Hitsville EQ Collection

The legendary Detroit Motown label‘s recordings owe their powerful and open vintage sound, in part, to the custom equalizers made for Hitsville Studios. Featured on numerous Soul, R&B, Funk and Disco albums by artists such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5, the Hitsville EQ Collection for the UAD platform promises to bring that same famous equalizer sound to the computer-based studio. Included are two plug-ins, each with individual, fixed filter frequencies.

The Studio Equalizer comes with seven bands that can be cut or boosted by up to 8dB in 1dB steps and also has a global gain control. The frequencies are chosen very musically, so that the plug-in, like its role model, makes an excellent figure with acoustic and electric instruments and vocals, as well as with electronic sounds. The Stereo Disk Mastering Equalizer, which also has seven bands, offers extended setting options: First of all, it allows individual processing of the two stereo channels or of the mid and side signals. By boosting the upper mids and highs, you can quickly and easily increase the stereo width of finished mixes. In addition, the plug-in has a combination of LowPass and High-Pass filters. Another special feature is the Frequency switch, which halves the frequency of all bands. By slightly emphasizing the low mids, basses, guitars and synths get more warmth and the upper two bands provide a refined treble shine in no time.

Verdict

Whether for processing individual instruments or complete mixes, the two equalizers from the Hitsville EQ Collection shine with super-easy usability and a natural sound that can be described as very musical and organic. The plugins are not only an excellent choice for Soul, R&B or Funk in the style of the 60s, but with their pleasant sound coloration they are an enrichment whenever single tracks or whole tracks require a bit more mojo and vintage character. The regular price seems quite high, though, which is why the investment in the UAD Spark subscription might be interesting.

Developer: Universal Audio

Web: www.uaudio.de

Price: 299 Euro, Currently: 149 Euro Format: VST3, AU, AAX, UAD Platform

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