Q is a tricky letter, as anyone who has ever played Scrabble will know it doesn't turn up in as many words as other letters so forgive the twisting of the rules when I say Q is for EQ. Actually it's not stretching it that far as the engineering terms for bandwidth is Q so I'm going with it!

UAD have built their reputation on meticulous recreations of classic gear and the entry for P in this series touched on how standalone hardware EQs are less numerous than compressors but there are a few more beyond the revered Pultec equaliser. No discussion of EQ would be complete without mentioning Massenburg. His work on parametric EQ designs in the early 70s contributed to the introduction of modern EQ as we would recognise it today and his GML equalisers are prized by mastering engineers. UAD carry a version of the Massenburg DesignWorks MDWEQ5 double precision equaliser which is as flexible and high quality an EQ as you could wish for. Russ reviewed it on its release in 2014.    

While the MDWEQ5 is a super clean, transparent EQ there are modern character EQs available from UAD for use in Pro Tools. The UAD Maag EQ4 has become a firm favourite among the team with Russ' review showing how this unconventional design, and particularly its famous Air band sounds sweet even when pushed hard.

Another famously benign equaliser design available on the UAD platform is the Dangerous Bax EQ. Another favourite of Russ', watch his review below.

Other UAD equalisers which qualify for honourable mentions include the Harrison 32C , the Manley Massive Passive, the Neve 1073 and the Sonnox Oxford EQ. While I value, and wouldn't be without, the modern precision EQs we have become so accustomed to. I have to confess I enjoy the restrictions of plug-ins which model designs which, because the hardware dictated it, restrict choices when it comes to frequency selection. I'd love to see the Helios desk EQ updated as that's exactly the kind of quirky design which can break regular habits and encourage you to listen more.