- top rated
Mastering-grade passive tube EQ that’s smooth, refined and precise
A passive tube EQ that’s clean and precise enough for modern mastering
Passive tube EQs have long been praised for offering tremendous color and warmth. Their broad boosts and cuts and inherent saturation makes them a favorite option for overall tonal shaping. Knif Audio’s boutique Soma EQ updates the passive tube EQ approach by offering a cleaner, more flexible tone, as well as more precise EQ adjustments to meet the demands of contemporary mastering engineers.
The first passive tube EQ with “Real Q Adjustment” taking out the guesswork
Despite their wonderful sound, old school passive EQs have their shortcomings as well. Changing the bandwidth control on a conventional passive EQ will cause you to inadvertently increase or reduce the amount of boost or cut you are applying, leading to unexpected changes in your EQ curve. The Soma EQ finally solves this problem by adding “Real Q Adjustment”. A first in the world of passive tube EQs, it allows for much more predictability and precision than any other EQ of its type.
Sophisticated and flexible color for discerning ears
While classic passive tube EQs like the Pultec and Massive Passive are celebrated for their warmth, saturation and character, there is such a thing as “too much of a good thing”. Sometimes the tone of these beautiful EQs can be excessive for a given track, forcing a mastering engineer to choose a totally different type of tool for the task. The Soma EQ offers a slightly cleaner and more subtle tone by default, with the option to drive it harder for additional warmth, making it one of the most adaptable processors of its kind.
Now with new features only possible in the digital domain
The plugin version of Knif’s Soma takes a high end analog EQ and updates it with extra features only possible in the digital domain. It is now easier than ever to increase or decrease the drive applied at the input and output stages to dial in just the right amount of analog goodness. The engineers at Brainworx have added indispensable tools for mastering, including a mono maker, stereo width control, and additional options for TMT.
Features
- An exacting model of the original Knif Audio design, made in close cooperation with boutique analog hardware designer, Jonte Knif.
- Emulates the natural warmth of tubes and transformers, with fully variable saturation thanks to independent controls for headroom, input and output drive.
- “Real Q Adjustment” makes Soma the most precise passive tube EQ on the market.
- Stepped controls perfect for mastering applications.
- Onboard Mid/Side processing.
- Mono Maker, Stereo Width control and TMT on board.
- Auto Listen feature to hear your EQ changes in isolation.
- Selectable 6dB/oct & 12dB/oct slope high pass filters.
- Employs Brainworx´ most advanced modeling yet to capture the complexity of this unique circuit design.
- TMT — Brainworx patent-registered “Tolerance Modeling Technology” (US Patent No. 10,725,727)
System Requirements
Mac
- macOS 13 down to macOS 10.11
- Intel, or Apple Silicon
PC
- Windows 11 down to Windows 8
- x64-compatible CPU
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM
AAX DSP, AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3
Any references to any brands on this site/page, including reference to brands and instruments, are provided for description purposes only. For example references to instrument brands are provided to describe the sound of the instrument and/or the instrument used in the sample. Plugin Boutique do not have (nor do they claim) any association with or endorsement by these brands. Any goodwill attached to those brands rest with the brand owner. Plugin Boutique or its Suppliers do not accept any liability in relation to the content of the product or the accuracy of the description. "RHODES" is a registered trademark of Joseph A Brandstetter.