"Intelligent" EQ Shootout - Gullfoss vs SmartEQ3 vs Soothe vs Smooth Operator!

Sometimes a source is tricky and requires a lot of correction. There's a few specific products that can help with this, and I'm gonna shoot them out. The Soundtheory Gullfoss EQ, Sonible SmartEQ3, Oeksound Soothe2, and Baby Audio Smooth Operator. Let's put them to the test.

[@davelordy]

Came for the technical information, stayed for the t-shirts.

[@harrisondvargo72]

Quickly becoming one of my favorite audio channels on KZbin! Thank you for such great content for free! You're a great asset to this community! Cheers!

[@TheDonzizi]

Great comparison! I use both SmartEQ3 and Soothe2. I think they do different things. I use smart EQ3 as the very last plugin in my vocal chain because it works better for vocals that are already mixed and close to what you want. Using it on a raw vocal with lots of resonance will not get the best results IMHO. I use Soothe more like a resonance remover also close to the end of the chain. Always process your vocals manually as much as you can before bringing in 'intelligent' processors. Also remember to remove room reverb and ambience with a plugin like Goyo (now Supertone Clear) very early in processing/cleaning up.

[@normjones6916]

Thanks for taking the time to make this lesson, super informative 👍

[@paulsearles]

This was excellent, thank you! Came back to this because I was wondering whether to fork out for Bloom but I don't think I need it. I have all of the above already.

[@mrmorpheus9707]

where you arrived at the end was my thought in the beginning hearing the diff tones... bravo

[@bamvoxstudios]

This is exactly the video I needed. Thank dude.

[@kevinreddoch5214]

I personally use Smart Eq3 every mix. It's just a solid plugin all around for me because it really streamlines workflow.

[@matthewbcarter]

You're the first engineer I've heard who talked about how Smooth Operator doesn't tackle resonances very well. I completely agree (I feel like it makes distorted guitars and acoustic snares sound dead and dull) but so many reviewers were comparing it to Soothe which is arguably more useful across multiple sources. Smart EQ 3 was solid but Gulfoss did the same thing with more control IMO which was very impressive. With that said I can definitely get by with smart EQ 3 and Smooth Operator and a little bit of EQing by hand.

[@scenearchive555]

your voice really sounds very crisp and clear can we get the effects you used ?

[@Joey-rp5vg]

Thanks very much Mathew. Great video

[@BigBoysStudios]

Great video. Thanks Matt.

[@Caynug]

smart eq sounded absolutely brilliant

[@newguy6935]

Sometimes, I'll use Soothe or Gullfoss sidechained with Pink Noise or whatever slope I want to use. Really helps. I wish SmartEQ would let me do that.

[@cnz27]

​@@darkcharmrecordssame here

[@RuggedAndPrez]

Great point about time constants with Soothe

[@tonywarrior]

I really struggle mixing vocals. SmartEQ3 is the best. It gets way closer to what I want to achieve

[@marekvoosen]

For the first time I hear and saw audio material bedroom producers/mixers have to work with everyday. More of this real stuff for bedroom mixer with tips and tricks would be great, but you said it, is hard work. Would be nice to hear and see the finish work of this specific vocal. Other mixers maybe would also say, make a new recording?! Thanks

[@shaheenjm6876]

Great and didactic comunicator. Congratulations and thanks!

[@WeissAdvice]

Constructive (and ideally interactive) didactic teaching is my preferred approach. You're literally the first person to notice.

[@Arcessitor]

It's kind of weird to me how every individual change in gullfoss was right on the money (and I called the same spots), but the moment it was A/B'd it started sound really stuffy when it was on, almost telephone like lower static around 1.5k-2k. It was kind of jarring. I feel like soothe in this example gave the cleanest result to then continue on from, and I feel smooth operator gave the best tone control. Over-all did not like SmartEQs changes at all, but I've never heard that sound right on anything but acoustic drums. The compressor is a lot smarter than the EQ, in my experience.

[@Noctarilfate]

It's great to see a comparison between all of these, since their marketing is pretty confusing.

[@RedSpark_]

oh no, I have a dynamic EQ like that on a project I did yesterday 😂 These low mid resonances hurt my soul. I've spent hours cleaning them up only to realise they were masking a horrible boxy recording space so it still sounds bad.

[@elevateaudioengineering4892]

Be aware that if you you buy Gullfoss on any kind of sale you will receive a NFR license instead of a a full license. Just a little underhanded tactic that they don't like to publicize. You might want to reconsider doing business with a company that treats their customers like this. I know of ZERO other companies that operate like this.

[@gouhlgambit6296]

Damn. Thats not cool .I just installed on a new machine and realised they only offer two activations.

[@GC-nd1lp]

Arturia does not allow sale of their plugins for 6 months after buying and does not allow selling of plugins that you get as bonuses within bundles, though they do not actually mark these as NFR.

[@gouhlgambit6296]

On top of this , after deactivating glucose on both my laptop and second Mac mini, I can only use gulfoss in online mode. This is rubbish.

[@georgeolteanu4289]

I would love to see your opinion on a few of the other ones, wavesfactory equalizer, voxengo teote, TBProAudio DSEQ, melda MAutoDynamicEq, ayaic Ceilings Of Sound, izotope neutron and nectar.

[@WeissAdvice]

Omg… there’s so many plugins 😅

[@dftweedie3021]

Maybe someone brought this up ... but, how about GullFoss followed by Smart EQ3? A full sound then sculpted towards a target?

[@SG-4u]

I have all of these and they are all great. Though I wouldn’t put these in the same category. My advice for someone that doesn’t want to own them all would be to get Voxengo Teote for balance and Soothe 2 for taming.

[@chrishierro3]

WIsh you would've checked the Wavesfactory Equalizer as well, I really like how it sounds.

[@joanpeiron6080]

The same here. I bought it without thinking much, because listening to the demos I thought "this must be great". After trying it on different things I wasn't that impressed. But then, when I used it in a real mix... Wow, this thing is amazing and is able to restore badly recorded tracks like no other plugin in this video (in my opinion).

[@djvoid1]

DSEQ3 and Reso are my go to's

[@djvoid1]

Also Gullfoss and similar plugins like Teote are a different category than Soothe2, DSEQ, Smooth Operator etc. Completely different use cases IMO

[@GetSongsDone]

Dseq3 is 🔥

[@alphaomega6062]

Yep! the learning curve.

[@coldskoolbeatz]

Just curious which mic you used to record ole boy..?🤔

[@oOillogiXOo]

Thanks for everything you do on this channel! I have to admit, I can't really hear any of the differences/resonances that you mention here, much less any FFT distortion, even though I'm listening on okayish headphones. Granted, I'm still a beginner to audio, but it still feels a little discouraging. Do you have any suggestions on how to train my hearing? Thanks so much!

[@Arcessitor]

What's more important is that you hear something is "off." Hearing exactly what is off, and naming it, is more an issue of knowledge than of hearing. But it should start sounding "off," that's what you're really listening for, at least at the start.

[@WeissAdvice]

Hmmmm… should DEFINITELY be hearing those resonances, especially when the vocal is looped. What headphones are you using?

[@oOillogiXOo]

@@WeissAdvice Thanks for the reply! I listened again and realised that KZbin had auto-set itself to 480p video quality, which I somehow missed the first time I watched. Increasing that, I can now hear both resonances (especially the "pung") when the spots are looped, but I'm still hopeless at catching them when the entire audio section is played. I'm currently using Sony H900N because I'm travelling, but have access to better ones at home. Will try again when I have those.

[@oOillogiXOo]

@@Arcessitor Thanks so much for the reply! That's sort of why I posted the comment in the first place. It just doesn't sound off to me. As in, it just seems fine. As I've been trying to improve my listening, I've begun to be able to relatively easily catch things like mouth clicks or sibilances. However resonances like these still just evade me entirely.

[@MAMAvsGOD]

What would vocal chain look like if you have Waves, Fab filter, and Soothe 2, Valhalla to use anyone, thank you

[@raybeeger1529]

I have them all and I use them all, without the smooth operator, when I guess it fits. For vocals Sooth and RESO...

[@JohnMarshall-NI]

Soothe2 and RESO are my two go-to plugins for dealing with problematic frequencies. I really like how surgical I can get with RESO. Wavesfactory Equalizer is also a fantastic newer one, it beats Gullfoss, Smooth Operator, and TEOTE for me. I love smart:EQ3, but it destroys the performance in Cubase for me, so I have had to abandon it.

[@marcoshehata8968]

dope shirt!

[@funkeety]

what if you put the gullfoss, and then smart eq3?

[@II-jv9yx]

Thanks for the vid - the best one is Voxengo TEOTE.

[@starshiptexas]

You seem to be pointing out things that my ears haven't adapted to yet like EQ phase shift, comb filtering, FFT grain etc. But I swear that smarteq3 sounds a lot like a "crappy telephone" filter to me.

[@sirwanmusic]

Reso is the best one among them , for reducing annoying tones.

[@DICARLOPRODUCTIONS]

Without getting surgical, I thought Smooth Operator was the best!!! Maybe use Smart EQ together with Smooth Operator?! Yeah, I was going to say, since they are all separate tracks, you could use different ones on different tracks.

[@WeissAdvice]

I think any of them provide a decent starting point. Used in conjunction with some destructive editing/ static eq

[@cameron494]

you mention FFT artifacts a few times - can anybody help me understand what that means?

[@Gasparzinho311]

Hey man, nice video. You forgot one of the best of this category. Melda Mspactrum Dynamics. U need to search about this one. Peace ✌️

[@BigBoysStudios]

Personally I like to use Gullfoss on stuff I've already worked up. I find if I use it with a light touch, it makes things feel a little more "real", by which I mean they can feel more like the instrument as opposed to a recording of the instrument. It doesn't always work and I don't always use it, but sometimes it adds a little magic. But find works a lot less often on vocals. Perhaps for the reason you state, that it's trying to make the thing bigger.

[@WeissAdvice]

Ill probably do another video that features it more specifically. Cause I like it on busses/mixbus

[@coldskoolbeatz]

@@WeissAdviceditto. You can definitely clear things up and add polish to the mixbus.

[@dronbana]

For me, the combination of reso followed by waves factory equaliser works great.

[@teddym2808]

I didn't like smart EQ at all. There was this sort of mid frequency nasal thing added that was quite obnoxious and unpleasant and I am quite surprised you didn't pick it up. I am only in my bedroom listening on average monitors (MS40's) and I heard it clearly. In my studio room with my ADAM setup I presume it would be far more pronounced. Didn't like Gulfoss much either for this use but I do like Gulfoss in moderation on certain sources. I think one I am really keeping an eye out on is the Wavesfactory equaliser. It's intuitive and sensical. Going to try the demo soon. Soothe 2 is ok for doing what it's made for, reducing resonance harshness. I'd never use it for anything else. It seems for this case that I honestly believe I'd have had a better result with a good active EQ or multiband comp and worked it out myself. Probably fab filter Pro-MB or maybe smart EQ with pro MB after it to notch out that nasal sound.

[@adirsab]

can you review equalizer by wavesfactory?

[@WeissAdvice]

I guess I have to. Seems to be coming up a lot.

[@adirsab]

@@WeissAdvice Im not sure what is does and if its really useful for mixing or just a gimmick

[@davelordy]

Here's my one observation / weirdness report. So you place Sonible true:balance on your output, set it to a suitable setting (say 'pop') . . . it tells you the bass is far too loud and your mids are far too low . . . ok so far. So you insert a smart:EQ right before true:balance, set it to the same setting ('pop'), have it listen to the same section of music you used for true:balance . . . now what would you expect ? You would - logically - expect smart:EQ to see the same issues true:balance sees, and roll off or dip the lows and bring up the mids . . . yet often it does the opposite ! It will often bring the lows up and further dips the mids . . . doesn't make much sense to me !?

[@WeissAdvice]

I don’t like true balance for the genres. I like true level a lot though for comparing to similar material

[@phadrus]

That’s disheartening.

[@davelordy]

@@phadrus It's much improved in SmartEQ4 ! Now it seems to make more sense when used with true:balance. Try out the demo.

[@phadrus]

@@davelordy will do, thanks!

[@talktokale]

Great video!! For the Gulfoss, I just feel that it kills transients too much. I try putting it on full mixes and it always ends up getting removed. I could hear it in this example as well. And wow that Destructive Edit mode is great, need to adopt a workflow like that in Reaper, currently just doing loads of automation.

[@Pummelfay]

The gullfoss live version doesnt do it, also u can use a transient designer in the sidechain to make it react differently

[@levondarratt787]

you need to leaern how to use it - use the MASTER version. Levels above Soothe and Smart EQ tools - as this is not what it is. You need to dial in Recover and Tame - that's where the magic happens. It's not a resonance suppressor. Common mistake.

[@talktokale]

@@levondarratt787 that applies in no way to what i was talking about, and yes I have the master version

[@ataukazamana]

Bosssssss!!!!

[@jon0830]

you missed Voxengo TEOTE... best one of them all

[@vadimmartynyuk]

Worst one

[@lyomon9981]

dope

[@ErnestPaulRavi]

RESO by Mastering The Mix | DSEQ3 by TBProAudio | MSpectralDynamics by Melda

[@MrMelodyCold]

you had should use a snare, those frequencies are miningless

[@johnmcvicker6728]

And another freebie is Vastus.

[@nukenoly8751]

Sonible is the best

[@yoyoyayu]

"Hehehehe hehehehe he... Help"

[@hupie1961]

Nice shootout Mathew but I disagree on this one. To my ears Soothe 2 gives a much better starting point to get to a much better end result. Smart EQ and Gullfoss sound too unnatural.... (again to my ears... so no offense)

[@Arcessitor]

Having just watched the video and making my own comment, I'm actually completely in agreement here. Best tone control smooth operator, cleanest result to continue from soothe. SmartEQ just sounds wrong to me, Gulfoss sounds stuffy somehow, but I think a second EQ could fix that.

[@WeissAdvice]

Definitely not offended. My assessment is not always going to be correct to your ear or even correct at all 😅

[@marco_rigoni_]

Additional takeaways from this video: 1. Use a good microphone, inside a decent room 2. Don't jump around while you are recording

[@samphelps856]

Thank you

[@mainsailsound983]

Rap vocal is really the worst kind of material on which to judge the merits of these plugins.