Just wondering if anyone has experience with the Elysia Museq. If so, please comment on its strengths, weaknesses, etc. Thanks

Nobody?

I guess it's a super clean eq?

Only got to try one on the floor at AES, so that doesn't say much. However at this point I would trust those guys with my life, and more importantly my work. It's on my "must try" list. But I don't know of anybody who's actually had one in their studio yet.

would be very interested too!

I have one. It's a very crisp and transparent EQ that allows tons of boost without sounding EQed --- I often find myself boosting 10-15 dB without taking particular note of that ;-) The only other EQs where I boost similar amounts are the Manley Massive Passive and my Siemens w295b, both passive designs. I wouldn't call the Museq a "super clean EQ", though it *can* be super clean, as the slew rate limiting circuit that can be switched into the signal path gives it a nice subtle "vintage" type coloring.
The bottom end is very solid, the treble very smooth yet fast --- transient response on the unit is nearly scary. In a way this unit sounds like I always imagined the GML EQ would sound but never did; we have 2 (non-mastering) GMLs and I keep finding them harsh and resonant sounding (well, they're obviously great, but they are those 2% more harsh and resonant than the Museq to my ears). It's not a character box so if that's what you're looking for the Museq is not for you. It is however an EQ that can be both subtle and be used for extreme curve bending while always retaining signal integrity ...Elysia-style. It complements my Massive Passive and w295b perfectly, between the lot there really isn't much I feel I'm missing.

After all the praise, it does have a couple of bits that I think could be improved on.

First, the low shelf/filter band has a weird frequency selection --- you even get a step between 9 and 10 hertz but there's also just one between 55 and 65 as well as between 65/75 or 75/95 , the are where you'd really need more precision. All in all there are 9 steps between 9 and 30 Hertz and 9 steps between 55 and 120 Hertz.
Another thing is that while the parametric bands are wired in parallel (which makes for the excellent transient response), the high shelf is wired in series
which results in the out-of-band noise of the mid bands to be amplified when boosting the shelf. If the shelf was wired pre-BPF, this would not happen.
To put this into context: the noise is only an issue when boosting by 10-20 db on multiple bands simultaneously, so it really is NOT an issue.

But the overall rating I'd give this EQ is stil something like 6 out of 5.

I imagine how their Alpha-style EQ would sound
I hope we'll see it one day.

I've been using one for about a month now. I really enjoy it. I have run it on individual instruments and entire mixes. It feels extremely flexible and I feel like it works with me instead of against me. I can cut problem frequencies and provide a broad warmth curve at the same time. I also feel like I can tone the low end easily with a resonant low shelf and some tuning using the second band of the museq. It's the only EQ I reach for these days.
If you had any specific questions, I'd be more than happy to try and answer.

I'm also interested in museq eq. Would you pick meseq for tracking mixing and on 2 buss over, say adesign hammer, sontec etc... If you have had experienced with any other fine eq as the ones mentioned above(especially the hammer that gs loves) close to that price range

any other thing we should know about the museq eq that hasn't been mensioned here, that could help us get a better idea of what kind of beast this baby is

I had considered the hammer but wanted more control of the bands I was provided. When it came down to it, the main contenders before deciding on the Museq were the Crane Song IBIS and the Manley Massive Passive. Both obviously great EQs and both fit my need to have something that could run on individual instruments as well as the mix bus. I don't get many opportunities to test out a lot of gear so a lot of my research comes from reviews, reading manuals, and the gear junkies on this site. The Museq came out on top for me because of the technical design behind it. I thought I would feel a little limited by not having control of my bandwidth on the unit (although there is a button for broad/narrow Q). Since working with it, I haven't missed the control at all.
I think the Museq strikes a good balance between the potential for mix tuning (small value changes, 0.5 to 2.0 dB) and sound mangling (11 to 15 dB). All I really know is that everything I put through it sounds better when I'm done.

I got to play with one at AES and it really does sound awesome. The virtual vintage switch is a pretty cool feature.

Verry happy owner of the Museq, all 5 bands sound fantastic so i can say i found my swiss army knife EQ. It is verry musical sounding with a high quality tone to it, versatile for individual sounds and 2buss. Bass is strong and tight, mids and highs without harshness, the warm mode makes the sound a bit smoother. Try it ! but be prepared... i played only a few minutes with it and after that i had to save for months to get it, didn`t want to mix anything until i got the Museq.

Yeah, it's a monster. Especially when paired with an Alpha Compressor...

-d

Ya, it's four years later and I still really want one

I swear by mine.

Regards,
Frank

Hi guys, do you have some "secret" favourite tricks with the museq to share ?

just turn it on and send the signal through it and let the force be with you

Ha ha ha , verry funny ! Good advice, will use the force ! :D

Hi,

I have one and I've worked with it on a lot of projects. I currently try to sell it because I change my setup and think going on a Buzz Eq but, it's a very easy and polyvalent Eq, you can work on all projects with, mixing/mastering, very punchy (less with the warm mode, if you need smooth transients ), like said above, solid bass, great LPF/HPF/resonnant filters, I hesitated with the Massive Passive but I think it's better to take a clean Eq and add color after.. (I have a Burl, it's perfect! Or maybe a Looptrotter Sat2rate could be a great coloration tools)

Best,

Did you know there's two types of cut filters in the Museq?

You can also do the "Pultec" thing pretty good with Museq.

I detail it all in my Museq Review - take a look:
Elysia Museq


Regards,
Frank

Yeah thanks ! the "Pultec" thing was one of the first tricks that i checked when i got it, also using the second type of filter wich is verry clean and does not affect the other freqs, love using it. Im verry happy with it aswell, trying to learn more how it works and to not miss on some "ultra secret" tricks . The review is a great read, thanks Ionian

Thanks for the compliment!

Yeah, this EQ just blows me away. I got mine a while ago but I really lost all lust for any other EQs. When the day comes that I want to do something and I feel that this EQ can't do it, then I'll get a different EQ to compliment it. But that day hasn't come yet!

I also agree with you. I had gotten a demo to play with back in October of 2011 for one month. I returned it at the end of October but I felt like you - that I didn't want to mix anything without it! I had to save from October to April 2012 to be able to afford it, but it was well worth the money, and the wait!

Regards.
Frank

Two things I do just about all the time:

1) Set to Warm mode, switch high band to Lowpass, crank up the gain (which is then essentially a resonance control) to about 2-3 clicks below may, and tune the frequency by first setting it to max and then taking it lower until you start hearing it accentuate the "shimmer" of the audio. Then adjust gain to taste. Instant deluxe HF shimmer.

2) Set high band to minimum frequency, then boost by 0.5-1.5dB, depending on signal. Opens it right up without sounding EQ'ed. (For the record: this approach you can digitally do really well with our UNFILTER plugin -- it lets you create a high shelf that starts at 1Hz and slopes up to boost by as little as 0.1dB at 22k....heh)

-d

Great tips , thank you !