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:51:13 +0000

In reply to Petter Terenius. The exact comparison I wanted. beautifully written! thank you so much!

By: Edd

Edd — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 12:01:27 +0000

Smarteq is not dynamic. Sonible has a version of eq thats dynamic. Smarteq live.

By: Mark D

Mark D — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 20:28:29 +0000

Hello! A question if I may – looking at these for Black Friday. I already have Smooth Operator, so from this excellent comparison, I won’t look at the other two – think SO fits my needs and skills perfectly. However, Gullfoss – would it be beneficial to have this too in your opinion? I have downloaded it, and I can notice a real difference when placed on bus or master, but it would be great to get an expert opinion. FYI – I am at the intermediate level now with Ableton (2 years in). Cheers!! (and love the site!)

By: Brano

Brano — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 11:07:46 +0000

Melda’s MSpectralDynamics might be the first one that came with this concept. It does the same thing as Soothe and is even more flexible. It is an equal contender and should be featured in such a comparison as this.

By: yuzaintheclouds

yuzaintheclouds — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 20:34:30 +0000

i saw a lot of mentions of dseq, but i’d say that voxengo’s teote is also a good alternative. super underrated.
would be nice to see your opinion on both of them in comparison with the rest of them.

By: Tomislav Zlatic

Tomislav Zlatic — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:44:19 +0000

In reply to Jamie M.. I'll see if we can include it in an update to this article.

By: Tomislav Zlatic

Tomislav Zlatic — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:43:43 +0000

In reply to Lesha. We'll try to include DSEQ in an update to this article.

By: Jamie M.

Jamie M. — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 17:09:33 +0000

ayo where’s dseq? it’s a great budget alternative

By: Lesha

Lesha — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 20:20:56 +0000

In reply to justamixguy. Yes, DSEQ should have definitely been there.

By: justamixguy

justamixguy — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:03:03 +0000

TBProAudio DSEQ should’ve been there instead of smart:EQ. With all due respect, this is a different kind of a tool that was designed for a different task.
Also there are Voxengo TEOTE, Soundtheory Gullfoss and sonible Balancer, a yet another different kind of automatic dynamic EQs, aimed at balancing the spectre of the signal in broader strokes.

By: Tomislav Zlatic

Tomislav Zlatic — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 07:58:31 +0000

In reply to Joe Clar. Good catch, thanks for pointing that out. I'll update the article.