Bernardsville · NJ · est. in the keys corner

The Control Room

EQ Lab

Starting templates for the trickiest sources in the room. Every recipe assumes a stock parametric (Logic's Channel EQ or equivalent) sitting first on the track, before compression and colour. Boosts read amber, cuts read blue — same code as the signal-flow lines. Ears over numbers, always.

Synths

Minimoog · Prophet · DFAM · Mother-32 · Labyrinth

Minimoog Model D

Lead / Melody

Cut the mud, sharpen the edge — leads that ride above the pad without going ice-picky.

EQ Moves
  • HPF80 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    Kills sub-oscillator bleed that pushes the bass off its throne.
  • 350 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
    Thins the low-mid honk so the lead sits above pads and organ.
  • 1.5 kHz+2 dB · Q 1.2
    Filter squelch and note attack step forward.
  • 4 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.5
    The sawtooth edge that cuts through a busy mix.
Notes from the console
  • ▸With Big Sky MX or Komorebi already coloring the top end, back off the 4 kHz boost — the pedals give you the air.
  • ▸On portamento parts, hunt an extra dB at 250 Hz — the slide accentuates mud that a held note hides.
  • ▸If you tracked the Model D LOW output, this template is calibrated; the HIGH output usually needs -1 dB more at 4 kHz.

Minimoog Model D

Bass · with Sub Enhancer

Anchor the sub, punch through the kick — fat mono bass that survives a small speaker.

EQ Moves
  • HPF30 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    Cleans subterranean rumble that lives below the fundamental.
  • 55 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.5
    Reinforces the body of the note without adding rumble.
  • 300 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.2
    The boxy zone that competes with the kick — the single biggest cleanup move on Moog bass.
  • 900 Hz+1 dB · Q 1.0
    Attack transient — this is what keeps bass audible on phones and laptop speakers.
Notes from the console
  • ▸Sub enhancer: Logic's Bass Enhancer around 40 Hz with drive at 30%, OR duplicate the track with an RBass instance blended -12 dB and tuned to add an octave below.
  • ▸Sidechain a 1–2 dB duck around 60–80 Hz to the kick — even a tiny gap lets both sit.
  • ▸Filter mostly closed, resonance dialed for punch, envelope amount modest — the sound should be 'growl,' not 'squelch.'

Prophet-5 Rev 4

Preserve the poly weight, add air — cleanup for chords without thinning the character.

EQ Moves
  • HPF60 Hz (pads) · 100 Hz (plucks)
    Removes the room-rumble the Rev 4 doesn't need; higher on plucks to keep them tight.
  • 250 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
    Pad mud from stacked oscillators — the classic Prophet cleanup.
  • 3 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.2
    Chord articulation — each voice becomes a note again.
  • 10 kHz+2 dB · high shelf
    Shimmer, especially through the Cali76 which smooths transients before it.
Notes from the console
  • ▸Rev 4's poly-mod is already fat — go easy on EQ; use stereo widening on the pad band (400 Hz+) instead of boost.
  • ▸On arpeggios, drop 300 Hz another dB so each note sits clean — arpeggios expose mud that pads hide.
  • ▸The Prophet + Big Sky MX combination is your money sound — most of the 'air' lives in the reverb, not the EQ.

DFAM

Punch the transient, tame the mid — kicks and toms with definition, not just weight.

EQ Moves
  • HPF25 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    Keep the kick voice's fundamental; kill everything below.
  • 70 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.5
    Kick voice weight without overlapping the DrumBrute kick.
  • 350 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.2
    Inter-voice mud when all six steps are firing at once.
  • 3.5 kHz+2.5 dB · Q 1.0
    Stick / click transient — the thing that reads as 'hit.'
  • 8 kHz+1 dB · high shelf
    Snap for the higher-tuned voices in the sequence.
Notes from the console
  • ▸Logic's Enveloper (transient shaper) usually beats EQ for shaping DFAM — try +40% attack before touching frequency.
  • ▸Multiband compress 60–200 Hz gently (1–2 dB GR) to even out sequences where the kick voice fires unevenly.
  • ▸When the DFAM is doing its 'DFAM-swing' trick from a BSP drum gate, EQ for the accent hit — the rest of the pattern will follow.

Mother-32

Clarify without fattening — the M32 is thinner than the Model D, don't fight it.

EQ Moves
  • HPF30 Hz (bass) · 100 Hz (lead)
    Depends on role; bass wants the fundamental, lead wants tight.
  • 400 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.2
    Thins the boxy mid that the M32's filter can pile up.
  • 1.5 kHz (bass) / 2 kHz (lead)+2 dB · Q 1.2
    Filter clarity — where the M32's character lives.
  • 5 kHz+1 dB · high shelf (lead only)
    Brings the filter resonance forward on lead lines.
Notes from the console
  • ▸Don't try to fatten with EQ — the M32 is inherently leaner than the Model D. Reach for tape or tube saturation (Logic's Bass Amp or Vintage EQ analog color).
  • ▸Filter self-oscillation piles up 3–5 kHz — surgical -4 dB notch at Q 4.0 when it gets edgy.
  • ▸For sequence parts, tighten 200 Hz further so each 16th note reads distinct.

Labyrinth

Notch the fold, lift the top — tame wavefolder harmonics, keep generative movement clear.

EQ Moves
  • HPF80 Hz (melodic) · 40 Hz (bass)
    Melodic Labyrinth doesn't need weight down there; bass sequences do.
  • 700 Hz-4 dB · Q 2.0
    Wavefolder harmonics pile up in this narrow band — the surgical fix.
  • 2 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.5
    Clarity for generative sequences so the pattern reads even when it's evolving.
  • 6 kHz+1 dB · high shelf
    Sparkle for foreground parts; skip when Labyrinth is a bed underneath.
Notes from the console
  • ▸If Labyrinth is meant to sit under other elements, HPF aggressively (up to 200 Hz) so it lives in the top half of the mix.
  • ▸Compress 2–3 dB of gain reduction to even out the generative dynamics — the pattern probability creates volume swings.
  • ▸Corrupt + probability against a locked DFAM groove is the sweet spot — EQ the Labyrinth to complement DFAM's low mid, not stack on it.

Deluxe Reverb — by source

SM7B → Cloudlifter → Volt ch 5 · Pine Tweed 1×12"

Deluxe Reverb (Pine Tweed)

Clavinet source

Bring the wah cry, tame the pluck — Clav through the amp is percussive; EQ for attack.

EQ Moves
  • HPF90 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    Kills the 12" cabinet thump the Clav doesn't need; a touch lower than the Princeton took because the Deluxe carries more low-mid weight.
  • 300 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
    Reduces the Deluxe's 12" speaker box tone.
  • 900 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.2
    Where the Cry Baby 'cries' — accents the wah sweep.
  • 3.5 kHz+2 dB · Q 1.5
    The hammer click that makes Clav read as Clav.
  • 6 kHz-2 dB · high shelf (as needed)
    Tame Cry Baby stridency when the toe is down and the mic is hot.
Notes from the console
  • ▸Deluxe Volume around 3–4 keeps the SM7B track clean — the amp has more headroom than the Princeton did, so you can push it further before breakup.
  • ▸Compress before EQ (3:1, slow attack ~20 ms, fast release) to tame the sharpest Clav plucks before you sculpt.
  • ▸Blend against the J48 DI on ch 6 heavily — the DI carries the pluck detail, the amp carries the wah body.

Deluxe Reverb (Pine Tweed)

Prophet-5 source

Preserve the poly, uncloud the mud — a mono amp with poly chords is a mud factory; EQ hard.

EQ Moves
  • HPF80 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    The Deluxe's 12" cab already carries the weight; the Prophet's lows live in the DI, not the mic.
  • 200 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.0
    Poly-through-mono-amp mud — the biggest cleanup move on this pairing, and worse through the bigger 12" cone than it was through the Princeton's 10".
  • 1.5 kHz+1 dB · Q 1.5
    Chord definition through the amp's midrange focus.
  • 8 kHz+1 dB · high shelf
    A gentler top-shelf than the Princeton needed — the Deluxe already carries more air off the 12".
Notes from the console
  • ▸Blend heavily toward the DI (ch 6). Think 70/30 DI/amp — the amp is texture, the DI is the note.
  • ▸Cali76 pre-compresses nicely before the amp — dial it in first, then EQ.
  • ▸Poly stacks with the amp breakup at high volumes — the Deluxe stays clean higher than the Princeton did; still, Vol 3–4 is the safe zone for chord work.

Deluxe Reverb (Pine Tweed)

Minimoog Model D source

Cut the honk, keep the fat — the money combination for psych leads; don't over-EQ it.

EQ Moves
  • HPF90 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    The Deluxe carries fat low-mid; the Model D fundamental is on the DI.
  • 400 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.0
    Boxy honk when fat mono synth hits the amp's mid range — same move that worked on the Princeton, still needed on the Deluxe.
  • 1.8 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.2
    Cuts through a psych mix without ice-picking.
  • 5 kHz-1 dB · high shelf (as needed)
    Only if you used the Model D HIGH output and it's harsh.
Notes from the console
  • ▸For leads, this is the money combination — trust the pedal chain (POG 2, Komorebi, Big Sky MX) and don't over-EQ.
  • ▸Bass Moog through the Deluxe stays cleaner deeper than it did through the Princeton — you can push Vol 4–5 before breakup, which changes the character of the take.
  • ▸TS808DX into the Deluxe around 1 o'clock volume is the classic Pink Floyd lead — this EQ template is calibrated for that.

Deluxe Reverb (Pine Tweed)

Strat source

The clean Fender bell — HPF hard, boost the bell, back off the mud.

EQ Moves
  • HPF110 Hz · 12 dB/oct
    The Strat has no meaningful info below there; the amp cab does, and it's usually mud.
  • 350 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
    The Deluxe's 12" box tone piles up here on Strat pickups.
  • 2.5 kHz+2 dB · Q 1.2
    The Strat 'bell' — where clean single-coils sing.
  • 10 kHz+1.5 dB · high shelf
    Sparkle for the neck pickup; back off for the bridge if the SM7B is already bright.
Notes from the console
  • ▸SM7B off-center on the 12" cone; angle it toward the cap if the tone is too dark, back to on-axis if it's too harsh.
  • ▸For dirty rhythm work, kill the shelf and roll off 2 dB at 3 kHz — clean bell EQ makes dirty parts sound thin.
  • ▸Strat + pedals + Deluxe is the same signal path as the keys chain — you can borrow the Model D lead recipe for lead-guitar takes and it'll be 80% right.