Equalizer VS Gullfoss VS soothe2 VS smart:EQ 3

Wavesfactory Equalizer: www.wavesfactory.com/audio-pl...
oeksound soothe2: oeksound.com/plugins/soothe2/
Soundtheory Gullfoss: www.soundtheory.com/home
Sonible smart:EQ 3: www.sonible.com/smarteq3/
My Website: markusjunnikkala.com/
TL;DR: They're all amazing. Just different tools, doing things differently, with a lot of overlap, but uniqueness as well. I'd say get them all if possible, but if not, hopefully this helps choose which one is for you right now. Different audio sources cater each differently, so this is by no means an end all be all video on the matter, nor is it a 'fair' comparison at all times. I mainly use Soothe2 to fix problematic audio, so it doesn't shine here as the sources are quite polished. It can do many things beyond fixing, but I'm less versed in using it that way.
I get a bit repetitive and inarticulate at times on this one, hopefully the timestamps help you find what you're looking for faster.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
DRUMS
14:36 soothe2 (not a great example...)
18:18 smart:EQ3
21:18 Gullfoss
30:30 Equalizer
37:05 A/B/C/D (also some level balancing)
PIANO
45:11 Intro
46:54 soothe2
53:49 smart:EQ 3
57:30 Gullfoss
01:00:45 Equalizer
01:06:22 A/B/C/D
STRINGS
01:12:44 Intro
01:13:37 soothe2
01:17:47 smart:EQ 3
01:20:18 Gullfoss
01:22:27 Equalizer
01:26:25 A/B/C/D
ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR
01:31:16 Intro
01:32:30 soothe2
01:34:10 smart:EQ 3
01:37:17 Gullfoss
01:39:00 Equalizer
01:43:06 A/B/C/D
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
01:47:29 Intro
01:48:05 soothe2
01:51:20 smart:EQ 3
01:53:17 Gullfoss
01:54:40 Equalizer
01:57:08 A/B/C/D
02:06:12 (very incoherent and tired) Ending, thoughts, conclusions
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[@AnthonyVolpe]

You know Markus is having a problem deciding when he doesn’t bother even attempting to show his biceps in the thumbnail picture 😂😂😂

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

this is the true metric

[@Eneroscu]

Thanks for sharing your experience 😉

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Thanks for watching! 💪🏻

[@peteconz]

Fun to watch the experimentation. Suprised you didn't grab the high end handle (white dot) on Smart:EQ to roll off the high end processing your didn't care for, similar to your roll of with Equalizer. (I think they all have that filter for limiting processing at low and high end, although I have tried them all)

[@GadgetyMV]

I really like 1. How long you spent going through the various tools 2. The examples, explanations and comparisons. 3. Showing how hard it may be to make a choice, and the contextuality of the tools. To make it more complex, there's Voxengo TEOTE, and now Izotope has launched the new 256 band Clarity module as part of Ozone 11. It 's designed to optimize spectral power through spectral shaping; in addition to controlling the amount, the frequency spectrum effected, attack, and release, it adds what iZotope labels tilt, "coloring" the clarity towards pink, white or brown noise. Ozone 11 also has the Stabilizer module which does tonal balancing and resonance suppression. These two together seem to do similar things to the tools you tested. Both also incorporate transient/sustain, and have a delta button to only hear the difference. In addition Ozone 11 also allows application of the Clarity and Stabilizer effect on only the voice, or drums or bass stems without direct access to the mix.

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Thank you! Haven't tried TEOTE, would love to. I do have the iZotope one, but haven't compared it yet. Overall I've found iZotope tools a bit edgier or sharper sounding, which in many cases is a bit too much. But contextual of course.

[@GadgetyMV]

@MarkusJunnikkala Thank you! Looking forward to more comparisons!

[@ALOISC1]

Recently tried IK Multimedia's Master Match with a generated Pink Noise wave file as the reference to add Pinks spectral balance and perceived loudness to my master track. It did sound a lot better. Gotta be MacGyver when there's not a lot of money.

[@Drfresh1402]

I have Gulfoss. Ive used just a few times. This plugin has been significantly improving my mixes since I got it.

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Gullfoss is amazing!

[@arturflor]

Should have enabled dynamics on the smart:EQ3 for a fairer comparison. In general, excellent comparison review. Well done dude!

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Good point, thank you! I still have much to learn about all of these tools. Thanks for watching!

[@atellsoundtheory8774]

Gullfoss does actually resize, but you need to set the window size in the settings dialog that shows up when you click the logo button.

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Very good to know! Thanks 🙏🏻

[@multimediasecurityconsulti4681]

Wow, that is a great effort, well done, very normative, helps a lot, thank a big lot 🙂👌👍

[@BigBoysStudios]

I use Soothe to makes things more pleasing. To my ears it takes out elements which are undermining the sonics. I use Gullfoss at the end of my chain and find it make things more realistic and lifelike. And it seems Equaliser makes it a little hyper-real and more exciting. I think I may have to buy it too! Also, I don't think I've watched one of your videos before. I like your style.

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Agreed! Thanks for watching.

[@unc1589]

Since these are the top dogs, that work better according to the different applications, BUY EM ALL! Get one every year. After 5 years…. No more EQ problems!😆

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Solid approach

[@clintlagerberg]

Good job! What are the strings you used?

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Thank you Clint! Those are Spitfire Audio Olafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions

[@clintlagerberg]

@@MarkusJunnikkala Thank you so much!

[@arturflor]

Those drums! Who played and recorded those drums? You keep mentioning "Tempo"?

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

They are from Teletone Audio Tympo. I’m using one of the premade beatmaker loops. It’s a stellar sample library. If you like it, you can use the code MARKUS to get $10 off (I don’t get a commission from this, it’s just a code to offer to my viewers)

[@bg4productionsllc]

On sale for $50 bucks, I'm on it, I love smart eq though, can I use both in tandem? I want to upgrade smart eq for $30 and pick this up as well.

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

You can use any of them together, I do all the time. They do different things. I highly recommend grabbing smart:EQ 4 👍🏻

[@va941]

Kanava tilattu. 💪💪

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Kiitos 💪🏻

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Which Monitor or TV are you utilizing, sir?

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

LG 40WP95C

[@MichaelVickerage-Composer]

Congratulations. This video is longer than Citizen Kane. Casablanca. Touch of Evil, and many other of the greatest films ever made. Just saying. Very good analysis though, thank you .👍

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

The next goal is for a video to be longer than all those combined 🎯 Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelVickerage-Composer]

@@MarkusJunnikkala I'll be in the front row

[@kostyakonstantinoff]

Try Voxengo Teote. He does the same

[@MarkusJunnikkala]

Thanks for the tip, haven’t tried that!

[@greedokenobi3855]

TEOTE and Gullfoss are really the only ones out of these that make sense comparing to Equalizer (in my opinion)