Vintage is the way to go, with the latest offering from de la Mancha, the QB-3 (Windows; $24 MSRP) 3-band EQ VST plugin.

QB-3 allows for lots of adjusting. You can adjust each band's center frequency and gain, customize the low and high shelving bands' steepness of the slope, as well as adjust the bandwidth of the mid-peaking band. Your personal touches will lead to a range of possible sounds, from steep, sharp cuts to smooth and gentle boosts.

The plugin is not completely transparent, however. According to de la Mancha. QB-3 brings a "subtle mojo" to your sound via a combination of harmonics, saturation, and low-level noise.

Furthermore, the EQ plugin offers full stereo processing, master gain control, an optional 40 Hz cut for low-frequency optimization, optional limiting on the final output, non-linear knobs for precise control at small values (with double-click reset to default value), and 33 presets in various configurations.

The vintage-style QB-3 is available now from de la Mancha.