Just prep yourself, my fine folks, because it is time for another free EQ VST to grace our plugin folders.
Analog Obsession is a veritable machine for churning out analog hardware emulations. Their latest EQ plugin is an analog emulation, in a sense, at least, but it isn’t based on any vaunted hardware from yesteryear.
UREQ instead functions as a custom-designed classic equalizer with a few different features to help it stand out. It is very stripped down, and intentionally so, letting us focus on mixing with our ears instead of looking at frequency analyzers and other visual aids.
The plugin offers four parametric EQ bands and a pair of filters. The four bands are switchable between set frequencies, being stepped by design. When you increase the gain, this changes the bandwidth and structure of the filter itself.
In this regard, I suppose you could say it is similar to an API 550 equalizer, but I can’t hear if it is actually a proportional Q implementation.
The low and high-pass filters function as you’d expect, with gradual slopes for tidying up signals.
UREQ really does remind me of Sonimus’s SonEQ 2 in some regards, especially as it is a bespoke custom equalizer with a limited feature set. SonEQ 2 does allow for modular construction of your own classic EQ, however.
UREQ perhaps isn’t going to be a good fit if you have a ton of EQs, which, let’s face it, you’re reading Bedroom Producers Blog, so you likely have a few.
But there are definitely some features you won’t find in most other EQ plugins. For example, it has a gain-compensated input, which is always a wonderful feature.
You can coax some sweet saturation out of it, too. I don’t mind adding another saturation tool to my ever-growing plugin folder.
I wish it compensated the output, but you’ll have to contend with that on your own.
UREQ is available for Windows and Mac computers. Supported plugin formats are VST3, AU, and AAX. It is Apple Silicon native and should be compatible with the latest Mac builds of Pro Tools.
All said, UREQ is a fun tool, but it might not fit the bill if you already have a ton of EQs. On the other end, one more EQ never hurt anyone, right?
Download: UREQ (FREE)
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