Universal Audio UAD POWERED PLUG-INS ver.6.1 User Manual
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UAD Powered Plug-Ins Manual
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Chapter 30: Manley Massive Passive EQ
• You may also find yourself getting away with what seems like massive
amounts of boost. Where the knobs end up, may seem scary particularly for
mastering. Keep in mind that, even at maximum boost, a wide bell might
only max out at 6 dB of boost (less for the lowest band) and only reaches
20 dB at the narrowest bandwidth. On the other hand, because of how
transparent this EQ is, you might actually be EQing more than you could
with a different unit. Taste rules, test benches don't make hit records, believe
your ears.
• Sometimes the shelves will sound pretty weird, especially (only) at the nar-
row bandwidth settings. They might seem to be having a complex effect and
not only at the “dialed in” frequency. This is certainly possible. Try wider
bandwidths at first.
• If you seem to be boosting all 4 bands at widely separated frequencies and
not hearing much “EQ” as you might expect (except for level) this is a
side-effect of a passive EQ and probably a good thing. To get drastic sound-
ing EQ you should try boosting a few bands and cutting a few bands. In
fact, it is usually best to start with cutting rather than boosting.
• A reasonable starting point for the Bandwidth for shelves is straight up or
between 11:00 and 1:00. It was designed this way and is roughly where
the maximum flatness around the “knee” is, combined with a well defined
steep slope.
• The Massive Passive may sound remarkably different from other high end
EQs and completely different from the console EQs. Yes, this is quite delib-
erate. Hopefully it sounds better, sweeter, more musical and it complements
your console EQs. We saw little need for yet another variation of the stan-
dard parametric with only subtle sonic differences. We suggest using the
Massive Passive before tape, for the bulk of the EQ tasks and then using the
console EQs for some fine tweaking and where narrow Q touch-ups like
notches are needed. The Massive Passive is equally at home doing big,
powerful EQ tasks such as is sometimes required for tracking drums, bass
and guitars, or for doing those demanding jobs where subtlety is required
like vocals and mastering.