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Dangerous Music BAX EQ Mastering and Mix Bus EQ

Stereo Mastering and Mix Bus Shelving Equalizer with Stepped Controls
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Expressive EQ with Vintage Smoothness

Drop Dangerous Music's BAX EQ into your signal chain, and you'll breathe sweet-sounding highs and three-dimensional lows into everything you pipe through it. Based on classic Baxandall shelving curves, this EQ is as simple to use as the bass and treble controls on a home stereo. Broad Q-shelving allows for powerful changes without altering the core characteristics of your mix, while stepped controls throughout provide accuracy and repeatability. High-quality components ensure transparent, phase-coherent sound. Whether you use it in a mastering rig, on your mix bus, or in your tracking chain, BAX EQ will improve the sound of anything you throw at it.

Baxandall curves provide broad, musical adjustments

BAX EQ is a stereo equalizer that employs gently sweeping treble and bass shelves to enhance your mixes. These EQ curves, known as Baxandall curves, are famous for their unique sound-sweetening properties. BAX EQ isn't a surgical tool. Rather, it makes broad, musical adjustments. With it you'll achieve subtle, yet powerful, sonic refinements over wide portions of the frequency spectrum. BAX EQ gives you the same smooth sloping and unique sonic signature that has been prized by top mastering engineers for decades.

Powerful filtering from easy-to-use controls

Although it's as easy to use as a home stereo, Dangerous Music's BAX EQ is capable of powerful sonic feats. Everything starts with its high and low shelves, which are the best bass/treble controls you're likely to encounter. Each control gives you up to 5dB of cut and boost that you can use to sweeten and deepen your mixes and masters. You also get high and lowpass filters that make short work of infrasonic rumble and high-end harshness. At Sweetwater, we've explored new frontiers of sound-sculpting by playing the filters against the shelves. And all settings are easily repeatable, thanks to BAX EQ's stepped controls.

High-quality components achieve real analog transparency

Conceived by legendary designer Chris Muth, BAX EQ is one of the most transparent equalizers you'll ever use. That's probably why it's found in the rack of so many top mastering studios. Rather than introducing color, this EQ's shelves maintain phase coherence. No matter how you set it, BAX EQ will preserve the core characteristics of your mix. Instead of making drastic alterations to your sound, it will simply enhance what's already there. The end result is a mix with distinctively sweet, open highs and powerful, three-dimensional low-end.

What the pros are saying about BAX EQ:

  • "I always use the BAX EQ as the beginning of my chain... and sometimes I only need the BAX. I like the way it's designed because it's very musical. I also use the BAX EQ for cutting vinyl records, I have one in my mastering room and one in my vinyl cutting room, it's really perfect for reshaping the music for vinyl." — Antoine "Chab" Chabert (Mastering Engineer)
  • "Stadium Red Engineer Ariel Borujow's [mix] chain is: out to the 2-BUS LT, to an SSL compressor, then to the BAX EQ. He swears by it, he won't mix any other way." — Claude Zdanow (Engineer, CEO, and founder of Stadiumred)
  • "I love the BAX EQ! Its the cleanest and most musical piece of gear that I own!" — Glenn Schick (Mastering Engineer)
  • "Great for making the tone more focused and tight in the low end, while adding brightness to the high end without being brittle." — Maor Appelbaum (Mastering Engineer)
  • "The BAX EQ is an awesome piece of gear. I've been looking for years, maybe a decade, for an effective highpass filter that can take the infrasonic muck out of a mix, without destroying what's going on in the bottom end. And the BAX EQ is the only one that I've ever found that can do that. Add a little bang back in, right in the kick drum area, like 74Hz, and it's perfect. It's killer." — F. Reid Shippen (Mix Engineer)
  • "The thing that really sold me on the BAX EQ is the highpass filter. I haven't found a plug-in highpass filter that sounds nearly as smooth. I think that the BAX has a highpass that sounds very transparent [and] there's less phase shift." — Jonathan Wyner (Mastering Engineer)
  • "The BAX EQ is my new favorite box to put across my whole mix." — Fab Dupont (Mix Engineer)
  • "It's especially effective in the low range. Just half a dB or a dB of boost really brings out the bottom out without making it sound muddy." — Marc Einstmann (Mastering Engineer)
  • "As an owner of the 2-BUS, BAX EQ, the MONITOR ST, and the DAC-ST, I have to admit my mixing has more depth, very clean, and more headroom than I infrequently get; most importantly, it feels as if my mixes are done from a $2 million console. I am quite content with my work these days. I am a huge fan of Dangerous's gear, every piece is well thought out sonically and well physically designed." — Mackenold Jean Louis (Composer, Artist, Songwriter, and Mix Engineer)

Dangerous Music BAX EQ Features:

  • Classic Baxandall shelving curves are as simple to use as the bass and treble controls on a home stereo
  • High and low shelves provide to 5dB of cut and boost for sweetening and deepening mixes and masters
  • High and lowpass filters eliminate unpleasant infrasonic rumble and high-end harshness
  • Broad Q-shelving allows for powerful changes without altering the core characteristics of your mix
  • Stepped controls throughout provide accuracy and repeatability
  • High-quality components ensure transparent, phase-coherent sound
  • Gives you the same unique sonic signature that has been prized by top mastering engineers for decades

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Tech Specs

  • Number of Channels: 2-channel, Stereo
  • Bypass: Yes
  • Number of Bands: 2
  • High Pass Filter: Yes
  • Low Pass Filter: Yes
  • Q Type: Fixed (Broad-Q Shelving)
  • Boost/Cut Range: ±5dB
  • Freq Range High: 1.6kHz-18kHz
  • Freq Range Low: 74Hz-361Hz
  • Inputs: 2 x XLR
  • Outputs: 2 x XLR
  • Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz (±0.1dB), 1Hz-80kHz (±0.2dB)
  • Rack Spaces: 1U
  • Height: 1.75"
  • Depth: 12"
  • Width: 19"
  • Weight: 12 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: BAX EQ

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Best Mastering EQ

As a rising mastering engineer expanding my business, I've been fortunate to purchase some top notch gear the last few years. I own pieces by Manley, SSL, Maag, other Dangerous gear, etc...The Bax eq is without a doubt my favorite piece of gear to date. It just has a radio ready vibe that is unmistakable. If you're contemplating other EQ's to mix/master with, don't pass on the Bax it's a truly special piece of gear, and a relative bargain. It's the only piece of gear out of that I would literally put on any master. It's easy to use, and trust me, once injected into your projects you will NEVER EVER part with it. I may sound opinionated, but I say this with true confidence:-) Buy one, or two, never look back!!
Music background: Composer, Producer, Engineer
Rated 5/5

Seemingly subtle curves, but you'll miss it when you bypass

Loving the Bax EQ on my master bus. Because the EQ curves are so broad, they can sound quite subtle at first as you tweak - to the point you aren't really sure it's doing much. Go for a walk, grab a bite, sleep on it, and come back with fresh ears. As soon as you hit bypass you'll wonder how you ever lived without it! Just adds a nice touch of sweetening, punch, gentle air, and stereo depth that gives a mix that final polish that I now can't do without. Lives on my mix bus for good. I also like that it can cut unecessary frequencies which are basically inaudible to us as humans (12hz, 70khz), but can still rob our mixes of headroom without realizing.

As for the unit, it's a stellar build quality. My only complaint is that there is no power button on front – and the unit can get a bit hot. Because I don't need it on at all times until I'm ready to sweeten a mix, I've added a small power strip I can access from the side of my rack. Minor, but something to bear in mind especially if you have other rack devices which generate a lot of heat.
Rated 5/5

Dangerous Music BAX EQ - Stellar EQ

The Dangerous Music Baxandall EQ is by far an extremely effective mixing and mastering tool. I recently recieved my unit in the mail today and immediately connected it to my mastering signal chain. I was astounded by its clarity and depth. It is easy to use but will take time for the engineer to really hear the nuances. This compliments my API 5500 EQ very well.

This EQ was well thought-out and designed. No plug-in emulation can come close, period.

I greatly appreciated my Sales Engineer, Sam Hillman, for recommending Dangerous Music. I purchased the Convert-2 and AD+ as well due to his recommendationm. Dangerous Music truly makes exceptional tools for the modern mixing and mastering engineer.

In conclusion, I recommend this EQ to any serious professional who wants to push his or her skills to the next level. I look forward to spending more time truly learning the Dangerous Music Bax EQ.
Music background: Professional Mixing and Mastering Engineer
Rated 5/5

Desert Island Hardware EQ

There's nothing really to say bad about this EQ. So if you're looking to talk yourself out of buying the BAX EQ by searching for reviews listing its "cons", you won't find it here. It's rare to find, but honestly; everything is 5 stars, easily: Build Quality, Sound, Connectivity, Component Quality, Intuitive Controls, Ease of use, etc. It's all good.

I call this my 'desert island" hardware EQ because it's the only one in my rack I'd use for literally anything needing EQ. Of course, it goes without saying that you can't or won't want to use this for surgical notching, but I do that in DAW insert EQs mostly anyhow.

I find it to work equally well on single tracks, groups/program material/stems, and/or the 2buss/master buss. Integrates excellently for both digital and analog source material/production medium. I love my pultecs and Maag eq's but they don't have the versatility (and dual channel count) of the BAX. Along with an SSL G style buss compressor, the BAX is almost never unpatched from my 2bus on practically ANY production type, genre of music, etc. I use it all the time; even during post/sound design applications.

In my opinion, the term is MASSIVELY overused, however it's perfectly fitting to say that this EQ is VERY "Musical" but still has the heft to make individual tracks bright and/or larger than life while keeping the highs smooth with no strident artifacts. The low end stays tight and full without wobbling and mudding up at mid to high boost levels. On the master bus, subtle moves of cut and boost yeild transparent but sweet results. I'd describe it as having the smoothness of a pultec without the tube artifacts and a fullness akin to the lows and mids of an API style eq.

Though it's billed as a program/mix bus/mastering EQ, it's just fine on individual sources. I particularly love what a subtle high shelf boost does for darker vocals, especially when tracked with ribbon microphones and/or darker/vintage style tube and/or FET mics. Also use it quite often on my electric guitar subs & busses, the mid/hi-mid band selections are absolutley perfect for a small boost of 2-3db to help the guitar tracks cut in just the right way.

Generally I find that SIMPLE gear, with less controls, made by quality manufacturers is far superior than any overly complicated and feature laden equivalent. This is the reason pultecs and LA2A's are still used regularly by pro engineers in practically any genre of modern music.

If you're like me, and you like to take your time with mic selection, placement & preamp pairing to "Get it right the first time" thereby making the mix process far more simple and/or if you also live by the mantra of "Keep it simple, Stupid", the BAX EQ will be a highly valuable tool for your arsenal and will be used on practically EVERY session. Don't take my word for it - go hear one yourself, or if that's not an option, check out video reviews on youtube and retailer's sites. There's some good comparison and/or features videos.

Good Purchase, worth every cent.
Music background: Professional Audio Engineer, Film Composer & Producer
Rated 5/5

Outstanding!

My long-time Sweetwater associate, Mike Picotte, an accomplished mix and mastering engineer, recommended the Dangerous BAX EQ along with the Dangeous Compressor to help achieve high quality mixes. The combination of the two products is simply outstanding! By itself, the BAX EQ is an amazing piece of gear, providing terrific sculpting abilities on the Mix Bus that help poslish the mix. After a couple of mixing sessions, I cannot ever see producing a mix without the BAX EQ (or the DComp). They will long be main-stays on my Mix Bus. No plug-ins I've heard can rival what this outboard gear provides. If you are looking to elevate your mixes, I highly recommend the Dangerous BAX EQ (and D-Compressor). It should be noted I'm also using a recently acquired Dangerous D-Box purchased from Sweetwater earlier this year also on Mike's recommendation. The combination of all three is oh so sweet. This is one delighted mixer and customer. Thank you Dangerous and thank you Sweetwater!
Music background: Berklee College of Music

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What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

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.
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