Waves Q10 Paragraphic Eq

The Waves Q10 “Paragraphic” Equalizer is apparently the first plugin that Waves produced, many years ago.

Since it’s inception it has obviously had many “under the hood” updates and has long been a go-to tool for most professional engineers and producers when “surgical” eq is required. The Q10 is a 10 band fully parametric equaliser with up to 10 bands available, all able to be set anywhere between 16Hz and over 21kHz, which covers the full spectrum. Each band has up to 18dB of boost or cut and has a Q (bandwidth) setting from a super wide 0.5 to a sharply notched 100.

Graphic EQ Plugin for TDM Systems. The world's very first paragraphic EQ, the Q10 delivers precision equalization for mixing and mastering alike. With power and features that far surpass the capabilities of analog, the Q10 lets you create special effects and spectral modifications that range from subtle to extreme. The Q10 from Waves is a paragraphic EQ plug-in that features up to ten frequency bands within seven components. The software delivers precision equalization for mixing and mastering alike, with each band having the same extended frequency range, and the ability to narrow the bandwidth (Q) for more surgical tasks.

The world's very first paragraphic EQ, the Q10 delivers precision equalization for mixing and mastering alike. With power and features that far surpass the capabilities of analog equalizers, the Q10 lets you create special effects and spectral modifications that range from subtle to extreme.
Get Q1-Paragraphic EQ by Waves and learn how to use the plugin with Ableton Live, Logic, GarageBand, and FL Studio for free.

Each band can be set to any of 5 useful filter types: band pass, low shelf, high shelf, low pass or high pass. That just about covers every type of eq filter there is, making the Q10 an extremely versatile beast.

10 Band Eq Vst

There are controls for input and output levels with output bar graph metering and red overload indicators, phase (polarity) switches, as well as a trim control and left, right and linking modes for stereo or dual mono use, with different coloured curves for each channel.

The Q10 can be instanced as a Q1 (single band), Q2 (2 bands) and so on, when you only need a smaller number of bands and space may be limited. If you do use the full Q10, only the bands you use will take up computer resources, which is a great feature.

There are some very useful and surprising presets, such as the “Super Notch”, which uses 4 bands together for a staggering 46dB of cut!

The Q10 can be adjusted using the controls below the display, or by simply grabbing the spots on the graph (numbered to correspond with each band selected by the control buttons) and moving them around the window. This will adjust the frequency and gain of the selected band, while the filter type and bandwidth must be selected on the control pad below.

Apart from it’s ability to perform accurate surgical eq duties, the Q10 is also a great sounding eq. I’m a Logic user and Logic has a very good channel eq included for free, but the Q10 beats it for total versatility. The fact that every band can be any of 5 filter types, rather than just shelving at the extremes and bell types in between, plus the fact that there are up to 10 bands available and all the other features make the Q10 my go-to eq for precision jobs. Unlike the console eq’s and Pultec emulations, which are brilliant for adding colour to a recording, the Q10 is a valuable fix it tool.

There’s a lot more interesting information in the manual and I recommend giving it a good read.

I can’t find anything to complain about with the Q10. It’s a fantastic tool and it’s pretty obvious why it’s a favourite with the pros.

At the time of writing this review, Waves have the Q10 available for $99 US and it’s included in many of their plugin bundles. If you’re lucky, you can sometimes find it on special, as with many of the Waves plugins. You can find it here.

Anonymous-1 26 May 2008

Hi,

I'm learning how to use paragraphic Eqing and have a question

When i'm selecting a frequency on a track, when if I was to edit that frequency and then choose another frequency on the same track, is all the editing i've done for the previous frequency lost?

Comments

paragraphic eq

'when if I was to edit'

Error.

What are you using software wise? Is this 'paragraphic' EQ a plugin to something or a stand alone program?

paragraphic eq

I'm using cubase sx. It has 4 eq settings high, mid high, mid low, and low.
I'm a little confused myself lol

paragraphic eq

I have no experience with what you're talking about. But I have an opinion. Read the manual, try searching this forum and others and play with it and listen to what it does whilst you wait for someone who may know to reply.

paragraphic eq

Read the manual. If that doesn't help, go to Steinberg.net and log into the forums. If you can't do that.......BUY YOUR SOFTWARE!

paragraphic eq

hueseph wrote: Read the manual. If that doesn't help, go to Steinberg.net and log into the forums. If you can't do that.......BUY YOUR SOFTWARE!

I've read the manual, it doesn't explain how the paragraphic eqaliser works, it only explains what each of the eq settings means.

paragraphic eq

It's 'parametric', not 'paragraphic'. The term parametric refers to the fact that there are some parameters that you can alter for each frequency. You might be thinking of 'graphic' EQ, which is slightly different.

Anyway, in Cubase as you said there are 4 'frequencies' to choose from - high to low. One of the parameters you can change for each is the specific frequency affected. In other words, you can set your 'low' frequency to be 80 Hz or 113 Hz or whatever you want. Likewise for the other 3 knobs.
Another parameter is 'Q' or shaping, but I won't go into detail here for fear of overload....

To your original question - as I understand it - once you set the parameters for one knob, they stay put while you go on to the next one. So no, your 'editing' shouldn't be lost.

paragraphic eq

FYI

Paragraphic EQ's do exist and are very prevalent in today's world of DAW's.

Waves makes Paragraphic EQ's.

I.E. the Waves Q10...

I'm not familiar with the Original Poster's software, but I have no doubt that it is indeed a paragraphic EQ.

paragraphic eq

Graphic refers to the fact that the sliders give you a graphic respresentation of what the eq is doing. A paragrphic eq is simply a parametric eq with a graphic display.

Regarding the OP: If you have read the manual and you still don't understand what each control is doing, I don't know what can help you. How about just using your ears to see what they do? It should be very apparent at that point.

paragraphic eq

Thanks for the clarification, Bent! 8-)
http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/glossary/t--ParagraphicEqualizer

And here I thought paragraphic eq was eq that started with an indented line and contained a main idea with supporting details. (groan)