Introduction This manual contains complete documentation for FabFilter Pro-Q 2 in printer-friendly format. All information in this manual is also accessible via the Help button in FabFilter Pro-Q 2's user interface.
Table of Contents Introduction About FabFilter Pro-Q 2 Quick start 3 5 Using FabFilter Pro-Q 2 Overview Knobs Display and workflow Band controls Solo Full Screen mode and resizing Piano display Stereo options Processing mode Spectrum analyzer EQ Match Spectrum Grab Output options MIDI learn Undo, redo, A/B switch 6 8 9 11 13 14 15 16 18 21 23 25 26 27 29 Presets Loading presets Saving presets How presets are stored 30 31 32 Purchasing FabFilter Pro-Q Purchasin
About FabFilter Pro-Q 2 An equalizer is probably the tool you use most while mixing and mastering. That's why there are probably around 1001 EQ plug-ins available. But the strange thing is: most of them don't meet top quality standards by far! Most just lack sound quality and the ones that do sound okay, often have poorly designed interfaces that obstruct your workflow and creativity. Now here's where we come in.
Introducing EQ Match mode, which can be used to automatically match the frequency spectrum of a signal routed to the plugin's side-chain input. Introducing a piano display. When enabled, the frequency scale is replaced by a piano display, via which band frequencies can be adjusted/quantized by clicking and dragging. Introducing phase-invert option. Highly improved CPU optimization. Pro-Q 2 is more than twice as efficient as its predecessor! Improved analog magnitude matching in zero-latency mode.
Quick start The installer will copy the FabFilter Pro-Q 2 plug-in into the common VST, VST 3, AU (OS X only) and Pro Tools plug-in folders on your computer. On Mac OS X, the global plug-in folders in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins are used. In most cases, your host will then recognize the plugin automatically. However, if the instructions below do not work, see Manual installation instead. Cubase Choose an empty insert slot, for example in the Mixer, and select FabFilter Pro-Q 2 from the menu that appears.
Overview The interface of FabFilter Pro-Q 2 is simple and straightforward. The interactive EQ display fills the whole plug-in window, and lets you create and adjust EQ bands with the mouse. When you create or select bands, the band controls will appear, floating above the display, positioned under the selected bands. Using the band controls, you can change the settings of the currently selected EQ bands.
Presets, undo, A/B, help With the preset buttons, you can easily browse through the factory presets or save your own settings so you can re-use them in other songs. The Undo, Redo, A/B and Copy buttons at the top of the plug-in interface enable you to undo your changes and switch between different states of the plug-in. Finally, the Help menu provides access to help and version information. See Loading presets and Undo, redo, A/B switch.
Knobs It is easy to control FabFilter Pro-Q 2's parameters with the large round knobs. They will light up when you move the mouse cursor around to indicate that you can adjust them. The moment you move the mouse cursor over a knob, a parameter value display will pop up, which shows the name and the current value of the parameter. All knobs support four ways of control: 1. Vertical mode Click on the center area of a knob and drag up or down to rotate it.
Display and workflow The large display shows all EQ bands and lets you easily create new bands and edit them. The thick yellow curve shows the overall frequency response of the equalizer. The EQ display looks simple and straightforward, but holds a lot of intelligence and smart features. We strongly recommend to take some time to read this topic and learn about all its options and short-cuts...
Horizontal zooming Sometimes it might be useful to zoom in to a specific frequency for extra precise editing. You can easily do this by clicking and dragging the frequency scale at the bottom of the EQ display, just above the bottom bar. You can do the following: Click and drag up and down to zoom in and out at the frequency you have clicked on. While zoomed in, you can also drag left and right to move the frequency scale. Just double-click the scale to return to its default full range.
Band controls When you select EQ bands in the interactive EQ display, the floating band controls will automatically appear, right under the selected bands at the bottom of the display. The band controls show the current settings of the selected EQ bands and enable you to adjust them precisely. From left to right, the following settings are available: The bypass button at the left top lets you easily bypass the selected EQ bands.
To hide the band controls, simply deselect all bands by clicking on the display background.
Solo When you move the mouse cursor near an EQ band in the display, a parameter value display pops up showing the current parameter values for the band. Click and hold the solo button (with the headphones icon) to enter solo mode for the current EQ band. The other EQ bands will dim, just like the yellow overall curve. Simply drag the solo button horizontally to change the frequency of the band, or vertically to adjust the solo listening level.
Full Screen mode and resizing Brand new in Pro-Q 2, is the unique Full Screen mode. With just the click of a button, the Pro-Q 2 interface will fill up the whole computer screen so you can make ultra-precise adjustments and get the best view on the spectrum analyzers. To exit Full Screen mode, just press Escape or click the Full Screen button again. Resizing In addition to Full Screen mode, you can also customize the normal interface size using the Resize button at the right of the bottom bar.
Piano display Using the Piano Display button at the bottom left of Pro-Q 2's interface, just above the bottom bar, you can toggle between the normal frequency scale and a piano keyboard display, via which band frequencies can be adjusted as well. The highlighted keys correspond to an 88-keys grand piano layout, ranging from A0 (27.5 Hz) to C8 (4186.01 Hz). For every band in the display, there is a corresponding dot on the keyboard.
Stereo options One of FabFilter Pro-Q 2's best features is that it's very easy to equalize both stereo channels in a different way. This is a great way to surgically remove unwanted sound artefacts, or even to add stereo effects. To make this even more powerful, Pro-Q 2 offers both Left/Right and Mid/Side channel modes. In the default Left/Right mode, each EQ band works either on both stereo channels, or on the left or right channel only.
Techniques Independent channel equalization is very useful when dealing with stereo audio containing unbalanced frequency content over the stereo field. Let's say you want to combine a stereo drum recording with a stereo accoustic guitar recording. The drum recording contains more low-mid frequencies in the left channel (for example a low tom-tom), and more high frequencies in the right channel (like cymbals or a hi-hat).
Processing mode The Processing Mode button in the bottom bar selects the type of EQ processing. In almost all cases, either Zero Latency or Natural Phase modes will deliver perfect results, and when linear-phase processing is needed, you can of course use Linear Phase mode with a customizable resolution. Zero Latency In Zero Latency mode, Pro-Q 2 matches the magnitude response of analog EQ'ing as closely as possible, obviously without introducing any latency.
And now the phase response. Again, the red curve represents standard digital EQ'ing, and blue curve Pro-Q 2's Zero Latency mode: both have a non-ideal phase response. The green line illustrates Pro-Q 2's Natural Phase mode response. Apart from a very small, inaudible deviation above 20 kHz, it perfectly matches the theoretical analog phase response. Linear Phase When filtering audio, traditional analog and digital filters not only change the magnitude, but introduce phase changes as well.
better or more transparent than normal processing, it is different! Linear-phase EQ'ing is a problem-solving tool, in general only used to avoid phase cancellation problems.To learn mode about linear-phase vs. normal EQ'ing, watch Dan Worrall's excellent video tutorial on the subject: www.fabfilter.com/video/eq-linear-phase-vs-minimum-phase . Notes Not all hosts are capable of switching the latency of a plug-in dynamically. Cubase and Logic Pro and Pro Tools 9 and higher do this successfully.
Spectrum analyzer To help you judge the effect of the combined EQ bands on the incoming audio signal, FabFilter Pro-Q includes a powerful real-time frequency analyzer. The spectrum analyzer can be customized via the analyzer settings panel, which pops up automatically when you hover above the Analyzer button in the bottom bar.
Horizontal zooming Sometimes it might be useful to zoom in to a specific frequency. You can easily do this by clicking and dragging the frequency scale at the bottom of the EQ display, just above the bottom bar. You can do the following: Click and drag up and down to zoom in and out at the frequency you have clicked on. While zoomed in, you can also drag left and right to move the frequency scale. Just double-click the scale to return to its default full range.
EQ Match Sometimes, it can be very useful to be able to match the tonal characteristics of a certain reference audio file. For example, you're in the process of recording vocals, and for some reason you just don't get them to sound like the recordings you made a few days earlier. Or you really like the overall color and sound of a certain mastered song, and want your own track to sound alike.
By choosing more bands, even the smallest differences in the analyzed spectrums will be matched, while choosing less bands will only cover the main shape of the difference spectrum. Usually, there's no need to alter this, as EQ Match intelligently chooses the number of bands that is sufficient to match the most important characteristics of the difference spectrum.
Spectrum Grab Did you ever wonder how it would be if you could just grab that obvious peak in the frequency spectrum analyzer? That's possible now! If the Post-EQ or Pre-EQ analyzer is active, and you leave the mouse above the spectrum for a few seconds, Pro-Q 2 will automatically enter Spectrum Grab mode. Existing EQ bands will be dimmed while the spectrum freezes.
Output options At the righthand side of the bottom bar in the interface, FabFilter Pro-Q 2 contains a set of global output options. As soon as you hover the mouse above the output button, a panel with various options and a large output/pan knob will pop up, giving you access to the following settings: The Global Bypass button lets you bypass the entire plug-in.
MIDI Learn Controlling FabFilter Pro-Q 2's parameters directly with MIDI is very easy using the MIDI Learn feature. With MIDI Learn, you can associate any MIDI controller with any parameter. Click the MIDI Learn button in the bottom bar to enter MIDI Learn mode. The interface dims and the parameters that can be controlled are highlighted. Each parameter has a small text balloon that displays the associated controller number. Now do the following to associate a controller number with a parameter: 1.
selected). Then, in the 'MIDI to' drop down menu, choose the Audio track that has FabFilter Pro-Q 2 on it.
Undo, redo, A/B switch The Undo and Redo buttons at the top of the FabFilter Pro-Q 2 interface enable you to easily undo changes you made to the plugin. With the A/B feature, you can quickly switch between two different states of the plug-in. The Undo button at the left will undo the last change. Every change to the plug-in (such as dragging a knob or selecting a new preset) creates a new state in the undo history.
Loading presets FabFilter Pro-Q 2 comes with a small set of basic presets, giving a good idea of what you can do. To load a preset, click the preset button. The presets menu will appear with all available presets. Click a menu item to load that preset. The currently selected preset is highlighted with check marks. To explore the presets one by one, click on the little arrow buttons to the left and right of the main preset button. This will load the previous or next preset in the menu.
Saving presets You can easily extend the included presets with new settings to build your own library of presets for FabFilter Pro-Q 2 that you can reuse in various projects. This is also a good way to copy settings across multiple instances of FabFilter Pro-Q 2 in a session. To save the current setting as a preset, click the preset button, and then click Save As. A standard Save dialog will appear. Type a name for the new preset and click Save to finish.
How presets are stored Presets for FabFilter Pro-Q 2 are stored in separate files with the .ffp extension (for FabFilter Preset). All presets reside in subfolders in the main preset folder. The subfolders will show up as separate categories in the preset menu. You can also further divide the subfolders into categories. You can manage the preset files just like other files on your computer. The easiest way to do this is in the Save dialog that appears if you are saving a preset.
Purchasing FabFilter Pro-Q 2 Once you have downloaded and installed the evaluation copy of the FabFilter Pro-Q 2, you may evaluate it during 30 days. Every time you start the plug-in, you will see the following dialog: While there are still days left, you can click Evaluate to start working with the plugin. If you want to keep using FabFilter Pro-Q 2 after the evaluation period, you must buy a copy in the online FabFilter Shop by clicking the Buy Now button in the evaluation dialog.
Entering your license key After you have purchased FabFilter Pro-Q 2 in the online FabFilter Shop , you will immediately receive an e-mail containing your personal license key. This license key will turn the evaluation version into a fully registered plug-in. Start FabFilter Pro-Q 2 and click Enter License in the evaluation dialog, or click Enter License on the Help menu if the plug-in is already running. Copy the license information from the e-mail you have received and paste it into the text field.
Support If you need help with problems or questions, and the help file does not provide an answer, please visit the support pages on our web site. Go to FabFilter Support From here, you have direct access to the customer support forum, very useful tutorial videos for all FabFilter plug-ins, online and PDF versions of all our help files, and a section with extra downloads (such as presets, controller templates, older plug-in versions).
Upgrading to Pro-Q 2 Upgrading from Pro-Q version 1 to the new Pro-Q 2 is safe and easy: installing Pro-Q 2 will not replace or delete the previous ProQ 1 plug-in. Both versions will co-exist and can both be used at the same time. This ensures that you can open old songs that use Pro-Q 1 without problems! Pro-Q 1 presets All presets created with Pro-Q 1 can be loaded in Pro-Q 2.
Manual installation When installing FabFilter Pro-Q 2, the installation program will try to copy the plug-in into the appropriate plug-ins folders, and in most cases your host will recognize FabFilter Pro-Q 2 automatically. Otherwise, please follow these instructions: Windows On Windows, most hosts have their own VST plug-ins folder.
VST plug-in versions FabFilter Pro-Q is available in both VST 2 and the new VST 3 formats. They can be installed and used both at the same time. The VST 3 format offers easy side-chaining, free resizing, and is more CPU-friendly in some cases, but it can only be used by hosts that support it, for example recent versions of Cubase, Studio One or FL Studio. The VST 2 format is compatible with a larger variety of hosts.
External side chaining FabFilter Pro-Q 2 offers the possibility of feeding an external signal to its side chain, so that you can visualize the signal in the Analyzer, comparing it with the pre-EQ and post-EQ spectrums. Also, you can use the SC input to let Pro-Q 2 match its spectrum, using EQ Match. Feeding a signal to a plug-in's side-chain inputs works slightly different in various hosts.
Pro Tools Open Pro Tools and start a new empty session. Create two audio tracks that we'll use as main track and side chain track. Add audio files to both track. Open the Mix window to display the tracks with their Insert slots and Sends slots. In the first 'Sends' slot of the side chain track, choose 'Bus 1'. The track view for Bus 1 will open: set its level slider to 0.0 dB so the bus actually produces audio! In the first 'Inserts' slot of the main track, choose EQ > FabFilter Pro-Q 2.
FabFilter Software License Agreement 1. Disclaimer FABFILTER, FREDERIK SLIJKERMAN AND FLORIS KLINKERT, AUTHORS OF THIS FABFILTER PRODUCT, SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL FABFILTER, FREDERIK SLIJKERMAN AND FLORIS KLINKERT, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE A FABFILTER PRODUCT MAY CAUSE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES.
Acknowledgements A huge thanks to our all our beta testers for their relentless testing of the different beta versions! Next: About FabFilter See Also Purchasing FabFilter Pro-Q 2 Support 42
About FabFilter Beautiful sound. Fantastic workflow. These are the foundations of FabFilter. We create powerful audio plug-ins with superb sound quality and innovative interfaces. A unique perspective At FabFilter, we make the best possible tools for music production and audio processing. To achieve this, we continually rethink and challenge industry standards: we've never been afraid of reinventing the wheel.
