FabFilter is a household name for countless producers out there. And rightfully so – their products are slick, fun and powerful. If you’re in need of a great EQ, their Pro-Q3 just might do the trick – guess what, we’re giving one away right here.
We wanted to know how a boutique-software brand like FabFilter navigated its way to the top. Luckily, they sat down and answered our questions.
In a nutshell – how did FabFilter become what it is ? Smooth sailing?
Me (Floris Klinkert) and Frederik met in University (Computer Science) and started working together. Started out with a little blue synth (FabFilter One) which focused on superb oscillator and filter quality, and along the way we also heavily started focussing on user interaction and workflow, Pro-Q being the best example of this.
How did you get into this line of work? Passion to profession?
Certainly passion to profession. I’ve had a modest carreer in music as well, releasing many dance/house records, lounge/downtempo albums and touring with a band. Slowly, FabFilter took over though. But I’m still creating the tools as I like to use them!
A producer’s relationship to a set of plug-ins can be quite intense – some people spend more time with software tools than other musicians or even friends. How does it feel to create something that actually brings a lot of value to the creative community?
It feels great of course. As mentioned earlier, we create the tools that we’d love to use ourselves, but it’s really great that other people ‘feel’ that as well.
What makes the Pro Q-3 stand out compared to other EQs on the market?
Apart from the excellent sound quality, Pro-Q 3 has been designed both visually and in terms of workflow with utmost attention to detail. We’ve thought about every click, every interface action, every knob or button position. And because of this, working with Pro-Q is lightning fast and very easy.
Do you interact with your power-user base, maybe even develop or crowd-source new ideas or enhancements? If so, how does that work out?
We interact with our user on our support forum and via e-mail. Often people e-mail us with ideas or suggestions and we certainly listen to this, and keep things in mind for future updates or new products.
Can you give us 3 pointers for avid producers diving into the world of FabFilter?
First try Pro-Q 3; it’s our most popular product and it really defines our vision as a company. Once you’ve started using that, you will probably want to try out the other Pro plug-ins as well, but also dive into the Creative ones.
Time to get a little esoteric here. Do you think you could identify a production that has been moulded or touched up by one of your products? Ever experience something like that in the past?
I could identify some Timeless 2 or Twin 2 presets I think. But identifying a certain EQ or compressor sound will be very very hard
Where is FabFilter heading? Any thoughts on future trends concerning music production and workflow?
We’ll keep on developing new products, and improving existing onces of course. Also, we’ll release more iOS AUv3 plug-ins soon.
Win the most popular FabFilter product – the Pro-Q3 – right here!
3 join the family and show some love for this!