AutoEQ Live

A 5-band EQ for live sound with Auto EQ, which listens to the signal and gently moves the tone towards a Target Profile. Made for vocal and speech mics on stage. VST3 / AU / Standalone on Windows and Mac. Zero latency (0 samples): every filter is IIR.

What's new in 1.0.2

• New Smart Q: analyses the sound at 1/12 octave. A narrow peak or dip is fixed at its own frequency and Q (up to 6 of them, shown as ◆ on the graph) instead of with a bell an octave wide.
• The 5 bands are independent of Auto EQ: your bands come after Auto EQ and always give exactly what you set (Auto EQ used to pull them back).
• Opens with flat bands: only Auto EQ works until you turn a band.
• Auto EQ boosts as well as cuts: Cut Only is gone; Max Correction sets how far it may go.

Install

• One-click installer (recommended): Windows: run AutoEQLive-…-Windows-Setup.exe. Mac: open AutoEQLive-…-macOS-Installer.pkg (right-click → Open the first time). It puts the plug-in in the right folders and replaces an older version.
• Or install by hand from the zip files:
• Windows (VST3): unzip and copy AutoEQ Live.vst3 to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
• Mac (VST3): copy AutoEQ Live.vst3 to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
• Mac (AU for Logic / GarageBand): copy AutoEQ Live.component to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
• Mac (first time after installing): open Terminal, paste the command below and enter your Mac password when asked, so macOS allows the downloaded plug-in. Then reopen your DAW.
• Rescan plug-ins in your DAW (or Signal Rack). It is listed under EQ, maker T Sound Man.

Quick start

1. Insert it on the vocal channel and pick the Vocal Live preset (top right).
2. Let the singer sing for 5–10 seconds. ADAPTING lights up and the pink dotted AUTO EQ curve starts to move.
3. When the tone sounds right, press LOCK to hold the curve for the show, or press LEARN to listen for 6 seconds and lock automatically.
4. Shape the tone further with the 5 bands. They come after Auto EQ and are independent of it: Auto EQ never pulls back what you set.

Top row

• TRIAL / LICENSED badge: days of trial left. Click it to enter a licence key.
• Preset: 17 presets, listed under Presets below.
• samples latency: the plug-in's latency (always 0).
• BYPASS: switches processing off with a crossfade, so there is no click.

EQ graph

• RTA IN / RTA OUT: the spectrum before and after the EQ.
• TARGET (dashed): the tone of the selected Target Profile.
• MANUAL EQ (white): your 5-band curve.
• AUTO EQ (dotted): everything Auto EQ does. The 9 pink squares (63 Hz to 16 kHz) correct the broad balance; a ◆ diamond is a Smart Q band, sitting at the real frequency and Q of a narrow problem.
• TOTAL EQ (yellow): what the audio actually gets.
• Drag a coloured dot to set that band's Freq / Gain, turn the mouse wheel for Q, double-click to reset Gain to 0 dB.

AUTO EQ panel

• CONTINUOUS: turns continuous adaptation on or off. When off, the Auto EQ curve eases back to flat.
• Status: ADAPTING, WAITING FOR SIGNAL, LEARNING xx% or LOCKED. Only audio above −60 dBFS is measured, so silence does not pull the curve.
• CURRENT ADJUSTMENT: the point being corrected the most, Smart Q bands included, e.g. 2.32 kHz −3.0 dB.
• TARGET PROFILE: Vocals, Speech, Acoustic, Full Mix, Flat, Main PA (a PA house curve: fuller low end, a gentle downward tilt and a roll-off above 8 kHz) and Mastering (the balance of mastered music, about 1.5 dB per octave down against pink noise).
• AMOUNT 0–100 %: how far to move towards the target.
• UPDATE SPEED: Slow (10 s average), Medium (4 s), Fast (1.5 s).
• MAX CORRECTION ±1 to ±12 dB: the limit for Auto EQ as a whole, boost and cut (an octave point and a Smart Q band on the same spot add up to no more than this). ±3 dB is recommended for live work.
• FREQUENCY MASK: leaves alone the ranges outside the profile and ranges too quiet to hold real signal.
• SMART Q: analyses at 1/12 octave and fixes narrow problems (mic or room resonances) at their own frequency and Q, up to 6 at once. A peak has to stay put for a few seconds first, and very narrow lines such as the harmonics of a sung note are left alone, so it does not chase the melody. With Smart Q off only the 9 octave points work.
• LEARN: listens for 6 seconds (counting only while there is signal), then locks the result. While it listens the button fills up as a progress bar; when done it turns green and reads LEARNED. RESET, a new LEARN or turning LOCK off brings it back to blue.
• LOCK: holds the current Auto EQ curve. Use it once the show starts.
• RESET: clears the Auto EQ curve and starts listening again.
• ••• button: RTA IN / OUT on or off, and Flatten manual bands (all bands back to 0 dB).

Presets

Pick one from the preset box at the top right. A preset sets the 5 bands, Target Profile, Amount, Update Speed and Max Correction together, then starts listening again.

• Vocal Live: General vocal mic (Vocals). The default when the plug-in opens: all bands flat, only Auto EQ working.
• Male Vocal / Female Vocal: Male / female vocal mic (Vocals)
• Backing Vocals: Backing vocal mics, slower and gentler (Vocals)
• Speech / Podium: Speech mic, podium (Speech)
• Pastor / Sermon: Preacher or long talks (Speech)
• Headset / Lavalier: Headset and lapel mics (Speech)
• Acoustic Guitar: Acoustic guitar (Acoustic)
• Piano / Keys: Piano, keyboards (Acoustic)
• Full Mix: Group or subgroup (Full Mix)
• Playback Track: Backing tracks, playback (Full Mix)
• Main PA - Music / Main PA - Speech: Main PA bus for music / speech events (Main PA)
• Mastering - Pop/Rock, EDM/Hip-hop, Acoustic/Jazz: Mastering or recorded music (Mastering)
• Flat / Init: Start from zero (Flat)

Bottom row: 5 bands and INPUT / OUTPUT

• Each band has an on/off button, a filter type (Low Cut, Low Shelf, Peak, Notch, High Shelf, High Cut) and FREQ 20 Hz–20 kHz, GAIN ±18 dB, Q 0.1–18.
• INPUT / OUTPUT: level meters. Click the gear to set the trim, −24 to +12 dB.

Tips

• Remove the low end with Band 1 (Low Cut) first so Auto EQ does not chase wind and stage rumble.
• For feedback, use Feedback Killer. Auto EQ corrects tone; it is not a feedback suppressor.
• Keep MAX CORRECTION low on stage. Small, continuous corrections sound more natural than big ones.
• Auto EQ can boost too. In a room that rings easily, keep Max Correction at ±3 dB and run Feedback Killer on the same channel.

Licence and trial

Every feature works for a 14-day trial. When the trial ends without activation, the Auto EQ curve returns to flat and stops adapting; the 5-band EQ, trims and bypass keep working, so the show never loses its sound. Buy a licence at tsoundman.com, click the TRIAL badge at the top, paste the licence key (it starts with FK2-) and press Activate.

If activation fails

• The licence window has Paste code from clipboard (pastes the key you copied) and Load key file... (reads the key from a .txt file). Both work even in hosts that block Ctrl+V / Cmd+V or right-click Paste inside plug-ins.
• Spaces and hidden characters that LINE or e-mail add to a copied key are removed automatically. Result messages always stay on top, so they never hide behind the host window.
• No licence code — the key box was empty. Copy the key again and click Paste code from clipboard, or save the key in a text file and use Load key file...
• Could not connect to the licence server — check the internet connection, then update to the latest version from the product page or My library. New versions activate through tsoundman.com, which every network can reach.
• Invalid licence code — the key must start with FK2- and belong to this product (a key for one product does not work in another). If it still fails, send a screenshot on LINE and we will check it or issue a new key.