EQ 420 Pink Console EQ for Ableton Live

Name: EQ 420 by MONOMONO
Brand: Monomono
SKU: EQ420
Price: 10.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

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Monomono

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Overview

SSL SL 4000 G-series Pink channel EQ for Ableton Live

EQ 420 is the streamlined Pink-card EQ from the Console 40 suite, built on the SSL SL 4000 G-series topology that shaped the sound of records through the late eighties and nineties. Every band is modelled component by component, tolerances included, so you hear the character of the hardware rather than a clean approximation. Load it on a vocal and feel the low shelf add weight without clouding the body, or reach for the high-mid bell and hear a part move to the front of the mix on its own terms.

The Pink card’s defining behaviour is right there in your session: bells that widen as you ease off and narrow as you push, which means gentle broad strokes for busses and groups, and focused precision when material demands it. Three bands keep the workflow fast because, as the developer puts it, rarely needing four bells and filters is reason enough to strip things back. Pair it with EQ 424 Black from the same suite when you need surgical detail alongside the broad brush.

Component-by-component model of the SSL SL 4000 G-series Pink EQ card, channel tolerances included
Dynamic bell behaviour: bells widen at low gain and tighten as you push, keeping gentle moves smooth and hard boosts focused
Low shelf from 30 to 450 Hz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut, broad and smooth, suited to bass lines, drum busses and full mixes
Low-mid bell from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut; a divide-by-3 switch extends the range down to 50 to 600 Hz
High-mid bell from 600 Hz to 6 kHz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut; a x3 switch extends the range up to 1.7 to 17 kHz for presence and air
High shelf from 1.2 to 14 kHz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut for adding air or softening brightness
High-pass and low-pass filters that switch out entirely at the end of travel, giving a clean signal path when not in use
Streamlined three-band layout designed for fast, musical tone shaping on vocals, guitars, groups and mix busses
Part of the Console 40 suite, designed to work alongside EQ 424 Black for a complete large-format console channel strip

In your download

Max for Live Audio Effect .amxd device
User manual (PDF)

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EQ 420 Pink

SSL for Push 3 Standalone and Ableton Live

EQ 420 Pink is the G series card introduced in 1987, whose bells narrow as gain increases and widen as you back off, keeping gentle moves smooth and big ones focused. The ×3 and ÷3 switches extend the mid bands deep into the lows or up into the air.

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Important Information

INSTALLATION

Our Products are generally provided as Zip file downloads which in all cases will need to be extracted and saved to your hard drive prior to installation. Details on the different file type provided and what to do with them are below.

.alp Files – These are Ableton Live Packs and will either install directly into the Packs Section of the browser of Ableton Live or ask you to save them to your hard drive. For packs that install to the library, when you double click on them you will see a pop up window asking you to confirm that installation is ok as the files are described as “Legacy”. This is fine and you are ok to proceed, the packs are created using the format for an earlier version of Live and so remain compatible with the current version.

.amxd files – These are individual MaxforLive Devices and can be stored anywhere on your hard drive. We’d advise creating a folder for them and then adding that folder as a location within the Places section of Lives Browser.

LICENSE

END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ISOTONIK STUDIOS SOFTWARE PRODUCTS.

PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THIS PROGRAM INSTALL.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is EQ 420?

EQ 420 is a Max for Live audio device that models the SSL SL 4000 G-series Pink EQ card, built component by component including channel tolerances. It is part of the Console 40 suite for Ableton Live.

How does EQ 420 differ from EQ 424 Black in the Console 40 suite?

EQ 420 uses the Pink-card topology, where bells widen at low gain and tighten as you push, making it the broad-brush choice for tone shaping on busses, groups and vocals. EQ 424 Black keeps bell width fixed at any gain, making it the choice for precise, surgical work such as tight drum EQ and detailed low-end control.

What does the x3 and divide-by-3 switching do?

The x3 and divide-by-3 switches extend the reach of the mid bands. Divide-by-3 on the low-mid band drops its range to 50 to 600 Hz. The x3 switch on the high-mid band raises its range to 1.7 to 17 kHz, allowing bell-shaped lifts in the presence and air region rather than broad shelf moves.

Which version of Ableton Live do I need?

EQ 420 requires Ableton Live 12 Standard with Max for Live, or Ableton Live 12 Suite. It runs on both Mac and Windows.

What is the Console 40 suite based on?

Console 40 is based on the SSL SL 4000 console family, studying the circuits and variants produced from the late 1970s through to 2002. The developer built every device component by component, including the tolerances that made no two hardware channels identical.

When would I reach for EQ 420 rather than a more complex four-band EQ?

The developer describes EQ 420 as the device they reach for most often precisely because its three-band layout is fast and the bands interact across a wider range. It suits sessions where tone shaping matters more than surgical precision, and where the simplicity of fewer bands keeps the workflow moving.

In Depth

Built from the desk that defined an era

In 1977, a small company from Oxfordshire sold its first mixing console. Colin Sanders had started out building switching systems for pipe organs, and he designed the SSL SL 4000 because nothing on the market did what he wanted. By 1996, Billboard reported that 83% of that year’s number-one singles had been made on these consoles. The workflow never left. Console 40 is the Max for Live suite built by studying those circuits, variant by variant, component by component, including the tolerances that make no two channels alike. EQ 420 is the streamlined heart of that suite.

Two cards, one essential tool

Over the SSL’s lifetime, the channel EQ card was redesigned several times. Until 1987, the colour of a channel’s low-frequency knob caps told you which card it had. The Black card arrived in 1985, precise and punchy, with bells that hold their width at any gain. The Pink card came with the G series in 1987, its bells narrowing as you push and widening as you back off, its shelves dipping slightly before they lift. Engineers ran both side by side. Console 40 includes both. EQ 420 gives you the Pink card, the 422, stripped to its four bands and built for the broad, musical moves that shape whole tracks rather than fix individual problems.

What EQ 420 does

The 420 is the broad-brush card. Its bells widen as you back off and tighten as you push, so gentle moves stay smooth and natural while big ones become focused on their own. That behaviour makes it the right choice for tone shaping rather than problem-solving: overall EQ on groups and busses, subtle polish on vocals and instruments, and bells that the times-3 and divided-by-3 switches can place anywhere from the deep lows to the air. Reach for it when you want a sound to feel different rather than corrected.

Low frequency band

The low shelf runs from 30 to 450 Hz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut. Set low, a few dB of boost fills out a thin kick or bass without clouding the low mids. Turned up towards 450 Hz, the same shelf reaches into the body of guitars, piano and vocals, where a gentle cut clears mud and a boost warms a thin source. Because the shelf is broad and smooth, moves blend in rather than stand out. On kick and bass, pair a boost with the high-pass for weight without rumble.

Low mid band

The low mid band runs from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz, with up to 20 dB of boost or cut. The divided-by-3 switch drops the range down to 50 to 600 Hz. Small moves stay broad and gentle; push harder and the bell tightens on its own. The mid band is modelled after inductor-based circuitry found in classic passive EQs, which means it not only shapes the frequency spectrum but also imparts a subtle, musical saturation, adding presence and richness that is especially noticeable on vocals, guitars, snares and synths.

High mid band

Between 600 Hz and 6 kHz lie the presence of a vocal, the bite of an electric guitar and the crack of a snare, along with the harshness that tires the ear when there is too much of it. A small lift in the upper part of the range brings a part to the front of a mix. A narrow cut tames a piercing resonance without dulling the whole sound. Press times-3 and the range moves up to 1.7 to 17 kHz, where the bell can add sparkle to cymbals and hi-hats or open up the air above a vocal. The Q dial runs from a tight bell to a broad curve, and the bell narrows as you push it, so gentle moves stay smooth while bold ones stay precise and controlled.

High frequency band

The high shelf runs from 1.2 to 14 kHz with up to 20 dB of boost or cut. Turn it up for air and presence, or down to soften brightness and hiss. Unlike the Black card, the 422 high band is always a shelf, which keeps the top end open and natural across the full range of the boost or cut.

Filter section

Unlike EQ 422 and EQ 424 and EQ 426 — 420 doesn’t have a filter section which may seem like a reduction, but in a mixing situation it makes EQ 420 leaner and a bit easier to work with. Not all instruments call for filters.

Where it fits in the suite

Console 40 includes both the 424 Black and the 422 Pink. Nikita, the developer, puts it plainly: the 420 is the card he reaches for most, four bands streamlined, with a wider range where bands interact. If you rarely need four bells and filters and prefer shaping tone to surgical correction, start here. When you feel it is not enough, step back and check the overall balance before returning to sculpting.