The UAD Pultec HLF-3C is not very cool or sexy, but it does have great curves.

History of the hardware

The Pultec HLF-3C was developed by Pulse Techniques as a straightforward high- and low-pass filter unit, designed to remove unwanted frequencies from audio signals. Introduced alongside other Pultec designs in the 1950s, it used passive LC circuitry to create smooth, natural roll-offs at selectable cutoff points. Unlike full equalizers, the HLF-3C was specifically built to filter out rumble, hiss, or other unwanted frequencies without affecting the overall tonal balance.

The Plugin

Simple, yet wonderfully effective. Also take a gander at the UAD Pultec EQP 1-A and the UAD Pultec MEQ-5.

Ideas

Record through this and eliminate a bunch of the low end mud while you track.
Add this on a reverb aux to create the “Abbey Road trick”. Set the low cutoff to 500 or 750, and the high cutoff to 8 or 10. By eliminating the high and low end, the reverb returns with less mud and less airiness. Basically, a more defined sound. People debate if the EQ should go before the reverb. In a situation where you are sending the signal to a speaker in a chamber, or an actual plate, the EQ will change the way those physical devices respond as opposed to having the EQ after the return. Digitally, it doesn’t make any difference, except in cases where the reverb is adding some kind of modulation, in which case before or after will have a slight variation.