The Pultec EQP-1A is quite possibly one of the most used EQ’s in history and for good reason. The Pultec EQP-1A has a character and a touch of class that will leave your source material sounding super expensive and well…better than before.

I use the Pultec plugin every day and wanted to go over a bit of what I like to use it on and the answer is simple…the most important stuff in the song.

Here are three places I use the Pultec every day and why the Acoustica Audio Purple P-1 has become my favorite flavor of the legendary Eq.

1:  Kick Drums

  In most popular music your bass drum is super important to carrying the groove of the song. I like to use the EQP-1A as a direct insert as well as in parallel. In this case, we ran the eq in parallel with the dbx-160 compressor for a little-added punch before the Purple p-1.

Using the boost and attenuate functions on the low end of the Pultec does something magical and adds a bit of musical character to the affected frequencies. I normally start with a boost of around 4 or 5 dB and attenuate around 3 dB. The best way to describe it is the Pultec will clean up the low end while also giving it a boost. Ultimately giving your tight lows and punchy hight. Check out the before and after in the video.

2: Vocals.

The Pultec on a voice is an awesome option to add a bit more clarity and character to your vocal track. I use it a lot on vocal leads. I usually boost a couple of dB around 10k or 12k depending on the song. Doing this will really make your vocals shine and add some expensiveness to your chain. Also, using the low band on the Pultec can add a bit of thickness, depth, and warmth to a thin vocal.

3: Every Mix!

The Pultech EQP-1A is on every mix I print. I use the EQP-1A on every song via my master bus. I use this with a boost around 100hz or 60hz and attenuate around 2 or 3db. On the high band, I will boost around 16k at 4 or 5 dB. These placemarks are starting points for me are usually changed in relation to what the song needs. Additionally, keep in mind that this is on my master buss right out of the gate and I’m mixing into it at bar one. This will allow me to not have to boost with an eq on every channel and helps pull the song together at the start of the mixing process.

So why the  Acoustica Purple P-1? Well, because of awesomeness! Really though I have used pretty much every Pultec EQP-1A and when I heard the Acoustica Purple I fell in love. While they are all very comparable the Acoustica version seems to have a bit more character in the low end and does not get weird when it’s being pushed as I have experienced with the others. All in all, it sounds real!

Use your Pultec on the important stuff in a mix…or don’t and lets us finesse the beauty out of your song at mixandmastermysong.com