Audified have continued their theme of modelling older rare hardware units like the U73B compressor and its derivative the U78 Saturator. Now they have turned their attention to an EQ and have just released the RZ062 Equalizer plug-in bundle modelled on the vintage Klangfilm RZ062a and RZ062b valve EQ modules.

The RZ062 Equalizer plug-in bundle is based on the namesake models of the scarce sixties-vintage Klangfilm RZ062a and RZ062b valve EQ modules made by German electronics giant Siemens for installation in its film sound-centric Universal Mixing and Control Console known as the Klangfilm System.

The original sales sheet from the 60s says...

In the field of studio equipment, the position occupied by the Mixing and Control Console is one of key importance, since the facilities with which it is equipped largely determine the extent to which the sound engineer is able to cope with the manifold tasks of effective tone control... This console is eminently capable of meeting the various requirements of film, TV, and radio broadcast studios. It can be supplied initially equipped with a minimum of facilities and built out later to increase its flexibility or adapt it to changed working conditions (e.g. for stereophonic recording). Fully equipped, the Mixing and Control Console for 6 x 1 channels with 6 x 2 selective inputs contains... 1 adjustable equalizer (exchangeable)... for individually boosting or suppressing the high and low frequencies (+12dB to -24dB at 40 and, respectively, 10,000 c/s), or for rotation around the middle frequency...”

Times change, however, as does technology. Today those 300V-powered, 6lbs (2.75kg) hardware heavyweights carry a heavy price tag too with a rare working pair recently changing hands for $12,000 USD!

Audified Model These Valuable Units And Produce A Plug-in Bundle

Both versions of the plug-in let the user adjust treble and bass and just like their hardware namesakes, the two EQ modules differ in the function of the mids control. The mid control of RZ062A rotates the entire frequency curve around the central point. Whereas the RZ062Bhas a presence knob that adjusts one of four preset frequencies, designed to cut through very gently and sensitively.

Saturation

The RZ062 Equalizer plug-ins are also equipped with INPUT and OUTPUT level knobs, and a Set Calibration function to enable you to set how hard you drive the modules and so much much valve sound saturation you get.

Linking Or MS

You can work in LINKED mode, control LR (left and right) channels independently, or switch to the MS (mid-side) mode that makes it a great tool for mastering.

Emulation And Optimisation

Audified authentically emulated over 200 circuit components, including three triodes, plus input and output transformers. This was no easy task, though, as Audified Lead Programmer Jarda Mačák maintains:

We used so-called white box modelling. This means that we described the whole circuit with math equations based on the circuit analysis. Eventually, the overall model was fine-tuned by measurements and a component values-fitting algorithm to find the closest model to the real device as possible. That's the trickiest part — finding a suitable realtime implementation of the model. We’ve got a really precise model, but no-one would be happy if it sucked up all available CPU resources to run just one instance of the plug-in in any given session!

The Audified RZ062 Equalizer is available at an introductory promo price of $149.00 until September 10, 2017 before going up to the normal price of $199.00 USD thereafter

The RZ062 Equalizer bundle is available in AAX, AU, VST2, VST3, 32 and 64-bit native plug-in formats for MacOS 10.9 and above and Windows 7 and above and if you would like to try before you try then there is a fully-functional, 30-day trial version too.