6144
by DDMF · EQ · Portico 5033-inspired EQ
Not rated yet
6144 is a musical equalizer inspired by the Neve Portico 5033, built to get good results without much tweaking.
Its gain-Q interaction and custom low and high shelves allow extreme settings while staying clean, and optional saturation adds warmth, for $39.
Best for: Vocals, Guitars, Keys & Synths, Drums, Mix Bus. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: musical, extreme, warm, clean, enhancement, vocals, British console, bus processing, drums, full mix, harsh, inspired by, mix bus, mixing, smooth, static, subtle, surgical, wide.
What it does
6144 is DDMF's software take on the Neve Portico 5033 equalizer. Its idea is a "unique gain-Q-interaction" plus custom shelves, so you can push settings hard without the sound turning harsh or muddy.
- Five bands: a low shelf, three peaking bands (low-mid, mid and high-mid) and a high shelf, each with up to 12 dB of boost or cut.
- Gain-Q interaction: the bandwidth of the peaking bands follows the gain setting, as on the hardware, for broad and musical moves.
- Variable Q: the three mid bands also have their own frequency and Q controls, for wide lifts or narrow cuts.
- Custom shelves: low and high shelf filters designed by DDMF to stay clean at extreme settings.
- Saturation: an optional saturation stage adds warmth; Production Expert found that pushing the input gives "nice saturation."
- Passive colour: according to Production Expert, inserting it with flat settings already adds subtle warmth, with a slight dip in the top and mids.
Free demos are available; Production Expert's 2014 review noted the demo mutes at intervals and cannot save. The EQ is also part of DDMF bundles.
When to use it
6144 is a cheap, quick EQ for broad tone shaping with a Neve Portico flavour. Compared with TDR VOS SlickEQ, it has a similar musical, few-knobs approach but fewer EQ models and no auto gain, and the 2014 Production Expert review found no output trim, so you balance levels yourself. Unlike Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova, it has no analyzer, no dynamic bands and only five bands, so it is not the tool for surgical fixes. Against the UA Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection it offers swept, variable-Q mids rather than fixed hardware steps, at a much lower price. Its EQ section also turns up in DDMF's TheStrip, which adds a gate and a compressor.
- Best for: fast, musical EQ on vocals, instruments and buses, including bold boosts that would sound harsh on a clinical EQ.
- Genres: any.
- Look elsewhere if: you need surgical cuts, many bands, dynamic EQ or an analyzer; Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova suit that better.
- Tip: if you push the input for saturation, check the level afterwards; there is no automatic gain compensation.
What producers say
The few published opinions are positive: reviewers like its smooth sound at extreme settings and its value.
- Production Expert (2014) called it an "excellent little plug-in" that never sounds harsh, "even when pushed to extremes," and praised the variable Q on the mid bands; it did not replace the reviewer's favourite EQs but was rated very good value.
- KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review (2019, version 1.2); the reviewer found it gives good results quickly, even on poor samples, and liked the low and high cut options.
- Criticisms: Production Expert noted the lack of an output or trim control.
Where to buy
- PluginFox: $39
- AudioDeluxe: $39
Tutorials and reviews
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