3-band EQ
A quick, three-knob tone shaper: bass, middle and treble. It's a simpler, faster tool than the channel's full Equalizer — reach for it when you want a quick tonal push somewhere specific in the chain, not a detailed multi-band sculpt.
Reach for it when:
- you want a fast bass/mid/treble tilt mid-chain, without opening the full EQ tab;
- you're shaping the tone of one FX insert's output specifically — placed right after it in the chain, rather than the channel's overall sound;
- you need more than one tone-shaping stage in the same chain (the channel's own EQ is a fixed system node — this one can be added again and again, anywhere).
FX inserts can be added and set up on Free, but they only affect the sound with Premium.
Adding it
On a channel's FX tab, click + Node ▾ → EQ/Filters → 3-band EQ. It drops into the chain just after the selected node. To edit it, pin one of the dock's two panels to it with ⇅, or set a panel to ⟳ Follow FX tab selection and click the node.
In Simple mode, add it from the Effects block's ⚙ instead — see Simple mode.
Where it sits in the chain matters: place it wherever you want that specific tonal push to happen — right after a reverb to tame a muddy tail, for instance, rather than only at the very start or end.
Reading the panel
The graph shows the combined curve of all three bands at once — a shelf on the low end, a bell in the middle, a shelf on the high end — so you can see the overall tonal shape as you turn the knobs.
Click SPEC in the panel header (on by default) to lay a live spectrum analyzer behind the curve, so you can see exactly where your source's energy sits before deciding where to push or pull.
This panel is compact enough that it has no ⛶ maximize button; it always shares the dock.
Controls
| Knob | Range | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | −12…+12 dB | 0 | Boost or cut the bass — a shelf fixed at 100 Hz. Everything below that frequency moves together. |
| MID | −12…+12 dB | 0 | Boost or cut the middle — a bell centred on MID FREQ, where voices and most instruments live. |
| HIGH | −12…+12 dB | 0 | Boost or cut the treble — a shelf fixed at 10 kHz. |
| MID FREQ | 200…5,000 Hz | 1,000 | Which frequency the MID knob's bell is centred on. |
The low and high shelves' corner frequencies (100 Hz, 10 kHz) are fixed — only MID FREQ moves. For control over exactly where every band sits, or more than three bands, use the Graphic EQ or the channel's full Equalizer instead.
A good starting point
- Add it where you want the tonal push to happen, and leave everything flat first — listen to what's actually there before reaching for a knob.
- For a quick "make it sound better" pass: a small LOW lift adds warmth, a small HIGH lift adds air and clarity — a dB or two each goes a long way.
- Use MID FREQ to find the specific problem or sweet spot, then nudge MID — sweep the frequency with a boost dialled in to locate it by ear, then set the gain to taste.
Because these are wide shelves and a fairly broad bell, even a couple of dB is audible. Big swings (8 dB or more) tend to sound obviously processed rather than natural.
Presets, bypass and reset
- PRESET ▾ in the panel header applies a saved setup, or saves the current one under a name. Once one is applied the header shows Preset: name — see Knowing what preset is applied. Ready-made curves can be found in the Workshop — Workshop ▸ Browse, filter chip 3-Band EQ.
- ON / OFF bypasses just this node — the quickest way to hear whether it's helping.
- RESET returns every knob to its default.
Related
- Equalizer — the channel's full parametric EQ, with up to 12 freely placed bands; use this node instead when three fixed bands aren't enough, or when you need the shaping to live at a specific point in the FX chain rather than as the channel's own fixed EQ stage.
- Graphic EQ — ten fixed bands across the spectrum, for a more detailed tonal sculpt than three bands allow.
- Effects Rack — adding, ordering and rewiring nodes.