Year/Release Date : 11/27/2024
Version : 2.1.1
Developer : Pulsar Modular
Developer’s website : Pulsar Modular
Format : VST3|AAX
Bit depth : 64bit
Tablet : Present
System requirements : Win 10+
Mastering EQ P440 Sweet Spot
Pulsar Modular P440 Sweet Spot v2:
You’ve probably heard words like the following uttered many times about mastering:
“it makes music come alive” or “it’s the final polish that turns it into something spectacular”
or “it’s like… magic!” The magic, of course, is in the hands of the practitioner, but of course,
just as all wizards wield a humble but infinitely powerful device that acts as
a conduit between their mystical knowledge and the physical world, so does the mastering engineer.
To the wizard, it’s a magic wand; to the mastering engineer, it’s an equalizer.
Forget everything you’ve been taught about “high-pass” frequencies below 30Hz
and welcome to Sweet Tremor, the infrasonic booster! Cut frequencies
and you’ll get a sharper, more open sound! Boost frequencies and you’ll get cotton candy in all your ears!
Scream in horror when you check Plugin Doctor’s 200Hz low shelf or
2kHz high shelf with the “stairway to heaven” graph, but then melt in your seat when you listen to it –
like candy on a hot summer’s day. Nothing makes sense… visually, but your ears tell you otherwise.
The P440 Sweet Spot EQ will let you rethink what an audio equalizer can do.
The P440… your mystical magic wand.
Possibilities :
- Mastering grade EQ.
- Feel and behavior similar to organic gear.
- 3 Band Mastering grade EQ combining fixed
and proportional Q. - New Tremor circuit.
- New Bias circuit.
- Innovative Gain scale.
- Individual shelf bends (boost and cut).
- Low-pass and high-pass filters with resonance.
- Zero sampling latency!
- Dual mono mode in the plugin.
- All parameters available in your DAW for automation.
- macOS: Support for Silicon-based AU, AAX, and VST3 formats.
- Windows: VST3 and AAX formats.
- Linux LV2 format coming soon!
List of changes in Pulsar Modular P440 Sweet Spot v2:
- v2.1.1 [November 26, 2024]
- Correctly limit the LPF slider frequency based on
your DAW’s sample rate. - P440 code updated for the JUCE 8 framework .
- P440 VST3 and AAX are now placed in a “Pulsar Modular” subfolder
in the plugins directory, while AU remains in the general directory. - v2.0.8 [November 11, 2024]
- Fixed mouse hover issue for Fine Tune Hz.
- Studio One DAW fix for OS latency bypass and compensation reports.
- Saturation artifacts with fast knob movements.
- Updated user manuals (print and dark modes).
- v2.0.7 [October 15, 2024]
- EQ band visualizer.
- Updated English user manual.
- v2.0.1 [June 27, 2024]
- Inversely proportional Q option for each band.
- Smooth circuit for mastering level sound.
First of all, I want to clarify that this review reflects my honest opinion. I’m not here to promote what companies have to say. Unfortunately, real reviews are rare, as many people prioritize profit over honesty. If you value transparency, please support us by checking out the links in the description. Now, let’s see how the plugin performs in a mix. Please note that the goal here is not to improve the mix, but to evaluate the sound quality of the plugin.
First impressions:
The equalizer works well, effectively covering the entire frequency spectrum. The user interface is okay, but could be improved. The buttons are staggered, requiring sliders for precise adjustment, but continuous buttons could eliminate sliders and simplify the user interface. While this isn’t a major flaw, it’s worth mentioning. What I don’t like, however, is the way “Soul” and “O2” boost the volume, making it difficult to tell if the changes are actually better or just louder. This makes these features less useful because louder always seems better, even if it isn’t.
One strange thing I noticed:
During testing, I found that the plugin still affects the signal even when all modules are disabled. With everything turned off and compared to the phase-inverted copy, I saw subtle spectral changes and additional noise. This was unexpected and raises questions about its behavior.
Final Thoughts:
The plugin has an excellent EQ curve and a wide frequency range, and the manual is well written, making it easy to use. However, the volume boost in “Soul” and “O2” is a drawback, as it hinders objective decision-making. Whether the plugin is worth the price depends on your preferences. While its functionality can be replicated with other digital EQs, the workflow may justify the cost for some, but it seems overpriced to me. Finally, the phase inverter test results make me hesitant to use it for mastering, where accuracy is crucial.
#masteringeq #audioplugin #audioequalizer #AU #VST3 #AAX
