Hi,

You’re about to obtain one of my bidirectional MaxForLive wrappers for Pro-Q4. I truly believe this will have a profoundly positive impact on your workflow in Ableton Live.

What can I do with this?!

These devices allow you to access Fabfilter's Pro-Q4 directly from Ableton’s interface.
Each model is inspired by a classic analogue channel EQ, whose curves I have carefully measured and recreated in Pro-Q. If the original hardware featured stepped controls, I included a stepped version to replicate its behavior precisely.

You can, of course, still take full advantage of Pro-Q 4’s advanced features — simply click the yellow button to open the plugin window.
The first 4–6 bands (depending on the model) are fully bidirectional, meaning any adjustments made within the plugin are instantly mirrored in the wrapper, and vice versa.

Furthermore, all models include a MIDI Connector device. Simply drop it onto any track in your Live set, map it once to your preferred MIDI controller, and you’re ready to go. From then on, your controller will automatically control whichever instance of the wrapper is currently selected. Go ahead — mix with your eyes closed!

Available models

• 4000 – all the detail you’ll ever need.
• 73 – very broad curves, perfect with Pro-Q’s warm mode to get that “iron” sound.
• 550 – also broad, but finer than the 73. Flip between shelf and bell filters.
• Tube - famous curves. (Only available for Kirchoff-EQ at the moment.)

Installation

1. Move the downloaded .amxd file(s) into Live’s Max for Live folder:
   /Users/User/Music/Ableton/User Library/Presets/Audio Effects/Max Audio Effect/ProQ4-4000-Vst3.amxd
   
   (Tip: You can also open this folder by right-clicking any Max for Live device in Ableton’s browser and selecting “Open in Finder”.)
2. Move the ProQ4 preset that came with your download into FabFilter’s preset folder.
3. Load the wrapper onto any track.
4. When you first open the patch, Pro-Q4 will likely open in its default state. Open Pro-Q4’s plugin window and load the corresponding preset (e.g. channel_4000.ffp).
5. Now save the M4L patch as a preset under your preferred name by using the disk button in the upper-right corner. This will store Pro-Q’s state, so the next time you load your preset it will open with those settings by default.
6. Note: You can also create your own Pro-Q presets. The EQ bands controlled by the patcher are mapped in chronological order (e.g. Band 1 = Low Cut, Band 2 = Low Shelf, etc.). However, I recommend not using stepped mode when you do so, as there is a lot happening under the hood and it may lead to funky behavior.

MIDI CONNECT

1. Since version 1.2, all models include a MIDI Connect device.
   If you wish, install it into Live’s Max folder just as you did with the Wrapper.
2. Drop the patch anywhere in your set and map the designated dials and buttons to any MIDI controller.
3. That’s it — your MIDI device now takes command of every currently selected instance of the Wrapper.

Operation

• Stepped Frequency enabled (model 550 and 73): wrapper mirrors the hardware exactly.
• Stepped Frequency disabled: frequency control spans Pro-Q’s full spectrum, with frequencies displayed as in Pro-Q4.
  (Example: a 10 kHz shelf in the 550 translates to 2.4 kHz in Pro-Q4.)
• Unsure about a knob? Hover to read the Live info text.
• Pro-Q quality modes are fully supported; any latency changes are automatically reported to the wrapper.

Note: In stepped mode, the frequency dial itself is not yet fully bidirectional—but the correct value will always display beneath it.

Important Notes

• You must own Pro-Q4 to use these wrappers. (This is not a standalone EQ.)
• Currently, most wrappers support only the VST3 version of Pro-Q4.
• I have only tested this with Ableton 12 on Mac.
• The Tube-style version could not be built for Pro-Q4 due to missing correct shelf filters, so I build one for Kirchoff-EQ. Make sure to check it out!