New Software Review: UAD Chandler Limited Curve Bender EQ
While true to the original most ways, the software version of the Curve Bender offers additional EQ points (displayed in yellow), high/low filters, and several other key features.
I think I have a problem. I am on a constant quest for more EQs. Neutral, transparent ones; thick, colored ones; edgy, fat, thin, dark… you name it—I want to hear it. My ears perk up at the slightest mention of a new EQ being introduced, and I start to wonder if it’s something I can use. Yep, I’ve got a problem.
Since I reside in the “ITB world,” my desire to acquire EQs has changed dramatically since my hardware days. Where an EQ purchase used to be more of a once-a-year event, nowadays I can purchase something new almost every month. The price of admission is much lower, so it’s easier to accumulate every different color and flavor without breaking the bank. In fact, most plugins are cheap enough that you can purchase something for a specific purpose, only use it occasionally, and still feel no regret.
In my ongoing quest for EQs, the Holy Grail remains the 2-Mix/Mastering EQ. These EQs are better suited to this important task due to their superior transparency, and their ability to make things sound better with little effort. If you’ve ever used a high-end hardware mastering EQ for any purpose, then you know what I’m talking about. The first time I tried a Sontec was as big an “a-ha” moment as I’d ever had about why some EQs are so expensive. It takes so little to impart an enormous benefit to whatever may pass through it. With this in mind, I was excited to give the UAD Chandler Limited Curve Bender EQ a test run.
The UAD Curve Bender is an emulation of the hardware unit from Chandler Limited with a few added features that are much easier to implement in the digital domain. This model was created by Softube and ported over to the UAD-2 platform. Since I own a UAD Quad Satellite, this was a no-brainer. Installation and authorization are as simple as everything else on the UAD platform, so I was up and running very quickly.
Features
The Curve Bender is a 4 band EQ with 6dB/octave high and low pass filters. It is based on the EQ in the EMI TG12345 desk, and particularly on the first version of the console and amplifier, the MKI, which featured germanium transistors. This is a big part of its character and is what makes it sound unique. Wade Goeke (designer at Chandler Limited) took the design further by taking the original 9 frequency bands and expanding them to 51 points in total for their iteration of the hardware Curve Bender. He also added the high and low filters, a selectable bell/shelf response on the high and low bands, and a multiplier switch that changes the boost/cut steps from .5dB to 1.5dB (while simultaneously sharpening the Q). In other words, he retained the TG console EQ’s vintage flavor, but made it infinitely more useful and flexible for modern production.
In an effort to maintain its ability to accurately replicate the performance of the original TG12345 console EQ, the frequency selector designations appear in two colors, as they do on the Curve Bender hardware unit. The frequencies that are labeled white are the same that are available on the original desk; the yellow designations are the newly added frequencies. In either case, the curve of the original EQ is maintained regardless of frequency selection. If you’re a stickler for being true to the original, it’s not difficult to do. If you don’t care about doing it just like Geoff Emerick did, the Curve Bender’s still got you covered.
The plugin layout, like the Curve Bender hardware unit, is very clean and easy to read. It follows Softube’s “what you see is what you get” mantra, meaning it doesn’t take long to figure out how to use, and values are always clearly displayed. The EQ can be run in Mid/Side mode, which is very helpful in mastering applications, and the channels can be linked or run independently. It has a variable output level but no input level control.
On my UAD Quad, each instance of the plugin put an 8% load on the UAD CPU. That’s not a ton, but using 8% per instance may cause you to consider where and how often you want to use it in a high track-count, plugin-heavy mix. I tend to prioritize plugins of this type and designate them for only the most important tasks, or rather, in the places where they’ll offer the most help. The most obvious place? On the 2-mix.
Still, knowing that I couldn’t spread it across a bunch of channels, I decided to run it through its paces on a variety of sources to see if I couldn’t live without it.
In Use
The first thing I observed about the Curve Bender was how smooth it sounded. It seems almost impossible to make this thing sound nasty, regardless of the source or how much boosting or cutting you do. It was capable of being aggressive, while still not making you feel as if you were being poked in the ear with an ice pick. In fact, its smoothness and musical sound almost dares you to EQ more than you might otherwise. Each time I tried it on a new source, I would turn some knobs and get a sound that I liked quickly, but then go even further toward the extremes. Feeling guilty and ashamed about my misdeeds, and upon further reflection of my misguided EQ choices, I would eventually return to a level of sanity that worked better in the mix. However, even while being abused, the Curve Bender never sounded bad. That’s saying something.
Another observation was how unique the character of the EQ is. It really doesn’t sound like any other EQ plugin that I’ve heard (except the EMI TG 12345, of course) which is a nice benefit. Tonally, it seems to lie somewhere between more transparent EQs like a Massenberg MDW EQ, the Elysia Museq or Millennia-Media NSEQ, and passive/inductor EQs like a Pultec or the SPL Passeq. It’s not as light in the top end as the aforementioned EQs, though it’s still silky. Likewise, it’s not quite as thick and colored in the low end as the passive EQs mentioned, yet is still great at adding weight and girth to otherwise thin tracks.
I tried it on every track in a drum mix (separately—since I couldn’t use that many instances at once!) and it did not disappoint. It helped the kick drum feel full and heavy without the low end getting out of control. In fact, using a low shelf boost at 70Hz while adding the HPF at 20Hz was exceptional. I think the fact that the filters are such a gentle slope (at 6dB/octave) keeps the rumbly stuff at bay while allowing the boost to affect what you can hear and feel. Rolling that same boost up to 91Hz (!) made the kick a little less thunderous, but more audible on a small set of speakers. Even a healthy boost at 6.5kHz just brought out the attack of the drum without getting too pointed. Nice.
On snare, it was a thing of beauty. Aside from the lack of harshness with an extreme boost at 4.2kHz (+10dB!) it added an apparent few inches of depth to the drum with a 2dB boost at 150Hz. And, in doing something I almost never do, it sounded positively spectacular when boosting the midrange (at 500Hz, then 800Hz) to accentuate the ring and character of the drum. Too cool.
As expected, it was wonderful on toms, but it really shined on the overheads.
The ability to add top end clarity without making the cymbals harsh or strident was outstanding. The number of frequency points across the midrange also made it easy to find and reduce any weird room resonances in the overhead tracks (this is all too common) without neutering them. Going a step further, I muted every other drum track except the kick and overheads, and was able to sculpt the sound in a way that was well-balanced, hard-hitting and clear. The exclusion of the close mics didn’t seem to matter. Uh-huh.
While retaining the unique vintage flavor of the Curve Bender’s sound, the plugin version caters to the demands of modern production—especially with the addition of Mid/Side processing as highlighted above.
What it did on the bass DI was equally impressive. The combination of a low boost (in the incredibly well-chosen range of 70Hz or 91Hz) and a 20Hz HPF kept it big, but not too boomy. Combine that with a slight cut at 300Hz to clear up the mud, and a 3dB boost at 2.8kHz to bring out some pick attack and it was glorious. The sound was aggressive and clear, but still full and smooth. It actually made a DI track sound like an amp. Fabulous.
So why stop there? How about dirty guitars? Again, it was wonderful. The high and low pass filters are very useful to me when I EQ guitars, particularly because these are a gentle 6dB/octave slope. I don’t like to remove too much of the very low frequency information because it contributes to the size of the sound of the guitar cabinet—but it can get messy at times. The HPF removes the stuff that doesn’t contribute positively to the sound, while keeping it a little cleaner. Likewise the LPF keeps the sizzle-y stuff from jumping out at me later (like in mastering!), while still allowing the guitar to be bright enough. There are enough midrange frequency choices that you can deal with problem areas with ease. Delicious.
But even with all of this legendary glory, the real test is how it would sound on a vocal. In an un-surprising turn of events, it was exceptional. A boost in the low-mid/low frequency range could be used to increase the apparent proximity effect on a vocal, which made the track feel closer and larger. Again, the gentle HPF accommodated a hefty boost without increasing the boominess or plosives. A boost with the HF shelf added air without harshness, and slight boosts in the upper midrange could help the clarity without getting edgy. Remarkable.
To Be Critical
I have only a few minor gripes, and to be honest, I hesitate to even mention them. I would love it if the low-mid band went down a little bit lower (200Hz? 160Hz?), but I must say that the exclusion of these frequencies was never a problem for me. Considering that this is based on a hardware unit really means that I should just keep my mouth shut and bask in its glory instead.
The only other thing is the multiplier switch. This is a great addition and makes the EQ more versatile, but the designation “X 1.5” is a bit deceiving. To me, this should mean that the boost/cut scale would be either as labeled (+/- 5dB), or 1.5 times what’s labeled (meaning +/- 7.5dB). What the switch actually does is change the steps from a half dB to one-and-a half dB steps. So, what looks like a 1dB boost on the front panel is actually 3dB when the multiplier is engaged. This is a small thing, and once you are aware of it, it makes no difference. If you were just listening instead of looking, you might never notice or care since it sounds so good, even with large boosts and cuts.
Summing it Up
As a 2-mix/stereo bus EQ, the UAD Chandler Curve Bender EQ is practically without equal (which is funny for an equalizer, right?) in the plugin world. It’s not exactly transparent, but is so musical and gorgeous-sounding that it simply can’t sound bad on anything. I tried to make something sound worse with it and failed miserably every time; the Curve Bender excelled on everything, which is rare.
If you have a UAD hardware unit and are looking for a unique and nearly perfect EQ for your plugin arsenal, I think this one would have to be on your short list of must-haves. And when I say “short list,” that list should only have one entry: the UAD Chandler Limited Curve Bender EQ by Softube.
Mike Major is a Mixer/Producer/Recording and Mastering engineer from Dunedin, FL.
He has worked with At The Drive-In, Coheed and Cambria, Sparta, Gone is Gone, As Tall as Lions, and hundreds of other artists over the last 30 years.
Major is the author of the book Recording Drums: The Complete Guide and is the creator of the video series “The Method to the Mix”.
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