Dynamic EQ

Every band in Outboard-EQ can react to the audio passing through it. Set a threshold, and the band's gain bends only when the signal crosses it — a static cut that wakes up just for the loud notes, a boost that pulls shy details forward without colouring the rest of the mix.

Controls

Dyn On

Enables dynamic behaviour for the band. With Dyn Off the band acts as a plain static EQ — the dynamic parameters below stay visible but inactive.

Threshold

The level the detector signal has to cross before the band starts moving. Range −60 to 0 dB. Set to 0 dB to engage Auto mode, which tracks a one-second RMS of the source and parks the threshold just below the current loudness — handy when material is dynamic or you're sweeping between sections.

Ratio

How aggressively the band moves once threshold is crossed. 1:1 is no movement at all; 4:1 is moderate, musical compression of the band gain; 20:1 acts almost like a hard gate for that frequency.

Attack / Release

How quickly the band reaches and leaves its new gain. Attack 1–200 ms, release 10–2000 ms. Short attack catches transients; long release smooths sustained energy into a glue effect.

Range

The maximum amount the band gain is allowed to move, signed: positive values let the band boost on triggers, negative values let it cut. ±24 dB total. A −6 dB range on a 2 kHz peak band, for example, makes the band only ever pull down — never adding energy.

Detector mode

Chooses the algorithm that watches the signal. See Detector modes for the four flavours (Peak, RMS, Adaptive, Spectral) and when to pick which.

Env shape

Quick presets that override Attack and Release together:

• Custom — your manual A/R values.
• Tight — 2 ms / 40 ms. Surgical work, de-essing, drum bus.
• Smooth — 15 ms / 300 ms. Mastering, vocal bus, glue.

Free sidechain

By default the band listens to itself — same frequency and Q. Turn Free sidechain on and the detector becomes independent: dial in any trigger frequency and bandwidth you like, while the band still cuts or boosts at its own centre. This is the Pro-Q-4-style trick that lets a 2 kHz cut react to a 200 Hz kick, for example.

Tips

• For vocal de-essing, set the band to a 6–8 kHz Peak with Q around 4, detector Peak, env shape Tight, range −6 dB. Pull threshold down until you hear only the offending S land.
• For drum-bus glue, use a wide Peak around 200 Hz, detector RMS, env shape Smooth, range −2 dB. The band barely moves but the kit sits tighter together.
• A positive range turns Dynamic EQ into an upward expander — handy for waking up the air band on dull material without amplifying noise in the silent parts.

See also

• Detector modes
• Spectral dynamics — the same idea, but frequency-selective inside the band.
• Band controls for the static side of the band.