I’m not always jealous of the Pro Tools platform, but here’s a good reason to be: the Massenburg DesignWorks Hi-Res Parametric EQ, version 2.0 of which started shipping this week. George Massenburg needs no introduction: he’s credited as the creator of the parametric EQ, and makes his own superb (hardware, not software) audio gear as George Massenburg Labs. The EQ plug-in for Pro Tools let you bring some of that top-notch sound into the software realm. The upgrade has a slick, new interface with copying and pasting between bands and A/B snapshots, phase invert, 3- and 5-band versions, and better DSP performance so you can stack up more of these plugins. Most interesting to me is a feature called “IsoPeak” which lets you sweep through the frequency spectrum to find the frequency you want. But don’t listen to me: check out Digidesign’s site, where George himself shows off his creation:
Massenburg DesignWorks Hi-Res Parametric EQ 2.0 Now Available
What’s particularly nice here, I think, is that a master of hardware design has really thought about the unique capabilities of software. Note that George Massenburg has commented previously that software emulations pose challenges when modeling certain kinds of hardware (specifically in terms of compressor emulations, here on this site). But an EQ seems perfect. Digi is hoping you’ll use this with their VENUE live sound system, which was also updated this week; they’ve added VENUE-specific features to this plug-in.