2-band dynamic EQ

GOLY's CrosscOMPressionEQ, nicknamed COMPEQ, builds on the experience gained developing the DAQ/DS lineup. All that expertise has been concentrated into a 2U design based on standard, easily replaceable components.

The "decomp" concept, already present on the DAQ, has been greatly expanded here, while other functions have been refocused to offer a more direct, focused tool.

The COMPEQ is a true audio Swiss Army knife and can be used as:

• a BAX-type EQ
• an auto-tilting dynamic EQ
• a classic EQ
• a pair of full-band compressors working in tandem
• or simply two independent dynamic EQ bands

It can flatten overly aggressive dynamics, or conversely, bring the groove back into a mix that is a little too tame.

The circuit

The COMPEQ is a two-band stereo processor. Each band can be set to a bell or shelving filter, with a full dynamics section on each. Above all, it features a unique cross compression function — more on that later. The sidechain is independent for each band, with an adjustable high-pass filter on the low band.

Far beyond Q

The Q is extremely flexible, from very narrow to very wide. As a result, each band can cover the entire spectrum if needed. Originally, the idea was to keep Q constant when switching from bell to shelving — but early users proved it was even better to leave them that freedom. As a rule, a Q of around 0.7 is recommended in shelving mode, but you can explore far more creative curves, especially when the bands get close in frequency. This extended Q control also lets you shape shelving behaviour in the very high frequencies (above 20 kHz), for those who like to sculpt very airy sounds.

Dynamics section

Each band has the classic controls: threshold, ratio, attack, release, with three auto-release modes, and even a few settings slightly faster than the electronics can handle in the long run… but it works.

Cross Compression

This is where things get interesting: cross compression lets you invert the compression applied to one band and feed it into the other — at an adjustable ratio.
In other words: the dynamics of the lows can influence the highs, and vice versa. And the result is truly musical, in the best sense of the word.

And it is not one or the other: classic compression and cross compression can work in parallel. So you can get up to four dynamic interactions at the same time.

Main features

• Two stereo bands (low/high)

• Switchable to bell or shelving mode

• Full dynamics section on each band: compression, attack, release

• Separate sidechain per band (no crossover filter in the main signal path)

• Variable high-pass on the low-band sidechain

• Q wide enough to turn each band into a full-band compressor

• Cross Compression function with variable ratio from 1:10 to 2:1

• Soft/Hard setting on each band's dynamics

• Res/HR modes to switch from mix-friendly resolution to mastering precision

• Master gain for output level matching

• True bypass

• All controls are stepped (except master gain, for ultra-precise level matching)