NINE FREQUENCY LAB / EQ & WIDTH GUIDE
Shape tone, width and atmosphere.
A practical starting point for Nine Frequency Lab: make a small EQ move, widen selected bands, then blend in the hall return.
Nine Frequency Lab is a nine-band EQ plugin for Mac and Windows. Its fixed frequencies are 174, 285, 396, 417, 528, 639, 741, 852 and 963 Hz. Each band offers up to 6 dB of boost or cut, alongside Focus, selective stereo width and an Atmosphere bus.
1. Make one EQ change at a time.
Start with a sustained synth, pad or textured recording you know well. Begin with the EQ bands flat and the width and Atmosphere effects reduced, so you can judge the tonal changes first.
Try a small boost or cut at one frequency, such as 285 or 528 Hz. Listen for how that region changes the character of your source. Return it to neutral before trying another band. The useful frequency depends on the recording; these are listening exercises, not a fixed recipe for every sound.
Use Focus to compare a narrower band against a broader one. A narrow setting isolates a smaller region; a broad setting changes more of the surrounding tone. Keep the gain move modest while deciding which suits the part.
2. Widen selected frequency bands.
Enable width for a band you want to explore and bring up Amount gradually. Try this on a pad or sustained layer before a full mix, where it is easier to hear what changes. Compare with width bypassed.
Experiment with linking width to Q, then adjust Focus and listen to how the width effect follows the band. Check your mix in mono as well as stereo: keep the settings that preserve the part’s role in both.
3. Let the boosted bands feed the hall.
The Atmosphere bus blends a hall return fed by enabled boosted bands. Start with one gentle EQ boost and a low Atmosphere level. Increase the return until you hear a little space around the sound, then bring it back if the original part loses definition.
If you hear little from the hall, check that a boosted band is enabled to feed it. Compare the dry sound, EQ alone, and EQ with Atmosphere before adding more changes.
Three ways to explore the plugin.
- A synth pad: audition one broad EQ move, add selective width, then blend in a small hall return.
- A percussion loop: begin with EQ alone and compare the body of individual hits. Add the spatial effects only if they help the groove.
- A field recording: find a frequency that brings out a useful texture, then try feeding that boosted band to Atmosphere.
Level-match your comparisons where possible. A louder version can seem more impressive even when the change is not useful. Bypass regularly and keep the setting that serves the arrangement.
What does “sacred frequency” mean here?
The Solfeggio theme and visual design are creative inspiration. Nine Frequency Lab processes audio through EQ, stereo width and reverb; it makes no promise of healing or therapeutic effects. Use your ears to decide what belongs in your music.
Mac and Windows formats.
The £10 purchase includes Mac AU/VST3 and Windows x64 VST3. A compatible audio host is required. The Mac installer is signed and Apple-notarised; the Windows installer is unsigned. Check the full setup details before buying.