Applying EQ to a sound is an art that is hard to master for a perfect and balanced sound. However, plugins like Waves Equator and Oeksound Soothe 2 are designed to automate this task.
The Equator plugin is a suppressor VST that suppresses the targeted frequencies and tries to balance and stabilize the sound.
On the other hand, the function of Soothe 2 is also similar except for some features.
Now the question arises: Is Waves 15 Curves Equator the Next Soothe 2 Killer? Let’s find it out which plugin deserves the crown.
Interface
First of all let’s talk about the interface of both of these plugins.
The Waves plugin’s interface is quite similar to the Soothe 2 plugin’s. Both plugins gain equal points for the interface.
Both have easy-to-navigate and user-friendly interfaces.
Suppression Sensitivity Control
The second main comparison pillar is frequency attenuation sensitivity. This factor depends upon the number of EQ bands. More EQ bands means more attenuation can be done, or vice versa.
The Curves Equator from Waves provides eight frequency bands, and the Oeksound Soothe 2 plugin offers 4 EQ bands. It is a plus point for the Equator vst.
In this way, the curve equator offers precise control for the frequency targeting compared to the soothe plugin.
The Soothe 2 plugin has low-pass and high-pass filters. They are rarely used to remove resonant frequencies until the input is recorded with a cheap mic and has a rumble in it. On the other hand, the waves curves equator lacks this feature.
It does have a low- and high-pass filter, which can be a plus for the Soothe 2 plugin.
Now, let’s discuss this plugin’s frequency attenuation behavior. These plugins behave quite differently when suppressing problematic or resonant frequencies.
The curves waves equator plugin works well in the area of the low content of the mix. Its suppression in that area is reliable. It’s important to note that I am talking about the plugin’s default settings here.
Conversely, the Soothe 2 plugin works well at the mid- and high-frequency ranges. However, its attenuation at the low end of a song is not as good as that of the Waves plugin.
Multiband Capabilities
This is a point where the wave equator wins from the soothe 2 plugin. The wave equator is a multiband suppressor. The behavior of a sound’s frequencies at different ranges is different.
In this way, the Waves Equator plugin lets the user set different attenuation settings for different frequency ranges. As I mentioned above, this plugin provides 8 EQ bands.
The Game-Changing “Learn” Feature
The learn function is the main feature of the wave curves’ equator, and it is one of the most satisfying features.
I believe this feature is supported by the artificial intelligence technique. When the user first opens the plugin, he is recommended to press this learn button.
After pressing this button, the plugin will listen to the input audio profile for a while and then choose the frequency reduction amount.
Again, this feature can save time for music producers who work on busy projects and do not have time to dive deep into complex tasks like this.
On the other hand, the Soothe 2 does offer this auto-learn feature. This requires the user to manually set the frequency suppression setting, which is time-consuming if done accurately.
Frequency Taming Capability
The frequency-taming capability is also another great pillar of their comparison. When I put Soothe 2 on any sound, it tames the resonance frequencies very surgically.
This means it uses very narrow cuts and tries to tame only those frequencies that seem problematic. On the other hand, the frequency-taming behavior of the Equator plugin is somewhat different from that of the Soothe plugin.
When I used to put the equator on the mix bus or at any single track, it uses the wide bands to cut and reduce the frequencies compared to the band of the soothe 2.
This plugin can be used to give a certain tone to the sound instead of the surgical EQ plugin. In this case, Soothe 2 got a plus point.