Quick AG

Name: Quick AG
Price: 80.91 USD
Author: United Plugins

by United Plugins · Channel Strip · Acoustic guitar channel strip

Not rated yet

Quick AG from Instant Audio (sold by United Plugins) is a mixing plugin for acoustic guitar, ukulele and mandolin that sets its EQ, compression and reverb for the chosen instrument.

Body, Spark and De-Harsh controls, blended compression and three reverbs are included, for $111.

Best for: Acoustic Instruments, Guitars. Genres: Rock & Indie, Pop, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical.

Keywords: acoustic guitar, mixing, metering, freemium, wide, electric guitar, FET, hybrid topology, polish, simple, vari-mu.

What it does

Quick AG is an Instant Audio plugin, sold by United Plugins, for mixing acoustic instruments in a few moves. The developer calls it "the shortcut to the perfect and natural acoustic instruments sound": you pick the instrument and the EQ, compression and reverb adjust to suit it.

Instrument selector: starting points for acoustic guitar types (steel-string, nylon and baritone), ukulele and mandolin. The choice sets the EQ centre frequencies for you.
EQ: preset equalisation with adjustable Body and Spark controls, plus a Low Pass filter and a De-Harsh filter for harsh pick and string noise.
Blended compressor: several compression styles (FET, Vari-Mu and Clean, per HomeStudioToday) that you mix together rather than choose between.
Reverb: three algorithms tuned for acoustic instruments (Quick, Wide and Plate), with length and amount controls.
Xtra: stereo width and size controls, plus a transient shaper and doubler noted in reviews.
Metering and presets: built-in VU meters and 27 presets across the instrument types, according to HomeStudioToday.
Engine: 64-bit internal processing at any sample rate, including 192 kHz and above.

There is a fully working 15-day trial, after which a free "second-hand" edition keeps running with some knobs locked but the presets still usable.

Source: United Plugins product page

When to use it

Quick AG is the better pick when you only need to make an acoustic guitar, ukulele or mandolin sound finished, fast. Compared with Native Channel Strip 2 or Scheps Omni Channel, it gives up general-purpose control but sets its EQ points by instrument, so you are not hunting for body and string frequencies. Unlike Neutron 5, it has no analysis or assistant, yet it includes a reverb tuned for acoustic sources, which most channel strips lack. It also costs less than those strips, and the free edition still runs your saved presets after the trial.

Best for: fast, polished acoustic guitar, ukulele and mandolin tracks, especially for songwriters without a long mixing chain.
Genres: singer-songwriter, folk, pop, rock and acoustic music.
Look elsewhere if: you need one strip for every source in the mix; Native Channel Strip 2 or Neutron 5 are more flexible.
Tip: set the instrument selector first so the EQ lands in the right place, then adjust the compressor blend and reverb. During the trial, save your own presets; the free edition keeps playing them.

What producers say

The few write-ups see it as a simple, good-value tool for acoustic mixing, with little criticism.

HomeStudioToday gave it 5 stars and called it "a solid value", praising the guitar-shaped interface, the instrument-based EQ presets, the blendable compressor and the built-in VU meters. It saw the transient shaper and doubler as optional extras.
Bedroom Producers Blog called it "a handy little plugin" when the free edition launched, noting that the free mode locks some knobs "but the presets work perfectly."

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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