Eventide and Newfangled Audio have announced the release of EQuivocate, an innovative 26-band equalizer VST/AU/AAX plugin using filters which are modeled on the human ear. The plugin is offered as a free download (iLok account required) until October 31st, 2017.
EQuivocate ($99 value) is a linear-phase equalizer with 26 auditory filters which correspond to different parts of the human ear. The idea behind this design was to create an equalizer that would sound as natural and musical as possible. The approach used in EQuivocate is based on a concept known as the MEL Scale which states that breaking up a sound using a MEL-spaced filter bank will result in a division which closely represents the critical bands of human hearing. Our ears can only detect a tone if it is a certain distance from another one which is playing simultaneously, which is why EQuivocate breaks the incoming audio signal into 26 bands which are processed individually.
See also: EQ Tutorial Part 2: Subtractive EQ (VIDEO)Even the interface reflects the developer’s intention to make EQuivocate highly musical and intuitive, allowing the user to freely draw the EQ curve simply by clicking once and swiping the cursor across the screen. The hand-drawn curve can later be fine-tuned by toggling off the “Draw Curve” feature and adjusting the bands manually. Speaking of the user interface, it comes with three different color schemes (dark, gray, white), to better match the design of your digital audio workstation.
Another interesting feature is the “Match EQ” tool which matches the tone of one audio signal to another with the click of a single button. It is also possible to solo individual bands for detecting problem frequencies, as well as to use the “Auto” feature to automatically compensate for volume changes introduced by the equalizer. The plugin includes dozens of factory presets created by Richard Devine, Jeremy Lubsey, Alex Saltz, and others.
EQuivocate was developed by Newfangled Audio, a new company started by the veteran audio developer Dan Gillespie who previously worked at Eventide for 15 years. This is the company’s premiere release, and hopefully only the first plugin of many to come. Please note the EQuivocate is valued at $99 and is being offered as a free download for a limited time only. You will need to claim your copy before October 31st.
Also, keep in mind that an iLok user account is required to activate EQuivocate on your computer. You can register for a free iLok account and install the iLok License Manager software to complete the activation process (the USB dongle is optional).
EQuivocate is available for free download via Eventide (49.8 MB download size, ZIP archive containing EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU/AAX plugin formats for Windows & Mac OS).
20 Comments
Carlo
onThank you, gotta love Eventide and BPB 😊
Tomislav Zlatic
onHey, thanks for reading! :)
marti garaughty
onFree and it’s by Eventide, what’s not to like!
mgb
onThe crappy ilok system?
lena
onright ;)
B Dill
onThere’s one in every crowd…
animus
onSweet concept! I’ve tried similar (splitting bands based on human perception) with ableton racks, but i’m sure not as precisely as this. Very cool.
animus
onTried this on a mix yesterday, placed a copy on the lead vocal, routed the remainder of the mix to the sidechain, matched at -50%. Placed the vocal perfectly among the elements, avoiding congestion. Awesome tool.
Craig
onI would love this. Too bad it is iLok. I have never been able to get anything with iLok to work :/
heavymetalmixer
onMe neither.
Charly
onThe negative Match EQ seems to be the ultimate kick+bass EQ solution !
No iLok, but thanks for the input BPB ! :)
Chris Schutte
onYeow! Nice one! :D this year is turning into an epic freebie extravaganza!
Dan Stanley
onThis might come in handy, seems to have a nice workflow. Ilok no problem.:-)
Andrei
onСпасибо за отличную новость!
exm
onThis plugin isn’t by Eventide. It is by Newfangled Audio;
https://www.eventideaudio.com/products/plugins/equalizer/equivocate
Charlie
onRegarding the ilok, I use the software ilok (that this requires rather than the dongle) for a kush plugin I own and it’s no problem at all. It’s the dongle I can’t be bothered with.
The software works fine here though so for those new to it, don’t dismiss this one just because of that as this is a nice giveaway. No ilok at all would always be better though!
Tomislav Zlatic
onSame here. While I’m not the biggest fan of having any sort of license manager on my computer, simply because I prefer to keep things minimal, I had zero issues with it so far.
Harry Krishna
onVery cool thanks
Ninja Mode
onI love how this sounds but ahh the CPU hit and latency.. I suppose it’s still great to use, I’ll just have to render to wav more often
Ken
onThis one actually made me open a new iLok account after x years of abstinence, it’s that good.