Overview

Musical Pultec-style equalization
Lindell Audio’s PEX-500 hardware unit is a mono transformer-coupled passive Pultec-style equalizer that's now available as a plugin. Its all-discrete design is based upon Lindell Audio’s hybrid amplifier that provides up to 15 decibels of silky smooth high end and punchy low end. The PEX-500 is a tone-shaping tool with musical band interactions. Use the PEX-500 to add clarity to vocals, bring out the guttural nature of bass growls, and imbue acoustic guitars with vintage sheen.

Tighten up bass with the Pultec low end trick
One of the most unique features of the PEX-500 is its apparent ability to boost and cut the same frequency. In reality, the filter shape applied looks like a low-shelf boost with a scoop just above it. When attempting to tighten up the low end of a kick drum or bass track, boosting and cutting around 30-100 Hz can work like magic. To get the most out of the PEX-500, don't hold back when turning the knobs; it does well when pushed to its limits.

A faithful emulation with extra features
The PEX-500 plugin is a faithful emulation that includes plugin-only features like stereo operation, a Mid/Side matrix, and additional High Boost frequency selections. There's also an Analog button that introduces noise, hum, and transformer saturation to your signal. To level-match your input signal and make accurate A/B processing comparisons, you can use the built-in Input Pad control exclusive to the plugin version of the PEX-500.

Features

  • Classic passive Pultec tone and features
  • Mid/Side matrix
  • Faithful emulation of the original all-discrete Lindell hardware 
  • Smooth, musical EQ curves
  • Separate Boost and Attenuate controls for the bass band
  • True analog circuit model -- warms up tracks just by instantiating it.

Audio Examples

Industry Reviews

  • Emre Ramazanoglu

    Emre Ramazanoglu

    Sia, Shakira, Alex Clare

    The PEX-500 has an uniquely smooth and airy top end that I just can't get enough of. Creating a plugin with a unique sound in todays saturated EQ market is nothing short of a miracle. I can't… Read More

  • Dylan “3-D” Dresdow

    Dylan “3-D” Dresdow

    Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Usher, David Guetta, FloRida

    From the twacky knock of the compressor, to the schweet top end on the eq, you’ll be hard pressed to find tools in this price range that will expand your toolbox as much as these… Read More

Customer Reviews

  • Great, except the size GUI

    ★★★★☆
    by Pexou
    very good reporduction and very musical but he need a small update to make it more big because in high resolution the plugin feel so litlle.
  • Surprisingly Good on a Master!

    ★★★★★
    by Caleb
    Only got this because it was advantageous to helping me get a deeper discount on a sale. I threw it on a mastering session kind of just for fun, and it ended up being exactly what was needed! the M/S… Read More
  • Great, except...

    ★★★★☆
    by cross_couloir
    The PEX-500 definitely captures the core sound character and workflow of a classic Pultec. As you would expect, it's magic on drum busses and can do work on a mix bus as well. The addition of… Read More
  • PEX-500 awesome

    ★★★★★
    by skidder
    Usually put this on my master.
    I don't think there's anything better for the money, especially when on offer.
    Really beefs up everything with a nice warmth.
  • More flexible than you might think

    ★★★★★
    by Ettienne Lane
    I find digital audio extremely cold and I always had to do a ton of inline and parallel processing to get that WARM VOCAL SOUND I am looking for. I've tried time and time again to simplify the… Read More

Specifications

Supported Plugin Formats
AAX Native, AU, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 14 down to macOS 11
Windows 11 down to Windows 10

Mac
Intel or Apple Silicon architecture

PC
x64-compatible CPU

System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM

 

 

Downloads

With the Installation Manager you can select, download & install all the Plugin Alliance products. Select any and all formats you need for your system! Mac & PC.

ChangeLog

PEX-500

Lindell PEX-500 - Changelog

Version 1.2.2 (Mar 23, 2023)
- Apple Silicon Support for AU, VST2/3 and AAX

Version 1.2 (Oct 26, 2015)
- Fixed RTAS compatibility issues on Windows

Version 1.1 (Sep 1, 2015)
- Release version