Goly Gravity´s Rainbow 4 Band Dynamic Mastering Equalizer

The GOLY Gravity’s Rainbow Mastering Equalizer is a 4-band dynamic EQ with a cross-compression send/return system on two buses, offering numerous possibilities for bus and mix processing. Use it to bring over-compressed or flat-sounding material back to life and add more presence to your tracks.

EQ SECTION
The equalizer section behaves like a classic 4-band mastering or bus EQ, with selectable shelving filters on the high and low bands, as well as an extended frequency range in the high-mid band. Each band features attack, release, and compression controls, along with a “Super Soft” button.
When Super Soft is activated, the compression operates with a very soft knee characteristic and a low ratio of 1.5:1. When this function is deactivated, the unit operates with a harder knee and a compression ratio of approximately 6:1.

The previously mentioned extended High Mid+ band covers the entire spectrum of de-essing and “taming” processing. The frequency range has been expanded from the usual range of about 400 Hz – 4 kHz to 400 Hz – 8 kHz. In addition, it features two focus filters within the band’s dynamics section. These filters allow you to determine which frequency range is fed into the sidechain, enabling you to focus specifically on the trigger frequencies.

The low band has a variable filter in the sidechain. This allows you to slightly reduce the influence of low snare frequencies toward the upper range while simultaneously preventing excessive triggering from sub-bass in the lower range.

The 8-step release setting includes two auto modes:
A1 – a conservative “set-and-forget” mode
A2 – a more aggressive mode where more timing-related distortion may occur

The 11-step attack setting also includes an “out-of-bounds” time constant. This is particularly useful for catching occasional transients. However, with continuous peaks, it may cause timing-related distortion, as compression is retriggered extremely quickly. This range is marked accordingly to indicate that it is a potentially critical area.

COMPRESSION
The unit develops its characteristic sound starting at around 14 dBU. At 18 dBU, there is still enough headroom to further increase the level and generate additional coloration, while maintaining sufficient clipping headroom. At the same time, you approach the relative compression limit when the control is set to 0.

The master gain control is used to compensate for level differences, allowing for meaningful A/B comparisons.
The global bypass completely bypasses the entire unit (hard bypass). The individual “In” switches of each band insert or remove them from the signal path independently by decoupling the respective controls from the band.

CROSSCOMPRESSION
Cross-compression reverses the amount of compression of one band and feeds it into the opposing band at the ratio set by the control. Since low frequencies compensate for high frequencies and vice versa, the result can genuinely be described as musical.

Cross-compression was originally developed in a 2-band configuration in the COMPEQ. Each side triggered compression on the other side—the compression crossed between the bands (hence the name cross-compression).

The Gravity’s Rainbow operates with a 4-band setup, which is why GOLY implemented a send/return bus system for this function. The generated compression can be sent to Bus A or Bus B and then returned to any desired band—even the same band.

The unit is in excellent, well-maintained condition from 2024.
Non-smoking studio.