proximity:EQ+ — Free Download

Purpose

proximity:EQ+ is an equalizer plugin designed for post-production work on music and speech. It addresses issues caused by microphone placement and room acoustics, allowing engineers to adjust the perceived distance between the sound source and the listener. The plugin works by separating the direct sound from the indirect, reverberant components of a recording, then applying gain changes to each part independently.

This separation is the key to its functionality. By lowering the spatial components, you increase the level of direct sound, making a source that was recorded too far away sound closer and more present. Conversely, you can reduce the direct sound to push a source further back in the mix. The result is greater control over the spatial characteristics of a recording without altering its tonal character.

Key Capabilities

The plugin’s primary feature is frequency-selective dereverberation. This allows you to identify and reduce specific frequencies within the reverb tail, isolating the direct signal from the reflected sound. This is useful for cleaning up muddy recordings, such as a grand piano recorded with excessive room ambience, or for making a voice recorded with a distant microphone sound more intimate.

Another capability is the removal of room modes or resonances. These are unwanted peaks in the frequency response of a room that color the recording. proximity:EQ+ lets you edit these resonances separately from the natural reverb, so you can reduce their impact without affecting the direct sound. This provides a way to improve room acoustics after the fact, which is especially valuable for location recordings.

Workflow

In a typical workflow, you load the plugin on a track, and it analyzes the audio to separate the direct and reverberant components. The interface displays the frequency spectrum, showing both elements. You can then use the proximity feature to adjust the overall balance between direct and indirect sound, effectively moving the source closer or farther away.

For more precise work, you use the frequency-selective controls to target specific bands. For example, you might reduce the low-mid reverb to tame boominess or cut a resonant peak at a specific frequency. The plugin also offers an automatic acoustic fade-out, which creates an ambience effect that is convenient for film post-production, allowing for smooth transitions or atmospheric background texture.

Applications

The plugin is suited for dialogue editing in film and video, where interview recordings often suffer from poor mic placement or noisy rooms. It can help draw the voice closer and reduce room tone, making it clearer and more professional. Similarly, it is useful for music production, especially for acoustic instruments like piano or vocals recorded in less-than-ideal spaces.

For creative use, the plugin can add space to a mix. If a recording was made with close mics and sounds too dry, you can use the proximity feature to push the source back, adding a sense of depth and natural spaciousness. This can help create a more transparent mix or build a sense of atmosphere, making it a flexible tool for sound design as well as corrective work.

Key features

• Frequency-selective dereverberation to separate direct and indirect sound
• Proximity control to reposition audio sources (closer or farther)
• Room mode isolation and removal without affecting direct sound
• Acoustic fade-out for creating atmospheric ambience
• Dedicated processing for speech and music
• Automatic analysis of direct and reverberant components

Best for

Post-production engineers working on dialogue, music, or film who need to fix recordings with unwanted reverb or room tones, or who want to creatively adjust the spatial depth of a mix without compromising the original character of the source.