A 24-band EQ whose curve matches the audio
Nebula EQ is a surgical 24-band insert equaliser with zero-latency, natural-phase and linear-phase modes. The curve on screen is drawn by the same design the filter runs, and every claim it makes is checked by a test that drives audio through it.
Also in Nebula Complete and All Access.
Highlights
What sets it apart
The drawn curve is the applied curve
Measured across three sample rates and three phase modes, the worst gap between drawn curve and audio is 2.768e-06 dB, with Character set to Clean (the default). When Character is not Clean, the panel prints the live difference instead of hiding it.
Three phase modes, one honest latency
Zero Latency, Natural Phase and Linear Phase. Linear Phase has five resolution steps from 2,048 to 32,768 samples, each shown with its latency, and the declared latency always equals the applied latency, even when bypassed.
Dynamics per band or per bin
Each band can act dynamically from an internal or external sidechain detector. In Linear Phase a band can instead work per FFT bin, as a de-esser or resonance tamer, with no added latency.
Features
Everything in Nebula EQ
Bands
- 24 bands, 10 filter types including tilt shelf and flat tilt
- Continuous slopes up to 96 dB/oct
- Per-band stereo, mid/side or left/right
- Add and delete bands on the curve, with a node inspector
Analysis and matching
- Pre/post spectrum analyser, on by default
- Match EQ that places bands and reports the before and after residual
- Piano-roll frequency scale with draggable key dots
Output
- Character: Clean, Subtle or Warm saturation
- Auto-gain, with LUFS and true-peak metering
- Output level, pan and stereo meters
- A/B compare, window size presets and interface scaling
Claude
Claude can help
It has no Claude connector of its own. In Nebula DAW, Nebula EQ is bundled with the app and is the first stage of the mastering chain: Claude can add it with set_up_mastering_chain, the Mastering Assistant uses it to match the tone of reference tracks, and Claude can read and set its parameters with get_plugin_parameters and set_plugin_parameters.
Measured
What the tests show
- Core suite 82,326 checks and plug-in suite 6,540 checks, 0 failures, each run twice
- Realtime contract: 117 audio-thread scopes audited, PASS
- auval -strict, -r 5, -oop, -stress 60: SUCCEEDED
- pluginval level 10, AU and VST3: SUCCESS
- ASan and UBSan over both suites with zero bytes on stderr; ThreadSanitizer 0 races
- All bands off: 0 mismatched samples in every phase mode
Questions
Nebula EQ FAQ
Does it add latency?
Zero Latency and Natural Phase add none. Linear Phase adds 2,048 to 32,768 samples depending on the resolution you choose, and the panel shows the cost. The latency never changes during a bounce.
Can I use MIDI learn?
No. It is an insert effect (aufx), which Logic never sends MIDI to. Your host's own parameter automation and controller assignment still work, because every control is a real parameter.
Does it oversample?
No. Oversampling was refused on measurement. Character's saturation is a cubic shaper whose aliasing stays near -55 dBFS at a -12 dBFS input.
Why are there only six presets?
A factory preset must come from a physical fact or a measured property, not taste. So there are fixes such as an 80 Hz low cut, mains hum notches and a mono-below-120 Hz side cut. Your own presets are saved with the host session.
What does it need?
macOS 11 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. It loads as AU or VST3 in Logic, Ableton Live, Bitwig, Cubase, FL Studio, Reaper and Nebula DAW.
Try Nebula EQ free for 30 days
Download, install, and every product runs fully for 30 days. No account and no card needed. Buy the ones you keep.