When Waves Audio announced its Curves Equator plugin in 2024, it signaled to the market that it was introducing a major innovation in AI-based equalization, and the beginning of its new Curves Spectral Series. Described simply as a “more accurate, powerful, intelligent, and efficient solution for tedious EQ tasks,” the Curves Equator plugin was the first to introduce a “Learn” function, which listens to the audio that the user wants to process, introducing new abilities to deal with resonance, harshness, imbalances, and tonal inconsistencies on ANY source. The new Curves AQ is just the second in this series of plugins.
“The Curves AQ plugin is cognitive — just click “Learn,” and it does your EQ work for you, significantly improving your overall sound quality and accelerating your mixing workflow,” explains Waves Audio in the promotion of this new plugin. Using Neural Network processing to analyze the audio, the plugin is able to determine an ideal sound profile and create five unique curves for the user to choose from. These are not presets, but original spectral curves tailored to the natural qualities of a specific audio segment, whether it’s vocals, instruments, or full mixes.
The white curve on the plugin represents the sound destination, referred to as the 'Spectral Target.' Adjusting the Spectral Target resembles working with a regular EQ; however, the adjustment modifies the EQ’s destination, and the processing adapts accordingly to get the results. Next, Curves AQ offers reimagined and powerful EQ controls for the user to personalize and perfect the sound and tweak it to taste.
These controls include the possibility to refine the sound to adapt to the “Spectral Target” through boost & cut processing. These adjustments on either boosting or cutting can be made globally or per band. AQ offers static and dynamic EQ, giving users the flexibility to work entirely statically, dynamically, or with a mix of both. The “Smart Tilt” control reshapes the spectral target with powerful tonal adjustments, while “Offset” shifts the target curve along the X-axis, repositioning the fundamental frequency and harmonics for creative effects.
The “MixSense – EQ in Context” control resolves frequency clashes between tracks. By sidechaining any audio and turning on MixSense, AQ adjusts its processing to resolve only conflicting frequencies between two parts. There’s also an “Adaptive Mode” that works straight out-of-the-box even without the “Learn” function, providing dynamic balancing using a flat spectral target, with adjustable processing via the main knob.
With each “Learn” process, the Neural Network creates 4 anchors tailored to the frequency spectrum of a track, to control the low end, fundamental, harmonics, and air of the track. For those who like to work “old-school”, AQ offers the ability to add nodes on the Spectral Target, shape Qs, and add HP & LP filtering. For live performances, Curves AQ LIVE offers zero-latency processing with the same capabilities as Curves AQ.
Curves AQ is included in the Waves Mercury bundle. It has also been added to the Waves Ultimate plugin subscription, which includes the comprehensive Waves plugin catalog (over 240 plugins) as monthly or annual subscriptions.
Increasingly leveraging pioneering techniques in artificial intelligence, neural networks, and machine learning, as well as the company’s three decades of accumulated expertise in psychoacoustics, Waves Audio technologies are being used to improve sound quality in a growing number of market sectors. Waves’ plugins are utilized in the creation of hit records, major motion pictures, and top-selling video games. Additionally, Waves now offers hardware-plus-software solutions (including the eMotion LV1 mixer) for professional audio markets.
The company’s WavesLive division is spearheading the development of solutions for all live platforms. Products from Waves Commercial Audio enable A/V system integrators and installers to deliver superior sound quality for corporate, commercial, government, educational, entertainment, sports, and house-of-worship applications. Under its Maxx brand, Waves offers semiconductor and licensable algorithms for consumer electronics applications, used in laptops, smartphones, smart speakers, gaming headsets, TVs, and more from industry leaders such as Dell, Google, Fitbit, Acer, Asus, Hisense, and others.
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