smart: EQ 3 is the latest in Sonible’s stable of AI-powered plugins. Don’t be fooled though: it’s still deep enough to satisfy mixing control freaks.
Depending on who you talk to, the mixing audio could be the most important and integral part of the production cycle, or simply a utilitarian task. Sonible’s smart: EQ 3 plugin aims to transcend the argument, by offering an EQ tool that benefits from carefully designed AI algorithms, while still being completely customisable.
Whether that be cutting the highs, boosting the lows, or notching out any frequency in between, with smart: EQ 3, you don’t need to spend ages crafting the perfect parametric patch. It’s at your fingertips straight away.
smart: EQ 3 is the latest iteration of Sonible’s smart: EQ series. It features an AI algorithm that estimates the waveshape of the incoming audio file, and equalises according to a designated preset.
On top of this, it also features cross-channel processing, assessing the other instances of the plugin that you’re using to create a group mix. You can select each of the channels in this group mix, and send them to one of three layers, which in turn adjust the importance of each one in the group mix.
Layer one is for leads, Layer two is for pads and swells, and Layer three is for underlying textures. And with this cross-channel process, you can make sure that all of the smart: EQ 3 adjustments are relative to each other.
That being considered, individual channel EQ is still important. And while some would definitely balk at the idea of automating this process, outsourcing to an AI does skip some of the time-wasting quandaries that can be associated with EQ: masking, dealing with problematic frequencies and tones, resonance issues, and the simple fact that you might not want to.
If you have something you’d rather be doing instead of stressing about the corner frequency of your high shelf — or even if you have no idea what that means — Sonible’s smart: EQ 3 presents a neat solution.
It’s infinitely adjustable as well, able to target specific frequencies in the mix, with parameters to adjust how much the AI envelope affects your sound. It also has a control shifter to adjust how much of its group algorithm is applied to your grouped channels. If you’re thinking that it’s simply a slacker’s dream, there are also enough parameters to learn within this plugin to satisfy even the most pedantic of mixing nerds.
Have a look at the smart: EQ 3 here.
