In the digital age, it seems that the appeal of classic processor designs shows no signs of diminishing. See and hear us take a new passive EQ for a spin for Pultec flavoured goodness with some welcome twists…

In Summary

Empress is a dual channel 3 band passive equaliser. Equipped with a tube output amplifier it expands upon its famous Pultec EQP-1A muse with stereo operation and dual mid bands. This makes it suitable for both individual channels and entire mixes.

Going Deeper

The Passive EQ - Why Use One?

In the digital age, it seems that the appeal of classic processor designs show no signs of diminishing. While the engineer can do just about anything armed with as little as a laptop, hardware continues to provide the perfect antidote to a world of software updates, licencing, and GUIs that look like they’ve been taken from the Starship Enterprise.

One such unit is the Pultec EQP-1A Program EQ. This revered EQ design (and its MEQ-5 Midrange EQ partner unit) continues to earn its keep as a tool that is famous for both its smooth sound and quirks in operation. This latter element comes in the form of the high and low band behaviour known to some involving the use of simultaneous cuts and boosts at the same frequency. In reality dialling in such curves can invoke inverse dips ‘in front’ of boosts thanks to unintended cut/boost frequency mismatches.

The classic Low End Trick is one such example where boosting and cutting simultaneously effects a dip just north of the boost making way for bass that is thickened without sounding muddy. The EQP-1A valve and transformer topology can also lend some extra mojo (even when used flat) where a modern design might fall short.

Certainly, 1950’s-style simplicity in use and a big sound are attractive to many choosing a device for inputs or whole mixes.

Gainlab Audio Empress

We were asked to try out one of the latest contenders to the Passive Throne; Gainlab Audio’s Empress passive EQ. In the video we strap it across a mix for some audible lift at the top and bottom as well as a slight dip using its additional mid filters to iron out some harshness in-between. We then explore its Shift switches on the shelving filters to hear the low-end trick with Empress’ own twist…

​​Gainlab Audio Empress Features:

• 2×3 band setup

• Stepped attenuator design

• Tube based gain stage

• Military grade vacuum tubes

• Nanocrystaline alloy transformers

• Session Recall software - this is optional paid-for third party software

Passive Rules?

Getting hands-on with some nice hardware is, for me, very hard to beat, and I enjoyed using Empress during my time with it. There are some things that would have been nice such as input and output gain, because the unit comes tantalisingly close to having an extra role where driving the unit harder for effect through the valves and transformers is also possible. However, Empress does pack a lot into its 2U footprint and I think the right concessions have been made. It should be said that the unit lined up almost exactly at -20dBFS through hardware inserts in Pro Tools; it could be assumed that the lack of user control over operating level is by design and with good reason.

There are a few more objective factors that make Empress a worthy contender as wearer of the passive crown:

• Firstly, you won’t need to sell your house to buy one.

• Secondly, it has a mid band compared to the EQP-1A’s high and low only MO, so engineers don’t need another box to deal with everything in-between!

• Thirdly, you get two of them in a 2U box. While strictly speaking, this is a dual mono unit, its chunky, stepped controls allow stereo work for busses or mix duties.

Fundamentally, this unit brings passive EQ goodness with some major advantages over using the original. While there will be those who will always gravitate towards the Real Thing, for those of us who don’t have a couple of Pultecs lying around, Gainlab Audio have given us a lot to like in the Empress.

A Word About This Article

As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.