Wayhan releases Naked EQ, a FREE stripped-back EQ plugin for Windows

From developer Wayhan comes Naked EQ, a free stripped-back EQ plugin for Windows.

It sometimes seems like we can’t move without falling over another EQ plugin, and that’s not a complaint, horses for courses, and all that.

To name a few, we have Dusk Audio’s 4K EQ, TDR Nova, and ZL Equalizer 2, all of which are free.

Not all EQ plugins approach things in the same way, but while many focus on doing more and more, Wayhan’s Naked EQ is the plugin that does less.

Wayhan pitches Naked EQ as “an EQ for your ears, with just enough for your eyes,” and that about sums it up.

The plugin is available in VST3 format for Windows.

Naked EQ offers curated low and high shelves and four bell curves.

What it doesn’t offer is numerical visual feedback or grids.

Instead, the plugin encourages you to trust your ears more than relying on EQ cheat sheets and common settings for common problems/instruments.

For example, with a typical acoustic guitar track, you might expect to remove unnecessary content at the very low end, address any mudiness slightly further up, help it cut through by boosting the mid-range without becoming too harsh, and enhance definition in the highs.

That fairly vague formula might be perfect for many acoustic guitar tracks, or provide a workable starting point, at least. But not all guitars, performances, and recordings are equal, and there’s no definitive one-size-fits-all solution (although many online courses and developers provide cheat sheets that are very useful in establishing fundamental knowledge).

The trouble with standard settings or our favourite engineer’s go-to settings is that we can start to trust the formula/numbers more than our ears, and convince ourselves that it’s right, even when it’s not.

Naked EQ puts us in a situation where we have to shape the curve freely without a road map and trust our ears.

Although you have a sort of freehand approach, you still see what your adjustments are doing to the audio, so you’re not working completely in the dark.

Experienced users might find this. stripped-back approach to be a speedy and refreshing way to work because years of repetition and problem-solving mean they rely on numbers and grids less.

Less experienced users might find Naked EQ to be a great way to test their ears and develop a better understanding of the entire process.

I think a lot of users will find this plugin interesting, and the best thing is that we have so many awesome free EQ plugins; it’s just about picking the right one for the job.