Robotic Audio · User manual

Graphic EQ

Ten sliders, one an octave from 31 Hz to 16 kHz, and a curve that really goes through every one of them. Push a slider and you hear exactly what it shows, over the live spectrum of what comes out. Draw the curve by sweeping across it, or set it slider by slider.

10 octave bands
±12 dB per band
Curve through every slider
Live spectrum
No latency
9 factory presets
AU · VST3 · Standalone

Graphic EQ on its Smile preset: the curve with a dot per band over the output's spectrum on top, the ten band sliders and the output below.

Quick start

Shape a sound in a minute.

Insert it

On a track, a bus or the master. At Default every band is at 0 dB and it does nothing.

Listen and look

The grey spectrum behind the curve is what comes out. Peaks that stick up are often where a cut helps.

Draw

Sweep the mouse across the curve to draw it: every band you pass follows. Or drag a slider or a dot.

Match the level

Boosts make it louder, which always sounds better. Use Out to bring the level back, then compare with the power button.

Reset. Double-click a slider or a dot to put it back at 0 dB. Cmd, Ctrl or Alt while dragging a slider gives fine steps. Hover over anything and the strip along the bottom says what it does.

The window

The curve on top, the sliders below.

Header: The preset bar (previous, next, the list, SAVE), the power button (bypass) and the menu (three lines) with this manual. Click the logo for the version and credits.
Curve: What the EQ does to every frequency, with the output's spectrum behind it. See The curve.
Bands: Ten sliders, 31 Hz to 16 kHz, then Out.
Tooltip strip: Along the bottom: what the control under the mouse does.

The window can be resized: drag its bottom-right corner.

The curve

What you see is what you hear.

The horizontal axis is frequency (20 Hz to 20 kHz, logarithmic, one band per octave), the vertical one gain (±12 dB). The curve is the EQ's real response, drawn from the same filters the sound goes through.

Dots: One per band, at its centre: lit when the band is boosted or cut. Drag one up or down; the band's name and value show while you do.
Drawing: Sweep across the curve: each band you pass takes the height of the mouse. A small catch at 0 dB makes it easy to leave a band flat.
Spectrum: The output's spectrum, tilted so music looks roughly level, moving behind the curve. It settles when the sound stops.

Why the curve hits every slider. In most graphic EQs neighbouring bands overlap, so two sliders at +6 dB give +9 dB between them and the curve never quite matches the sliders. Graphic EQ works out how far to push each filter so that, together, the curve passes through every slider at its band's centre, and stays smooth in between.

Bands

Ten octaves and an output.

31 · 63 · 125: Sub, kick and bass weight; 125 is also where boominess lives. ±12 dB
250 · 500: Body and warmth; too much and it gets muddy or boxy. ±12 dB
1k · 2k · 4k: Presence and attack: voices, guitars, the snap of a snare; too much is harsh. ±12 dB
8k · 16k: Brightness and air; too much is hiss and sibilance. ±12 dB
Out: The level after the EQ, to match a boost or a cut. ±18 dB

Gains glide when you move them, so sweeps and automation never zipper or click. A band at 0 dB costs nothing, and the whole EQ rests while silence comes in.

Presets

Nine starting points, and room for your own.

Preset	What it does
Default	Flat: nothing.
Smile	The classic "loudness" curve: lows and highs up, the middle down a little.
Warmth	More low mids, a softer top.
Air	A rising lift from 4 kHz up.
Clear the Mud	Cuts round 250 Hz.
Vocal Presence	Less low end, more 2–4 kHz.
Bass Boost	31–125 Hz up.
Telephone	Only the middle left: a small, boxy speaker.
Lo-Fi Radio	A narrow, warm old radio.

Press SAVE in the header to keep your own. The preset menu has Save As, Delete and Open Folder. An asterisk after the preset's name means you've changed something since loading it. Every slider is a host parameter and can be automated.

Recipes

Settings to start from; then use your ears.

Find a bad frequency

Boost one band to +12 dB and listen as you move to the next; when it sounds worst, you've found it. Then cut that band 3–6 dB.

Make room for vocals

On the music bus: 1k and 2k down 2–3 dB. The voice comes forward without getting louder.

Tighten the low end

31 down 4 dB, 63 up 2 dB: the kick stays, the rumble goes.

Filter sweep

Start from Telephone and automate Out and the 8k and 16k sliders back up into a drop.

Specifications

The numbers.

Property	Value
Bands	10, at 31, 63, 125, 250, 500 Hz, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 kHz (ISO octaves)
Filters	Peak filters (Q 1), their gains solved so the curve passes through every slider
Range	±12 dB per band; output ±18 dB
Spectrum	4096-point FFT of the output
Latency	None
CPU	Flat bands cost nothing; rests while silence comes in
Channels	Stereo (mono tracks work too)
Formats	AU, VST3, Standalone