TDR SlickEQ Explained: The Four EQ Models, EQ Sat and the Output Stages, and a Settings Chart by Job
TDR VOS SlickEQ is Tokyo Dawn Labs' free mixing and mastering EQ: three semi-parametric bands plus a high-pass, four EQ models (American, British, German, Soviet), an EQ Sat switch, five output stages and a loudness-matched Auto gain. Which edition is free (SlickEQ GE and SlickEQ M are paid), what every control does, a settings chart for the mix bus, vocals, drum bus and master, setup steps, and when TDR Nova is the better pick.
The short answer: TDR VOS SlickEQ is a free EQ from Tokyo Dawn Labs and Variety of Sound, built for broad, musical tone moves rather than surgery. It has three bands (a Low band that can be a shelf or a bell, a Mid bell, and a High band that can be a shelf or a bell) plus an 18 dB/octave high-pass, and no Q knob: the curve's shape comes from the EQ model you pick (American, British, German or Soviet) and how far you boost or cut. EQ Sat adds harmonics to boosts only, and the Output Stage adds one of four saturation flavors, or none, with Calibrate setting the drive. Turn on AUTO so boosts don't fool you by getting louder. Use it for small tone moves on a mix bus, a vocal or a master. For a resonance or an ess, reach for a precise or dynamic EQ instead.
I mix and master my own releases (Sony, Universal, Ultra, Dim Mak, 50M+ streams), and every chain I build uses at least two EQs with two different jobs. SlickEQ is a free way to cover the tone job. It's free and there are no affiliate links on this page. I sell mastering chains, disclosed at the end.
Which SlickEQ is free
Tokyo Dawn sells three SlickEQs, and only one costs nothing. Check before you download, because roundups mix them up.
| Edition | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| TDR VOS SlickEQ | Free | Three bands plus high-pass, four EQ models, EQ Sat, five output stages, Auto gain; the edition on this page |
| TDR VOS SlickEQ GE (Gentleman's Edition) | Paid (EUR 30 on TDR's site; demo blocks automatic recall) | Adds a realtime analyzer, a Tilt filter with low-pass and high-pass filters, a fifth EQ model (Japanese), eight output stages, matching tools and more |
| TDR SlickEQ M (Mastering) | Paid | A separate mastering EQ with more bands; sold alone or in TDR's SlickEQ Superbundle with GE |
The free edition is at version 1.3.9 at the time of writing. TDR's download table lists VST2, VST3, AU and AAX on macOS (native on Apple Silicon, AAX included) and VST2, VST3 and AAX on 64-bit Windows, with 32-bit VST2 and VST3 builds too. The system requirements are Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X 10.9 or later, and OpenGL support. There's no CLAP or Linux build listed. Download it from tokyodawn.net, directly or through the TDR Collector library manager.
Every control, explained
These names and behaviors are from TDR's SlickEQ manual. The default band ranges are from TDR's Custom Models Guide.
| Control | What it does | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| EQ Model | Picks one of four sets of curves and behaviors: American, British, German, Soviet. The background color changes with it | Pick by the job; see the next section |
| EQ SAT | A smooth non-linearity inside the filters that adds harmonics to boosts only. No boost, no saturation | On for warmth on boosts; it does nothing on cuts |
| High-pass | An 18 dB/octave Butterworth high-pass. Turn it fully counter-clockwise to switch it off; the control greys out | Clear rumble on vocals; very low or off on a master |
| Low band | Low shelf or bell (buttons below), with Frequency and Gain; default range 30 Hz to 1 kHz | Weight or mud |
| Mid band | Bell only, with Frequency and Gain; default range 100 Hz to 10 kHz | Boxiness, honk, presence |
| High band | High shelf or bell, with Frequency and Gain; default range 500 Hz to 40 kHz | Air and brightness |
| Output Stage | Linear, Silky, Mellow, Deep or Funky | Linear for clean; the others add color (table below) |
| Calibrate | The output stage's drive, in dB | Sets how much harmonic content the output stage adds, without gain staging tricks |
| Output Gain | Output level in dB, with a red overload LED that holds when the output passes 0 dBFS | Hover the LED for a trim readout; click it to normalize the peak |
| AUTO | Auto gain that tries to keep perceived loudness the same while you EQ; a blue LED shows it working | On while you decide, so a boost doesn't win just by being louder |
| Quality | Full (high quality), Eco (low latency, and it switches off EQ Sat and the Output Stage), Live (zero latency) | Full for mixing and bouncing; stop and start playback after you change it |
| Process-Target | Stereo, Mono, Left, Right, Sum or Diff; Sum and Diff are mid/side processing | Diff to brighten only the sides, Sum for the center |
| Toolbar | Undo/redo, presets, A/B with copy, bypass with latency compensation, and a help mode (click ?, then hover) | A/B two settings at matched level |
Because there's no Q, the same 2 dB boost has a different width in each model, and in some models the width changes with the amount of boost. Listen to the model, not just the numbers.
The four EQ models
| Model | TDR's description | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| American | "Classy and gentle slopes," with a proportional Q design | Gentle tone on vocals and buses |
| British | "Slightly steeper curves with more grab" and a subtle shelving dip, with different behavior on boosts and cuts | Drums and anything that needs a firmer move |
| German | Tilt shelving filters with large linear transitions at small amounts; "well suited for corrective duties or mastering tasks" | Masters and mix bus polish |
| Soviet | Inverse proportional curves that get smoother as the gain goes up | Bigger, broad boosts that stay smooth |
TDR says the names and colors "have no deeper meaning"; they're labels to help you remember which curve set is which, not models of specific consoles.
EQ Sat and the output stages
Two separate kinds of color, and you can use either, both or neither.
EQ SAT lives inside the filters, so it only reacts to what you boost. A 2 dB air shelf with EQ SAT on gets a little harmonic sheen; a cut gets none.
The Output Stage colors everything leaving the plugin:
| Output Stage | TDR's description | Use it on |
|---|---|---|
| Linear | "As clean as it gets, absolutely linear" | Masters and anything you want untouched |
| Silky | Dynamic saturation with an "open" character; low-order even and odd harmonics | Vocals and the mix bus |
| Mellow | Subtle warming; a very low level of odd harmonics led by the 3rd | Masters and buses, when Linear feels sterile |
| Deep | Dynamic odd-order distortion with a frequency-dependent touch, for depth | Drum bus, bass |
| Funky | Input transformer behavior, including magnetic hysteresis | Color on drums, bass and synths |
Calibrate sets how hard the chosen stage is driven. TDR describes these options as "subtle and interesting textures, rather than obvious distortion," so if you can clearly hear distortion, Calibrate is too high for a bus or master. One naming note: TDR's product page lists "Toasted" among the free edition's output stages, while the manual lists Funky, which the 1.2.0 changelog added; the GE has both. Trust the menu in your build.
TDR SlickEQ settings chart, by job
Starting points with AUTO on while you set them. Small moves: on a bus or master, 1 dB is a lot.
| Job | Model | High-pass | Low band | Mid band | High band | Output Stage | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mix bus tone | American or German | Off | Shelf, +0.5 to 1 dB around 60 to 100 Hz | Bell, -0.5 to -1 dB around 250 to 400 Hz if it's boxy | Shelf, +0.5 to 1.5 dB around 10 to 12 kHz | Mellow or Silky, low Calibrate | The low end swelling as the mix gets louder |
| Lead vocal tone (after cleanup) | American or British | 80 to 120 Hz | Off, or a small cut at 200 to 300 Hz if muddy | Bell, +1 to 2 dB around 3 to 5 kHz only if the words hide | Shelf, +1 to 2 dB around 10 to 12 kHz, EQ SAT on | Silky | Harshness; de-ess after the air boost |
| Master polish | German | Off, or the lowest setting | Shelf, +0.5 dB at 50 to 80 Hz if the low end is thin | Bell, -0.5 dB around 200 to 300 Hz if cloudy | Shelf, +0.5 to 1 dB above 10 kHz | Linear or Mellow | Any move over 1.5 dB means the mix needs the fix |
| Drum bus | British | Off | Bell, +1 to 2 dB around 60 to 100 Hz for the kick | Bell, -1 to 2 dB around 300 to 500 Hz for boxiness | Shelf, +1 dB around 8 to 12 kHz | Deep or Funky, Calibrate to taste | Cymbals getting brittle |
| Bass or 808 audibility | Soviet or British | Off, or at the lowest | Bell on the fundamental only if a note is weak | Bell, +1 to 2 dB around 700 Hz to 1 kHz for phone speakers | Off | Silky or Deep | The sub swelling; check in mono |
| Brighter sides on a bus | German | Off | Off | Off | Shelf, +0.5 to 1 dB around 8 to 12 kHz, Process-Target set to Diff | Linear | The center thinning, the image collapsing in mono |
For a single harsh frequency or an ess, a model curve is too broad; that's the job for TDR Nova, the same developer's free dynamic EQ, or a de-esser. For the full vocal EQ method, how to EQ vocals has the frequency map.
How to set up SlickEQ
- Download it from tokyodawn.net only, or through TDR Collector. Make sure you grab TDR VOS SlickEQ, not the GE demo.
- Insert it where tone gets decided: after cleanup EQ and compression on a vocal, early on a mix bus, or before the limiter on a master. What a mastering chain is shows where a tone EQ sits.
- Set Quality to Full and stop and restart playback so your DAW picks up the latency.
- Turn on AUTO.
- Pick a model: German for a master, American for gentle tone, British for a firmer move, Soviet for wide, smooth boosts.
- Make the moves from the chart, switching models with the same settings to hear which curve fits.
- Choose an Output Stage and set Calibrate low enough that you only notice it when you bypass it.
- A/B against bypass at matched level, then decide whether to leave AUTO on or match the output with Output Gain yourself. Check the overload LED before the next plugin.
SlickEQ vs TDR Nova (same developer, different jobs)
| TDR SlickEQ | TDR Nova | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Broad, musical tone | Precise and dynamic problem solving |
| Bands | Three plus high-pass, no Q | Four with Q, plus high-pass and low-pass |
| Dynamic bands | No | Yes, per band |
| Color | EQ Sat and five output stages | Clean |
| Best on | Mix bus, vocal tone, master polish | Esses, harsh notes, one boomy bass note |
Most chains want both: Nova (or your stock EQ) for the cuts, SlickEQ for the tone. Paid EQs, from Pultec-style to FabFilter, are compared in the best EQ plugins.
Mistakes that make SlickEQ sound bad
- Using it for surgery. No Q knob means no narrow cut. Sweep for resonances with a precise EQ.
- Judging boosts without AUTO. A boost gets louder, and louder sounds better at first.
- Eco mode on the bounce. Eco switches off EQ Sat and the Output Stage, so the color you set disappears. Use Full.
- Calibrate too high on a master. The output stages are meant to be subtle; if you hear distortion, back off.
- Ignoring the overload LED. Boosts plus an output stage can push the output past 0 dBFS into the next plugin.
- Big moves on the master. If it needs more than 1.5 dB anywhere, fix the mix instead.
Where I land (and the disclosure)
SlickEQ is the free tone EQ I'd install next to Nova: three bands, four curve sets, and color you can switch off. Pick the model by ear, keep the moves small, and leave AUTO on while you decide.
The same tone job, with analog-modeled EQs, is part of the Ultimate Master Chain for Waves: PuigTec EQP1A and MEQ5 and the SSL G-Equalizer shape the tone, around the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, the S1 Imager and the L2, with LOWS, MIDS and AIR among its 8 macros. It runs in any DAW that loads Waves StudioRack. It doesn't use SlickEQ. The stages are explained in the Waves mastering chain. I'm biased; SlickEQ before your stock limiter does the same small tone job for free.
Tone EQ on the master, already set
THE ULTIMATE MASTER CHAIN FOR WAVES
My console-character chain in one StudioRack file: F6, PuigTec EQP1A and MEQ5, SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, SSL G-Equalizer, S1 Imager and L2, wired to 8 macros including LOWS, MIDS and AIR. Runs in any StudioRack DAW. $29, lifetime updates.
See the Waves ChainQuick answers
Is TDR SlickEQ free? TDR VOS SlickEQ is free from tokyodawn.net. SlickEQ GE (the Gentleman's Edition) and SlickEQ M (the mastering edition) are paid. The free edition has three bands plus a high-pass, four EQ models, EQ Sat, five output stages and Auto gain.
What's the difference between SlickEQ and SlickEQ GE? GE adds a realtime analyzer, a Tilt filter with low-pass and high-pass filters, a fifth EQ model, more output stages and matching tools. The free edition covers the core tone job.
Which SlickEQ model is best for mastering? German. TDR describes its tilt shelving filters as "well suited for corrective duties or mastering tasks." Keep moves under 1 dB, with the Output Stage on Linear or Mellow.
Does TDR SlickEQ work in Pro Tools and Logic? Yes. TDR lists AAX on Windows and macOS for Pro Tools and AU on macOS for Logic, plus VST2 and VST3 for most other DAWs, with native Apple Silicon support.
Written by
CHARLIE CROWN
Founder of Born Creative Audio. Independent artist and engineer: 50M+ streams, 100% owned, never signed a record deal. Also founder of Born Creative Records. Work-for-hire remixes for Sony, Ultra, and Dim Mak. FabFilter featured artist; endorsed by iZotope, Sonarworks, and McDSP. Everything on this site comes from running a real independent music business, not theory.
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