outboard gear

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Member Since: Nov 28, 2008

hello wise people!
when I studied music and sound technology in the UK, during the sound recording module I would learn how to run a recording session throgh radar 24 using an audient asp8024 and some very cool outboard gear.
now the problem is I'm used to the physical thing and tend to dislike plug-ins.
so I decided I need to get me the following units: a parametric EQ, a reverb/multi effect processor, a compressor/gate.

for EQing I got used to the ones in the audient consolle and I just don't feel inspired by the visualisation of a frequency curve with spots to move with a click of the mouse... I want the knobs!
I was looking at the presonus EQB3, it's really inexpensive... and well, even if I've been told that presonus stuff is usually good bang for the buck, I'm a bit suspicious regarding economic gear... anyone knowing if it would be a good option?

for reverb I fell in love with the smooth reverbs of the yamaha spx990 but it's quite difficult to find and quite expensive as well.
do you guys know any alternative economic unit worth of consideration (i.e. not sacrificing quality), or d'you think I'd just better off waiting untill I can afford a 990??

in the UK I used to work with two separate units for compressing and gating (mindprint t-comp, very expensive and difficult to find; bss dpr-504, very good but expensive... plus, I don't think I would need quad-band gating), but for budget reasons I'd rather go with a single multi-purpose unit. I need it to be my reference point for compression and gating so I don't want to risk on its quality.
t.c. electronic c-400XL gate compressor seem to be a good option feature-wise but I don't really know about the quality. and I can't understand if it's a soft-knee or hard-knee type of compressor (I'd rather have a soft-knee one).
the drawmer mx 30 seem to be interesting as well, and it is a limiter too (which could be good, even if not indispensable as I could tolerate to apply limiter to a final stereo mix using software), but I'm a bit concerned by the auto-circuitry thing and by the fact that, correct me if I'm wrong, you don't have a release knob but just a fast/slow release button (I don't like the idea of not fully manual control of the settings).
but in the end, I'd rather go with the one which is better quality-wise... I'm open to other options you could suggest.

thank you very much and merry xmas!

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Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Dec 25, 2008 10:53 pm

I'm not sure I would want to call the EQ3B comparable to what you were using. If you want a good unit at a fair price then look to the Joe Meek gear. If your looking to do a high end console channel strip you won't be doing it for budget pricing really.

If you really like the spx990 then I would probably stick with doing it in DSP. There are not any hardware pieces I can think of that will sound like the 990. Lexicon might come close, but then again...

On the Compressor, that is a fair unit at that price. It isn't even going to come close to what you were using, so don't get your hopes up there. The knee will be selected by the program preset you choose on the unit. And yes, it is actually a DSP based unit, not true analog compression at all.

Let's go sailing....
Member
Since: Feb 25, 2008


Dec 26, 2008 08:13 am

For the money I thought the d8b was a good deal that had knobs you can turn - or the mouse. I use my d8b with a RADAR II and think I get pretty good results with it. It has a compressor on every channel - and eq - and mine came with TC Reverb and Finalizing software.

Steve


Member
Since: Nov 28, 2008


Dec 26, 2008 08:54 am

first of all thanks for the reply.
then, for compressor you'd pick op the c-400XL over the mx 30? at least for the moment I can't really afford to buy something on the price range of what I was using, and yeah I kind of suspected the price differs for some good reason, but I'm looking for something that will still sound decent and will let me have some manual control over the mixing process.

I have done a little research for joemeek stuff and the only pieces of equipment with eq seem to be the preamps threeQ, twinQ and oneQ... threeQ being the only cheap one... but it rather looks like a preamp that's got some basic 4band sweepable eq and some very basic compressor (not even ratio and threshold knobs!)...
what I liked about the eq3b is that is a one channel parametric eq, enough to work out equalisation of a single track the way I'm used to... I know it's never going to be as good as the audient channel strip (that consolle is wonderland), but I don't know any other unit that is specifically designed to do parametric eqing. BUT, if it's going to be a piece of crap, I'd rather look at something else. so if you know any specific unit that does the same thing better at a reasonable price, please share that knowledge!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Dec 26, 2008 05:21 pm

The 400 xl choice is based on you stating you wanted to have more control. I like the sound of the Drawmer but I think you may get more use out of the 400xl unit.

I guess on the EQ for that price you are not going to find anything better. YOu can look to Alesis and Alto, although the Alto I am not really sure of the quality or sound.


Member
Since: Nov 28, 2008


Dec 27, 2008 01:46 pm

thank you very much, I'll have a look at that before I choose what to buy...

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