API® 500 Series EQ Collection
Customer Reviews
API 500 Series EQ Collection
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M. Hoomans
Magic EQ's in the box
For over a year I have been demoing these EQ's on multiple occasions and every time I was so happy how they behaved and sounded. Now that I have them, they have become my go-to coloring EQ's for pretty much everything. The 550 shines on (electric) piano, vocals and guitar to name just a few examples, the 560 is perfect for when you need a little more control to shape the sound to your liking. I used it with great results on kick, snare and overheads and I believe it is also perfect for shaping an entire mix.
Even when you go crazy with these EQ's, they somehow manage to maintain a smooth and natural sound. I can award these plugins with 5 stars without any hesitation. Thanks UA!
c. bond
Quick and easy old school style
I just purchased a twin duo so I did the 3 plug upgrade. There are so many plugs I like but I had to pick 3 and I went with 3 that I felt I would use the most right away. Ampex, Fatso and the Api 500. Man I love the 560! It's so easy to use on my drums and samples and whatever else I have going. I'm doing hip hop tracks so these plugs will get a work out. I was going to get the Api vision instead of the 500 but the sound completely different to me. Man with the DSP so low on this plug and how easy it is to use its a must have for what I'm doing. Oh I forgot about the 550... Would have been nice if all I had to pay for was the 560 and priced it the same as the chambrige 4 stars because of that
J. Roger
Beautiful
Beautiful sounding EQ's. Lots of colour and great curves. I had a poor upright recording to deal with and the 560 turned "pretty awful" into "completely acceptable".
D. Hinton
Simply the Best
Having used the actual hardware unit, the strikingly very close to the hardware. I was only able to tell subtle differences but all in all, you guys got it right with this one as well unlike so many others. Great job!
K. Thura
nice drums sound
Api 550a is good guitar sound and 560 is best drums sound.
K. Niwa
Musical (if only playable) EQ
This is one of my favorite eq's and this emulation does it justice. One step further, the interplay of having multiple, effected tracks sounds so amazing. However, the lack of simultaneous multi-parameter, tactile control (a major gap in the Apollo system) is illustrated by the inability to 'sculpt' the sound more than one parameter at a time. I wish UA would develop an iPad app (something akin to the Eventide H9) and add MIDI/OSC support. Either way, on the basis of sound, I would strongly recommend these eq's.
K. Niwa
Musical (if only playable) EQ
This is one of my favorite eq's and this emulation does it justice. One step further, the interplay of having multiple, effected tracks sounds so amazing. However, the lack of simultaneous multi-parameter, tactile control (a major gap in the Apollo system) is illustrated by the inability to 'sculpt' the sound more than one parameter at a time. I wish UA would develop an iPad app (something akin to the Eventide H9) and add MIDI/OSC support. Either way, on the basis of sound, I would strongly recommend these eq's.
H. Varvoglis
Rock solid sound
If you want a solid rock drum sound this is the way, the 560 is the best way to sculpture the base drum sound and both plugins gives the aggressiveness you already know from the hardware. A must have plugin that will give you the "rock" in your mix.
C. Garges
API 500 Series EQs
The API 550A and 560 have been hardware favorites of mine for years. The 560 was the first good EQ I ever bought, so I'm VERY familiar with the originals. UA's 560 plug-in does not disappoint. It has the same forward midrange character in overall tone and the frequency adjustments seem powerful and effective, like the originals. It's easy to push around the tone of bass and drums with these EQs. The 550A is also a useful tool. The UA version seems a little less forward-sounding than my 1974 models, but the general tone of the frequency shaping seems the same. I'm using the 550A plug-in less than the 560, but the 560 is getting A TON of use. Overall, I'm super-happy with this purchase.
H. Henning
Sound great
i love it to use it for vocals - makes them fresh and clear without too many sharp noises.
B. Antoine
Tout simplement étonnant !
Vous pensiez avoir un beau son, le bon réglage, why not.
Mais quand vous assignez ce plugin, i(voix, guitare acoustique) il se passe vraiment quelque chose d'incroyable, le son se bonifie, se clarifie et si vous manquez de puissance, on augmente le volume sans attirer de défauts, au contraire.
Un incontournable à essayer sans modération.
B. Soldate
Seriously amazing EQ's
If you are looking at these, stop and just buy them. NOW. The 560 is amazing on kick and guitars (and really anything else) and the 550 makes any other snare EQ useless (except for surgical stuff, for the most part these are not surgical). They do what they do really really well. Great Job!
H. Zwarts
almost as good as the real thing!
I own the hardware and this is really a great emulation. Of course you don't get that little extra 3d sound you still get from real analog but it is getting close.
awesome plug in!
M. Sawicz
Workhorse in our mixes
This was one of the firsts EQ we started to work on UAD platform, it quickly and easily fonud the place in our mixes, from the moment of buy, there was no single work in our studio that didn't used API 500 EQ.
D. Mclaughlin
Love these!
Worth it for the 560 alone. Kick drum shaping master. These EQs sound so good on percussion and drums. Soooo much better then the Waves Emu's IMO. API ITB? look no further.
C. Hoyer
Rude!
What an obnoxious, arrogant, almost violent EQ. Punches you in the face and in the gut. Love it.
I. Babayoff
excellent, outstanding plug in.
Phhh, UAD... u done a great job, Love it! this Eq is about to be a good companion for me.
R. Weissauer
could not resist buying it
Indeed, whereas the 550 is a nice and respectable EQ, it's the 560 that really
shines. It's beautiful sound convinces from subtle to extreme modifications,
without ever loosing the musical flavour at any time!
G. Taylor
Great control...
I love the 560. You have so much control over a mix and it's very very responsive. Incredibly sensitive actually. You've really got to trust your ears with this one - it can make really extreme changes but that's why I use it in certain situations. Balancing a mix is perhaps my main purpose for it - but it's also great for vocal and voiceover stuff.
P. Brown
Great EQ's!
I love the sound of these, especially the 560 graphic. A graphic EQ seems old school these days, and at first glance might seem limiting but I find myself reaching for it more and more simply because it's musical and makes tracks sound better. it definitely has mojo! The 550 controls are a little harder to use but it still sounds good. Concentric knobs like the 550 and Neve stuff are visually confusing to me, but that's my personal pref - UA did right by emulating the 550 as is, especially for folks that have used the hardware version (which I have not). Another hit UA!!