EaReckon CM-EQUA 87 EQ
> Step by step Easy EQing with CM-EQUA
1 CM-EQUA 87 is a classic analoguedesk-inspired equaliser from EaReckon and is great at what it does. The interface may look pretty simple, but it’s packed with useful features, which we’re going to demonstrate using our drum kit and electric bass demo audio. (Download via FileSilo.)
2 If you want to follow each step, load up the tutorial audio – five drum kit files and E Bass file. Let’s start with the snare, so load an instance as an insert. First up, make sure the Analyser is switched on and also that the Limiter is switched out. Hit play and you should see the analyser curve.
3 In solo, the snare sounds lifeless. The CM-EQUA 87 has three parametric bands, two of which can be peaking or shelving. Rather than add unnecessary high frequencies with a shelf, use a broad bell-shaped boost. We’ve set ours at 9kHz, +6dB with the widest Q setting 0.40. You can see the EQ curve via the analyser.
4 The boxiness could be coming from the low frequencies. These are clearly visible on the analyser. Let’s try using the cut filter. Make sure it’s set to Low Cut and is switched in, then gradually increase the cutoff frequency. We’ve set it to about 135Hz. The effect is subtle but successfully clears away unwanted weight.
5 The snare has a nice fatness around 200Hz. Using the MF mid band we’ve swept this region and pinpointed it to 230Hz. Then with a medium bandwidth (Q of about 2.4) we’ve boosted this slightly (2.5dB). Try bypassing the whole plugin to compare the difference.
6 For our snare let’s try driving the limiter. Switch it on, reduce the Snare fader (ours is set to about -6dB) and then boost the Output level on CM-EQUA 87. We’ve set this to +20dB. It’s hard to A/B this because of the level differences, but it adds attack and fatness.
7 Now let’s look at the electric bass. Listening in solo, the bass notes seem consistent. However, there is one pitch poking through a bit. By boosting and sweeping the low to low mid frequencies we’ve found this at around 170Hz.
8 To resolve this we’ve used the MF mid band. With the bandwidth set quite narrow (Q is set to about 7) we’ve then applied a pretty decent cut (about -9dB). By using the mid band we’ve freed up the LF band for use in the next step.
9 Now we’ll add a very gentle shelf to the low frequencies. We’ve set this at about 130Hz with the boost at about 4.5dB. This adds overall weight to the bass. Finally, we’ve used the HF band to add a few dB of presence at about 3kHz.