Waves API 550: Equalizer Plugin

The API 550 introduced visionary EQ curves. Q varies with gain so boosting adds a more focused musical quality—while reducing gain provides natural subtle-to-steep tone shaping. Developed in close collaboration with API the 550A/B are loving re-creations of these late-60s legends. Expertly selected frequencies lift instruments up or place them further back—just as easily as they can sweetly shape a mix’s contour.

For individual tracks buses or full masters the 550 defines musical transparency. Ahead of the Curve API’s pioneering proportional-Q curve made it a favorite for high-end studios that demanded musicality with transparency rather than the vintage sound that was the mainstay in the 60s and 70s.

Two EQs One Coherent Goal The 550A and 550B are designed to the same exacting standards and sound quality but offer different EQ philosophies—the 550A’s more general slant or the 550B’s surgical problem-solving approach. All That Changes Is the Tone API’s EQs bring clarity to the zing of a violin string the snap of a snare the intimacy of a vocal or the contour of a mix.

These EQs were engineered to bring out the very best of whatever sound you put through them.