Review: Fabfilter Pro Q4

It is here. Fabfilter Pro-Q 4 has to be one of the most highly anticipated plugin releases this year. Like most professionals, I have used the Pro-Q 3 a lot in my career, but it is not my staple EQ. So this will not be an excited fan letter. This review will be my honest take on everything new.

An equaliser is probably the tool you use most while mixing and mastering, so you need the best of the best. FabFilter Pro-Q 4 delivers with the highest possible sound quality, a very extensive feature set, and a gorgeous, innovative interface with unrivalled ease of use.

Fresh and Improved 

The GUI is largely familiar with a slightly flatter design that makes everything look more modern. Fabfilter already had one the best interfaces on any EQ out there. They are very good at packing in a whole bunch of features without it being overwhelming and cluttered. This is also true for the new one, which has even more goodies hiding within.

Let’s talk about all the new stuff. The first feature to talk about is the EQ Sketch feature. This lets you quickly draw out a rough EQ curve for your source. You can toggle this feature with the little sketch tool icon at the lower left part of the screen.

Next, we have the new Spectral features. This lets you ‘soothe’ your sound (IYKYK). You can toggle this feature by either choosing it by right-clicking a band or clicking on the little icon right above the Gain knob. The little slider next to it opens up the dynamics section as well. You can pull down for threshold just like in Pro Q3 but now you also have attack and release parameters for extra control.

One of the more significant additions has to be the new Instance View. This lets you view all the instances of Pro Q4 in a single window. 

You can adjust the sizes of the displays and you have a neat little list of all the instances on the right side that you can reorder etc.. You can even copy EQs from one instance to another quite seamlessly.  There is also a nice search bar to quickly pull up the track you are looking for or simply display the stuff that’s relevant. The slickness with which this all happens is very impressive and satisfying. 

One of the other significant new features is hidden in the little bar towards the bottom-right of the screen. These are the Character Modes. You can choose between three characters: Clean, Subtle and Warm. These let you impart some analog character to your source. 

This has been a not-so-comprehensive rundown of all the new UI stuff that’s in Pro Q4. Now let’s talk about how different it is to use. 

Optimal Workflow, Optimal Sound

Let me start by saying that apart from the added character control, there is very little that has changed in terms of how the Pro Q4 sounds with respect to Pro Q3. Sure they must have done some tweaks under the hood to make things smoother and better but it is definitely not a huge difference that is extremely obvious. 

However, a lot of changes have more to do with optimising the workflow. This should be the case since a workhorse EQ plugin should be all about workflow and ease of use. A lot of these features are stuff that I have never thought I would want or see in an edition of the Fabfilter EQ. Starting with the Spectral function, this seems to be the flavour of the season. There have been a lot of spectral clean-up tools in the last few months each one claiming to go after the OG – Soothe. 

I believe the true value of this new feature lies in the fact that it is directly integrated into the EQ itself. You don’t have to reach for a whole different plugin just to get this job done. It is very good, especially in the low mid and low range but I do think it takes away too much in the top end. I find it sucks the life out of tracks when I use it on broader ranges in the top bands. But it shines when you have to do something specific like de-ess or de-resonate some problematic material. The attack and release help you tailor the response and you can even choose the selectivity with which it operates with a little slider. 

Speaking of the attack and release, it is a welcome addition to have this in the dynamics section. You now have control over the individual bands. However, I would still always prefer the Attack and Release to be in milliseconds. I have never gotten comfortable with the percentage approach. I do see the value in using your ears etc.. but if you are offering control, why not go the distance?

The Character feature is a great addition. It does add some nice colour to your sound. While I would again, prefer a bit more control with how much colour to add, I also realise there are other plugins for that. The point of this feature is to quickly give you a touch of vibe within your EQ itself. The Subtle mode is exactly that – very subtle, whilst the Warm mode adds a significant touch of even harmonics to your sound. It has a nice thickening effect overall and works well on vocals, synths and guitars. 

Moving on to one of the most hyped features – the Instances View. I am personally not a person who is going to use this feature. Maybe I might use it to lock my kick and bass or occasionally to make two conflicting synth parts work better together. But it is a great feature to have. My favourite aspect of it has to be the ability to quickly copy plugin settings from one to another. It has to be said that this feature works well only if you are quite organised to begin with and name all your tracks properly. 

Another of the workflow features is the EQ sketching function. I have personally not found much use for it. This doesn’t feel as smooth and tactile as it looks when you actually use it. It does not really fit my philosophy and workflow either. It is a cool gimmick though and in the instances view, you can maybe use it to quickly audition or test EQ profiles. 

Personal Thoughts

The Pro Q4 is up there in my top three EQs of all time. However, I do believe that having a lot of features in one place might make you want to use them unnecessarily. For example, the spectral feature can definitely do more harm than good if not used judiciously. Having it right in the EQ might lead to people using it more than is really needed. This might sound a tad insane to say but as someone who also teaches students to mix, sometimes too many features make them get carried away from core principles.

The Instances view also changes the way you think about EQ. Seeing all the conflicts in one place might make it feel like the mix is one big puzzle to solve. Whether this is going to improve or negatively impact your mix depends on the kind of person you are and how you use it. There is a lot of visual feedback, maybe a touch too much for someone like me, and the whole thing starts to feel a bit too gamified.

Having said all of this, as a professional tool, this is almost certainly the most well-thought-out EQ out there. All the stuff they have added improves control and functionality. They have tried to cover every single base possible. This is evident in features like the ability to have fractional slopes – something that I’m sure is going to appeal to a very small group. 

Buy Fabfilter Pro-Q 4 from our partner, Plugin Boutique

Find out more about Fabfilter Pro-Q 4