Great River 32EQ 500 Series Equalizer Reviews

This may not speak well of me as a recording artist, but more than any mic, preamp, compressor, or even acoustic treatment I've ever used, the Harrison 32EQ is the biggest difference-maker I've ever added to my studio.

You're not going to find many other 500-series EQ's that give you this much granular control over your signal. I personally find it frustrating when other units give you stepped knobs that only allow you to boost or attenuate pre-selected frequencies. But the good folks at Great River wouldn't do that to you: every single knob on the Harrison is fully sweepable. And it's not an illusion - these controls are HYPER sensitive! The sonic difference resulting from the most seemingly-miniscule tweaks is significant. To make things even more interesting, the way your adjustments in each frequency range interact with each other is almost endlessly flexible. Throw in switchable high and low-pass filters (which are also incredibly sensitive!), and the option to switch between shelf and bell curves in the low and high band, and you've got a sculpting tool of remarkable precision. And difference in the quality of your inbound tracks will make your heart sing. (I've not personally used it as a mixing tool on pre-recorded tracks, so I can't speak to that.)

The only word of slight caution I'd offer is that the Harrison is definitely not transparent - it imparts a definite tone, which I personally find extremely pleasing. If you've ever used other Great River gear, you'll recognize it right away - I think of it as a kind of analogue "glow." I think it's beautiful, but if you're more accustomed to transparent plug-in EQ's, you'll notice it.

If you're seriously in the market for an analogue EQ - or just a vibrant new color for your rig - I couldn't recommend the Harrison more highly. It's that rare piece of gear that actually makes me look forward to recording more - I get so excited about the sounds I can make with it that I end up spending even more time in the studio, exploring and trying new things. Is there any better feeling?

It took me a while to integrate these into my workflow. The most significant thing about them is that when I do incorporate them into a mix, the clarity of the track and the ability to isolate each track's sweet spot in the mix is superbly easy and audible. Through my own laziness, I generally have relied on my DAW's EQs due to the ease in which they can be added. Using these EQs, I have to patch them in. I only have two of them, thus I also have to re-record a track back into the project. This is why I tend to get lazy. But, when I go through the effort, the sonic difference between these and the "in-the-box" EQs is amazing.

I write this as I swallow my pride with these EQ processors. I had tried going towards other brands (i.e. Maag, API) folks this EQ processor allows the user to easily access the low/mid/high frequencies and its really great once you get that EQ setting just right. Well I've been testing various EQ's for vocals on ribbon microphones and without a doubt I can say for certain that the Great River Harrison EQ's are the best hands down. There are others I'd like to try but the moral of the story stick with what you bought first instead of going on some wild goose chase trying to find that ever allusive sound as it were. Face it chances are if it doesn't sound right its probably something you or me are doing. That being said, I highly recommend these EQ's and I will cherish them.

I love this eq. The feature set is amazing for a 500 series eq with hi/low pass, 4 bands and q or shelf on the top and bottom bands. This eq has performed stellar for me on everything. Great for cleaning up a vocal, adding a little umph to drums, or sweetening program material. When I looked to get another eq for my lunchbox I found the one I had so versatile I ended up just getting another and will probably continue till I have 6 to 8 of these bad boy's.

so I was on the lookout for a VPR EQ that had: atleast 3 bands, both fixed LP and HP and in/out buttons. this is it. really, look no further, grab this and you will be happy. its as creamy as the best icecream.

my RND 5033 was stolen from me, and I needed something just as incredible to take its place... This EQ has lived up to the tall order. Things sound sexy af going through this box, its colorful and subtle all at the same time.

First let me say that this piece is built like a mini-tank! It's by far the heaviest 500 module of all that I have. Solid, needless to say. Love this EQ for tracking vocals. Once you get the sound you want and record it, I found I barely do any other EQ to the vocal unless its subtractive. The filters on this unit are excellent!

I've A/B the EQ 32 to the UAD Harrison EQ and matched settings as close as possible and the EQ 32 BLOWS it out of the water! Its most evident when you compare the filters! It's not even close. Great unit, great price, great addition to my lunchbox. I think you'd enjoy it as well.

Hi audio heads,
I've recently purchased the Great River Harrison eq in the 500 series format.
I'm finding it quite useful globally.
It plays well with my other stand out pieces.
(BAE 10 series modules, API pres and EQ's, and my SSL 500 series eq)
The Harrison style eq fits well between the intense nature of the SSL and the impact flu API EQ's.
It shines on vocals where I've been missing a subtle helper.
Additive hi end still stays mellow on vocals, and the reduction of upper to low mids is very strong.
A great addition to anyone who's printing treated sounds to tape or hard disk.
The variable hp/lp function is amazing on snare.
Dime 80hz(shelving) on an eq patched before the GR Harrison and filter out the rumble as you wish with the HP filter, yet retaining a fat snare with a tight leash!
Good stuff, good price

Having never heard this product prior to purchasing it made me very nervous. My Sweetwater sales rep, did a great job explaining the charactoristics of this and other 500 series EQ's, which prompted me to purchase this one, and I am extremely glad that I did!

I am in the middle of tracking and mixing a CD for a local band and decided to go back to some of the tracks that had already been mixed and try out this EQ. First up, kick drum... I already had a nice, tight kick sound with plenty of low end and definition, but I wanted to see if the Great River 32EQ could do the same. I patched it in, and with a little tweaking, voila, the kick sound was even better!

Next, I tried it on bass guitar, and again, I heard an improvement in the sound.

Vocals were a bit trickier, and I found myself using the Great River 32EQ on many of the tracks, but not all. It didn't make any track sound worse, but there were instances where it didn't make any marked improvements either. In all fairness to Great River, my signal chain for the vocals was through premium equipment and the original tracks don't need much (if any) work to make them sit well in the mix.

The Great River handled both clean and distorted guitars very well, allowing me to dial in different sounds as needed.

In general, this is a "great" EQ and I will be adding another one soon. It seems to be much smoother sounding than other EQ's, and does add some sublte (very pleasant) coloration of it's own. I am now in the process of remixing several tracks using this EQ. I wish I would have purchased it sooner, but that's water under the bridge.

One word of caution... even though this is marketed as a "parametric" EQ, be aware that it is not fully parametric. The user is not able to adjust the "Q" for any of the bands. This is not necessarily bad, because Great River did a fine job of picking an appropriate Q.

All I can say is, "Buy it!" It is a great addition to any rack.

This EQ does everything - transparent hi/lo pass filters (can be bypassed separately from the eq), 2 controls for the mids, and hi/lo shelving/peaks makes it so versatile that I don't think there's much this unit can't do. The word surgical is overused by appropriate here.

It took me a while to realize what I had until I started cutting the highs with the lowpass filter and dialing in a peak with the high control... Icepick in butter! Same with the low end - just cut below 30k and shelf around 150K - your bass sounds huge and tight at once! And with your 2 mids you can effectively cut 400k and add some low attack at 1k, while still having control of your highs and lows, too.

The unit comes in stock "vintage" mode which is warm and definitely imparts character. If you open it up you can switch to a "modern" sound that is transparent, but I am really liking the color this imparts and have plenty of plugin eq's for the latter sound. You can't go wrong with this baby!

I just got a 500 series lunchbox, and after many hours of discussion with my sales engineer Stuart Niven - and a constantly running inner dialogue - I decide that my first card would be the Great River 32EQ. Great decision!

So far, I've only tested it out on a kick drum and the electric bass guitar. It was easy to dial in the perfect kick tone to fit in the mix, and it sounded so natural! The bass was no different - I could carve out the frequencies getting in the way of the other instruments and beef up the bass to hold sub sonics and beef up the bottom end. Very smooth! I can't wait to try it on guitars and vocals.

It's also very easy to use. 4 parametric frequencies (low, lo-mid, hi-mid, and hi) plus low and hi pass filters are a perfect combination to shape or even do some crazy things to get a track to fit or stand out in a mix. You can variably dial in the frequency and the boost/cut. You can turn on/off the pass filters independent of the 4 parametric settings. The lo and hi-mid can each be switched between a shelf or peak. So I find it to be very flexible as well.

One thing to note - it doesn't come with anything - just the card and some screws to mount it in the 500 rack. I couldn't find a manual on their website either (the 32EQ isn't integrated into their product line menu yet). Though I emailed Great River, and Dan replied within a couple of hours directing me to a one page operating sheet on their website in the news section (he said they are doing a more extensive manual for the future).

I know what my next purchase will be - another Great River 32EQ! I wouldn’t mind filling up my 500 series lunchbox with them! Thanks Stuart! And thanks Dan / Great River!

- Matt
Odin's Court
D2C Studios

good sound. great eq for helping shape a tone. the filters do a lot but they are touchy.