Pulsar Audio offers the Pulsar w495 equalizer plugin ($49 value) as a free download until October 31st, 2023.
Pulsar w495 emulates the Neumann w495 hardware equalizer, a revered successor to the PEa and OEV equalizers. This two-channel EQ module features transformer-balanced inputs, a low and high-frequency filter, a boost-cut filter with adjustable bandwidth, and an amplifier in a single unit.
It was admired for its superior sound quality, with crisp highs and clean lows, a low noise floor, and the ability to function excellently as a bus or mastering equalizer. As such, it played a pivotal role in mastering a vast majority of vinyl discs between the 1970s and 1990s.
Pulsar Audio’s w495 stands as a tribute to the legendary Neumann w495, replicating most of the original functionality while introducing some workflow enhancements you would expect from a modern equalizer plugin.
You get the same 5-band parametric EQ setup and the smooth musical curves that made the original Neumann w495 one of the most sought-after EQ modules of its era.
However, Pulsar w495 takes things a few steps further by adding modern features like mid-side processing, visual curve editing, automatic gain compensation, and a built-in spectrum analyzer.
The visual curve editor lets you adjust the gain, frequency, and Q values directly on the curve editor. You can also use the keyboard modifiers to quickly fine-tune the settings.
The auto-gain feature is an excellent workflow enhancer, compensating for volume changes introduced by the equalization. It uses a C-Weighting-based algorithm for level compensation based on EQ curve analysis, where the compensation gain is solely dependent on your EQ settings.
The plugin also has an oversampling feature, with processing rates up to 384 kHz. It allows higher oversampling settings to be applied at export, resulting in a higher sound quality when rendering the final mix.
Another handy feature is the freely resizable user interface. You can click and drag the lower-right corner to adjust the GUI to your preferred size.
Pulsar w495 typically costs $49, but you can get it for free from Pulsar Audio’s website for a limited time. Visit the product page linked below, add the plugin to your shopping cart, and complete the checkout process to claim your free plugin license.
The free download offer ends on October 31st, 2023.
Pulsar w495 is available in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for Windows and macOS.
Download: Pulsar w495 (FREE for a limited time)
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