Hey Everyone.

So I'm trying to assemble an analog EQ Combo for my mastering chain. Im all But Settled on the KNIF SOMA and trying to see what options i have for a complementary eq. My philosophy is to have one clean surgical and one tone-ish broad additive eq. i Feel like the Knif can do Both so i shortlisted two options.

API5500 (weird i kno) - Pros like the sound and range makes it easy for bloomy additive eq. Cons not your conventional mastering eq though used.

Maselec MEA2 - Industry standard. i feel like id use the for surgical subtractive EQ and not to add much. concerned with how close it might be to the SOMA.

With That being said i feel like i might be missing something as an option and would really like to hear some educated thoughts on this. don't wanna get too side tracked with anything past constructive opinions based on your experiences.

Budget list THAT Loud so don't suggest something that'll make sell my Body at Night by street corners.

Cheers
Sheriff

Congrats! I haven’t used the soma but I hear incredible things.

Personally I would wait until I was extensively familiar with the soma before planning my next eq purchase. Getting to intimately understand it’s sound and workflow will obviously influence what you pair with it.

That said I love the bass and low mids on my 5500. It pairs great with my massive passive since the massivo’s softer low end isn’t usually what I’m looking for. Ive heard it’s also fun to swap out the op amps which I plan on getting to someday, maybe to get something less edgy from the high bands. It’d be a great option for stronger bass character if that’s what you’re looking for.

soma - eksa - terry ceq

for me, this is a combination with which you can cover 95%.
instead of the terry you can also take a 5500, or a terry and a 5500.

with the 5500, you have to be careful which other device it is placed next to.
almost worse than its interspersing with other devices is how firmly it reacts to other devices.
i now have it next to the eksa and no other device in the immediate distance, so it's pretty quiet.

with the 5500 you can still get out a lot by other opamps, popular are for example the scott liebers red dot, they sound less aggressive in the presence range than the stock opamps.
I find the 5500, if you place it carefully, absolutely suitable for mastering - and above all, nothing can replace it in terms of sound.
it is also used in many mastering studios, even bob katz has used it.
a chandler curve bender would also fit into the same category as a terry ceq or 5500 for me.

I would clearly prefer the eksa over a mea-2, also a massenburg or a sontec (but with the sontecs only because they are tricky to maintain).
the buzzaudio req could also be a complement to the soma.

i can Appreciate that. Thats great advice. baby steps and get to know them one by one.

Thanks Nick

This is good info. ill do my research on the Terry CEQ. but im glad to hear u speak of the 5500 like that. that's my opinion as well. even with the minor limitations it has. i looked at the Eska before. ill chk it out again but the SOMA called to me. Eska has way too many options if that's a thing. lol

Of the lot you mentioned I’ve owned the buzz req2.2a for a few years. Tim is an amazing designer and sweet guy- I had a problem with a bypass switch which ultimately was user error, but he sent me replacement relays from New Zealand for free, even though I purchased used. Incredible guy.

The build quality is intense and the active low band and the mids sounded incredible. It has a slight transient limiting effect going on in the high band that would work well as a complimentary eq on the right mixes; however, as my primary eq I found it not always the right choice. Highly recommended though!

That TERRY CEQ Though. O_O

You would probably just be fine with the Soma for colour and then software EQ for clean. If you want a clean EQ then the GML 9500, Maselec MEA-2 or a HDE 250 EQ from custom audio would work well.

+1 for the Buzz REQ - you can get optional output transformers for it as well on the other outs to give a bit more option wise.
Build quality is great and Tim is really easy to deal with/helpful.

Already own the Soma or not? ... if not...
The Soma is a great EQ, has a wonderful sound, it's on the cleaner side for a tube EQ. BUT... Don't expect crazy coloration from it. I'd describe its sound as firm, rich and sweet. Even though it is a great box, it would not be my first EQ-choice. It's an additional thing, an icing on the cake next to a workhorse like an MEA-2, REQ 2.2, GML. I am selling mine right now (you can find it on reverb:-) but it worked pretty well with tools that have way more imprint, e.g. a 5500, Curve Bender, Pultecs (use/d them all side by side).

MEA2 is my workhorse. I chose it over the Buzz and others. It might be too sterile for some, but for me it keeps the low mids intact when doing surgical cuts.

I added the SOMA for sweetening and additive, although it can do wide gentle cuts without collapsing the image or depth of space.

Perfect combo for my uses. Only thing is, I sometimes wish I had more filter choices, as the SOMA only goes down to 25Hz. That's when I bring in the Weiss EQ1 plug... but I like to stay OTB as much as possible.

I'm sure the EKSA is great, and would love to try one out some day. But right now, I'm content with my current set-up

To each is own though... good luck!

Very similar situation over here. Firstly I bought MEA-2 which I find very useful, very nice sound and quite clean. Then I bought Soma and I think it is an excellent combination. I would prefer having another clean EQ, not for replacing the Soma but for having more options. I sold my API5500 because I was not using it much. For me the ideal would be adding an Eksa to my setup (maybe in the future...)
I have never tried Terry EQ so I can not compare them. Anyways, we are talking about really nice pieces of gear, at this level is more a matter of taste

My Soma shipped this week and I ordered it mid November, so you might want to factor that in 7 month lead time.
Regarding the MEA-2 its been my main thing for a couple of years, there are plenty of other options out there, but it's a classic design, and I wouldn't be bothered if it was my only HW EQ.
As with all these things it's more about the driver than the car, rest is just a matter of budget and/or taste.

Have you considered a SPL PQ? Really nice tight eq to complement a wider colored one

This is Very Insightful and Helpful . Thanks Bro

This is really Helpful . I won't Mind hearing what Options other than the ESKA you're looking at since you sold the 5500. Taste is the important bit but sometimes you don't get the "perfect" conditions to test these things against each other so every little bit of info helps

I did consider it and it seems Kool but the lack of any proper shelving filters threw me Off. It Seems like something id use after I already had my comfortable HW Eq options down.

On the other hand…. One could argue the benefits of using plugs for subtractive.surgical Eq, and the Soma for sweetening/shaping. If your ok with plugs that is.

it is undoubtedly the case that analog technology can demonstrate its strengths especially well when it comes to boosting and saturating.
i also like to use plugins for cleaning, but anyone who has used an eksa for cutting knows that analog can be a real phenomenon here as well.
in addition, the basses of the eksa, I have never heard digitally like this too

before you buy a pq, i would strongly advise you to check it out.
as imposing as the sound possibilities are, and at a fairly moderate price, there is a reason why you can find them quite a lot and inexpensively on the used market.
the operation is not everyone's cup of tea.

Agree 100%. Really need to hear an Eksa.

Right now it’s soma>>Siemens 75-15>> BAX eq

I've noticed you have also removed the Knif Vari Mu II from your rig. Is there a specific reason why the Knif-sound does not work for you?

I've sold it 2 yrs ago.
I am also selling my Knif Soma actually.
No specific reason, the Knif-sound is gorgeous!
Slimming down my arsenal

OK, let me rephrase my question then: if you are slimming down your arsenal, why is it that you choose to take out the Knif units and not any of the others? I'm trying to understand what the reasoning behind your choices is, so I can understand the strenghts and weaknesses of different units (in the context of your equipment choices) better. It's hard for me to comprehend why you would remove a gorgeous sound from your mastering rig, unless there are even more gorgeous choices in the chain.

Well, somewhere here's your answer. To fully understand my decision you'd probably need the exact same tools and chain.
My chain and workflow is fairly complex and atm I just prefer other tools to achieve what I want to achieve.

Pairing the best individuals not always makes the best team.

Word!!

This is really the point it gets to. I've bought and sold three Soma's but I still really like it. The chain interactions and the specific combinations of the gear really matters.

everyone has their own areas of activity and their own preferences.
if you are primarily into urban and dance music, knif may not be your most used gear and you may be more suited with solid state gear.
if you also do a lot of acoustic music, jazz, folk, but also pop or even house, where a noble, rich tone is more desired, it looks different again.
I tend to use the soma when I don't want it primarily to bang. the pure mu, on the other hand, I also use on hard electronica.

that's why it's sometimes good to look at a writer's references to see if they're in similar musical territory, and to listen to their productions to see if their aesthetic is a close match to yours.

Of course I know this (we all do), which is why I was asking for a comment in the context of his equipment choices. But it seems to be very hard to verbalize a chain of choices, when I read the answer. When I am selling a piece of equipment I can usually clearly explain why it would not work for me, so I thought it might be interesting to learn where these pieces did not work for him. It could be some unwanted interaction with other pieces in the chain, or some unwanted interaction with most of the music that he is mastering, or a hurdle in the overall aesthetic that he is looking for. Still not something to be so vague about, IMHO. To have a conversation about an individual situation there is absolutely no need for the other participants to be in that exact same situation to be able to understand it. That's the great thing of the human mind: we can imagine ourselves in the shoes of someone else, if we get some proper information, and we can greatly learn from that. I was hoping for such conversation, but alas.