Smart:EQ3 - this is AMAZING! (review + full mixing tutorial)

Hello, Internet inhabitants!
I knew I'm gonna give it a go right away - SmartEQ:3 by Sonible is out and version 2 was an amazing plugin already. See what's under the hood, because for me it's a pure WOW...
0:00 Intro
1:49 Session insight
3:05 Smart:EQ3 on vocals
5:07 Smart:EQ3 on drums
5:29 Smart:EQ3 on bass
6:11 Smart:EQ3 on keys
8:06 Dry vs Smart:EQ3
9:52 Dynamic EQ
11:06 Dry vs SmartEQ:3 dynamic
11:59 Group mixing
13:36 Dry vs SmartEQ:3 dynamic + group mixing
14:18 Summing the thingz up
16:45 Surprise!

[@FoliaSound]

Okie dokie, let's discuss again! What do you think: are machine learning tools gonna replace some mixing duties for real? Technical/surgical EQ-ing, basic compression or panning? Let me know in the comments!

[@ctatrains]

Replace, no. Supplement, yes. Depends on your level of trust that it can do a better job than you. For me, SmartEQ is designed to co-exist with my own mixing not replace it. I mix the cue to the best my ears can hear first. Then ideally, SmartEQ, which is designed to be more technical than I am, will tweak it without tweaking me out of my own mix but instead make technical suggestions to improve on it. I see no reason whatsoever to be threatened by smart plugins. The biggest threat is being lazy.

[@mrnelsonius5631]

They’ll never be able to replace a human being behind the wheel, because so many mix decisions are completely subjective. It’s why you can send stems to two different professional mix engineers and get very different results. An example: song has two synth bass layers, one you like the low end from and the other you like the upper midrange character. So you EQ them accordingly, one for sub bass one for character. A machine can only ever tell “this track looks like a bassline, so does this one”. There’s countless choices like this in a mix that are personal and human. But AI can certainly help automate certain tedious techniques. Soothe for example makes quick work of stuff that can be a pain manually

[@FoliaSound]

110% agreed on my side, thanks!

[@FoliaSound]

I feel exactly the same way. Cheers!

[@joechapman8208]

Yeah, I've never seen a problem with this kind of thing. We don't frown on engineers doing preparatory work for producers, and this kind of AI is the same kind of help in my view. I can see this being a great time-saver to kick things off, and then as a producer you're freed up to use other EQs for further aesthetic changes as you please. The only thing that could possibly bother me would be if it made music worse: say, if a producer created a totally static mix with nothing but Learn, rather than using the time saved to devote more attention to automation.

[@eren3390]

I have the feeling that your channel will be really big if you continue with these crazy videos!!! Keep it up man

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, hope to see that one day, too :) I'm just remaining myself, this is the most important thing for me, to keep it real, natural and authentic. If it goes big, I'm fine, but if It remains small, I'm good too, I enjoy your company already :D

[@bigman72511]

That's a sign of pure passion and delight for music. I'll trust him over any celebrated producer or engineer.

[@BukanIbuMu]

I love your energy. Great video. Keep it up!

[@techneek100]

... :) very pleasant Updates & Vocals, Voices and Smarties . Thank You! Very interesting Thoughts in Reviews...

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, new algos are surely a strong poing of this EQ. Thanks, Evgeniy!

[@westonthefoster]

Just bought this today. It's great, even if you know how to mix it helps. Gives you another option. Great demonstration video..

[@NikolausBrocke]

Nice review! I immediately subscribed. I hope to hear more competent reviews of interessant plugins.

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you, Nicolaus, that's exactly what's going to happen! :)

[@homerungus]

This is a very good review, and I watch a crap load of reviews. Well done. 👌

[@FoliaSound]

Veeeery good to hear, sir, thanks!

[@JunkyardSam]

Great review/demo. SmartEQ really is incredible. First time viewer, just subscribed!

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, happy to see you here! :)

[@stu-po]

One Great Review! And entertaining!

[@RexitHD]

love your energy man

[@FoliaSound]

Thx, man!

[@BayanChacra]

about the bx_limiter, I was following the answers and comments on the facebook page, most of them are Fanboys, they defend the product blindly ... your video was nice, and straight to the point. You were right, the plugin wasn't interesting to me as well, comparing it to other limiters, even though I am a huge fan of PA, but I didn't like the way they replied and reacted to your post there. I just upgraded today to Smart EQ 3, and man this plugin is getting smarter LOL. I just love it, huge improvement from version 1. this plugin is always on my tracks, even when I don't end up using it, it gives me a nice comparison of my perspective and way I EQed, and the AI way. I like your videos, and the way you address your topics and reviews, I like the vibes, and the editing. Keep up the good work, and hopefully this channel will be big. I am a fan already. Cheers

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks a lot, man, sooo god to hear that! Cya soon!

[@matrixate]

I have....just about every major plugin for mixing and mastering. SEQ2 was great but EQ3 is a whole other level of effectiveness. Sonible really has something spectacular here. By the way, Neutron Sculptor has its effective use. I agree that Neutron was not as accurate but it was meant more for someone that already knows how to mix. It gave you a very basic starting point. It is good for learning but this....is something else, and far more accurate. Lastly, Gullfoss and TEOTE also have there place...neither is better...they both have proven to work well in different tracks. I really like your presentation. To the point and well-edited. You earned a sub.

[@audioprotaro1338]

good review. good youtube production. lots of reviews on youtube are annoying, but i like this style.

[@ottam]

I tried it and loved it. I like making music, but I don't love mixing. This is such a time saver for me. Nice job on the review!

[@FoliaSound]

Good to know. Thanks!

[@MrTroposphere]

Insight express, love it, rock on with these kl reviews (SUB'd)

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you, sir!

[@angelogen8607]

Paul, i totally love your reviews. I do mostly voiceovers and trust me you have been the man that made me produce something that people consider professional. What settings you think would work best for a normal voice over ? Thanks a million

[@FoliaSound]

Whoah, thanks, man, this is the biggest compliment I can get! As for "normal" setting, there are no golden rules, but generally: don't make it too bright, don't compress it too much. Set the ratio like 3:1 and cut 3-4 dB max, don't push the limiter too hard, max 3 dB of cuts again. Good luck!

[@DigiMixAudio]

Great video and comparison; Thanks!

[@FoliaSound]

Thank you too, hope to see you soon!

[@ryde2012]

Love your energy so I’m subscribing

[@FoliaSound]

Thaaanks! :D

[@Robert_Babicz]

Very nice review, I had the same feeling on this one. 👍

[@FoliaSound]

Rob Acid?! Hi, man, so good to see you here! Subscribe so I put it in my cv xD Cheers!

[@Robert_Babicz]

@@FoliaSound i am one of your follower ;)

[@FoliaSound]

Niiice, cya soon!

[@jerryg7491]

In a world of product hype and market driven reviews your honesty is refreshing-'so shines a good deed in a weary world' Willie Wonka

[@FoliaSound]

THANK YOU, SIR! Yes, this is absolutely my approach - I'm excited about quality driven products with good, hard working teams behind them, but I'm against aggressive marketing and selling/recommending everything what's there. I'm not an automatic reseller of software/hardware stuff for companies. As a pro and as a YT active guy I believe that this is what I should do: provide people with REAL knowledge, REAL reviews and REAL opinions. This is how I can contribute, even if we disagree sometimes. Anything else would be: 1) harmful to you, 2) untruthful and nasty, 3) boring and not fun :D

[@who_is_dis]

10:31 was my reaction too 😂 I was surprised at how good the dynamic function was.

[@julianantoniadis8182]

So much appreciate your reviews!!! Thank you for your entusiastic and positive approach. Could you please advice, make a comparison review of compatitor companies like: Gullfoss vs SmartEQ3 vs Soothe vs Smooth Operator! What would be your choice in 2023 ?

[@FoliaSound]

Hey, Julian! These tools are absolutely different and they do different stuff. I can make a video about them being different, but not comparing them.

[@THAMNOS]

I noticed your location (the one above the video title) half-way through the video. Warszawa. Byłem mega zdziwiony bo kompletnie nie słyszałem u Ciebie polskiego akcentu :D Kupiłem wczoraj paczkę pluginów Sonible - to jest normalnie jakaś magia!

[@FoliaSound]

Siemanooo! Dzięks, same komplementy :D Do szybkiego!

[@THAMNOS]

@@FoliaSound Haha! Pozdrawiam! :)

[@Igor999007]

I find that the result you got with SmartEQ is somewhere in the middle between what came out in manual mode and Neutron. The compressor seemed to get extra noise or something that you can't hear in manual.

[@davidkeller8084]

YEA THIS IS IT! 30 Seconds and I was blown away.

[@FoliaSound]

Ęeexactly, my friend! Thanks, cya soon!

[@violarulez]

i enjoy both analog emulations and the newer smart plugins such as sonible and gulfoss. Even if the emulations aren't fully accurate, they often give a characteristic sound when necessary, that I can't get in the more transparent digital plugins. just because i dont have my own string orchestra doesn't mean ill stop trying to use those types of sounds. and in fact it gives a better result to use a kontakt library than record my own violin, viola, or piano in many cases. i know it's not exactly the same concept but still. i somewhat think the plugin market *in general* is oversaturated. cheers

[@EntireHistory]

Which one do you like best for vocals?

[@robertjason6885]

You enthusiasm is "catching." As a "vocal forward" producer, I appreciate that you demonstrated the software on the vocal first.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man! Hope to hear from you soon :)

[@xeximaxi]

zajebiscie wariacki kanał ta moc i energia i przekaz. ja chce wiecej

[@captainfuture791]

Great Vid! Does it also make trackspacer superfluous?

[@mrnelsonius5631]

I’ve been on the fence about buying this and this video makes me want to again haha. It sounds great in all the demos, most of the time I like the choices it makes. Definitely better than Neutron, which has some great sounding modules but completely failed for me with it’s “smart” features. This one is thoughtfully designed, it makes suggestions but gives you full easy control over tailoring it yourself. That seems like the future to me :)

[@janjahrademusic]

haha bro rocking to the artist maddd cobra vocals .. dancehall artist ..good stuff and review..🔥

[@caioteixeira1541]

Ty for this video. I was really on the fence on this one. But let me ask you something here. Can you trigger a dynamic band using a sidechain signal using this EQ?

[@FoliaSound]

Not really, as this is an intelligent EQ trying to fix the general tone of the source. If I get you right, you should try Trackspacer and Soothe 2 for dynamic EQ sidechaining!

[@caioteixeira1541]

@@FoliaSound Sure i know it is not the "main" point of the eq to be able to do so, but i was wondering if it could you know =) Thanks for info man.

[@ctnicetune141]

Great video. But why do you hit record then select the algorithm? Shouldn’t this be the other way around? Seems like this would confuse the software. ?

[@FoliaSound]

You can do it like this, too. It learns the material, the you can switch between algos on the learned material :)

[@osyp0]

Świetny filmik, świetny plugin. Niestety drogi. Trzeba poczekać na Black Friday tudzież Cyber Monday. Pozdrawiam.

[@ophrys9123]

Group mixing is Incredible

[@ashtviilon529]

yeah, I got it yesterday and it's like my new girlfriend, and I already have one!! hahaha!

[@josefribis]

Thank you Paul, do you speak german. I´m Austrian and i love Studio one from Presonus. Is this smart EQ3 better than the pro EQ from Preonus. Could you give me a little help. Thank you Josef from the highest mountains of Austria👍

[@FoliaSound]

Ah, I know some great people from Styria, Josef! Yet I'm sorry, I don't really speak any Austrian nor German :(

[@tomsidback]

Nice tool for songwriters who don't care about tweaking eq frequencies. Just record and release basically, after some minor adjustments.

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, totally! Or when you write for a tv ad and need to send a quick premix to the client!

[@randyranson84]

It would be nice once it's set up, that it would constantly adjust on its own to follow up.

[@johnnyvegas2015]

Great channel, pozdrowienia z Kanady...cheers

[@FoliaSound]

Whoah! Pozdro z Polski, cześć! :D

[@LD-eo8vc]

It is a bit funny when you say lets go digital at the end and you have real analog synth behind you (which sound I really love) ;) but really good review and tutorial of this useful tool !

[@FoliaSound]

Yea, I mean: let's use digital to do digital thingz, ya know! Let's stop emulating analogs so much and maybe let's go analog if we need analog? :) So your thinking and my thinking are probably the same! :)

[@LD-eo8vc]

@@FoliaSound You know - I am just joking ;) I am sure that those analogs synths are there not just for fun ;)

[@FoliaSound]

@@LD-eo8vc , they do work under heavy duty, trube, but the're always fun, too xD

[@user-zp2yb9xd9v]

Can you please do a review/comparison of Smart EQ3 versus Izotope Neutron 4. .

[@FoliaSound]

Nice idea, thanks! I'll wait for nen version and I'll give it a go :)

[@hamm24]

I heard it, sounds rrrrreeeeaaaaaaaallllyy fucking good!

[@FoliaSound]

Right? We're living in times of amazing technology!

[@hamm24]

@@FoliaSound Yes! Thanks for your video, I may have never found this plugin! Keep being yourself its refreshing and needed in the community!

[@dworuch1]

Hi! What's the song in the video? :) great mix by the way!

[@FoliaSound]

Well, this is the song/loop I created, that's it!

[@prof90rec41]

The singer is Mad Cobra , original song: Chat So Much

[@Camille-nf9bl]

V2 always attenuates low end on drums, v3 always boosts low end. Is it just kind of presets with a randomizing function ?

[@FoliaSound]

What they do is that they create one, universal curve, but it's surely not blind adapting to anything, it definitely tries to detect what's there and how to handle it, even on basic "Universal" preset. The rest of the presets is basically "Universal" with some additional, source-dependent tweaks, but it's been made really well. Real magic happens when you first get it to work adaptively (and this is really something more than what you described) and then - create a mixing group and make a layer-dependent mix. I can dissect it logically, true, but the quality of this and the way it's built and presented to the user - this is absolutely impressive to me, man! And manual tweaks - of course, they are totally needed, what Smart:EQ3 gives you is a great STARTING POINT, a premix and I totally mention it in the vid :)

[@va941]

Ive already decided to get the sonible smart bundle....but, how about the kilohearts Carve eq?

[@FoliaSound]

Is Carve smart in any way? I thought it's just a 31 band graphic EQ and that's it...

[@va941]

@@FoliaSound dont know what you mean by "just", but i dont think that it implements any kind of machine learning or other stuff like that.

[@michaelmos7497]

Excellent Tutorial. THANK YOU! By the way: Unfortunately, my Sonible Smart EQ-3 keeps crashing. Whenever I go into Group mode on the Smart EQ-3 and want to exit (go back) to this window. So unfortunately I can't use this great EQ plugin. By the way, my DAW is Cubase Pro 12. I have a lot of VST plugins, VST synths and so on. Cubase has never crashed in this context. Never. But with the Smart EQ-3 every time. Too bad.

[@FoliaSound]

Hey, Michael, thanks! Well, that doesn't sound nice. I'd do two things: check whether you have the latest versiona of smartEQ. If so, report the bug to Sonible team, they're really helpful. I remember having a problem with spectrum displaying once, one of the updates fixed it :)

[@michaelmos7497]

@Folia Soundstudio: Thank you, I will do this. It's the best way in this case 🍀 (I have the latest version of Smart EQ-3).

[@michaelmos7497]

@@FoliaSound Ich habe gestern Fa. Sonible von der Sache mit Cubase Pro 12 > Smart EQ-3 > dessen Group-Modus berichtet und heute eine Mail erhalten, in der mir mitgeteilt wurde, "dass das Problem bereits geortet ist und in den nächsten Tagen ein Programm-Update verfügbar ist".🍀 Hammer👌, oder? 😅

[@michaelmos7497]

@@FoliaSound Yesterday I reported to Sonible about the matter with Cubase Pro 12 > Smart EQ-3 > its group mode and today I received an email telling me "that the problem has already been located and that a program will be available in the next few days update is available".🍀 Awesome👌, right? 😅

[@FoliaSound]

Whoah, this is really nice of them :)

[@sendandreturn]

I still don't get why, like Izotopes stuff, you don't use all the instances (even if they are grouped) of the instruments on the mix/master channel. I try thi, but I end up with a group called MASTER in the L1, L2,L3 layers....I don't understand where the output of all this is controled when in your video, everything was don on the vocals channel?

[@tonytemple8195]

Sample pack doesn't exist 😕 or has been removed 🙁

[@mikelo303]

They should make Smart Comp next version with similar group arrangement and automatic spectral ducking.

[@FoliaSound]

That would be something!

[@B3Band]

The human element is absolutely still there. Humans wrote the song. Humans performed the instruments (at least the vocals, anyway). Using a tool to shape your creation doesn't make it any less human, just like singing through a microphone and amplifier so the entire room can hear you doesn't make your singing less human.

[@topchartvideo3776]

What is the difference with Neutron?

[@cesmcmyth]

Subscribed at min 2.30 😂💪

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks :D

[@ryde2012]

Wow amazing there’s no excuse for a bad mix anymore lol

[@mrnelsonius5631]

It still takes a lot of experience, taste and good ears. This tool helps clean things up and get it in the ballpark but the big decisions are still up to the person pushing faders. I’m all about this though. Surgical EQ is my least favorite part of the mixing process. Love balancing, love compressors, love stereo panning, adding color and saturation etc. but sweeping for resonances/buildups and making tiny cuts is a drag!! I welcome this help and it looks like Sonible is getting it right :)

[@MarvelJAM]

Yep. Izotope was disappointing. Sonible Smart:EQ3 here I come

[@TheFourthLetterBeats]

Same here.. hope this lives up to the hype

[@MickeyBlood]

👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@arnulfschnitzler4695]

Hello, i hear no difference. What can i do?

[@FoliaSound]

What listening equipment are you using, Arnulf?

[@robertjason6885]

Sonible's new Smart:Comp 2 (I just upgraded from V1) is miles better than the already fine V1. These guys LISTEN to users.

[@FoliaSound]

Eeexactly!

[@therealoneal1]

I keep trying to tell folks...analog is old tech, this the age of digital

[@bigman72511]

Oh oh, shots fired...lol you know how these millennials love Neutron. I have to agree smart:EQ3 is much better than Neutron and more functional in a real-world setting. I was on the fence between Smart:EQ and Gullfoss it was a struggle but I chose Smart:EQ and im glad I took the plunge. Even though I have Neutron 3 elements I like Smart: EQ so much more. Mainly because this is what I was exactly looking for to lift the sonic haze off of my mixes.

[@FoliaSound]

Same feelings here, man!

[@kalidesu]

A comment for the youtube algorithm.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks :D

Always dynamic 100

[@BelAnuRa]

z wroclawie jestes ?

[@FoliaSound]

A skąd to pytanie? :) Tak, jak w wideo na początku - Warszawa!

[@BelAnuRa]

@@FoliaSound ja mieszkam w hamburgu ale jestem z gdanska... nie wjedzalem ze jestes z polski ... ale lubje twoje widea :-) sorry for my polish language i am livin too long here in Germany ... speaking is much better than writing if you are not practice it ....

[@FoliaSound]

@@BelAnuRa Spoko, wszystko git! Piona z Warszawy! :)

[@jamesrutherford]

you will break something dancing like that

[@FoliaSound]

I've got 15 yrs experience in this, sir. I'm doing good so far xD

[@jamesrutherford]

@@FoliaSound great videos sir

[@moffatbanda6001]

i disagree with you neutron 3 is great plugin perhaps you did not enough experience with it. what about fabfilter pro eq3? check it

[@FoliaSound]

Compare Neutron 3 to Smart:EQ3 so that you see what's up! Pro-Q 3 is my main studio beast, but it does something completely different than Smart:EQ 3, I can't compare them really :)

[@gonti]

Chyba twenty twenty one ? :P

[@FoliaSound]

Nope, kanał wystartował w 2020! :)

[@djcomputerlove7808]

As a new producer myself, I have come to realise that this things are not particularly useful to beginner like you would expect, because you need to have a knowledge of mixing before you can even try them out. Maybe you might be lucky sometimes when you use them, but every song and instruments have their unique problems which might still be there even after a tool like this has done its job. It could be that one stubborn resonance in your vocal or piano, which will require an expert to manually fix.

[@FoliaSound]

Sure thing, man! But I think that they can also serve as educational tools to improve your mixing skills. I didn't mentioned in the video, boo. I try to keep my vids shorter, but I just can't. Anyway, you made a good point, too!

[@djcomputerlove7808]

@@FoliaSound Yes you are very right. Plugins generally helps as educational tools as I can testify myself. Keep up the good work!

[@FoliaSound]

@@djcomputerlove7808 , TXH, cya soon!

[@EliteOnTheBeat]

Soon Ai will take over the world like pinky and the brain....

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, in some areas of our lives - this is more than certain.

[@starchild2712]

Smart EQ3 does only support Rock type music, nothing for EDM, i can`t chose "Lead Synth" for example, wich sucks and does not work, soothe works on all genres :)

[@FoliaSound]

There's a general "synth" preset and it works pretty nice, check it out!

[@arirahimzadeh]

Boyakashah Brother