FabFilter Pro Q 3 Review

Starting Flat Out

Let’s start at the beginning and talk about the installation. This is frustrating in many plugins. But FabFilter makes this straightforward and user-friendly. You simply enter the licence key (which you receive via email after your purchase), enter the text string in the plugin window, and restart it. That’s it. No ilok dongle or account needed. No internet is required either, so you can use Fab Filter Pro Q 3 offline. A good start.

When you first open the plugin, you look at a clean, dark interface FabFilter is known for across its plugin range, dominated by the frequency spectrum. No EQ parameters are shown. Instead, you simply see a flat EQ curve, fashioned in “FabFilter Pro Q 3 Yellow”, and the grey realtime analyzer showing the incoming signal. By default, the frequency spectrum extends from 10 Hz up to 30 kHz, with an amplitude of +/- 12 dB. So whether you want to manipulate subsonic whale recordings or ultrasonic bat noises, Fab Filter Pro Q 3 is probably going to work for you.

With such a clean interface, how do you actually use the EQ? One easy way is to click on the EQ curve and drag the band up to boost the gain, or down to reduce it. A coloured dot represents each new band, with FabFilter assigning a new colour automatically for each band. The quickest way I found is double-clicking above or below the 0 dB line to create a new band instantly. Its frequency and gain are set relative to where you just double-clicked. Now I am used to Apple Logic Pro X EQ, which also allows dragging each band. But the double click functionality in FabFilter Pro Q 3 is welcome.

When creating new bands, the plugin is intelligent enough to choose a low shelf EQ when creating a band below 30 Hz, a high shelf above 10kHz, and a bell EQ in between (using a default setting of 12 dB/octave, and 0.3 Q for the shelf or 1.0 Q for bell EQ bands). I would have preferred different defaults, as I chose high and low cut filters far more often than shelf EQs, or to have an option for changing the default. But on the whole, creating bands is a breeze.

Changing each band's settings is as quick and intuitive as creating them in the first place. What I loved is how you can change basic settings cleverly with the mouse. Hovering over a band shows a mini display with frequency, gain and Q factor. Using a combination of the mouse wheel and keyboard modifiers, changing the gain, Q factor, of frequency is done in seconds. You can even perform more complicated functions, such as dynamic cuts or boosts using the ALT key with the mouse wheel, or mute a band ALT clicking on a band.

Diving a Bit Deeper

For more precise editing, the lower half reveals a control panel that includes the expected options of filter shape, slope, frequency, and gain.

Filter shapes in FabFilter Pro Q 3 include:

• Bell
• Low/High Shelf
• Low/High Cut
• Notch
• Band Pass
• Tilt Shelf
• Flat Tilt

The filter slope (how drastic the filter acts from the centre frequency) can be changed between 6 dB/octave and 96 dB/octave, for every filter. Even a brick wall slope is included, offering a near infinite slope. Gain extends from -30 dB to +30 dB, and the Q factor stretches from extremely wide 0.025 (about 20kHz) to an ultra-narrow 40 (about 100 Hz wide).

Sometimes I found it tricky to identify unwanted resonances in the spectrum, despite like many using a narrowly boosted bell-curved band to find those. To help in those situations, FabFilter Pro Q 3 has a function I have not seen in any other EQ plugin, called Spectrum Grab. When selected, it averages the frequency spectrum over a few seconds and labels precise peaks. All you then have to do is grab a highlighted peak and reduce it with a filter. This works brilliantly in practice, making the tedious job of finding and reducing those nasty resonances a cinch.

FabFilter is a pleasure to use. With every function in the ‘right’ place, little slows you down.

FabFilter Pro Q 3 also includes a dynamic EQ function, allowing you to not only statically manipulate the audio spectrum, but also adjust it depending on the input signal. The plugin offers both auto threshold and manual threshold settings, and the side-chain option allows you to dynamically control the gain using an external signal. It works well in practice, and the intuitive interface helps you dial in subtle changes. The optional dynamic EQ mode starts to set FabFilter's EQ plugin apart from others, in particular free EQs, which come with DAWs such as Apple Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Steinberg Cubase and Avid Protools.

Another handy feature is the Frequency Collision function. This is based on inter-plugin communication, meaning that several FabFilterPro Q 3 instances can communicate. Opening the Analyzer menu at the bottom gives you a list of all instances with real-time spectra. Selecting the Frequency Collision button highlights any build-up of frequencies across tracks.

Using this feature, I was able to reduce clashing bass frequencies, clashing between 40 and 180 Hz in bass and kick tracks, using a dynamic EQ and side chain. The bass track was only reduced when the kick exceeded the threshold I selected, cleaning up the song considerably. This works well, and the frequency spectrum and amount of compression are easily dialled in. If FabFilter added Attack and Release to the Dynamic EQ in the future, this would allow users to be even more precise.

In Comfortable Waters

Now whilst the functionality may seem daunting, FabFilterPro Q 3 rarely becomes cluttered or overwhelming due to its stripped-back user interface, which only ever shows what is needed. I appreciated the built-in Help function. Once selected, the plugin shows a comprehensive explanation of the function you hover. The explanations are easy to understand and comprehensive enough, whether you are a beginner or a more advanced user. In practice, that means you can confidently dive into using the plugin, without looking once at the manual. FabFilter is just a pleasure to use. With every function in the ‘right’ place, little slows you down.

However, I encountered some quirks. Changing the gain accurately with the mouse using the big display was rather difficult. I expected to simply click and hold the knob, and then change its value with a vertical up/down movement of the mouse. However, unlike other plugins I am used to with rotary encoders, you have to follow the outside circle of the knob with your mouse instead, making accurate changes tricky. Oddly, changing the auto gain in the dynamic EQ works as expected with up/down mouse movements.

To finish this in-depth review, let's look at some nifty options that FabFilter Pro Q 3 offers to customize its functionality. Over 50 Presets are built into the plugin. Presets for various genres like EDM and instruments such as Guitar, Drums, Mix and Vocals serve as a great starting point. Furthermore, simple settings are included, such as a ready-made flat EQ with 7 bell filters and high and low cut, and the obligatory default setting. You can also experiment with changes using the A/B setting, or using the undo function.

For automating filter settings, a MIDI Learn function is included, and FabFilter Pro Q 3 offers three settings of zero latency, natural phase and linear phase.

• Zero Latency Mode: uses a less demanding algorithm to minimizes latency.
• Natural Phase Mode: more demanding on the CPU but uses a different EQ response curve which FabFilter claims is more natural compared to standard EQs.
• Linear Phase Mode: Traditional EQs don't just change the amplitude, they also change the phase. This mode aims to reduce those artefacts. It is the most demanding mode, and therefore offers 4 performance & quality options. They range from "Low", introducing only 70ms latency, to "Maximum" adding over 1,500ms latency.

You can choose an EQ match function to automatically create an EQ curve to shift your audio to another reference imported. A handy AutoGain function allows you to focus on frequency changes, while the plugin compensates for gain changes. Finally, comprehensive Stereo options include per-band Mid/ Side/ Stereo/ Left/ Right placement. There is not much functionality that this equalizer leaves to be desired, apart from perhaps Attack and Release settings for the dynamic EQ.