MOTORCITY EQ
by Heritage Audio · EQ · Motown graphic EQ
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MOTORCITY EQ recreates the Motown equalizers owned by producer Michael Brauer, with seven fixed bands from 50 Hz to 12.5 kHz.
It is a passive-style EQ with gentle curves, and costs $99.
Best for: Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitars, Mix Bus. Genres: R&B & Soul, Pop, Rock & Indie.
Keywords: bass, drums, gentle, mixing, vocals, electric guitar, A/B compare, bus processing, full mix, hardware emulation, minimum-phase, mix bus, musical, punchy, static, warm.
What it does
MOTORCITY EQ is Heritage Audio's plugin version of its MOTORCITY EQualizer, recreated from original Motown units owned by mixer Michael Brauer. It is a seven-band graphic EQ aimed at the "gentle curves and natural phase interactions" of passive designs.
- Seven fixed bands: 50 Hz, 130 Hz, 320 Hz, 800 Hz, 2 kHz, 5 kHz and 12.5 kHz, each with its own gain control.
- Stepped gain: gain moves in steps, so settings recall exactly and are easy to A/B.
- Passive character: broad, forgiving curves meant for warmth, punch and musical shaping rather than surgical cuts.
- Source units: modeled on the Motown equalizers in Michael Brauer's collection.
- Presets: from mixing engineers including David "The Mars Citizen" and Joel Wanasek.
Owners of the i73 PRO or the MOTORCITY EQualizer hardware get it free, and a 14-day full demo is available.
Source: Heritage Audio product page
When to use it
MOTORCITY EQ is the quicker pick when you want bold, broad tone moves at fixed points across the whole spectrum. Compared with the UA Pultec Passive EQ Collection or Waves PuigTec EQs, it spreads seven bands from 50 Hz to 12.5 kHz instead of a few selectable boost and cut points, so it works more like a graphic EQ for the midrange. Like the Mäag Audio EQ4 it uses fixed bands, but it has more points in the mids and no dedicated air band. Unlike Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova, its bands cannot be swept, narrowed or made dynamic.
- Best for: fast, broad tone shaping on vocals, drums, bass and guitars, and owners of the Heritage Audio hardware or i73 PRO.
- Genres: soul, R&B, pop and rock.
- Look elsewhere if: you need sweepable, surgical or dynamic bands; Pro-Q 4 or TDR Nova do that.
Where to buy
- Plugin Boutique: $74.25 (regular $99)
- Heritage Audio: $99
Tutorials and reviews
- Heritage Audio - Introducing...The MOTORCITY EQ Plugin
- Heritage Audio MotorCity EQ: More Than Motown
- The Motown Sound in Your DAW? Heritage Audio Motorcity EQ
- Heritage Audio - Motorcity EQ Audio Demos (NO TALK)
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