NAMM: Q-Clone Recreates Hardware EQ in Software

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It's a common problem: you have a classic outboard equalizer that you want to use on several tracks - but you only have one device. What do you do? Until now, your only choice was to process and print each track separately which meant you couldn't hear the entire mix until you were finished and that any EQ changes were tedious and extremely time-consuming.

Instead, imagine inserting an outboard equalizer on a channel, adjusting it to get the sound you want, clicking a button to hold that exact sound, and then repeating the process on as many tracks you need. That's what Waves' new Q-Clone plug-in offers.

Q-Clone recreates the shape and phase response of the equalization in detail. The process happens in real time, reacting to the adjustments made on the outboard EQ unit itself; in fact, the EQ unit can be thought of as a control surface that can be switched from one channel to another using Q-Clone.

Q-Clone consists of two components: Q-Capture and Q-Clone itself. Q-Capture is set up to send a signal to the outboard equalizer and to accept a return of the processed signal. Next, Q-Clone is opened on a track. The settings on the outboard equalizer are then adjusted to achieve the desired sound. When the "capture" button is clicked, Q-Clone models the sound and replicates it on the fly. The process can then be repeated on as many tracks as needed.

At any time, you can go back to a particular track, make adjustments to the settings on your equalizer, and capture the new sound. Q-Clone is capable of showing a graphic display of the EQ curve that has been replicated. You can even use the Add button to make additional adjustments on top of the existing processing ("update" mode), which is the equivalent of having two of the original equalizers in the path at once.

All settings are stored within sessions and can be saved as presets for recall, for use across multiple tracks and sessions. Q-Clone can replicate the sound and phase response of any linear filter-based equalizer but not, of course, distortion or non-linearity.

In addition to capturing your own equalizers, Q-Clone comes with a library of equalization presets captured from world-class hardware equalizers. Plus, there will be a section of the Waves website where users can post their own captured processor characteristics, much as is the case with Waves' IR convolution reverberation series.