For several days now Empirical Labs CEO Dave Derr has been teasing a new product on Gearslutz and suffice to say the Gearsluteratti have been abuzz with predictions as to what the new product could be, with some very interesting guesses.

A few hours ago much of the speculation has been ended with a reveal of the user interface for the plugin which is called the Empirical Labs Big FrEQ.

Some information is still to be revealed but much can be gleaned from the UI screenshot.

The plugin features 6 bands of parametric EQ with +/- 15db of gain per band with width and slope controls. Hi Pass (15Hz to 5Khz) and Low Pass (10Hz to 20Khz ) filters are present, as are Hi and Lo Shelf EQ’s. Oversampling is also supported.

The interface features a large display of the frequency curve as well as a phase reversal switch. The ‘Finisher’ section shows a drive control showing %THD, similar to the soft clipping stage of Empirical Labs excellent Arouser plugin.

Dave Derr has further revealed that the plugin is capable of stereo operation as well as the "R" control beside Gain, switches gain "Range" from +/-15dB to +/-30dB. MS (Mid/Side) Processing is planned for a future update as well.

This plugin is clearly based on the Lil’ FrEQ hardware EQ, of which I happen to own a stereo pair.

The Lil FrEQs have been my main tracking equalisers for the last few years and they are brilliant EQ’s that offer mastering level quality. I have no reason to believe that the Big FrEQ will be any different.

The plugin does seem to be missing the excellent dynamic EQ component of the hardware, which I’ve loved for its ability to take harshness out of cymbals and remove acoustic guitar squeaks during tracking. My only concern with using the Lil Freq has been how cramped the 1U rack can be to operate, something that clearly won’t be a problem with the plugin.

The plugin will be available from Empirical Labs for demo and purchase on Friday 14th August 2020 at 3pm Eastern.