12 Ways to Try Curves AQ in Your Mixing Workflow
Here are twelve reasons to check out our new-wave equalizer plugin and how it can help you in many mix contexts.
Read Time: 5 minutes
Our newest plugin is one that most producers haven’t encountered before. Instead of being a classic-style ‘parametric’ EQ, Curves AQ analyzes the incoming signal to build a profile of the sound, identifies the instrument and offers five bespoke curve options.
From here, there are more ways to make the sound your own and that’s exactly what we’ll go over in this article. We’ll take the somewhat abstract and novel operation of this EQ and show you exactly how you might apply its functions in a mixing context.
To get your hands on Curves AQ if you don’t have a Waves subscription, you can download a trial or purchase the plugin from the Curves AQ page.
1. Just Click Learn
The simplest way to get going with Curves AQ is often all you’ll need to get an instrument sounding its polished best. Click Learn to have the plugin analyze the tonality of the channel and identify the type of instrument it’s hearing.
From here, your sound is now altered based on a target curve the plugin recommends and it could be love at first listen. This can be a very useful way to improve a sound’s tonal qualities and make it sound ‘mix ready’ with very little attention spent. Continue on to the next point to go one deeper.
2. Try Out Five Quick Recommendations
After analyzing the input signal, Curves AQ sets up five options for suggested Target Curves that are based on what it heard. It only takes a few seconds before you’re browsing different destination curves for your sound. This can be a useful solution on its own for when there’s something not quite right about a sound but you’re not certain of where to start in improving it.
If you want to treat one of the five curves as just a starting point and customize it further, then continue on with the article to learn more ways to do this in Curves AQ.
3. …Or Use a Flat Target Curve
You don’t actually have to use the Learn function in Curves AQ. By simply starting up the plugin and turning up the Main Knob in the bottom half, you’ll start boosting and cutting the signal towards the default curve, which is a flat line.
This can be useful for when you want to bring a signal into balance with itself, ensuring its energy levels are distributed more evenly. You could actually try this function in mastering as a way of evening out the tonal balance of an overall track.
You can try combining a flat, unlearned curve with the Tilt function and the Global Cut and Global Boost dials for more flexibility. We’ll head for those later in this article…
4. Make Some Adjustments
From here, you can perform a few changes. If you’re lost without your traditional EQ bands, then you can call on them at this point if needed. Hover over the target curve, then Click and Drag to add new bands at will.
Note that adding nodes changes the target curve itself which impacts the sound very similarly to a traditional EQ; Additionally, these nodes behave in a smart and adaptive way – nodes that boost the target curve are broader and gentler, allowing you to adjust the timbre and shape the tone and the ones that cut (dragged down) are more notchy, sharper and more exact, to help you with pinpointing resonant frequencies.
5. Set to Cut Only or Boost Only
Alongside the Main Knob (the big round dial), there are blue and red sliders. These Global Cut and Global Boost sliders control the amount of cut and boost separately, for the whole signal.
With the Global Cut and Global Boost dials, you can rein in the amount of one and not the other, for a more holistic control over how AQ processes the sound. You can also audition just the cuts or boosts by clicking on the individual Cut/Boost Delta buttons (the triangle icons).
6. Put it on Every Channel for a Quick Mix
With these results being possible on every channel, it’s not far removed to start loading extra instances of Curves AQ across the other channels in your project to find out what multiple instances will be able to achieve together. Hopefully you’ll find the results are impressive right from the start.
While AQ doesn’t “know” what’s happening on each channel (because it’s only loaded on a single instrument track), it does offer further ways to tweak the target curve.
7. Use High-Pass and Low-Pass Filters
Curves AQ is an EQ plugin, so it would be rude not to include high-pass and low-pass elements for when you want to put limits on your frequency sculpting and remove entire frequency areas from the signal.
Simply call up a filter from the left or right edge of the frequency display to cut lows and/or boost highs. This won’t just affect the target curve shape – it will filter the signal itself.
8. Make Broad Adjustments with Anchors
When a source signal has been learned, the plugin sets up four anchor points along its spectrum. These are designated as L for Low End, F for Fundamental, H for Harmonics and A for Air. These anchor points can each be moved left and right (higher or lower in frequency), and each has its own cut or boost amount control.
Since these anchors were created based on the learned audio, you can safely engage them knowing that they are optimized for your incoming audio. It is as if the engineer has located the 4 main frequency anchor points that affect the low-end, the fundamental (main) frequency, the harmonics and the “Air” of your audio. All you need to do is decide if you want more or less of each of them.
9. Use it Live
If you’re a live mixing engineer, you can also get the benefit of Curves AQ’s intelligent processing without racking up the latency, thanks to the separate ‘Live’ build of the plugin. This version can still learn instrument and mix sources, although it won’t provide a selection of targets – instead, you select these from the menu of instruments or genres.
10. Sculpt Tonal Balance with Intelligent Anchors
After running a Learn scan in Curves AQ, the plugin sets up four frequency anchors (Low, Fundamental, Harmonics and Air). These aren’t just random EQ points, they’re strategically placed tonal handles created by the plugin to match the natural shape of audio it has analyzed.
The anchors let you make subtle adjustments to bass energy, mid range clarity and high end presence. Each has a joystick-style controls that move up/down and left/right to let you easily make fine adjustments without needing to dig into the full target curve.
The Anchors panel gives you a clear view of what the plugin knows are the key tonal zones. Hover over each one to preview its current position, then move the joystick to adjust. Because anchors are generated based on your specific audio, they’re always placed in meaningful spots — ideal for quick tonal shaping that fits the mix. Whether you’re trying to tighten up the low end of a beat, bring clarity to a synth or add air to a vocal, anchors give you fast, focused control with minimal effort.
11. Use MixSense to Get Unmasking
By feeding a sidechain input to the plugin and turning up the MixSense dial, Curves AQ begins to act as an unmasking plugin, helping the sounds you sidechained to find space in the mix above the instrument you’ve got the plugin listening to.
This can be great for gaining extra space for vocals (or other lead instruments) over instruments that keep sustained chords. Reverb is also another great place to try loading Curves AQ with MixSense engaged.
For bonus points, put Curves AQ over a bass channel, sidechain the Kick channel into the plugin and then turn up MixSense – you’ll get a reactive cut in the lowest bass frequencies when the kick is playing, meaning that Curves AQ is functioning like a sidechained dynamic EQ.
To learn everything you need to know about Curves AQ MixSense, check out our article.
12. Get Dynamic EQ to Taste
Curves AQ can easily function as a dynamic EQ, but it goes one better. Here you get the Dynamic to Static slider, which blends between the response of a dynamic EQ that only works when frequencies cross a certain threshold, and a static EQ that will cut or boost with the same strength, no matter the character of the input signal.
This is a great slider for feeling your way and finding your flavor. Since it’s so simple and so close by, the Dynamic Static slider is often worth a try and can be a useful way to control dynamics – or not – before your signal leaves the plugin ready for a dedicated compressor or transient shaper.
Try Out Curves AQ For Yourself
You’ve read about the 12 talents that our new plugin has to offer for your mix – now hear them first-hand by picking up your copy of Curves AQ today. You can also download a trial through Waves Central.
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