Users Manual
Copyright © Synapse Audio Software 2014. All rights reserved.
Concept and Manual: Richard Hoffmann
Graphic Design: Marcin Lezak
Programming: Richard Hoffmann, Marcin Lezak
www.synapse-audio.com
GQ-7 Users Manual - 2
1. Welcome to GQ-7
Thank you for downloading the GQ-7 rack extension by Synapse Audio! This manual will give
you an overview of the features found in the GQ-7, as well as explain how to use this software.
1.1. Introduction
The Synapse GQ-7 rack extension is designed as a professional mixing and mastering equalizer,
offering five bands with high-quality parametric and shelving EQs, plus two additional low- and
high cut filters with variable slopes. The GQ-7 is suitable for a broad spectrum of tasks whether
you need an equalizer to mix instrument tracks, remove problem frequencies in your master
with surgical precision, or get rid of the mic rumble in recordings, the GQ-7 does it all, while
delivering superior results.
All filters in the GQ-7 are designed to handle modulation without artefacts, such that the EQ can
be used for creative purposes too, well outside the realm of traditional EQ applications. Especially
the low- and high cut filters are well suited for creative purposes- their unique sound offers
a great alternative to the typical sound of standard low- and high pass filters.
With Auto-gain compensation (AGC), Phase Inversion and Send Mode on board, the GQ-7
surpasses most equalizers in terms of flexibility.
The GQ-7 was designed with low CPU usage in mind, allowing to use a large number of instances
simultaneously on modern computers. Unused bands are not processed, furthermore the EQ
requires no CPU power when idle.
GQ-7 Users Manual - 3
2. Interface Overview
The heart of the Synapse GQ-7 is the interactive display in the center of the interface. This display
plots the frequency response from 25 Hz to 25 kHz according to the current EQ settings, thus
giving instant visual feedback of how the audio signal is going to be processed. The gain and
attenuation of all frequencies are displayed along the vertical axis of the display. The default
range is ±15 dB, by clicking on the "+" and "-" buttons on the right, the range can be increased
or decreased.
Using the interactive display is straightforward: By left-clicking and dragging the circles labeled
1 to 5, the frequency and gain of the respective EQ band can be changed directly.
The bottom part of the interface allows to turn individual EQ bands on or off, and hosts the
additional low- and high cut filters.
The top bar comprises the preset selector, as well as three additional buttons (Auto-Gain
Compensation, Phase Inversion and Send Mode).
GQ-7 Users Manual - 4
3. GQ-7 Parameters
The GQ-7 consists of five parametric EQ bands, labeled 1 to 5, plus two additional filters, yielding
seven filters in total. The five EQ bands can be switched between bell and shelf filters by dragging
the corresponding image up or down using the mouse.
By default, the first and last band are set to low- and high shelf filters, respectively, while bands
2, 3 and 4 are set to a bell filter.
Each parametric EQ band can be activated or deactivated using the IN button. The following
sections describe the three parametric EQ types (Bell, Low- and High Shelf), followed by the lowand high-cut filters.
3.1. Bell
The bell EQ features 3 parameters - frequency, gain and Q. Frequency and Gain can be changed
either from the interactive display, or via the corresponding knobs on the bottom panel.
Loading...