EQ

31-Band Graphic Equalizer

Thirty-one third-octave bands, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, on the standard ISO frequencies.

31-Band Graphic Equalizer window
31-Band Graphic Equalizer, the main screen.

Overview

The fine-grained graphic equaliser: 31 narrow bands (Q 4.32) a third of an octave apart. Works like the 10-band one: faders, points on the curve, types, cuts and Flat.

Getting started

  1. Pull the faders of the frequencies to shape; click a point to change its type or Q.

Controls

FadersEach band’s gain, plus or minus 12 dB.
Point editorType, gain and Q; cuts on the outermost active bands.
FlatEverything back to zero.

Settings

The gear in the header opens the settings panel; it covers the lower panel until the gear is clicked again.

AnalyzerThe output’s spectrum behind the curve.
OutputThe level after the equaliser.
31-Band Graphic Equalizer: 31-Band Graphic Equalizer, the settings panel.
31-Band Graphic Equalizer, the settings panel.

What the screen shows

The curve and the output’s spectrum.

Tips

  • Narrow bands are made for taming single resonances; for broad tone, use fewer bands.

Technical notes

  • Shelves never take a Q over 0.707, so they never overshoot.

Common to every plugin

The headerEvery window opens with the same header. On the left a dot-matrix display shows the main reading large and the details under it; text that does not fit scrolls. Next to it a hint with a coloured dot says what the plugin is doing or what to do next. On the right: Undo and Redo arrows (up to 100 steps of everything done in the window), the Bypass button, and the gear, which opens the plugin's settings panel when it has one.
BypassWith Bypass lit, the plugin lets the sound through untouched. It is the same switch as your DAW's own bypass for the plugin, so either can be used and automated. The input is held back by exactly the plugin's latency, so the timing stays right, and switching fades over 10 ms, so it never clicks. Bypass is not part of Undo.
Input and OutputMost plugins have a column on the right with a pair of VU meters for the input and the output, each with its own gain knob (plus or minus 24 dB). Analog shows the classic VU scale, dBFS the digital one. A click on a meter opens a large view of it. The CLIP lamp lights when a sample reaches 0 dBFS.
KnobsDrag a knob up or down to turn it. Knobs that go both ways, or that have a natural middle, catch briefly at their centre. A double-click returns a knob to its default.
About and the demoA click on the xsidfx logo in the footer opens About. In the demo version the plugin's name ends in (demo), its settings are not saved with your project, and About opens each time the window does.