The Pultec EQ - DEMYSTIFIED!

[@ErichWK]

you might be my favorite informational music youtuber. Everything you said was so easy to understand and dry, and straight to the point. I watched a lot of videos about the pultec..but having the EQ curve interaction pretty much explained everything perfectly.

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank you!

[@gillesschetagne1637]

I have that plugin in my system. I have use it without knowing exactly what I was doing. My hears were the only ones helping me doing the job. But now (as usual) I think I would use it more often because of your video. I would re listening it many times. I really appreciate your work since a long time. Thank you and cheers from Montreal!!!

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank you so much! Hopefully tou can use it even better now :)

[@deviantmultimedia9497]

Hears + knowledge = holistic ear-telligence

[@jl9205]

I've been curious about this famous EQ. You've done a brilliant job of demystifying it. Well done, and thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@CreativeSauce]

My pleasure, thank you :)

[@piscesman54]

Subscribed, Mike. Down to earth, no nonsense, to the point, clear and informative explanations without unnecessary show-off chatter. I attempted to use this plugin once and was so baffled by it, I gave up. You're quite right, it is not very intuitive, but now that I've "seen the light," I might muster up the courage to give it a go.

[@marcotronic]

This is probably the best video on an EQ someone has ever done. Thanks a lot!

[@holliefitzzz]

always funny to me that pultec was made in 1951 and has low eq bands of 20 30 60 100 but then when you hear any record from that era there's barely anything under 100hz

[@bulakilojiki]

Hilarious! 😂😂😂

[@DanHomeAtLast]

I think the issue was that reproducing the recording for domestic listening lost all of those frequencies master tapes cut the low end to preserve the sound for records and radio which could not carry those frequencies very well, or something like that. But, yes recording music was perfected in the 50s, some of the best mics, tube consoles, compressors and limiters were developed truly the golden era of audio refinement, just making that into a product wasn't that good...

[@joeking9760]

Seems it was built for the future.

[@geotungz4050]

tape cut low end and I think they cut out sub frequencies when mastering for vinyl

[@flyingrat492]

@@geotungz4050spot on, the reason there’s so little low end is because it needs to be cut out, vinyl skips if there’s to much low end which makes the record jittery, so they needed the EQ to remove a lot of it. Vintage mics and pres at that time were more than capable of capturing the whole audible range, it’s just the listening medium of the time wasn’t built for it

[@ashlarband]

I've found that a Pultec plugin ( I happen to use the one from IK Multimedia) across the mix buss with some subtle boosts in both the highs and lows gives a "sheen" to the mix, makes it punch more, and gives more "sparkle" and clarity in the highs without sounding harsh.

[@Shred_Rocket]

The Pultec was explained to me almost the same way years back by a simple studio engineer, without the visual, and so now, your demonstration sheds light on the mystic! Thank you! I use the waves Pultec version and it works as expected notwithstanding referencing the hardware.

[@BonziRecording]

Most important piece of info is that the top end attenuator will tame the effect of the "Pultec trick" (Boost and Cut the bass), I had no idea about this, thank you for sharing!

[@Jazman342]

Thanks Mike. Great explanation. I've always used it (IK Multimedia one I've had for years) as a general sweetener rather than a surgical tool, without having a clue what I was doing. Just twiddled a few knobs and used my ears, looking for a sound I liked. I'll probably continue using it in exactly the same way, but now with a bit better insight into what's actually going on. Loved the pultec/compressor/putec trick. Will definitely try that on my next vocal track.

[@jakebrooks7329]

Thanks for the insight to this plugin! Welcome to my world!

[@Terribleguitarist89]

Love having a Pultec in the chain. Up there with the 1176 and la2a as go-to pieces of kit.

[@ShiningHourPop]

That was such an excellent explanation. You and fellow Aussie, Rhys of the Spinlight Studios channel, are putting out the best home recording videos currently.

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank you! Yes, Rhys has an awesome channel :)

[@patricedumais8330]

If Mike wasn’t a sound man he would be an eye doctor…. And here it is before… and after…. Before… and … after

[@CreativeSauce]

Lol :)

[@jergervasi3331]

I actually found that VERY distracting... LOL

[@tristanishtar8906]

Easily the best Pultec tutorial ever. Concise, clear and helpful. I do have a question. On the Schweppes trick, isn't adjusting the low end cut on the LA2A doing the same thing as attenuating the low end on the initial Pultec?

[@--2]

In Logic Pro there is a vintage EQ collection, which includes a plugin called Tube EQ. That plugin seems to be modelled after this EQ and produces a similar kind of tone.

[@DeltaWhiskeyBravo13579]

Excellent tutorial Mike. The Pultec EQ from Universal Audio is what I've got as well. I used a sale to get 3+2 or something like that. Pultec EQ bundle was part of the purchase. I like the shape it creates, how it bends the audio. The attempt to recreate this sounds like too much work and not fun, so I'll avoid that. You want Pultec, just use Pultec.

[@clemdog76]

yup I really love the UAD pultec. You answered a question I've always had about them... they add harmonic distortion. That particular one has a much sweeter, gentle and organic sound than just any eq.

[@tkelong3569]

This EQ along with the Pro Q3 are my 2 favorites and I have many of the best eq VSTs available. Split EQ is definitely climbing the charts and will soon, most likely, round out my top 3. Pultec is the sweetest sounding of the 3. I use the UA version and it just sounds beautiful. ‘Sweet’ is my best adjective for this widely heralded EQ.

[@CreativeSauce]

I have to heartily agree! Thank you :)

[@timspencer1]

Been using Pultec on Bass and Drums for a long time. Never saw this set up for vocals before - thank you! It's brilliant.!

[@jaydobeatzz]

Id actually think it works the most dramatically on vocals

[@jaydobeatzz]

But drums and bass def most useful

[@jaydobeatzz]

Def nasty with parallel compression

[@jaydobeatzz]

The tube tech clib def amazing on vocals and bass, would def look into it. Its like 100$ on softube

[@alexchanboth]

just purchased the 3A and got this for free great on kick drum, makes my mixes improve alot better, the uad version which has mid band frequency DIP, so smooth and the HP filter does the great job. ❤❤ thanks for your explanations. been your youtube fan since calkwalk to studio one. good job!

[@Automagi]

Great video! Straight to the point. The only small constructive feedback would be that A/B listening in different volumes is pretty hard if you're not experienced. If you could level the A/B test 'til next time, I think it would help many others, me included. Thanks again! Subscribed ✅

[@Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay]

My version (Waves Puigtec etc) does very nice things to string busses to both warm up the low end and add some smooth sheen to the V1s up top. Likewise the mid EQ version finds much use with me in de-muddifying overly honky / resonant angry brass sections whilst retaining low end warmth. Definitely a unique EQ, and this video is very helpful for people new to the way it works.

[@DerekPower]

The funny thing is that I just employed the Pultec trick on something that I'm working on. I did it to help tastefully emphasize an aspect of a sound as I am already doing a significant cut for technical reasons and I want what I want to see be present in the mix.

[@CreativeSauce]

Yep, it pretty useful Derek. Thanks for watching :)

[@XandyBarry]

What a great tutorial on the Pultec EQ and how to use it. Thanks for this, really well done.

[@thejosusilva9154]

Wow, the way you explain everything. I want to watch other videos even if I think I know about the subject just to know how you see things. Thanks!

[@bassjane1732]

I saw some explanation of teh Pultec, but Mike explains it perfect and some information are really new to me. Thanks 1000 times Mike

[@13Skribbles]

One of the great things about logic Pro is the inclusion of two body pultec eq I was getting ready to upload my newest song last night and I always use a Ptech on my mix bus specifically enhanced mix setting and on my final master chain give it the master silkiness But I also threw it on my leads auxiliary shack to smooth out and glue together some of the higher end transient associated with the distortion in the synthesizer 😘 And man did it make it all sound so much better

[@SConway-v4x]

Thanks for the reminder Mike! I've been meaning to start messing with this EQ for some time and keep forgetting about it once I get elbows deep into a mix, ha! Very informative

[@CreativeSauce]

I know the feeling. The reality is though (despite the length of the video), this is the kind of plugin you quickly use for a few seconds, and then move on.

[@joebleez]

Thanks again for another detailed explanation for us audio heads! Very good job Sir!!

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank YOU for watching :)

[@Ray-um3if]

Thanks for this Mike, I have always been baffled by this one.

[@CreativeSauce]

My pleasure man - thanks for watching!

[@EstnbullBeats]

Yes indeed. it was an eye opener. can you please do one on the Pultec compressor? it would be great to see whats under the hood. cheers to more creative sauce

[@SteveDangBeats]

I love this plugin for attenuating the low end out of vocals. Super smooth and easy to get a good balance. Nice Vid!

[@phildimopoulos6010]

Softube makes a nice classic channel where they have the two Pultec equalizers + opto compressor and you can switch between EQ before/after compression. Not too CPU intensive and just sounds soo nice running vocals or whatever through it. I know crunchy electric guitars don't need compression most of the time but I even use it on them sometimes and it just brings another element of tone to them that I love. Great vid btw, nice to know exactly what the bands are doing now!

[@SHOCMUSIC]

The manual telling you to not boost and cut at the same time is such a funny easater egg

[@michaelbonanno7476]

Thank you for going so much in depth with Pultecs!

[@thenextinsect]

I have a 500 series chassis and few modules being shipped to me now, a Pultec EQP-500X among them. The timing of this video couldn't be better, for me. Liked, Subscribed, and saved. Good explanation. Thanks!

[@nedim_guitar]

This is very helpful! Easy to understand, easy go follow, and the knowledge could be applied to other EQ's as well, for example, not being shy to really separate the low end instruments from the guitar, which can take up very little room in the low end, and much more in the high end.

[@pierrecarter3090]

And I hope you too are well, Mike. And thanks for the video.

[@Abihef]

That's awesome news. I bought the universal audio version of plugins like this and la2a because they did sound best to me out of all options so I'm very happy to hear that they do not only sound vastly better but also closest to the real thing.

[@rhythmace1]

This is a very aptly timed video as Bitwig have just released a stock plugin component-modelled on the EQP-1 ("Sculpt") as part of Bitwig Studio 5.2. I can't say how closely it sounds like the hardware but it has all the right controls (arranged in a much more logical way, too). I had been wondering how on earth you could boost and cut the same band at the same time so this is great to find out, but I'll be trying out that analyser on it to see exactly what's going on and whether the curves look like this so thanks for the tip. As with the Distressor video, this is a top quality explainer and demonstration. It's almost like you're reading my mind as I'm watching it to find out what my next question is going to be and then immediately answering it - very satisfying to learn from!

[@peterbarker6641]

I've always liked the EQP-1A on hard rock or metal rhythm guitar. Boosting 100 hz to get the power/air moving part of the signal and then boosting 3K or 4K to get the edge out of the guitar. I will usually put a hi pass filter after the pultec to get rid of any mud build up in the sub sonic region. 12db per octave at about 100 hz or so. Also try atten control if the guitar is a little to sizzling or us 6db per octave low pass on the follow up eq. I do agree the UAD version of the plug in is great!

[@randymeinderts2489]

finally a good, well researched in dept review/tutorial! I use UAD a lot (in fact, i am a certified Luna expert) but this i great! well done and consider me a happy subscriber!

[@tonye9045]

Picked up the AUDIOSCAPE hardware version recently, looking forward to trying some of these. Thanks

[@dennyjagard7595]

Thank you for the quick and effective explanation of Pultec, and also today I watched your distressor clip. Very useful, as I have decades of live sound experience, but I never really understood these units, as they were more recording studio tricks. Finally I have a clear grasp of what's really happening behind the scenes with these units, especially with the interaction of different parameter changes. Nice!

[@rdxkiru7]

Glad I found this channel, very well explained 👍🏼

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank you!

[@henryhurrass9121]

Very cool video, Mike! Thank you very much. I must agree with you that the price of the "real deal" hardware is way over budget for most, including me. I do understand through the rumor mill that the UA engineers did a phenomenal job replicating the original Pultec curves in their plug in version. I don't own the VST, but I did build a pair of retro-style Pultecs from mostly old parts like Spectrasonics 101 preamp cards, UTC oem xfmrs, good caps and hand wound inductors. Got the Q on the inductors where I liked them. Even found some original "telephone switches" surplus for the in/out bypass switch. The switch adds the magic touch as it is silky smooth to operate.To answer you question on using the actual hardware, I like to use them on a master side chain buss. I found that on certain programming the whole track just wakes up with sparkle and personality when blended with the original to my liking. Those are the wow moments. On a master buss I've been able to make the vocals more clear and add a bit more punch on the low end at the same time. The boost/cut trick works really well on kick drums. Thanks again for the refresher coarse , Mike. I'm going to try the Pultec/LA-2A/Pultec trick for sure. Presently I like to record vocals through a tube preamp followed by an LA-2A compressor then into the interface.Maybe I'll try the mic pre into the above trick. Sounds like fun. Take care! Regards, Hank

[@paulross2221]

Great Video, Clear explanation. I have the UAD Pultec and have tried it but now I understand it better will be using this a lot more

[@CreativeSauce]

Awesome Paul - good to hear :)

[@larrysentelle1244]

We use the UAD plugin at our studio. I find, the plugin does a respectable job of emulating the Pultec. Having used the hardware, imho the difference is the transformers. The hardware transformer saturation is gorgeous. And then, there is that simple "everything you put through this thing sounds better" thing! While the UAD plugin is really good, the real thing is fantastic. As clones go, Audio-Scape makes a hand-soldered clone which has that "magic." ( a little over 1K US). We do have one of their LA2A clones, 3 rack spaces NOS tubes (they always use NOS tubes fin all of their clones). Fantastic sounding gear.

[@maximmiernik]

Man, the Vocal Tricjk is just mind blowing :D

[@joewilmot]

You are a fantastic presenter. I came here to learn the Pultec a little better and left knowing the LA2A a little better (I have better ears than I have patience for manuals). If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, I would say exaggerate the boosts and cuts even more so they are a bit easier to discern. Thank you!!!!

[@CreativeSauce]

Thanks Joe, much appreciated.

[@ThisMichaelBrown]

Use it on my master buss, always...thanks for the vid! Cleared up a few things 👍

[@leftofcenter4]

Thanks my friend, I have the UAD pultec plugs but I also bought a Tegeler EQP-1 unit which is stereo

[@danepaulstewart8464]

Thanks Mike! You make some of the most helpful videos out here!!

[@DamnTheManInc]

This is Greasy Kid's Stuff, mix 12, ground zero, with the melody guitars up .3, bass up .4, kick down .5, overheads up .4, less gate on the snare and 3db added at 10k on the Pultec to the rhythm guitars... We're rolling...

[@guitarz99]

Pultec on the master bus is magic, a tiny bit of low boost with the same amount of attenuation and some high end

[@gina803]

Thanks so much for making this video. It's very helpful and you explain/show everything in a very user-friendly manner. Thanks again!

[@Trioptic3D]

Ive used the UAD plugin version a few times in college. I have it home but i usually use fabfilter now. I need to revisit the pultec

[@boris_ev]

Thanks Mike, you're the best, really learned from this. One little thing though - would be cool if you'd taken a bit of extra time to level match the A/B vocal examples at the end, so one could really hear just what the parallel chain is doing. ❤

[@jeffbridges6110]

Pultecs are useful and powerful. You've done a great job of explaining it. LMAO , I remember the 1st time I tried to use one ( I was lost). Theire are plenty good free VST versions of them out there. If anyone uses Reaper and Tukan plugins , you're good to go. Analog Obsession and Ignite amps make good versions too. Ignite Amp has hi/lo pass filters I believe (been awhile sice I used theirs). They are great for adding punchy bass and airy clarity to anything. I don't really like them on vox. But individual drums , Bass Gtr and Rythm GTR , synths, very useful. I usually add hi lo pass filters after a pultec if needed. Great video.

[@pedroleal7118]

Well, I guess I was that rebel who didn't read the manual (which is not always the best idea, R.T.F.M.!). I had an issue with the low frequencies in a mix, and happened to do both (boost & attenuate, trial & error, by ear). For some reason or pure luck, it solved the problem, and brought something nice to the mix! Thank you for clarifying! Was quiet astonished at the behaviour of the plug-in! But was aware of the weird interaction! ps sorry for my bad English!

[@sonicpalacevideos]

Great tutorial on the Pultec. I'm gonna try that on a kick drum %100, especially for a song that needs a warm punchy kick and not a sculpted one.

[@u_mrmcmisdemeanor]

Great video. I appreciate the tips and history of the hardware Mike. Thank you for sharing this information, very informative and useful!

[@TheGigazaga]

Excellent analysis of the Pultec

[@CreativeSauce]

Thank you :)

[@The-Skyking]

The EQP is one of my favorites. Especially on busses and the master bus. I have the Tegeler stereo EQP that I sum my mixes through and it's just that magic that only a EQP can offer. I would love to hear your comparison between the real EQP and the plugin, also.

[@CreativeSauce]

Thanks, I'll look into that :)

[@raymondspagnuolo8222]

Hi Mike. I'm well and hope you are too. Love the tutorial and the song. Is it yours?

[@mimojapan]

Thanks for sharing! Not nitpicking but the narration at 6:12 mentions "six" kHz but probably means 16 kHz. That aside, I loved that vocal "trick" with two Pultecs sandwiching a compressor 💗

[@CreativeSauce]

Oops - yes!

[@normjones6916]

Thanks so much for this clarification of what the knobs do, very powerful :)

[@xlsxmusic]

Thanks Mike, im just trying to get my head around the vocal trick. I can understand that the EQ before and after will make a difference, but im trying to understand the logic of the cuts before compression.

[@CreativeSauce]

Sorry, on the move here man, but just quickly, the first EQ + the compressor HP filter are combining to make sure the compressor only reacts to mid/high frequencies. If you don't use the HP filter on the compressor, you may end up with artefacts. The final eq is kinda attempting to reset the balance of frequencies. Although I think it's often still nice to leave some hughs there.

[@xlsxmusic]

@@CreativeSauce cool, I think I get that now. Slate Digital actually just released a Pultec model a few months ago so I'll definitely give it a go. 👍🏻

[@DerekPower]

This is similar to emphasis/deemphasis where you boost or cut a frequency range, then alter (by compression usually), and then compensate by doing the equal opposite.

[@xlsxmusic]

@@DerekPower thanks Derek. It's not a technique I've seen before so I'm definitely going to look into it more. I'm always learning at this point in the journey. 🙂

[@DerekPower]

@@xlsxmusic Working with audio is a journey. Enjoy it =]

[@PaulSpaccavento]

Great tutorial thanks for such an articulate demonstration!!

[@laudaaren6293]

Thanks for this video Sir...Now I understand this plug... very nice

[@CreativeSauce]

Awesome :) Thank you.

[@shan5445]

There was a UAD deal going around so I invested, I use it works well very subtle. Adds a difference to the mix.

[@andremoreira2098]

Great video and excellent explanation! Thank you so much for your service sir!!

[@OFFICIALSirensCry]

Great explanation! Thank you for that! I`ve been using the UA Pultec EQ Plugin on my distorted rhythmn guitars for a while now and while I try not to post-edit too much of the sound, I find that the Pultec EQ makes the gutars sit nicely in the mix: Thank you for the tip about the master bus and the harmonic distortion. I will give it a shot!

[@prodCarab]

Best explanaiton of this processor I've ever seen 👏

[@adwind3055]

Thanks for this great video. These kind of videos are so valuable. I have been using the Pultec EQ (UAD version) for quite a while and wouldn't want to do without. But you really need to know what it is doing, otherwise the result is a kind of co-incidence. I played with the Plugin-Doctor (instead of the Bertom Audio analyser) and noticed the huge difference between a few Pultec emulations. Where Waves Puigtec is close the UAD one, the graphs for the Black Rooster version look quite different and so is the audio result.

[@tkelong3569]

The UA Pultec along with the Pro-Q3 are my Top 2. Split EQ is quickly making its way to 3 spot.

[@mikosoft]

I've never seen the actual response of the PUltec but I used a free version of Pultec on drums (on individual pieces and the whole track too). It makes for an interesting way of shaping the drum sound.

[@gertmostert1323]

I also like the URS version. Don't know if you still get them. My 32 bit copy still works fine in 64 bit Cakewalk.

[@robertwolf2761]

such a clean overview! So nice, thank you!

[@jorisguitars]

Perfect video, thank you sir.

[@thiagoborges892]

Thank God we have better tech today!! Long life to PCs and plugins !! Or just better modern pieces of hardware!!

[@bhp72]

Mike, thx for a great video. Super informative.

[@오정재-b3t]

Your explanation is the most It's easy to understand. It's accurate Thank you. If you have a chance next time, please explain UAD Galuxy tape echo Oh, by the way... I subscribed it. Haha

[@RocknRollkat]

Excellent presentation Mike, thank you ! Bill P.

[@NoiseBoulderRecords]

The funnier thing is that all this information is literally in the Plugin Emulations' Manuals

[@unlimitedent]

this vid has some ELITE info

[@tomaurnhammer7597]

Great video for the use of a great tool. Subscribed.

[@CreativeSauce]

Thanks Tom :)

[@4767Seeker]

Nice one,... thank you very much 👍🏼👍🏼

[@jamesbastani4295]

Now why couldn’t have someone else explained this before? 😂 Thank you! Does it run natively in Logic Pro, or does it need UAD hardware such as an Apollo?

[@JJOhns-fy4tl]

That was really helpful. Thanks a lot!

[@studiosmedjan]

Thanks for a really explanatory video. The analyser was very helpful to see how different knobs interact with one another. The Schoeps trick for parallel compression (using these three instances/order of the plugins) was new to me. I love the smoothness and soft clarity it brings.

[@CreativeSauce]

Thanks for the kind comment, I'm glad you enjoyed. Yup, a trick worth trying for sure.

[@PatFleck]

I've always used it n vocals with the exact same settings as you have shown.

[@CreativeSauce]

Yep, it's a classic :)

[@joaovictorsalles]

Brazil, here bro!❤😊

[@fookoo567]

Thank you Mike! Excellent Job!

[@NoahSturis]

Just stumbled across your channel, and happy I did. Such a great video, thanks! May I suggest that you find a way to attenuate your keyboard click, as it's a bit distracting when demoing the before/after. But instant sub from me :)

[@Gabrielicus]

Thanks! Another Masterclass 🤗🎵🎶

[@bobfeltman9508]

There are some pretty good hardware knockoffs...I've been using the Warm Audio EQP-WA Tube EQ's. I also like the Bettermaker plugin that's on Plugin Alliance (although it is quite distinct from a Pultec its adds great mojo along with added features, especially in the low end).

[@nonduality8915]

Analog Obsession has a great Pultec that’s free/donation-based called Rare

[@TerenceKearns]

probably the most expensive pultec plugin too. I think as long as you can get the results you want, faithfulness to the original unit is not that important. An interesting video to check out is entitled "4 FREE PULTEC EQ Vst Plugins Comparison - Ignite Amps Vs Analog Obsession Vs Sonimus Vs Kiive Audio"