Review: Kush Audio q632 EQ

Kush Audio is synonymous with colour, grit and character in plugins. When I found out that Kush Audio had a clean EQ out, I was taken aback and had to see it myself. Reviews for the q.632 – Analog Phased EQ plugin from Kush Audio are really hard to find on the internet and it seems that this one has largely flown under the radar.

However, this plugin is not new. It is a reskinned version of a well-loved obscure EQ called the Mapha EQ which had unusual phase-modelled filters that earned it a reputation for smoothness and fidelity that rival what comes out of $9,000 analog mastering EQs. 

So what is this plugin all about and is it any good?

q.632 is the first Kush product to leverage Magpha’s EQ dsp, adding extended gain range, an updated Preset Manager and Apple Silicon compatibility.  Magpha EQ’s core dsp (and tightly phased sound) remains untouched, and will slowly become incorporated into all of Kush’s products.  

tl;dr: If you want a dead simple, minimalist EQ that does zero damage to any part of your sound no matter what you do with it, q.632 is the one to get.

As Simple As It Gets 

This has to be one of the plainest-looking plugins you will ever see. It is bare bones in its appearance and is a purely functional UI. This has to be a stark contrast to the UI of the usual Kush plugins that all have very distinctive design elements. Here you have 6 bell bands, each with gain, frequency selector and bandwidth controls along with 2 low and high selves. There is one master trim control. That is it! 

In a way, this plugin somewhat personifies its function in its form as well. It is meant to be a very clean EQ with no frills whatsoever and the interface certainly follows this. However, if you are looking for some level of pleasantries for your eyes when you use your plugins, this is probably not going to be your favourite plugin. Even the name is pretty boring.

Clean and Nothing else

Kush Audio has bought all the DSP and code from the original makers of the Mapha EQ. These were known to be some of the cleanest and most pristine EQ plugins at the time. They claim that they rivalled these really high-end mastering EQs. This was largely due to how intact they kept your phase, just like analog EQs. 

So how does the q632 fare? Well, it is clean… and I mean very very clean.

This plugin offers a level of clinical precision that you can feel while using it. It’s as if you’re reaching in and removing or adding exactly what’s needed with pinpoint accuracy. The interface, while somewhat off-putting (it could have benefited from a brighter design), ultimately keeps your focus on the audio and nothing else. There are no visual distractions—just the pure, precise EQ adjustments happening in your track.

Personal Thoughts 

I’ve been looking for a clean, boring, and precise EQ for my mastering work for a while now. There are plenty of options that sound this clean, but many also come with sleek interfaces modeled after classic analog mastering EQs like the Maselec or GML. However, the sheer dullness of this plugin’s interface actually makes me trust it more.

It forces me to question every tiny adjustment I make. Is it better? Is it necessary? Too much or too little?

That built-in mindfulness alone makes this plugin worth it for me.

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