Dangerous Music BAX EQ Reviews

4.6/5.0 based on 7 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Marcos Sanchez

The Dangerous Music BAX EQ is by far the best stereo EQ I've ever used on my main output. It adds a certain polish to your mixes that allows the lows to punch without being overbearing, and the high end to shine without becoming harsh. Every final mix I work on now has to have the BAX EQ on it right before I print it, without question.

Stuart Niven

The Dangerous Music BAX EQ is the new standard in high end equalization for mastering engineers and mix engineers. It provides silky smooth shelving curves that really make your mixes come to life. It'll make the bottom end of your mix punch and the top end shimmer without any coloration or artifacts. Simply amazing! Once you hear it across a mix, you will not want to ever switch it off! I can't believe I ever mixed without one in my rack. Once you hear what this can do for your mix, you won't either. If you are serious about your mixes and masters, do yourself a favor, get this today.

Josh Estock

The Dangerous Music BAX EQ has quickly become my favorite EQ! This unit is extremely transparent, but allows you to make subtle frequency changes that make your mix come to life! I find the BAX EQ really brings out the crack of the snare in my drum bus, without muddying up everything. It is truly a brilliant piece!

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Customer Reviews

John D
from CT
February 20, 2013

Mission Accomplished... in Spades!

First, there's a previous reviewer here that I think missed the point completely (the only one that didn't give this 5 starts to date). The reviewer called this 'limited', 'disappointing', and that it souldn't be your 'main EQ'. In my opinion, I think his issue is with the Baxandall EQ DESIGN IN GENERAL, not the build of this unit. This is a design intended for wide shelving adjustments, NOT surgical boosts and cuts - if that's not the doctor ordered for your application, so be it, but in my opinion that's like giving a corvette a poor rating because it can't tow a trailer - it just means if you needed ot pull a trailer, you should have bought a truck.

That being said, this unit does exactly what it is supposed to do, and in an incredibly sweet manner. Gentle, subtle, clean, and very sweet-sounding. This is now, in my view, an invaluable part of my mastering chain - you miss it when it's not there! Also surprisingly useful for tracking, love it on bass, acoustic, and overheads especially.

If you're going back and forth between this and, say, an API1500, take a BIG step back! First decide if a broad-spectrum shelving/sweetening EQ or a surgical/more shapeable EQ is what you need. If shelving is your answer, I would confidently say you'll have a tough time finding a better-built or better-sounding unit.

Simon Picazo
from Fort Wayne, IN
February 7, 2013Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Live Sound Engineer, Composer, Session Musician, Professional Studio Designer

The Magic Red Button

I already own a Dangerous Dbox for my D/A and Adam A7's with Auralex Propads in a very good room so I initially wondered how much the BAX would help me.
When I pushed in the red "engage" button on my recently purchased BaxEQ, it so improved my sound that I never wanted to disengage it again.
After having it for a few months, someone accidentally disengaged it and my wife thought that our system had broken, we checked everything until finally we pushed the magic red button back in again. Happiness restored.

Will Gilbert
from Memphis, TN
October 16, 2011Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Drummer, DJ

A Must Have

Dangerous Music does it again! The Bax EQ is amazing for single tracks and for master tracks. The filters cuts un-wanted frequencies out with ease and still preserves the quality of your sound. You can cut and boost frequencies that give your bass that low you want more of or your snare sound more crisp. Used as an overall EQ on a master track is also un-believable. I use it also along with my 2-Bus Lt and get amazing results all day long. You can't go wrong with Dangerous.

Doug Jenkins
from Wadsworth, oh
July 9, 2011Music Background:
Music engineer, artist, producer, proinstrumentals.com

AWESOME!

Well, as you become a little more in tune with compression and EQ. You start to realize, that some pieces of equipment just do this job, in a way that you first weren't intending it too!. When I bought the Bax I was happy with my mixes, but sometimes acheiving a high end a little cleaner, or a lo end sitting a little better, would make me overwork a mix and lose focus of where I was going with it. The BAX filled that void, have a little too much weight on the bottom, dial in the shelf that solves it!, highs a little harsh, dial in a shelf that smooths it out! overall. It is that grammy winning sound, that is so hard to explain. Inside the box.. NOTE I HAVE APOGEE CONVERTORS. I LOVE THEM, WITH A BIG BEN CLOCK,, Anything that improves on these, or allows the convertors to do the job correct, is a winner in my book. I own a Manley Mu that does compression like this does EQ, When something is making a change, and the normal ears can't hear it, I think that is a recipe for the WOW factor.... OH and last, watch how it makes your music sound better, without even touching a knob, VERY HIGH BUILD. THIS THING CRUSHES MY PREVIOUS SHELVING SOLUTIONS..

Eric Mould
from Houston, Texas
March 15, 2011Music Background:
Musician, Producer, Sound Engineer, DJ

Amazing EQ- Outstanding Quality

The highly anticipated unpacking of this EQ was more exciting than I imagined. The first thing I noticed were the knobs-they are precision-machined and large and robust. I have never seen an EQ this industrial but with an elegant and modern stance. The second thing I noticed was how solid-heavy it was and wow! this EQ is deeper than anything in my rack, meaning it is filled with goodies!
The first test was on one of my tracks being summed through the Dangerous 2-Bus LT and it really added warmth and clarity without turning a knob. Just passing the signal through this EQ in default settings made a noticeable difference in the overall sound. Once I began tweaking, the kick was deep and punchy, mids and highs brought to life and was "silky", just as reviewed by others. I am with Revision Records and produce Electronic Dance music so precision instruments and tools are critical to achieving the very best sound and as always, Audio Integrity: non-negotiable!
Oh yeah, thanks again to my Sales/Sound Engineer Bob Mondok for the excellent advice and service that is spot-on!
You have to add one of these to your system!

ELSWEE VAZQUEZ
from Ponce PR USA
March 2, 2011Music Background:
G-SON"S STUDIO-Owner, Working Hard to be A Good Producer!!

ONE OF MY BEST PURCHASES

Like the quote on Dangerous Music Website!!!
"UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU HAVE HEARD, BUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR"- PHIL DEMETRO REVIEW
AMAZING! JUST BUY IT!!

John Ross
from California
August 20, 2011Music Background:
Producer, Composer, Recording Engineer

Very Limited

I've used the Bax EQ for about 2 months now and I have to say that
I'm a little dissapointed. After reading all the great reviews on it, I expected it to just blow me away....It did not. If your mix is already properly EQ'd using something else, you can get a little sweeting from this thing, but by no means should you depend on it for your main EQ. It's very subtle and it's very limited in what it can do.

inSync Review

Sweetwater
9-08-2010

There are two approaches to equalization: precise, tightly controlled "surgical" EQ that is used to correct problems and broad-stroke "shaping" EQ that is used to tune the overall frequency balance and tonality of a signal. The brand-new Dangerous Music BAX EQ falls squarely into the second camp. Inspired by the classic P.J. Baxandall shelving EQ curves popular in the 1960s and 1970s for shaping audio, the new BAX is a stereo unit that offers both lowpass and highpass filters as well as low- and high-shelving EQ bands. The controls are stepped for quick, exact repeatability and identical stereo operation. True hardware bypass is used for the filters and overall bypass, ensuring pristine audio when you aren't using the filters or EQ.

There are seven frequency selections available for the low filter (10, 20, 30, 41, 50, 62, and 71Hz plus bypass) and seven for the high filter (12, 14, 16, 17.5, 21, 26, and 35kHz plus bypass). Both filters use a 2-pole (12dB/octave) Butterworth design. The low and high shelves offer 5dB of cut or boost in 1/2dB steps, with eight frequency points (40, 60, 96, 140, 240, 480, 700, and 1,200Hz on the low EQ shelf, and 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, and 19kHz on the high EQ shelf). The two channels share high- and low-frequency settings for the shelves, but there are separate boost/cut controls for each channel. Hook up is simple, with XLR inputs and outputs for each channel. A lighted overall bypass switch rounds out the control complement.

In a word, the Dangerous BAX EQ sounds awesome. I used it on full mixes as well as for delicate solo classical guitar recordings. Even with no boost or cut, the BAX seems to bring a richness and a "reality" to the signal. I found myself running signals through it with no EQ, just to enjoy that flavor. But you'll definitely want to engage the controls and dial in some EQ. And when you do, everything just gets better and better. Both the low and high filters are smooth and unobtrusive - great for removing unwanted low- and/or high-frequency material, and for smoothing the high end before running a signal through a digital-to-analog converter.

The low- and high-shelving EQ bands are just perfect for shaping the sound of a track or a mix. This isn't a heavy-handed smash-it-to-fit EQ; it's a tasteful, subtle equalizer that imparts a great quality to the sound. On the low end, you can dial up thump or fullness, or pull back if things get boomy. On top, the high shelf is sweet and broad. Use it to open up the top end, to sweeten harmonics, and to tame harshness or microphone hype.

Not to rave, but the Dangerous BAX EQ is truly in a class by itself. If you've never worked with a great analog shaping EQ, do yourself a favor and check this one out!