VEQ-5

Name: VEQ-5
Price: 29 USD
Author: Black Rooster Audio

by Black Rooster Audio · EQ · Pultec MEQ-5-style midrange EQ

Not rated yet

A passive midrange equalizer inspired by the Pultec MEQ-5, the companion to the EQP-1A, covering the 200 Hz to 7 kHz range.

It has a low-mid boost, a mid cut and a high-mid boost with an always-on tube make-up stage, for $29 at Plugin Boutique.

Best for: Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Keys & Synths. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: hardware emulation, tube, circuit-modelled, electric guitar, inspired by, vocals, gentle, keys, 50s, beginner-friendly, colored, component-modelled, drums, harsh, minimal controls, mixing, musical, oversampling, resizable UI, single knob, snare, static, vintage.

What it does

VEQ-5 is Black Rooster Audio's "Vintage Mid-Range Equalizer", inspired by the Pultec MEQ-5. It recreates the hardware's passive filter design and tube make-up gain with component-level circuit modelling, so the overlapping bands interact as they do on the original.

Low-mid boost: stepped at 200, 300, 500, 700 or 1000 Hz, up to about +13 dB.
Mid cut (Dip): an 11-step sweep from 200 Hz to 7 kHz, up to about -10 dB, for clearing boxiness or harshness.
High-mid boost: stepped at 1.5, 2, 3, 4 or 5 kHz, up to about +9 dB, for presence.
Band interaction: boosts and the dip overlap, so combining them shapes the midrange in ways a single band can't.
Tube stage: an always-on tube make-up amplifier that adds some colour even with the bands flat.
Power control: full bypass plus ±10 dB of linear output gain on one knob.
Engine: real-time SPICE-type simulation, SSE2-optimised, with auto-adjusted Dolph-Chebyshev polyphase oversampling and HighDPI/Retina support.

A free 14-day trial is available.

Source: Black Rooster Audio product page

When to use it

VEQ-5 is a midrange tone shaper, the partner to an EQP-1A rather than a replacement for one. The rated Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection already includes an MEQ-5 model alongside its EQP-1A and HLF-3C, so VEQ-5 is mainly the cheap standalone route. Compared with a modern parametric such as FabFilter Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova, you give up precision and visual feedback for stepped, forgiving moves and some tube colour. It works best after the cleanup EQ, once problem frequencies are dealt with.

Best for: midrange focus on vocals, distorted guitars, snare and keys.
Genres: general purpose; works in any genre, with rock guitars a natural fit.
Look elsewhere if: you need surgical cuts or dynamic EQ; Pro-Q 4 is more precise, and VEQ-1P handles lows and highs.
Tip: Bedroom Producers Blog suggests cleaning problem frequencies with a modern EQ first, then using VEQ-5 for tone and colour.

What producers say

The little press it has received is positive, with the gentle, musical character as the main draw.

Bedroom Producers Blog reviewed it in the Vintage Mix Bundle (rated 90%, "Brilliant") and found its gentle boosts and dips "very pleasing to the ears", noting it adds colour even when inactive.
Praised use: the same review singled it out on distorted guitars for focusing the midrange.
Look and feel: the reviewer called the interface recognisable as an MEQ-5, "but a little glossier-looking".

Bedroom Producers Blog review

Where to buy

Plugin Boutique: $29
PluginFox: $69

Tutorials and reviews

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