DarkQ FREE 24-Band Dynamic Parametric EQ

Designed as the everyday workhorse parametric EQ

DarkQ is a 24-band parametric equalizer with full dynamic processing per band, M/S placement, and a real-time spectrum analyzer with PRE/POST visualization. Surgical enough for corrective work, musical enough for tonal shaping, fast enough to use on every track without thinking — DarkQ covers the full range of EQ duties from broad shelving on a master bus to dynamic taming on a vocal to surgical resonance hunting on cymbals.

24 Independent Dynamic Bands

Each of the 24 bands is fully featured and independent. Per-band controls include Frequency, Gain, Q, Solo, Bypass, and Dyn (dynamic mode toggle). Seven filter types are selectable per band via icon buttons:

Bell — standard parametric peak/cut
Low Shelf — bass shelf
High Shelf — treble shelf
Low Cut (HPF) — high-pass filter
High Cut (LPF) — low-pass filter
Notch — surgical narrow-band cut
Tilt Shelf — full-spectrum tilt around band frequency

Dynamic EQ Per Band

Every band can be turned into a dynamic EQ at any time by engaging the Dyn button. Each band gets its own dynamic controls: Range (the maximum dynamic gain change), Thresh (detection threshold), Attack, and Release — letting you build dynamic EQ moves like de-essing, resonance taming, transient enhancement, or program-dependent tonal shaping on a per-band basis.

Phase Mode

Two global phase modes selectable from a top-bar dropdown:

Zero Lat — minimum-phase IIR processing, no added latency, classic analog feel
Natural — minimum-phase with phase-coherent crossovers, transparent for general mixing

Spectrum Analyzer

A real-time spectrum analyzer with selectable display modes via dropdown:

PRE — input spectrum only
POST — output spectrum only
P+P — both pre and post spectra overlaid for direct visual comparison of EQ moves

A Gain Scale button cycles the analyzer’s vertical resolution for fine-tuned visual analysis. Click and drag directly on the EQ display to interact with bands visually.

Output Section

Output slider for final makeup gain, Bypass for true bypass A/B comparison, Presets browser button for instant access to factory and user presets, and a + button for saving the current state as a custom preset.