FabFilter Pro-Q 4 Upgrade

FabFilter Pro-Q 4 offers every tool a demanding engineer could wish for: top-quality linear phase operation, zero latency, and unique Natural Phase modes, along with a refined Dynamic EQ that now includes attack and release settings for precise control. Its per-band stereo, mid/side, and left/right processing makes it versatile for any mix, while full surround support up to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 ensures immersive audio workflows. The updated spectrum analyzer features customizable settings and collision detection, complemented by an intelligent solo function and optional Auto Gain for smooth operation.

Effortlessly sculpt your sound

Pro-Q 4's workflow-enhancing features, such as Spectrum Grab, EQ Sketch, and Instance List, make achieving professional results faster than ever. The large interactive EQ display allows seamless band creation, dynamic EQ enablement for any band, and multi-band selection and editing. The Piano Display further enhances precision by letting users adjust band frequencies in musical note values.

FabFilter Pro-Q 4 is designed to help you achieve your sound in the quickest way possible. Via the large interactive EQ display, you can create bands where you need them, enable dynamic EQ for any band, and select and edit multiple bands at once.

FabFilter goodies

Pro-Q 4 retains all the beloved features of its predecessor, Pro-Q 3, while enhancing them with modern upgrades. With up to 24 EQ bands, Natural and Linear Phase processing, universal slope support for all EQ shapes, and dynamic EQ with external side-chain triggering, it delivers unparalleled flexibility. The interface remains as gorgeous and functional as ever, with GPU-powered acceleration, Full Screen mode, multiple display ranges, and intuitive parameter control. MIDI Learn, Pro Tools hardware support, undo/redo, A/B comparison, and an extensive help file round out the package, making Pro-Q 4 a comprehensive tool for every mixing and mastering need.

New in version 4

EQ Sketch

Setting up initial EQ settings in your equalizer often involves adding a few bands to get started, like a low cut filter, a few
bell filters and a high shelf, creating a general starting point. Wouldn't it be great if you could draw that curve in one
gesture? Well... now you can!

Of course, EQ Sketch is not about adding many or very precise bands with specific settings; it's about sketching a global
curve to start with, adding a few initial LP/HP filters, bells and shelves to start with in a fast and easy way. It might even
take a bit of practice to get good at it, but once you do, it's a real time saver, especially in combination with the Instance
list.

Dynamic EQ

One of Pro-Q 4's standout features is dynamic EQ. Any of Pro-Q's bands (with Bell or Shelf shapes) can be made
dynamic, at any slope, with perfect analog matching and in Linear Phase mode.

The dynamic behavior of Pro-Q 4 has been carefully tuned and is highly program dependent: attack, release and knee all
depend on the processed audio, the frequency range of the EQ band and the current dynamic range. This results in very
natural and smooth sounding compression and expansion, useful for a wide range of dynamic EQing applications.

Spectral dynamics

Pro-Q 4 introduces a new variation on dynamic EQ: Spectral dynamics. With traditional dynamic EQ, the gain of an EQ
band depends on the level of the input signal. In Spectral mode, Pro-Q 4 doesn't change the gain of the whole band, but
triggers on specific frequencies within that band when it exceeds the threshold, leaving other frequencies untouched.

Spectral dynamic processing is a great way of treating varying problem frequencies in a much more subtle manner
compared to using traditional dynamic EQing. Typically, you would need a separate, dedicated and often complex plug\u0002in for this type of processing, but Pro-Q 4 makes the process simple to use and easy to understand, as a logical extension
of normal dynamic processing.

Instance List

With Pro-Q 4, you can now control any other Pro-Q 4 instance in your session from a single plug-in interface. This is a
huge time-saver, making it much easier to setup initial EQing when starting a mix session.

Piano display

Using the Piano Display button at the bottom left of Pro-Q'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. You can interact with the dots in two ways:

While the piano display is active, parameter value displays that show a band's frequency will also show that frequency as
a musical note (including cents offset). Note that at any time, also if the piano display is not showing, you can enter
frequencies as musical notes. For example, you can double-click on the Frequency knob in the band selection controls
and type "D#5 +13", or "A4"

Surround and Dolby Atmos

FabFilter Pro-Q 4 supports all important surround/immersive audio formats, up to 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos (depending on the
DAW and plug-in format). When you add Pro-Q 4 to a surround channel, the interface automatically adapts itself to the
used multi-channel format. The output level meter will show all channels, with appropriate labels to identify them.

In addition, the Stereo Placement button will now give access to a surround panel with more sophisticated options to
choose which speakers are affected by the selected EQ bands.

EQ Match

Lets you choose or record a reference spectrum, compares it to the
spectrum of the current input, and adds new EQ bands to make your audio sound like the reference signal. It gets you
'that' sound in less than a minute.

As the EQ Match process often involves comparing audio of different Pro-Q instances, it is available via the Instance list.
Just hover above an instance item, click the menu button that appears at the center right, and choose EQ Match.

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.

Full Screen mode, resizing and scaling

With just the click of a button, the Pro-Q 4 interface will fill up the whole computer screen for ultra-precise
adjustments and get the best view on the spectrum analyzer and filter display.

Features