Acustica Audio presents Maize, A one-of-a-kind Equalizer in collaboration with Markbass

Acustica Audio presents Maize, A one-of-a-kind Equalizer in collaboration with Markbass

Maize is an Acqua plug-in that faithfully replicates the behavior and sound of the highly prized PP10 by Markbass, a Solid-State Parametric EQ inspired by the sound of the classic equalizers of the 70s and 80s and further enhanced by Acustica with the introduction of features that makes it even more powerful and versatile.

This project inaugurates a close collaboration with Markbass; Acustica wanted to offer the market a product with extraordinary qualities hardly ever found in another EQ.

One of the things that makes this unit so unique is that there are only 2 in the world and none are for sale.

It features 10 bands, including 19 selectable frequencies, a gain pot that controls cuts and boosts (-16 dB to +16 dB), and a rotary control that adjusts the bell width (Q) from 0.3 to 6, allowing truly surgical corrections in the frequency spectrum. That's why Maize is the perfect sculpting tool.

A little bit of history

The PP10 stereo equalizer was born as a prototype around 2006 thanks to the Markbass company's desire to build a precision equalizer (hence the acronym PP, which stands for 'Pure Precision') relying on a professional in the audio industry, Rodolfo' Foffo' Bianchi. Rodolfo is one of the greatest Italian producers and sound engineers that helped write some of the most critical pages of Italian music history for decades since the glory years of RCA. Foffo's decades of experience allowed Markbass to create a state-of-the-art equalizer. This 'uncompromising' unit was meticulously designed, optimally engineered, and built with the best components on the market.

However, the uncompromising pursuit of absolute quality had an unintended consequence in developing this ambitious project. The very high (almost prohibitive) production costs made the unit difficult to market, and Markbass had to decide whether or not to enter a new field, Pro Audio, in which it had not operated. For this reason, Markbass set aside the project to evaluate the possible risk at both an entrepreneurial and commercial level.

Finally, only two units were created; one is still in possession of Bianchi's family, and the other belongs to the sound engineer Sabino Cannone (http://www.morevox.com/studio/). The project had neither continuity nor development, although the product was excellent from all points of view. Thanks to Acustica today with Maize, you can finally enjoy this wonderful product, both unique and extremely rare.

Features

Maize embodies the main features of the PP10, an equalizer extremely precise but at the same time very musical. It features 10 bands, each of which includes 19 selectable frequencies, a gain pot that controls cuts and boosts (-16 to +16dB), and a rotary control that adjusts the bell width (Q) from 0.3 to 6. The latter is an unusually high Q value for an equalizer: in fact, the machine has been designed to allow the use of very narrow bells, allowing truly surgical corrections in the frequency spectrum.

This is an equalizer that we would define as esoteric, very linear to the extremes of the band with regard to frequency response and phase (in the low range its linearity goes almost up to DC). This is an equalizer with its own distinct sonic personality, with great shaping potential. In fact, using it you immediately notice how each intervention can be calibrated with precision in terms of decibels, especially in the subtractive phase.

Its sound signature is really distinctive, it adapts well to mastering contexts but we believe it gives its best in the mixing phase when correcting or sculpting the sound of your instruments. From its discovery, Acustica was impressed by the extraordinary qualities of this unit and sought to create a digital version, as well as introducing some additional features compared to the original unit. In Maize, you will find controls that offer further versatility, including Control-link, M-S, switchable preamps (solid-state / vacuum tube), IN-OUT meters, band activations buttons, Presets, and oversampling options for the preamp section.

Please download the user's manual listed below for more information on using Maize and its controls.

Resizable interface

Choose between 3 magnification values (1x - 1.5x - 2x) from the top right ▼SIZE drop-down menu.

*Once the desired size has been selected, the plugin must be removed and re-loaded in order to apply the changes. This action affects the currently selected plugin. New instances of the same plugin will open with this magnification.

Presets

Maize includes Presets.

The presets are present by default in both the commercial and the trial version of the Maize.

By clicking the “PRESET” drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the Maize GUI you can load a preset from the displayed list according to the selected Artist/Sound engineer.

— Sabino Cannone

Sabino Cannone, aka MoReVoX, started producing music in the mid-90s. He is a Multiplatinum Sound Engineer (40 Platinum Discs); he has mixed/ mastered more than 300 records working with:

David Kahne, National Geographic, Martin Gore, Corrado Rustici, Pino Daniele, Tom Jones, Jessie J, Paul McCartney, Michael H Brauer, James McCartney, Cibo Matto, Ingrid Michaelson, Tiromancino, Kye Kye, Fiorella Mannoia, Claudio Baglioni, Alexz Johnson, The Rubens, Gianluca Grignani, Cerebral Ballzy, Adriano Celentano, Tony DeSare, Pooh, Marco Masini, Alberto Fortis, Arisa, Paola Turci, Raphael Gualazzi, SIX60, Alejandro Sanz, Danny Gottlieb, Jeff Berlin, Ermal Meta, Lo Stato Sociale, Gulino, La Rappresentante di Lista and more.

Preset list:

01-Fat Drums

02-Bass Drive

03-Deep Bass

04-Strumming Guitar

05-Maize Guitar

06-Vocals Start

07-Key’s Contour

08-Gentle Ensemble

09-Modern Piano

10-Abbey Trick

11-In The Air

12-Master To Go

— Tommy Bianchi

Musician, producer, sound engineer, and mastering engineer, Tommy started studying music at seven years old; he has played saxophone since he was 24. He has been influenced by modern jazz, fusion, and electric jazz. He has studied deep modern and classical harmony, composition, and piano. In 2001, inspired by the world of synthesizers, Tommy began his career as a music producer, creating projects and productions of various kinds of music, from jazz to electronic music.

After the dancefloor experience, he engineered the sound of many artists, as a sound engineer in mixing and mastering. So, in a few years, he released hundreds of collaborations working for italian artists as Irene Grandi, Elio E Le Storie Tese, Max Pezzali, Patty Pravo, Dirotta su Cuba, Finley, Funk Off, Loredana Errore, Matteo Becucci, Marco Masini, Alessandro Finaz, Stylophonic, Thomas Bocchimpani, Reset!, Diaframma, Paolo Vallesi, Marco Parente, Fabrizio Moro & Ultimo, Annalisa, Pupo, Post- CSI, Marlene Kuntz, Francesco Di Giacomo, Alexander Robotnick, Francesco Farfa, Alex Neri, Filippo Nardi,Giacomo Castellano, Gianni Maroccolo, Paolo Fresu, Vacca and more. Tommy currently works as mastering and mixing engineer in his studio, the White Sound Mastering Studio, in the countryside of Florence.

Preset list:

01-High Boost Starter

02-M-S Big Boost, Big Wide

03-M-S Big Mid

04-M-S Mid Side Advanced

05-M-S Mid Side Start

06-M-S Punchy Side

07-Punch Low, Smooth Mid, Fresh High

08-Smooth Stereo Shaper

09-Surgical Hf Cleaner

10-Unboxing

Maize - Introduction video by Sabino Cannone

Technical information

• Plug-in Format(s): VST2, VST3, AU, AAX

• System Requirements

• Available sample rates: 44.1 - 48 - 88.2 - 96 kHz

• Windows 10 compatible

• M1 macOS Monterey compatible