Exactly 100% of the gear we review is either bought and paid for at dealer price or is returned to the manufacturer at our cost for shipping both ways. There are no gimme pieces - no free gear. We do not try to sell you anything, as we are not in the sales business. We are a studio, not a store with a recording area. Everything you read here is an honest assessment of what we believe, and we have NEVER asked for nor accepted any financial compensation for reviews.
Literally - what we write accurately accesses what we believe. Questions? Feel free to contact me and I will answer any reasonable requests.
Preface:Evaluating this particular unit has been a learning experience, to say the least.My first impression was the Mint Julip was not a bad product, but not a great one either. After working with the sample unit, though, I have decided the Mint Julip is a valuable and welcomed addition our sonic pallete, and the only way Pan60, or Matt from Bizzar, will get this preamp back is at gunpoint.
What It Is:The Bizzar Audio “Mint Julip” preamp is a new entry into the 500 series chassis choices, offering a single gain knob, a well designed and easy to comprehend face panel, a high build quality, and a somewhat unique position in the extremely competitive 500 series (Adesigns, API, Chappell, OSA, et. al.) preamp world.Retail price is approx. $399 USD.
First Impressions:I am being brutally honest (as I tend to be with all reviews).At first, the sound I was getting from the Mint Julip was not only lackluster, it was just wrong.No clarity, no pizazz, nothing that would make me want to break out a checkbook and own a couple of these.Then, the penny dropped. I understood what this unit was all about… It seems its reason to exist is to be a low-cost sonic alternative for engineers who already have a bunch of boutique, high-end preamps, and are looking for something a bit different.In that aspect, the Mint Julip succeeds, and is/will become a staple in our arsenal.
- Acoustic Guitars:First impression running the Julip with a Josephson C42 SDC, an AT4033 mid-sized condensor, and a Pearlman TM1 U47-ish clone was the pre was not offering anything exciting.Guitars included a Martin 000-16 and Martin Shennendoah D1936 dreadnaught.Not bad, just not great, either.I tried running an EV RE16 dynamic, which seemed to open up the sonic character of the Julip.I then ran the Julip/RE16 parallel with the known quality of the A-Designs P-1 and a Joly modded Oktava 319.It was at this point I discovered some things about the prototype run of Mint Julips - that they were out of phase with the rest of the world.I contacted Matt about this, and he almost immediately (since I am in Texas and he is in South Africa, his reply was in a sense instant considering time differences.)Matt stated he found the 1st run to be indeed out of phase at the output, and would correct this in all subsequent runs.
Critical note:Simply pushing the unit’s front panel phase switch fixed the problem…so indeed, there was no problem, just something I would need to remember.
- BASS DI:There is no front panel DI or instrument input on the Julip, and this is not a problem.Using our EMG stuffed Precision and either an A-Designs REDDI or a highly modified Rapco DI, our bass sounds were again, not thrilling.Not bad, but I am starting to wonder what would motivate a studio working on some major label stuff to want one of these things.
-Drums:Here is where the Mint Julip starts to shine - dynamic mics and heavier sounds.We tried a myriad of different mics with the Julip on snares, overheads, etc, and just weren’t getting what we wanted to hear.Then, almost as a last resort, we hooked the Julip up to an EV 454 on a floor tom, and all of a sudden the light came on!The Julip, when combined with a very hi energy source and the right dynamic mic, suddenly became a viable contender.We ended up keeping the tracks.
- Electric Guitar:Being blunt - the Mint Julip is not a ‘jump out at you’ do-all guitar pre, regardless of mic choice.On clean and pristine jazz or country stuff, I was not impressed (others may be).That said, when the Mint Julip was connected with an SM7 to track a 4-12 celestion stuffed cab being abused by a Peavey 5150 in dropped C tuning, nothing I have in my possession (until now) could accurately capture the low end like the Julip.Pushing the pre just a bit with the gain, we were able to capture guitar tracks in the nether regions of dropped C and B tunings accurately, with enough precision to make one set up and take notice, and enough cojones to make all the other pres check their own manhood.This alone makes the Mint Julip a valuable asset and sonic tool to anyone who records with a heavy-metal style.
Conclusions:The mint Julip is not a high end, uber colored or ultra pristine device.It is what it is, a utility preamp that offers the 500 chassis equipped studios a means to add lots of pres for relatively little cash.At approx $400 retail, the Mint Julip does not aspire to be all things for all occasions, but deserves a chance to find its niche in facilities that have to chameleon from genre to genre with relative ease.It is not going to be confused with a Neve, API, or A-Designs, nor was it ever intended to be.As my great friend Chuck says, “It is what it is, nothing more.”In my opinion, that ’what it is” just happens to be a dependable, no frills preamp that can fill a niche.
Yup…I’m adding one of these pretty quickly.
Special thanks to Guitarist Brandon Cervastes and the group “Order 66” for their valuable assistance in getting the sounds for this review. Look for Order 66 to be releasing their debut CD late 2008 or early 2009....they deliver the goods!
SYNOPSIS:The Cascade Fat Head II Stereo Pair w/ Blumlein Bar set is a very inexpensive yet extremely high quality pair of ribbon microphones.Available exclusively from CascadeMicrophones.com, the bang for the buck cannot be touched.Highly recommended!
WHAT THEY ARE:The Cascade Fat Head II mic set comes in a decent enough aluminum carrying case, complete with Blumlein bar (more on this later), shock mounts, cleaning clothes, and of course, 2 Fathead II ribbon mics.As you know, ribbon mics are a form of velocity microphones that have a somewhat unique response of sound.Ribbons of yesteryear were responsible for orchestral recordings, Ringo Starr’s drums, Patsy Cline’s vocals, just about everything from a generation or so back. Old ribbon mics are very expensive, and the new crop of‘brand name’ mics are almost as expensive, but sound almost as good.So, how in the world can a Chinese ribbon coming in at $175 a pop compare to a $1000 new ribbon or a $4000 classic?In my opinion, they compared very well.
To test our samples (which we bought at retail price) we tracked nearly everything we could get our hands on, and then some.On with the details
Acoustic Guitar:I love the sound of a warm ribbon mic on a steel stringer.We ran one of our Fat Head IIs through an ADesigns Pacifica pre with the gain set about 2 o’clock, mic a foot away from the 12th fret joint of a Martin 000-16. Simply put: gorgeous.Clarity, warmth, and smooth were the phrases used by everyone in the room.Compared to our meticulously kept RCA SK46 (ca 1953 – by no means the gold standard but by no means a slouch mic) the Fathead had a slightly more pronounced boost in the 700-900 range on our test guitar.In this case, a good thing.We also ran the same mic and guitar thru our Soundtracs Solo 32 console pre for some acoustic goodness in a metal project…again, the fit was perfect.No eq was used on the track, even though the song was a dropped D affair.
Electric Guitar:A lot of well known engineers are touting ribbons on monstro-distorto guitars these days…we decided to try this, comparing both clean and dirty tones thru a variety of amps. I must confess I am not a fan of hyper distortion, but nonetheless the Fatheads came thru as favorably as any recorded examples of monster distortion tones I’ve heard.For the debut CD of the group “Anti-Social” we used the Fatheads almost exclusively on distortion guitars, usually with the Soundtracs preamps.
For clean sounds, the jig is definitely up! We ran a custom built tele style thru a stupidly good sounding MusicMan SixtyFive Reverb loaded with a JBL D130.With the standard SM57, the guitar/amp combo sounds glorious…with an EV RE16 or RE11, the combo sounds magnificent.With a Fathead II the combo sounded sensual, as if the mic was somehow picking up the emotion coming from the player’s hands. We have captured some great clean electric sounds, but nothing like this before.If for no other reason, you owe it to yourself and your clean guitar sounds to buy the Fatheads.Mixing tracks with these mics required little or no EQ, very little if any compression, and just make guitar tracks (acoustic or electric) just set better in a mix.
Drums:This is a touchy subject:some say the Fatheads don’t have what it takes to act as an overhead pair, and to a point, I agree.When used in a classic Glyn Johns 3-4 mic configuration, they don’t have the push to capture the entire kit; however, when used as A/B overheads with close micing on toms and snare, the Fatheads produce a killer sound.Pristine, warm, not overpowering, and capture the nuance of a stick stricking the cymbals…The impact was enough to cause me to rethink how we mic most drum kits now, as mixing a fairly elaborate drum setup with the Fathead IIs as overheads made everything seem to fall into place better..Again, highly recommended.
Vocals:The jury is still out on these.We tracked a couple of screamer types, and the Fatheads just didn’t cut it.We also tracked some delicate/soft voiced singers, and the Cascades proved to be THE choice on one particularly soft and gentle female song…as with all things, there are so many good choices.
Orchestral:I mentioned Blumlein at the beginning of this review.Blumlein micing in short is taking a pair of bi-directional mics, placing them on the same vertical plane with the diaphragms at 45 degree angles pointing toward the source, and recording.This technique, when employed correctly, provides a sense of warmth and stereo separation unattainable by any other means.
To make a long story short, we took our Fatheads to set up a Blumlein pair at a recent Texas All Region orchestra event.Frankly, I did not expect too much.The original plan was to track using our Josephson C42s, a pair of highly modded ADK A51 Series IIIs, and a pair of EV RE16s as outriggers, all through either ADesign Pacifica, P1s, or Ramsa console pres…we ran the Cascades through a pair of Presonus Firepod pres (clean machines, but nowhere near the ADesigns stuff)…
In a nutshell – we used only the Fathead tracks through a very low cost preamp pair as the only tracks for the final product.The warmth, clarity, and detail of the Fathead II pair was astounding.We will be ordering a couple more pairs of these for all of our remote rigs.They are that good.
Things to Be Aware Of:First off, let me say that ribbons are not the do all end all mics.They are a powerful tool, but they are not for everyone on every occasion.Ribbon mic tend to need more gain than their condenser or dynamic counterparts, and are subject to handling damage if treated improperly. (Please don’t drive nails with them like we do with SM57s…)Ribbon mics in general, the Fathead IIs in specific, also tend to roll off at between 16K and 18K (Fatheads are rated to 18K), which IMO is why they sound as smooth and warm as they do.
CONCLUSION:For the price of $349.00, ordering the Fat Head II mics from Cascade will provide you with two outstanding microphones at any price point, two sturdy well built shockmounts, a fully adjustable Blumlein mounting bar, an aluminum carrying case, a couple of cleaning cloths, and a small tote bag.This will likely be the best investment you will make in gear for a long time.You sonic palette will include a pair of superlative sounding and pretty sturdy mics that work on almost everything, and work extremely well on a lot of things.Your checkbook will thank you, your music will thank you, and the quality of your recordings will dramatically improve.
The ADesigns Pacifica is a 2 channel mono preamp device derived from the astonishingly good Quad 8 Pacifica consoles of the 70s.We got one, gave it a complete and total rundown of every conceivable test, and this is what we found: the Pacifica is perhaps the most versatile and useful preamp available in today’s market.
The Pacifica is the big brother to the now famous ADesigns P1 (500 series) card preamp, with some significant differences (details below). First off, opening the box, we were greeted by an unassuming yet very heavy single rack spaced device.The cream-colored faceplate is uncluttered, featuring only a ¼ inch DI input, single gain knob, phantom power, -20db pad switch, and phase reversal for each channel, plus a master power switch with a small but very easy to see blue power light..The rear panel is made up of simply XLR inputs and outputs, a standard EIC power cord connection, and line voltage switch.The operator’s manual is well thought out and detailed yet just a few pages long.Connecting it all could not be easier.
The unit features a toroid power transformer, plus transformers for each input AND each output (note: transformers provide that magical sound…and in our opinion have more influence on warmth, clarity, and sonic mojo than tubes).The Pacifica is capable of up to 72db of gain, so ribbon mics are not a worry..
To test the unit, we used a myriad of mics and sources.All testing was done using Samplitude 8.31 or 9.01 (see related reviews) with ADDA chores handled by an RME Fireface, set for 24/48K.For our tests neither compression nor EQ was used. Now let’s get to it:
Vocals:With the extremely wide sonic palette offered by the Pacifica, capturing vocals for any genre was an almost too easy task.For a silky smooth country gospel female singer and a pop oriented male singer, we used a Pearlman TM1 for most of the work.The sounds varied from squeaky clean to deep, rich, and warm, just by varying the input gain and pad switches.We also ran the same vocalists with a Peluso 2247, getting slightly different but equally superior results.Running the old standby RCA SK46 ribbon gave us the old school jazz sound; the EV RE16 sounded superlative, and an ever present SM57 never sounded so big, warm, and juicy.The SM7 through a Pacifica cannot be accurately described – no words can describe its HUGE warmth and accuracy.Even though every mic in our locker sounded superb, the Pearlman seemed to win (sometimes by a very narrow margin) each time.
Acoustic Instruments/Guitars: For our test purposes, we ran the Pearlman, the Peluso, a Joly modded Oktava 319, and a pair of Josephson C42s.On acoustic instruments, the differences in gain/pad settings really became apparent. On both Martins, the Pearlman gave that unique U47 sound, the Peluso a crisper, more present sound, the 319 the classic 47FET sound, and the Joesphsons the crisp detailed sonics one would expect from a GREAT set of SDC mics into a GREAT preamp.Hint: take a matched pair of mics (or as close to matched as you can swing), put one Pacifica in clean mode (gain down, pad off), the other in color mode (gain way up, pad engaged), then blend the two…I had no idea a pair of SDCs could sound so large, warm, yet detailed to hear every nuance of each test guitar.We got the same results with pairs of AT 4041s, ADK A51 Ser IIIs, and even a pair of EV RE11s….the similarity of mics combined with the extreme preamp differences gave us some rather unique and highly usable sound each time.
Drums: Always the topic of debate.In our tests, we ran the Pacifica in various setups.When used for close micing individual drums, each drum track was punchy yet clear and detailed.Snares and a SM57 really seem to like the Pacifica’s transformers.When the Pacifica was used as an overhead pair with a set of Josephson C42s, everything we heard was detailed, with no high end harshness, uneven frequency responses requiring EQ, etc…As this reviewer prefers the simplistic 3 mic approach, the best results we got (out of all the possible combinations) was the Joly-modded Oktava 319 front of kit run into an ADesigns EM Silver 500 series card, and a pair of ADK A51 Series III (old models) into the Pacifica as overheads…huge punch, crystal clarity, and an extraordinary sense of depth.We went as far as to use just 2 mics for a particular drum track: the Pearlman TM1 as front of kit and a Jurassic era RCA SK46 ribbon overhead…again, the results were clear, precise, and powerful, without being overbearing.Ringo, anyone?Also note we tried the Pacifica with the usual myriad of hand percussion toys (bongos, timbales, tambourines, etc, all with the same results.Great stuff.
Electric Instruments:This is where it got really interesting.We ran a beefed up Telecaster thru a JBL-stuffed MusicMan SixtyFive Reverb head, and put up an SM57…Hello classic Nashville!I think Roy Nichols and Don Rich would have loved this combination.Using different mics, as expected, the Pacifica gave a clearer picture of that mic, with the preamp adding just a touch or a ton of color, depending on the gain/pad settings.For heavier/more contemporary sounds, the ribbon into the Pacifica gave up the goods in way we had been looking for.A Marshall 412 and an older 50 Watt Marshall head plus a combination of ribbon and an SM57 gave up remarkable results.
Plugging a bass directly into the Pacifica gave us very good results, but adding the REDDI as a DI has in effect re-defined our bass sound.An EMG loaded P-Bass into the REDDI, then into the Pacifica, could very easily become THE standard for bass guitar.
Pianos/Keyboards:Once again, the Pacifica came through these tests with flying colors.Synths (including a Triton, Alesis Q6, and Motif) all sounded much more realistic, requiring little if any EQ.A Fender Rhodes sounded amazing, with or without the REDDI in the path.We then took the Pacifica to a local church with a great sounding upright grand, and when combined with both the Pearlman and our Peluso 2247 provided deep lows, detailed highs, and clear bell like mids.On one remote session, we recorded a young but gifted soprano and a grand piano.For the session, we used the Pacifica and a pair of Josephson C42s in XY, and as expected, the details of the piano came through beautifully.After the session was over, we set up the Pearlman in Omni mode, about 2 feet from the piano at full stick, and recorded a concertina (3 minute piece)…the combination of the Pearlman and the Pacifica, even in a pretty poor room, rendered amazing clarity, power, and detail.I can honestly say I’ve never heard a mono track sound so big and spacious.
Why do you need this preamp?Simple answer: it provides two channels of outstanding sound that can run the gamut from super clean with just a suggestion of color to an in-your-face, aggressive preamp that will make a track jump out and demand to be heard.Is this THE one perfect preamp?I don’t think such a thing exists that is perfect for every application, but given all the choices I have and/or have used, the ADesigns Pacifica would be my choice for the “desert island” preamp.It really is that good, in this reviewer’s opinion.The Pacifica holds its own against any other pre I have encountered and in most cases out-performs the competitors, by no small margin.Its versatility, sonic character, build quality, and price/performance ratio make the Pacifica a no-brainer for any studio large or small, pure audio or heavy external synth based, classical, jazz, or metal.It works well with every mic we tried, on every source we could muster.ADesigns as a rule builds exceptional gear, and the manufacturer’s support could not be better.Tracks recorded with the Pacifica are much easier to mix, saving time and making the job easier.We encountered none of the “build up” believed to be present when using nothing but Neve or similar pres. Whatever we had, tracks recorded or redone with the Pacifica found their place with little fuss.We also found the 500 series devices from ADesigns to be very complimentary of the Pacifica; our P1 pair and an EM silver melded beautifully, and worked almost in a perfect symbiosis.This preamp is a must have.
I want to add this: the combination of a Pacifica pre and a Pearlman TM1 mic is as close to a perfect combination as one can get.The Pearlman acts as if it was manufactured to be an OEM match for the ADesigns, and in our studio, the Pearlman/Pacifica combination has become THE go to combination.Look for our upcoming review and head to head shootout between the Pearlman TM1 and the Peluso 2247, another winning combination for nearly every application.
A Designs REDDI Tube Direct Box SYNOPSIS: The ADesigns REDDI is a tube powered direct box designed for a mutlitude of uses, treating any and all direct injection tracks with an elegant warmth, controlled power, and the purest sense of realism I’ve encountered in any direct box. Nothing could prepare me for opening the shipping box for the recently delivered ADesigns tube DI known as REDDI…This huge device weighs as much as any preamp in the place, yet has only one knob…The bright red finish was flawless, with easy to read control markings for In and Out. In true ADesigns form for quality, the IEC standard AC cord was included (heftier than most), and all screws were tight and lined up properly. So after carfully removing the REDDI from its perfectly molded protecton foam, we plugged it in and started giving it a pretty intense testing. The most obvious application for a Direct Box is bass guitar…we tracked some bass line from a 62 Fender RI Precision loaded with EMGs through a couple of other pres with the DI feature, giving us a benchmark from which to proceed. Then hooking up the REDDI (A stupidly simple process…no more difficult than adding a guitar pedal) we ran some more tests. With the output knob low, the bass was full and clean, having a certain unique character and tone unachievable with any Direct Boxes in house, or any of the pres with DI capabililty. “Deep and smooth” were the first words out of my assistant’s mouth as she heard the live feed. Using the same bass, we started turning up the gain knob…the sound seamlessly sequed from warm and smooth to downright aggressive, as if we were tracking an SVT running on full tilt…nice growl, but we never experienced any noticable distortion. It was the sound of the bass with a killer amp…Putting the gain knob at halfway, my brain immediately kicked in and said “a-HA! A cherry sounding Ampeg B15”… so yes, even if used just on bass, the REDDI is one tool that will be used on every session we do from here on out. But, we didn’t stop there…next up, we ran the outputs of a wonderful sounding Rhodes right onto the REDDI…the results were magic. Comparing the Reddi-tracked Rhodes to other Rhodes tracks, I found that the sounds were almost identical to micing up the old Fender with a MusicMan SixtyFive head pushing a JBL D130 cabinet…amazing…the only thing lacking was the room ambience, easily solved by applying just a rouch of reverb. So now, the REDDI has two jobs… Next up, direct guitars. We ran a 335 copy into an original TS9 or a 1st year issue of a Vox 810, into the ReDDI, into the board…In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting much – and I was wrong. The guitar/fuzzbox/REDDI trio gave us nothing less than astounding results, again providing superior (not equal, superior) sounds with no noise, just warm, true, and powerful tone. We ran the REDDI with an original MXR Dynacomp and a custom built Nashville 5-2 stuffed tele into the REDDI, and the sounds of early Albert Lee appeared. This thing is a MUST HAVE for country pickers! Not knowing when to quit, we ran the 335 clone on the front pickup, and laid down some jazz tones ranging from Wes Montgomery to Al Dimeola…all authentic, all accurate, all noiseless and free from loud drummers, bleeding,etc…Again, never knowing when to stop, we went as far as to record a Fishman equipped Martin 000-16 with an original ‘cordicidine” bottleneck slide…cranking the REDDI’s gain wide open and turning down the guitar gave us some of the nastiest, hairiest blues guitar you will hear anywhere. In short, the REDDI is the most versitile and useful direct injection system we have encountered, and will solve a lot of problems while at the same time adding a new sonic dimension to whatever you throw at it. Here’s a tp: the REDDI makes for one of the best live bass or guitar DI boxes ever produced…chances are better than average that if you’ve seen a national act in concert, you’ve heard the REDDI in action. I’ve seen REDDI’s in racks, on top of amps, even in a few custom built pedalboards. Another tip: Using the REDDI with a dynamic mic on a snare drum can really brings out the power and authority of a well tuned drum…A must have to put a unique set of guts onto a snare track.
CONCLUSION: The REDDI is one of those things that fall into the Must Have category. It versitility is astounding, its built like a tank, and is very reasonably priced at $799 retail. The quality of this device actually makes mixing much easier and faster, as one doesn’t have to look for the right plugs or hardware – the tracks just seem to fit together as they were recorded. Your sound and your clients deserve the extraordinary power of the ADesigns REDDI.
Contact www.adesigns.com for more information on the enitre ADesigns Product line.
Compressors, the topic of many a discussion among the pro audio community, really are subjective devices. They come in all flavors, price ranges, soft and harware versions, digital and analog, tube or solid state, optical or Voltage controlled (VCA), and in reality are not all that exciting but are a necessity of life. A very pleasant surprise in the world of compression, though, is the Rane C4. If you thought this device was just for live use, think again.
What it is: The Rane C4 is a 4 channel device, with each channel featuring a digitally controlled compression circuit with the usual controls (attack, release, threshold, etc), but sweetens the deal with a highly accurate and effective de-esser (more accurately, a dynamic EQ), automatic release setting, side chain capability, and tops off with a hard knee limiter. Yes, this is a digital device, conducting all of its firepower via DSP, but somehow retains the old school warmth and...well...reality of pure analog devices we all lust for.. Retailing at $999.00, the C4 is housed in an extremely sturdy steel chassis, 2 rack spaces, and features a real internal power supply connected with a standard EIC power cable (no wall warts!) Even loaded with great features, All this comes out to around $250 a channel, (very low end territory) but this is no low end sounding device! Each channel also features a fully adjustable (and very accurate) knob to adjust the de-essing frequency and levels, compression bypass, plus an overall channel output. Channels 1+2 and 3+4 can be stereo linked, to address any stereo input sources. The neatly laid out front panel has knobs and switches a-plenty, but is very intelligently laid out and easy to read. The rear panel features both ¼” and XLR ins and outs (all balanced) plus the sidechain plugs. Again, lots of things in a small amount of real estate, but very easy to understand. Rane obviously put a lot of thought into the ergonomics of it all.
What it does: In a nutshell, everything one could hope for in the realm of dynamics control. Since our studio is primarily geared and designed for working with acoustic intruments and voices, this is where we focused our testing. All tests were done in actual tracking situations, a real world, trial by fire, application. Preamps used included a pair of ADesigns P1s and an EM-Silver, a pair of OSA MP1-Cs, and AN old style Mindprint Envoice. Using the line inputs of the studio’s RME Fireface800 and Samplitude 8.3, we fired everything up and got to it. All testing was done on the inbound signals to get a real time, real life feel for what the C4 is capable of, and how well it performs under pressure.
- Acoustic Guitars: Using our pair of Martins (D1936 and 000-1CE) and the mentioned preamps, we set the compressor channels to the factory recommended presets. We found that the presets sustained way too long, but a simple adjustment of the release knobs fixed the problem. We ended up using about a 4:1 ratio, quick attack and medium (50 ms) release to capture some absolutley killer tracks. There were no traces of un-natural pumping or breathing sounds normally associated with lower cost compressors – the Rane just did its job without noticable coloration. One cool note: the front panel allows for a frequency- dependant compression setup, so that certain frequencies will be bypassed for each individual channel. This feature allowed the lows from the Dreadnaught sized Martin to be controlled without effecting the highs much at all – a VERY cool feature (that should be included on compressors costing 10 times as much) On each track, no further dynamics manipulation was needed; the C4 got it right coming in, without coloration or artifical frequency manipulation. The obvious benefit is this cuts mixing time in half.
- Banjo: Since the project we tested the device was a country gospel project, we added some banjo tracks, with the same attack times but a bit longer release time (banjos are not known for their sustain….) The results were the same: powerful, dynamic, but controlled tracks. All notes on the instrument were equally loud or soft, virtually eliminating any dead spots on the neck or the instrument’s skin. Both claw style and ‘modern’ style (using a thumbpick) were tracked, with equally remarkable results. using an RCA SK46 ribbon mic, the results were exactly what we were looking for.
- Vocals: Ah, yes – everyone’s favorite topic…Our vocalist for the project (female alto) is very dynamic in her singing, and goes from a whisper to a powerful and loud voice in a very short time. As such, tracking her without benefit of inbound compression could have been a real headache. Connecting a Peluso 2247 to an OSA pre feeding the one channel of the C4, we were able to capture her extreme dynamics without sacrificing the feel. Again, a little went a long way, with attack and release times about medium, threshold approx -5db. We were able to capture the purity and soul of her singing, without sacrificing the sound. Remarkable results, but considering the per-channel price, extraordinary. We got the same results with a soprano and male baritone/bass for backup singers. At this point, we realized that Rane really has a winner with the C4. But there’s more! With vocals, the de-essing (dynamic EQ) capability really saved the day. Our vocalist needed just a touch of de-essing at around 4K…we simply adjusted the frequency and threshold during her runthoughs before the actual takes, found the spot, and the occassional escessive sybilance just disappeared. Again, this feature allows tracks to be captured right on the way in, reducing the mixing time dramatically.
- Drums: Since our trial by fire project was a bluegrass/gospel album, we brought in a drummer for test purposes. This application is really where the C4 not just did the job, but showed off a bit. One channel assigned kick duties, fattening up the kick without becoming overbearing; one channel on snare, again giving us a fatter yet controlled snare (with the snare volume controlled by the kick’s sidechain….very dynamic, very easy, very cool), and the remaining pair of channels assigned overhead duties. In our tests, each channel was set up just a bit differently to take on the unique properties of each source, and in each instance, the results were pleasant and musical, with no artifacts, no pumping/breathing, and no unpleasant color. If for no other reason, the C4 should be considered a top contender for studios that track a lot of drums.
- Bass Guitar: Our house bass (an old EMG loaded Fender) has mucho sustain by itself. In our tracking efforts with an ADesigns REDDI, we had to roll the release button to the fastest setting to avoid bass notes from ringing out too long. Once we found the sweet spot, the instrument smoothed out, and, like all other results, required no additional dynamics (and very little EQ) treatment.
Conclusions: While the C4 is seemingly designed for live application, it is a potent and extremely versitile tool, offering features, quality, and sounds that place it in a class of dynamics controlling devices costing 10 times as much per channel. I really don’t have anything to complain about (a rarity) with the C4: it offers its goods at an affordable price. and does exactly what it is supposed to do. No, the C4 is not an esoteric piece, nor was it intended to be a replacement for Fairchilds, LA2s, etc….but it is no slouch, either. On the per-channel basis, there is nothing I’ve encountered that can touch its versitility and bang for the buck. It should be noted that exactly all of the tracks for the bluegrass/gospel project that had the C4 in line to the convertors were keeper tracks. Mixing such a project has never been easier, either in the box or externally. Whether you use the Rane C4 on the inbound signal or in mixdown (really the preferred method) is up to the user, but there are some things (drums especially) that just seem to be easier to address on the inbound. The versitility of the C4 is really a marvel; all features work as they should, without any unwanted color or pumping. The Rane C4 comes highly recommended for any studio needing to track multiple cases of excellent sounds at an affordable price (and isn’t that all of us?)
(Addendum: Rane's Serato line, including the above reviewed C4 and many other Rane DSP controlled products, are available as ProTools compatable plug ins, and are already in use by many top engineers using the PT platform. One such application that is gaining a tremendous amount of popularity and use is loading the Serato stuff into PT Venue rigs as well as ultra high end recording applications.
Many of you have asked for this...sorry its taken so long, but here it is...
What It Is: This shootout between three VERY popular but totally different mics has been a long time coming…for starters, we have been absolutely swamped…our Charter Oaks mic got bought out from underneath us, and we installed a new (to us) 32 channel Soundtracs console…Enough excuses, though.
We tested the Pearlman TM1, the Peluso 2247, a Michael Joly modded Oktava 319, and the Charter Oaks 528...all contestants were used not in set up testing situations with throw away tracks - all mics were used in various recording situations, with the resulting sounds either being used or being tossed in favor of one of the other contestants. The results, as perceived by us and us alone, are startling, and have open our eyes to dispel some myths about mics, specific and in general.
Except as noted, all mics were run through an ADesigns Pacifica preamp. Instead of comparing mics against instruments, we will for this report compare sources against mics…Now on with our findings:
Acoustic Guitars: We ran our house Martin D1936, 000-16, Guild Madera (strung up in Nashville tuning) for several songs…more times than not, we opted for the modded Oktava 319 sounds…there is something organically genuine and unique about U47FETs, and the modded Oktava seems to capture the very soul of the originals…for our projects on these days, the tube mics were almost too pristine, too powerful for acoustic guitars. Of the tube mics, the Pearlman was the winner with the Pacifica, with the Charter Oaks and Peluso, each having a totally different flavor, coming in third.
When we ran the mics through the Soundtracs Solo console pres, the differences were, in one word, startling…all of a sudden the Peluso became the winner, by no small margin…(note the EQ on the console was off, the signals sent to Samplitude via the console’s direct outs.
The judging was difficult at best, but here’s what we found for acoustic guitars:
- When using the Pacifica, the modded Oktava eeked out the others…using the Soundtracs pre, the Peluso 2247 was the winner.
Electric Guitars: This is where the disagreements, even some near fist-a-cuffs came to be…Such a subjective call all the way around…that said: Our tests were somewhat complicated for electrics…so many other variables (clean vs. dirty, single coil vs. hum buckers, open back vs. closed back cabs, lead vs. rhythm, etc…we tried to narrow it down as much as possible, and let me be totally frank: at no time was there a clear cut consensus among those who participated in any of these tests…
Instead of going into every conceivable detail, here’s what we (kinda) decided on:
-Single coils in clean mode (open back Fender amp-country sound): Pacifica and Pearlman
-Single coils in distortion mode: Peavey Classic 20 pushing a Marshall 412 : Pacifica and Charter Oaks (this surprised all of us!)
-Hollow body jazz: Pacifica and Pearlman
-Humbucker in clean mode (Fender amp): Pacifica and Oktava 319
-Humbucker in classic rock mode: Soundtracs and Oktava
One of our guest observers made the remark “they all sound great, and could easily fit into any rock tune we do…” Obviously, this commenter/contributor has been ‘raised’ on in the old school: one board, one pre, couple of mic choices….more on this later…
Drums: Again, so many variables, so many choices….and since we did not have a matching pair for our affinity to the modified Glyn Johns approach, we had to focus our attention strictly to kick drums…here, the Pacifica/modded 319 shined…and has become the mainstay for just about any drum tracking we do. The Soundtracs/319 was a close second…and in all honesty, I don’t know
If we were hesitant to expose the Pearlman, Peluso, and Charter Oak mics to such extreme SPLs…I admit perhaps the tests were skewed, but skewed or not, the Pacifica/319 combination, without any EQ or compression, packed enough low end whomp to knock the engineer right out of the chair…gets my vote, anyway…
Vocals: The most difficult and subjective call of all…the easiest to get wrong, and the easiest to get right. We all have heard the stories of the $15,000 signal chain sounding just OK on a specific singer, and the best chain is an SM58 and an API 500 series pre (total cost <$500).
Not to cop out, but to condense this review to a reasonable length, I am throwing out a few blanket statements - feel free to agree or disagree
- The Pacifica/Pearlman combination gave us the sound most used and most preferred in out tests (males and females, baritones, altos, rock, gospel, country, alternative, metal screamers, it didn’t matter)…although there were some great sounds obtained by other combinations, the Pacifica/Pearlman never disappointed.
- The Pacifica/Peluso gave us some surprising troubles…on a few singers, it was the perfect combination, on some others it was, well…awful. On the same side of a different coin, the Peluso and the Soundtracs pre gave consistently stunning results….where the differences lie is anyone’s guess at this point…maybe it’s the American vs. British thing…I simply know that on some voices, the Peluso/Soundtracs was THE one…
- The Pacifica/Charter Oaks was a very VERY pleasant and detailed combination…sort of the anti-U47 vibe, this combo would be ideal for the classical vocalist…oddly, this combination seemed to work the best on well trained and/or experienced singers…I know where this particular mic is, and have access to it when the need arises for a classical vocalist. The Charter Oaks was equally at home with the Soundtracs preamp…
- The Pacifica/modded 319 combo is yet another killer set up…sounded great on every voice we threw at it (except mine…the best sounding mic/pre for this reviewer’s voice is the one that turned off…) Again, the 319/Soundtracs combo was what one would expect from a British Invasion recording…
Other notable preferences:
- congas/timbales/castadas/etc: Pacifica/Pearlman
- Background vocals in general: Pacifica/Charter Oaks
- mic’d Fender Rhodes: Soundtracs/Oktava
- Banjo and fiddles: Pacifica/Pearlman
You might be thinking to yourself this is the most non-committed review ever written…and in a way, you would be right. There are so many outstanding combinations of mics and preamps that come purchase time, narrowing everything down is a truly impossible task, especially for the smaller yet higher end shops.
Recommendations:
1. No matter what your might find yourself up against, the Adesigns Pacifica/Pearlman TM1 will provide superlative results. The Pacifica proved itself a worthy preamp, to the point at which I feel an entire CD of any form of music could be recorded with just this one flavor of pre…
2. If you can afford only ONE mic, any of the tube mics would a worthy and versatile choice, with perhaps the Pearlman edging out the others only by personal preferences, just as some people prefer Coke, some Pepsi…The wild card was the Oktava 319 modded by Michael Joly.
3. For the most part the differences between the test mics were at the nuance level…and even though they had different topologies, different components, different historical developments, and all of the test mics could be used in nearly any conceivable situation. There simply is too much quality in all the test examples to set one mic apart as THE mic for all situations, it simply is too close to call.
4. The better the preamps, the better the mics, and the nuances became more noticeable. We ran all of the test mics through some less than stellar pres, and the differences were almost non-existent; however when only top of the line pres were used, the differences became apparent. Moral: pre amps make a HUGE difference…(duh)
5. As with all much better than average gear, an experienced engineer could record a superlative project while being restricted to just one of the test mics and the ADesigns Pacifica, or any of the test mics and the internal preamps from our Soundtracs Solo console.
Conclusion: After testing our collection of tube and re-built FET mics through either an ADesigns Pacifica or an internal preamp from an older Soundtracs console, there really is no clear cut winner as a do-all-end-all microphone. They all just simply sound great. Thinking in food terms, which do you prefer: rib-eye, T-Bone, Prime Rib, New York cut, Kansas City cut, corn fed…?
In the end, considering the price break points (our test units ranged from $200 with mod to $a shade under $2000), they are all good, good for you, and sure to please even the most discriminating critics.
What it is: The MA2.2 Preamp is a 2 channel pure Class A preamp designed for acoustic instruments. Opening the box generously provided by my good friend Nathan Eldred, Atlas Pro Audio, revealed a clean looking and sturdy front panel, with just the right amount of controls to match nearly any mic and instrument in just a matter of moments. The instruction manual was not necessary to just plug and go (didn’t need it – the unit is easy to operate) but there is some very important information about the interaction between the output jacks when the unit is equipped with the Sowter transformer option (Lesson: Read it!). The front panel featured a gain knob, Phantom power, phase, a clip light, and hi/low impedance switches for each channel. The rear panel included the usual XLR mic inputs, with balanced outs both on XLR and ¼” TRS (very handy…thank you!) One important note: When the MA2.2 is equipped with the Sowter transformers, the transformer output appears on the XLR outs, with the TRS performing as a direct out. The unit utilizes an internal power supply that seemed totally noiseless, and provided plenty of juice regardless of how hard the unit was being pushed. The attractive blue-themed faceplate and the small blue pilot light were welcomed additions to the rack. The preamp is available with or without the Sowter transformer option – the unit we used was the MA2.2TX (with the upgraded transformers.) The unit retails at $2900.00 USD.
Review Process: We used the MA2.2 in a couple of actual for market CD productions instead of a testing environment. An RME Fireface 800 was used for AD-DA duties, Using an XLR-TRS adapter to access the Sowters, sampling rates either 24/44.1K or 24/88.2K (depending on which project)…Monitoring done with our custom built monitors designed and constructed by On-Track Audio…all signals sent directly to the RME without use of any external goodies, and all mixing to this point done in the box with Samplitude 8.3. Note that our application testing featured both the transformer and transformer-less outputs.
How Does It Sound? In a word, Spectacular. We used the MA2.2 for a myriad of acoustic instruments for a southern Gospel project featuring a strong female alto, and a contemporary adult CD featuring lots of real violins, celli, and acoustic guitars. Here’s the details: -
Acoustic Guitar: The MA2.2 is a must have for any acoustic guitar tracks requiring clarity and strength without being over powering. We used the MA2.2 with a variety of mics on a variety of Martin, Guild, and Ventura classical guitars. All of the tracks done with the Buzz Preamp were deemed “Keepers”…Mics included a Peluso 2247, Michael Joly modded Oktava 319, AT 4041, Josephson C42, EV RE16, and a ca. 1953 RCA SK46 ribbon. In each case, the preamp did not add any color, regardless of how hard it was pushed. Instead, the natural sound of the combination of the mic and the guitars was heard. This unit is a prime contender for multi-micing an acoustic source, or tracking two separate and contrasting acoustics, keeping the guitars and not the preamp in the limelight. The transformer out yielded a warmer sound, whereas the transformerless out was a bit brighter, especially on the dreadnaught sized Martins.
Banjo: Yes…we tracked a banjo…using the old RCA ribbon mic and a banjo with jurassic era strings (to capture an old time feel), the MA2.2 in transformer mode nailed the sound we were after.
Bowed Instruments: We used the Buzz and the Joly modded Oktava to track a cello trio, violin (both classical and country ‘fiddle’) with the same results…the cellist commented that he could feel the same vibrations he experiences while playing when listening to playback. That, as they say, is a true representation of the original instrument. Again, the transformer mode was warmer, with the transformerless side a bit more articulate.
Piano: Here it gets tricky…Using a pair of Audix SCX25 mics (designed specifically for piano), the Buzz was a little touchy to the dynamics of an upright. Once we got the mics and preamp gains tweaked to the dynamics of the player, the sounds came alive, with purity, clarity, and no coloration…again, remarkable, if not stunning….dare I say breathtaking? Yes. -
Vocals: This is such a subjective area, as I generally prefer a little coloration in lead vocal tracks. That said, the Buzz produced such a pure representation of what we were after that we ended up using the Buzz’s vocal tracks as keepers for much of the gospel project. One thing about the MA2.2 as a vocal pre – there is no mistaking the clarity of the artist. What the artist gives is what is tracked…this may be a problem for singers that, er, uh, need help in capturing the true quality of their voices. This is another application in which the transformer/transformerless option is invaluable - For the gospel application, we chose the transformerless output.
Why You Need This: Simple answer: truth in recording. With the Buzz and almost any of the mics used, I was able to hear the differences in string gauges on the house Martins…that is no small feat. No matter what source we threw at it, the Buzz provided the truth, not a representation, but an accurate, nuance enhanced reproduction of the original source. The addition of a transformer based or non-transformer based output makes the MA2.2 an even more powerful tool, providing a myriad of options all from a minimal control panel. I find it very difficult to compare it to our already decent collection of pres (ADesigns, OSA, Focusrite, RME, Ramsa, and others), as the MA2.2 seemed to complement these others instead of competing with them. Each has a valid sonic identity, and the Buzz just fit in when mixing, without any competing for space. An interesting note: thus far, we are 80% done with mixing the projects which featured the Buzz preamp, and have yet to use any compression or EQ. This alone makes the job of capturing and mixing much faster and easier, with more pure, organic results. To the working studio, this means better sounding final products done faster – and who can turn this down?
Conclusion: The Buzz MA2.2 is a worthy addition to any studio, large or small, commercial or project. It offers a unique sonic clarity, accurate and simple to use and understand controls, and makes the often difficult job of accurately capturing acoustic instruments a pleasure instead of a task. The unit sounds great regardless of what other pres are in use or what output (transformer/transformerless), and makes the job of mixing much faster and easier. If your studio relies heavily on acoustic purity and versitility, then the Buzz Audio MA2.2 deserves a good long hard look…If my cash and credit cards were not already screaming for relief, I would have fought and bought this unit today…
A heart felt “thank You!” and tip of the Stetson to Tim Farrant for this extremely high end, well built, and sonically superior product. Highly recommended.
(A special thanks to Nathan Eldred, Atlas Pro Audio, for the review unit, and Judy Woods and Kurt Weidmann for their musical talents).
The Audix company has long been known for providing good quality products, alternatives to the “me-too” thinking in the mic business for many years.The SCX25 provides a fresh and extremely powerful alternative to the usual sounds, with versatility and affordability.The pair comes shipped in a very sturdy aluminum case, with the unique mounts and a couple of cables, all ready to go.
WHAT THEY ARE:
The Audix SCX 25 mics are high quality “lollipop-style’ mics designed to nest comfortably inside of a piano.The capsules are full sized, but the housings are roughly the size of a SDC, making mounting in tight spots much easier.The clever mounting designs allow for meticulous placement inside the piano, attaching to the soundboard bracings, eliminating the need for boom stands.These cardiod condenser mics provide a smooth and articulate sound on any sized piano with minimal phasing/placement concerns.
We tested the mics on a 7 ft Yamaha grand and an older upright of unknown origin…in each case, the mics presented us with an deadly accurate reproduction of what was heard at the sources.To be honest, I did not expect the accuracy and clarity from a pair of mics that together cost less than one brand name or ‘esoteric’ device.We were more than pleasantly surprised at how easily we were able to capture the nuances of each piano.These mics made mixing so much easier, especially when capturing close micing in stereo.No EQ was used on our test examples, as none was needed.
It should be noted that these mics are very sensitive to the preamps used…we originally tested them with a pair of OSA MP1C 500-series preamps (very VERY API-ish)….good stuff…then we tested them with a pair of ADesigns P1s…again, very good, but very different.Next pres were from our trusted Ramsa console; again, superlative results, but very much different from the others.Here’s where some subjectivity comes in – these mics really shine their brightest when used with the most transparent pres available to a studio.
Now a reality check: most smaller shops (like ours) don’t have pianos laying around (special thanks to the folks who let us remote test these mics!)…so why should you investigate further?Simple answers:
Guitars.We ran our 2 wildly differing Martins and a Jurassic era Ventura classical through the SCX25s…and they simply blew us away.They need a bit more gain for fingerstyle than most other condensers in our locker, but once dialed in, the SCX mics gave us some rather unique sounding and highly accurate detailed guitar tracks.They seem to impart a fuller overall sound to any acoustic guitar, without sticking out like a sore thumb.If for no other reason, a studio would be wise to seriously consider the SCX 25 as a tool to capture acoustic guitars with a slightly unique flavor, one that will spice up just about any style of music. We used them as test mics on a light rock project, and almost all of the tracks ended up in the final mix.They are THAT good.
Drums.We tested the SCX 25s as a pair of overheads in the well known Glyn Johns technique.In this capacity, the mics worked very well, and provided (again) a somewhat unique quality to the overall sound…again, they required a bit more gain than most mics in our locker, but once they were tweaked, sounded very warm, full range, harmonically rich.Again, we ended up keeping the test tracks for the project, adding just a touch of 125hz to bring up the floor tom…that’s all that was needed.I believe these mics, when used as overheads, are better suited for jazz and light rock, genres that seem to do better when drums are clear, precise, and articulate as opposed to punchy.
Vocals: We found the SCX25 to be a very good choice for light hearted voices, such as female ballads, etc.These are not punching, in your face mics (nor should they be) but smooth, almost tender.Being honest, I don’t believe the SXC25 would be a first choice for vocals, but for some female voices singing soft, almost sensual songs, this would be THE one to grab first.Again, our tests revealed the mics to be very sensitive to the preamp choices, and would be perfect for the smooth, soft, and sultry sounds needed for some emotional songs (think a slightly different flavor of ribbon here….doesn’t work on everything, but what it does work on it works on better than anything else out there)
Stringed instruments:We tested the SCX 25 on arco bass and cello, again with the same superb results…with each test, the instruments provided a very smooth and accurate representation of the source instruments…particularly pleasing was the cello, as the SCX25 captured the almost sensual warmth of the instrument without any need for additional EQ…in essence, it was the PERFECT choice.
DOWNSIDES:None, really.The cleverly designed soundboard mounting system is made of plastic, and feels like the tightening screws could present some tension problems after a certain time.The actual mic holders are also plastic – I would have preferred a higher quality small shock mount to hold the mics in place…but the mounts provided did their job without complaint, so perhaps I’m being a bit too picky about this.To be fair, the people at Audix state there is virtually no handling noise or sympathetic resonances resulting from their much smaller than average chasses, and I would have to agree…
CONCLUSIONS:Audix really has identified a sonic niche with the SCX25 microphone, a niche that is unique sounding yet highly usable in just about any mic locker, large or small.They maintain a certain unique round sounding quality while still providing a clear, accurate, and pleasantly versatile sounding track.In all of the tests we ran, the tracks recorded with the SCX25s sat very nicely, with minimal EQ or other treatments needed, perfect for those occasions in which an SDC is too clear and an LDC is just too much for the source. In short, the Audix SCX 25 mic makes the job of mixing a whole lot easier...We will definitely be adding the Audix SCX 25 to our ever-growing mic locker in the very near future.
Special thanks to Bill Perser and Brett Weidmann for their assistance in these tests…
Very special thanks to Lofty at Audix and Jay at Guitar Center Houston for their providing the test mics, and for being so patient.
(This is a First for Us...a Co-review...look for many more!)
tfpro P10: Come experience the Mighty Twin
By Ken Morgan and Steve Langer, Copyright and added September 28, 2006
Do you like recording channels? A recording channel to me contains a mic pre, a compressor section and an equalizer section. As part of Ted Fletcher's resurgence as an audio designer and manufacturer, tfpro brought out the P10, which is also designated as the Mighty Twin. It's a dual recording channel. It features extensive controls (somewhat over the top at times), an effects loop for each channel and switchable stereo linkage for the compressor section.
What's over the top about it? Let's think 30 knobs, the nice aluminum ones. Let's think about a knob that switches input from line, instrument, dynamic and condenser microphones. And, please note the utter coolness of the condenser mic switch slicing 15 dB off the gain. Has anyone else noted the problem with certain mic pres giving you so much gain on condenser mics that you've got to turn the gain control all the way down to try to avoid clipping on condenser mic placements on loud sources?
Even though the P10 gives you lots of control, most users will find it easy to navigate with its logical layout and easy to read print on the faceplate.
The Mighty Twin features a variable phase control. It allows the engineer to adjust the phase of a mic from 0 to 180 degrees (instead of the usual one or the other button). It allows control and correction of slightly to severely misaligned microphones.
The compressor section attempts to emulate four different flavors of compressor. Ted Fletcher, of course, successfully emulates his famous compressor sound with one of the settings. He doesn't achieve complete success with the other three settings which mimic certain characteristics of other famous compressors. However, you get four distinct flavors of compression. Use of the four compressor settings over a long period of time revealed all four settings to be useful. The large VU meters can be switched from input mode to gain reduction at the push of a button.
The EQ section features a four band semi-parametric layout with a 12 dB cut or boost range. Each channel finishes off with a master channel output control and LEDs to indicate the presence of signal and overload.
Many people find it easy to get acoustic guitar sounds to tape yet find it difficult to fit into the mix. The P10 allows the user the opportunity to use compression and EQ when tracking to get an acoustic sound more in line with where it'll be when mixed. Some people disagree with this approach and say don't compress or don't EQ until final mixdown. The talent seems to perform better when it sounds like a record in the headphones. That's just an observation.
Using a Peluso 2247 microphone, a Martin D1936 acoustic guitar sounded huge with the compression selection set to position three. The engineer set the compressor with a fairly fast response and slow release time. He set the EQ to roll off the low end and a slight roll off of the high end as well. He used his ears to dial in the sound. The session ended with two keeper tracks for an indie film.
Next, the P10 saw duty on an old Ventura Classic guitar tracked with a modded Oktava MK319. Again, another keeper track to be featured in the above mentioned indie film.
On electric guitar amps, the P10's variable phase control allowed multiple mic'ing of the guitar amp without need to precisely set the distances. The P10 allows a lot of flexibility. You can put a condenser on channel one and a dynamic on channel two. You can give one compressor and EQ treatment to channel one and yet another to channel two. It's almost as if you got channels from a quality recording console with the added feature of the variable phase.
As a DI, the P10 performed well on both synth and bass tracks. Again, dial in the sound. The DI did not exhibit any obvious coloration or unpleasant artifacts.
The P10 got more use for drum overhead channels than anything else while being evaluated. The engineers used these mostly in the context of the three-mic drum technique. While some of the most famous drum tracks in Rock music feature this often debated recording technique it's more difficult to get the overheads to work than most assume. Regardless of the mics used over the kit, the P10 always allowed for a superlative picture of the kit. The toms came across as powerful and articulate. The cymbals rang true and clear. The P10 put across the sound of each mic without trying to imprint it's own sound in place of that of each mic.
If only used for drums, then the P10's performance makes its price a good value and a worthwhile investment. It's been missed at both studios in which it was evaluated when it comes time to record drums and acoustic guitar.
An engineer rigged the P10 up as a master mixdown device strapped on the backend of a summing unit. The P10 outperformed it's in the box counterparts and did so easily in A/B listening tests. It exudes "power" in this application.
The unit, while well received by the evaluators, also features a niggle or two. One evaluator wanted a compression makeup gain before the EQ section. Everyone also found it possessed that English self noise. It's not something you'd be troubled with for 99.9 percent of popular music tracking. However, if you wanted to record some quiet passages of Classical music, then you might want something quieter. However, if you're doing that sort of work, then you likely own something extremely quiet. Another evaluator wanted to see a switch that changed the signal path to allow the EQ to come before the compression.
Ted Fletcher seems to be in the midst of an unexpected resurgence. His compressor, the P38, gets raves from the best ears in the world as a preeminent mix buss and mastering compressor. One of the evaluators owns an early version of the P38 and agrees with its reputation.
The Bottom Line: All in all the tfpro P10 should be in every working studio on the planet. It possesses a good mic pre with an outstanding compressor section and a good EQ section. The added features such as the variable phase make it stand out from its competition. Recommended.
Recently, I was presented a golden opportunity to record a location job for a wonderful youth orchestra…problem was, I needed to carry a whole lot more than my normal location rig could handle. Frantically, I searched the net looking for reasonably priced high quality racks and cases that could be depended on to safely protect my high end pres and other goodies, and get it pretty quickly. I quickly got pretty well educated as to the unglamorous life of racks, road cases, and so on.
I found the folks at Audiopile.Net, and called them on the phone to see if we could get things from Washington State to Texas in a short time. Speaking with Liz, an extremely pleasant, professional, and understanding person, I explained my predicament. Liz shipped me a 12 space rack with almost no notice whatsoever, even managed to hold up the UPS truck so my rack would go out THAT DAY. Here’s the story.
1. What It Is: The EWI series of racks are Chinese made, yet very sturdy and high quality racks designed to protect nearly anything inside.
When the UPS dropped off the 81 lb box, I was somewhat taken aback by how sturdy the shipping box was…or should I say shipping boxes…inside the outer container was another box, this one actually holding the rack. Carefully removing all the shipping materials was somewhat challenging, as the rack was shipped to ensure the gorillas at UPS could not damage this box (although they did lose it…3 days late on delivery…got lost in Texas…but that’s a different review). Anyway, inside the boxes was the rack with caster board. This particular rack was brand spanking new, as one could still smell the fresh adhesive smell and the wood (aired out in less than one hour) There were easy to read instructions on how to connect the overbuilt casters (two of which are foot actuated locking casters…nice touch!) and two bags of higher quality rack screws with washers.
Here’s a cool thing about the EWI rack: doors. Simple concept, yet the front and back doors are interchangeable, and can be mounted on either side, regardless of vertical orientation. A GREAT feature when wrapping up a remote session. I remembered back to days of yon when doors had to be oriented exactly right, or they would not shut. The latches are butterfly type locking latches, which look and feel as strong as any such latches on the market today. The doors are also lined with soft cell foam, another nice touch, to protect any knobs or handles that may protrude. The doors themselves are a couple of inches deep, facilitating rack mounting nearly anything you can throw at it, regardless of depth, handles, knobs, whatever. The rack has two ultra sturdy spring loaded (yet quiet operating) handles on each side, making lifting a whole lot easier. Rounded ball corners on every place 3 sides met up made this, in theory, the perfect road rack.
2. What It Does: Allows users to get any rack mountable gear to and from a jobsite without worrying about damage.
I was kind of expecting to run into problems when it came time to rack up an OSA 11 space 500 series, chassis, 4 compressors, A Fireface 800, Tango 24, and Focusrite Octopre…I just KNEW the rack rails would not line up right…I am happy; no I am ecstatic, to report the rack rails (on both sides) lined up perfectly…no slanting, no holes that didn’t align, no problems whatsoever. So far, this 12 space rack was far exceeding my expectations…but now its showtime….
The unit rolls effortlessly maintaining a straight course (Hooray! No pulling to one side or wobbly wheels so common in other low cost racks!). Doors come off and go back on almost without effort or thought. The foot actuated locking wheels keep the rack from rolling when it’s supposed to be still. Assembly was stupidly easy, and the added 2 bags of rack screws allowed me to fully secure every piece I have, with plenty to spare.
3. Why You Need This:
If you are a musician, sound company, remote studio, in house studio, or just have a need to rack mount a lot of gear, I strongly encourage you to visit the people at www.audiopile.net and talk to them about your needs. Their pricing is more than fair, and their customer service is superlative. Liz is an absolute professional and knows her stuff, and even though I knew she was busy, took a few moments just to visit. Somehow, (I don’t want to know how she did it) she kept UPS from leaving her location until my rack was on the truck. Amazing service from a tremendous dealership, and great people to work with in getting what you need, when you need it, at a price you can afford.
Audiopile.net also carries a rather extensive line of cables, snakes, even mics (look for an upcoming review on their small diaphragm pair)…Liz and Mark are great folks to work with, and have made a new fan (and customer)…Although this rack was originally meant to be just for the remotes, I have decided to order another 12 spacer in the next few weeks for the permanent control room. This is some sturdy yet good looking stuff. While good quality racks are not glamorous things, they are a necessity of any studio, mobile or not.
I highly recommend this product.
OKTAVAMOD.COM 319 Re-Build
I. What it is:
The Oktava mics have been around for quite a while now. I had one laying around that had not been used in years, as it just didn’t seem to give me satisfactory results on anything (and it was one of the first mics I bought when I started the move out of the bedroom studio to a dedicated facility…) While looking through the net, I found a couple of references to Oktavamod.com a service that takes the less than stellar Oktava lines and makes them something useable, even special.
II. What It Does:
I was skeptical to as to what to expect, to say the least, but for $99 bucks, it seemed like a no brainer. I contacted Michael Joly, proprietor of OktavaMod.Com and we coordinated the transaction. As soon as Michael (more on him in a bit) received my package, he notified me he had the mic, and following his instructions, paid the $99 via Paypal, and waited.
Wasn’t a long wait, either…the mic arrived in almost record time (8 days from send to receive)…I opened the well packed box delivered by the gorillas at the US Postal Service, and saw that Michael had cleaned up the grill (even straightened out a dent in the back of the grill at no charge)…something was telling me this was quality waiting to be heard.. Looking inside, I saw some of the changes, and saw nothing but clean soldering, perfect lead dress, and a lot of personal TLC. Off to a great start!
Wasting no more time, I immediately went to work. I must admit that even with the quality components and lead dress, I went into this with a somewhat lowered sense of expectation, as I remembered there was a reason the Oktava was not in use…Anyway, the 1st test tracks were the modded 319 through both an ADesigns P1 and OSA MP1C, tracking an Martin D1936 and a Martin 000-16. With both guitars and both preamps, the results were jaw dropping…I heard details I had not previously heard from either guitar, regardless of hard strumming or delicate picking. The mic is very sensitive to position (more so than I would have imagined from any mic in the less than $2K mark, lest one I had a grand total of $150 invested into)…Moving the mic just a ¼” produced dramatic changes in the tracked result. With either pre, the results were slap amazing. I compared the modded 319 to several other tracks I had done in the past using anything from AT4033 to a Peluso 2247…and I chose the modded 319 over the others 85-90% of the time. At this point, I decided the mod was well worth the effort, and a real bargain….but I needed more.
We then tested the mic on vocals. We cut several tracks of various male and female voices, in various musical styles. Again, I was stunned at the clarity and sheer yet controlled power of the modded 319. This mic is much more suited for smooth jazz or country crooning than for a screaming rock project. Sounded great on most singers, but sounded superlative on alto females and baritone/low tenor voices…Again, we A/B’d the modded 319 against some other tracks using some pretty heavy hitter mics, and the 319 stood its ground, never failed to give great results, and was actually the preferred mic for smooth, almost old style “too smooth” vocals. Its time to note that if you are looking for the ultra modern sounds, I haven’t been able to find them in this mic…this wonderful tool just seems to ooze vintage. We even went as far as to run the 319 about 5 ft back, and recorded a mono track of guitar, male, and female voices…with absolutely no eq, no treatments of any kind, the mic shined, and reacted to the dynamics of the three sources with superlative clarity for each source…playback revealed a sense of a small intimate living room concert.
Next up, instruments….first we ran the mic just as a test on a major blues project we are working on…running a heavily modded/upgraded Washburn HB30 into a vintage MusicMan head pushing a 15” JBL D130, we set the mic up about 18” back and slightly off axis…The results we got were keeper tracks, giving up that elusive smoky, old school blues sound that can only be obtained with the most vintage (and expensive) Neumanns, Sennheisers, EV dynamics, and RCA ribbons…in a word, this thing competed on a level playing field and often times killed every other mic we’ve tried. Clean guitars, dirty guitars, it didn’t matter; the 319 held its own in every capacity. Next, we tried it on a Rhodes 73 amplified by the same MusicMan head and JBL cabinet. Not to gush too much, but this combination produced some of the finest Rhodes sounds we have EVER recorded, or heard from any released material since Ray Charles….it is that good in this application. (Can you tell I am a huge fan of this mic yet?)
Now, you might be asking if this compares to a U47FET…I did, and the answer is a resounding YES! I’ve used a couple of U47FETs in the past, and drug out the basic tracks…the overall response and timbre are not identical, but very very close…the sounds are not identical, but very very close. Can the modded 319 and the U47FET be interchanged with no loss of clarity, warmth, and quality? Yes; the lowly Oktava319 with Michael Joly’s modification put them into the same level. We have used the modded 319 on a 9ft grand piano opened to the 1/4 stick position during a remote session...once again, superlative results.
I did find the modded 319 to be very sensitive to the different preamps as well…each of the pres used have a somewhat unique character, and these differences were not only apparent, they were clearly heard. What this means to you is that the modded 319 will accentuate any differences in mic pres, thus opening up your pallet of sound makers even more.
III. Support: When the mic arrived the first time, I opened the well packed box, and was dismayed to find the mic did not work at all…the only noise it made was mechanical handling noise…I called Michael, and explained the situation. He told me to send it back that day (which I did) and the moment it arrived, he would investigate. Turns out that a wire had worked its way loose from handling…Michael footed the bill for shipping each way, and got me up and running in almost no time at all. This, to me, should be THE standard model for ALL equipment manufacturers…No voice mail, no pushing buttons, no waiting. My issue was resolved immediately, and I got the chance to visit with Michael on the phone…try THAT with any other mic mod service, and see what you get…
As it turns out, Michael was likes to think of himself as “an empirical engineer.” and has worked with some well known designers and manufacturers in the past, influencing a lot of the high end gear available today. I believe it…he has taken the lowly 319 and turned it into one of the premier mics around here…
IV. Conclusion: If you have a 219 or 319, get this mic mod done right NOW…your music and your clients deserve it. Starting at $99.00 and moving upwards, there is no reason on earth not have these modes done. You will not be disappointed. Contact Michael at www.oktavamod.com for more details, and tell them Ken at Wireline Studio sent you.
(A special thanks to Patti Spurgeon Irvin for providing her extraordinary vocal talents in these tests…she’s a real gem, and will cutting her own CD in the not too distant future…and has insisted the modded 319 be used…)
AudioPile C61 Matched Small Diaphragm Mics
Synopsis: The C61 Matched Pair SDC mics are a tremendous value, offering versitility and quality sound at a very reasonable cost.
When I considered ordering a pair of the C61 mics from Audiopile.net, I really didn’t know what to expect. How could $139.00 for a PAIR of mics be useful? We tested them on a number of sources, and found that in this case, the price is no indication of the quality.
When the package arrived from Audiopile.net, we were greeted with a well built wooden case. Inside were the two mics, clips, and stand thread adapters. The mics look very much like a pair of AKG 451s, and felt suprisingly sturdy. Each mic features a three position rolloff switch and a pad. We discovered after the review process that the mics are actually assembled at Audiopile from hand selected and tested components...Very cool service - one that is GREATLY appreciated.
We ran the C61 pair through OSA, ADesigns, and Focusrite preamps, first with an acoustic guitar. The sounds we heard were way better than what we anticipated, with clear highs, clean lows, and enough mids to allow any acoustic guitar to shine. The mics sounded crisper and clearer than any other budget SDC we have tried to date, and although not as pristine as our Audio Technica 4041, still sounded very good.
Next up, we used the mics as suggested by the distributor, as overheads for drums. The c61 mics really came through in this application, providing powerful overhead sounds without being overbearing. Very cool! We then tried the C61 mics on a snare and hihat. This application proved to be the winner for our test purposes, as the hat came through clear and pristine, with the snare coming through with a robust power and mid/hi clarity unattainable with the standard SM57 or any condensor in the sub $500 category. We liked the sounds so much that we used them on an actual session later in the day.
There are a couple of things that can be improved, though. The rolloff and pad switches seemed to be difficult to move, and took a couple of attempts for the desired change to actually occur. (this may be to the newness of the mics – once the switches were broken in a bit, they performed properly). Our biggest complaint is the included mic holders. They were a hair too big for the mics, causing vertically mounted positioning to fall a bit. We ended up placing a piece of tape on the mic and clip to hold them in place. Also, the positioning screws on the clips seemed loose and flimsy, and took repeated tightenings to get them to hold their positions. Minor issues, easily corrected, but issues nonetheless.
Conclusion: Audiopile.net has rapidly become one of our favorite retail outlets, and the c61 mics just reinforce what we already knew about the store’s quality and ‘bang for the buck’ status. The C61 pair is well worth the extremely low pricetag, and would be a bargain at twice the price. We recommend these mics not just for budget studios, but for anyone with a need for a versitile all around decent sounding mic pair. We are buying this pair because they offer a slightly different sonic twist in most things, make GREAT highhat and snare mics, and because at $139.00 a pair, it would be stupid not to own them. For mid/high end studios, recommended…for the home recordist/budget studio, we strongly recommend them. This is a pair of mics you will probably want to use for a long time, and to get anything noticably better will cost you more than triple the price.
Overall: Good to Very Good to borderline GREAT sounding pair of SDCs...versitile yet reliable...expect to upgrade to better mic mounts at some point. Recommended to Highly recommended!
ADDENDUM: I have never met Liz or Mark at Audiopile.net, yet they seem to continue to crank out wonderfully useful products at extremely low prices, and seem to have re-established my belief that small shops that do most of their work in house can still be a viable and competetive source for gear in a working class yet high end oriented studio. Liz and Mark are living examples that you DO have an alternative to the mega stores for cable needs, racks, do-dads, etc...and we at Wireline Studio give them the tip of the ten gallon hat...
