£144 / $179 / €169 (upgrade pricing available), fabfilter.com

Pro-Q 4 is the latest version of the gold standard plugin for dynamic EQ. Because of the competition and the scores of copycats in the market, FabFilter has been forced to innovate to stay ahead of the pack — which is good news for producers.

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With Pro-Q 3, the renowned plugin developer added dynamic EQ features, allowing users to hone in and shape parts of the frequency spectrum. Now, in Pro-Q 4, these features have been expanded, and FabFilter has added spectral dynamic processing capabilities.

Another interesting new addition is the continuous slope feature, allowing you to set the slope anywhere between 12 to 96 decibels-per-octave for each band. When combined with the Q-Gain Interaction function, you have an amazing degree of control over the band shaping.

If you’re new to this, I know what you’re thinking — ‘This is all overly technical’. However, there is also a range of workflow features like the new Instance List and EQ Sketch, which we’ll get to later, that make it easier than ever to start creating your own EQ curves without the help of the extensive preset library.

How do I use the basic features of FabFilter Pro-Q 4?

Pro-Q 4 is designed as a be-all and end-all solution for creative and corrective equalisation in your DAW. That means you’ll use it on every single channel, from individual instruments to aux channels and even your master bus. Although you may have a different approach to each aspect of your mix, Pro-Q 4 has become your centralised EQ console for dealing with all the tone shaping in a project at once.

From the get-go, adding bands to the frequency spectrum is as easy as ever. However, the EQ Sketch function offers a new way to draw curves, and it intuitively switches from shelves to bell filters according to your position. While this might not be the most precise way to apply EQ, it quickly provides a foundation that you can then fine-tune for greater accuracy.

With each band added, you have a choice of 10 filter shapes, plus dynamic or spectral processing modes. What’s more, besides the default stereo mode, you can assign it exclusively to the left, right, mid, or side channels.

When it comes to equalisation for mixing and music production, Pro-Q 4 has three features in particular that alter the overall processing behaviour to provide a more analogue feel. Firstly, by using the Natural Phase option in the Processing mode selector, you can get Pro-Q 4 to behave like outboard hardware. Next, with the Character button, you can activate the colourful Warm mode for a saturated, tube-modelled sound.

Finally, when using bell filters, activating Gain-Q Interaction offers a classic console-like EQ experience. With this setting on, the Q-factor will increase, narrowing proportionally as you apply more gain.

How do you use Pro-Q 4’s dynamic and spectral processing?

If you’ve never used a dynamic EQ before, you’re in for a real treat. With a straightforward workflow, it’s easy to turn any of the 24 available EQ bands into dynamic bands in a few easy steps. This means you can use the features according to your level of understanding, and gradually upscale your processing to a more elaborate level as you become more feature-savvy.

To activate dynamics on any band, simply click the drop-down button and select ‘Make Dynamic’ from the menu and you’ll immediately see the Dynamic Range ring around the Gain control illuminate.

Now, set the dynamic range and hit the disclosure button above the Gain control to reveal the expansion panel. Here, you can adjust the threshold, which is set on auto by default, as well as the attack and release controls, and the sidechain filter and external sidechain features.

You’ll notice that when you switch from spectral to dynamic mode, the internal sidechain filter functions are replaced by a Spectral Density slider. With this control, you can adjust the width of the peaks to which the processor is reacting. For targeting wide frequency bands like low-end elements, you’ll use a lower setting. Meanwhile, as you increase the value, you’ll be able to isolate and reduce spikes in the upper mids and high-frequency range.

What makes Pro-Q 4 special?

The beauty of the design of Pro-Q 4 is how it makes these advanced features and processing techniques so readily available. Even if you’ve never used a dynamic EQ, you suddenly have access to professional signal processing with a straightforward visual interface.

In a matter of seconds, you can draw in the basic frequency curve you’re working with, and then fine-tune each band and activate spectral or dynamic modes to carve and control instruments in any range, from vocals to guitars, synths, and drums. The secret of any successful audio design, from a Neve 1073 to a Summit TLA-100A, lies in how it allows you to achieve great results immediately, whether you’re an experienced mixing engineer or a bedroom producer. The Pro-Q 4 does exactly that.

As a plugin, Pro-Q 4 has come a long way from simply being an EQ that beats the stock EQ in your DAW. While there are other tools like Soothe2 and Gullfoss that each apply their brand of magic to correcting unwanted resonances, Pro-Q 4 is still not easily replaceable given its versatility and depth of features. For this reason, Pro-Q 4 will be loved equally by pro mixing and mastering engineers as it is by today’s generation of beat-makers and independent music producers.

Despite its impressive spectral dynamics features, Pro-Q 4 still has a way to go before it becomes your main tool for resonance suppression. Its precise and flexible interface does allow you to tackle pretty much all you’d expect from an EQ, and then some – however, you’ll still have to reach for Soothe2 regularly for frequency-conscious sidechain processing to target resonances.

With a $179 price tag, Pro-Q 4 remains out of both reach and necessity for many bedroom producers. Also, one could argue that Sonible’s smart:EQ is doing a similar job for the majority of users for less money, while pros will likely want to use Soothe and/or Gullfoss alongside Pro-Q 4.

Current Pro-Q 3 users will likely want to upgrade. They’ll be thrilled with the new Sketch EQ and Instance List features that allow efficient management of tonal processing while having an overview of an entire project. Pro-Q 4 will become even more indispensable in your DAW workflow.

Key features

• AU / VST / AAX / CLAP plugin for MacOS and Windows (including MacOS 10.15)
• Improved sonics, EQ matching and analyser
• Per-band spectral dynamics mode
• Attack and Release controls for dynamic and spectral bands
• EQ sketch feature
• Instance list for viewing multiple tracks simultaneously
• Gentle and Warm virtual-analogue character modes

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