The band E was in my studio recently. Thalia Zedek (Come), Jason Sanford (Neptune), and Gavin McCarthy (Karate) are all extremely dynamic performers, but even during quiet moments, their instruments can sound huge.
I was happy with the tracks I had captured, but I couldn't quite get the mix to sound the way I wanted using the bus compressors in my rack. For example, the built-in sidechain filters on my Safe Sound Audio Dynamics Toolbox weren't cutting it — or actually, were cutting too much. I couldn't settle on a single HPF setting, because the low-frequency content of the mix was changing so drastically from one moment of a song to another. The Thrust control on my API 2500 came close to delivering an energetic mix that didn't sound overprocessed with low-frequency-induced pumping, but I still felt like I needed more finesse than a linear "tilt." That's when I started patching my analog EQs into the sidechains of my insert-equipped compressors. I eventually concluded that the shallow slopes and broad strokes of the Dangerous Music BAX were working best to control how my compressors were reacting to E's music, but I wasn't about to give up using the $2,400 BAX on my mix bus in order to relegate it to sidechain duty.
That's when I went looking for a low-cost EQ and stumbled upon the SSL S4EQ 4-band equalizer. No, not that SSL. This EQ is from Sound Storm Lab, and you can purchase it from Amazon or Walmart for $24.49. While trying it on each of my compressors' sidechain inserts, I ignored the S4EQ's dual input, front/rear fader, and subwoofer output features, and instead focused on its Volume, Bass, Midbass, Mid, and High controls.