EQ - tracking & mixing...

[Damien]

ok we have some rack space now ive moved all the noise makers out of the control room (mac and external hard drives......)

and now we want some eq....

what to get.. we do mostly band tacking and mixing.

we have used the lilfreq's and loved them
we have 2 spaces in the 500 rack and id like api..maybe but which one, theres 3 i think..
the new ssl mini things..GML..pultec.....

what have you actually bought and kept, or sold and baught again later coz u missed it..

again mostly tracking, then mixing (lots of things are being recorded and taken away....to finish at home..)

suggestions please..

have a look at the other stuff we have if you want to see what fits.. new (old) mics are at the doctors to be added soon as well as the 33609.
http://ponymusic.com.au/Equipment
cheers,
damien

[rob]

well, hot out of the oven are our racked pairs of MCI JH-500!
4 bands - everything is switched - no pots, add pencil and paper and totally recallable
sweepable HP filter
oh ... and a mic pre - Jensen transformer
and massive +29dB max in / out level

see here : http://www.turtlerockmastering.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2553

[Chinagraf]

The new Chandler 500 eq looks interesting. The Electrodyne eq may be available now, more shaping than surgical. Hard to go wrong with 550A's for rock/band stuff though.

[Senad]

I just bought a Buzz Audio Tonic 500 series from a guy on this forum, and love it..especially on vox and bass (bass through a Radial DI, into Buzz elixir, into Tonic) very tasty EQ

[TimS]

Those MCI JH-500 modules of Rob's look super..
Whats ya budget, as you've quoted GML, SSL and Pultec?

[Damien]

doesnt anyone use eq here.. or is it all secret... all you all use mackie and behrincrud and wana keep it quiet..

seriously i thought someone would have an opinion here.

[Chris H]

doesnt anyone use eq here.. or is it all secret... all you all use mackie and behrincrud and wana keep it quiet..

seriously i thought someone would have an opinion here.

Ok, your console is the digidesign, and assuming you do most of your mixing in the box, I reckon a passive eq is gunna do something the other stuff you have in the box won't do. Never heard it but Joe Malone's PEQ 500 passive eq looks like a very good deal for the bucks (but would be even better, i assume, with transformers rather than the electronic balancing, what about it Joe?). Another option for passive eq are the older White eq's made for pa gear, eg the 4004, although they are not the greatest of options sound wise. Some of your pre's like the Amek have high pass filters, so mike placement and choice should cover most of your needs. ( I'm sure i'm not telling you anything you don't already know.)
If you are collecting a few. I would think some of the Buzz eq's could be a good option for the more corrective or surgical. In this dept, the Ueri little dipper can be very powerfull and you can pick em up quite cheap. Also one i use a lot on problem live tracking which has often saved the day is the TC 1140 parametric eq. I just love this one. Michael Hedges used it in his accoustic live rig. Hope this helps.

.........as an after thought i just thought of something. Best deal for the money would be to buy Milses' TAC Scorpion:

http://www.turtlerockmastering.com/foru ... php?t=2517
...or something similar,( DDA or Midas Venice come to mind)
In my opinion, without hearing the Buzz and other eq's, the eq on this desk would be as good if not better than these rack jobs, and for the price, you also get routing options for outboard and paralel comp....
Just a thought.

[heathen]

doesnt anyone use eq here.. or is it all secret... all you all use mackie and behrincrud and wana keep it quiet..

seriously i thought someone would have an opinion here.

What sort of tone do you want?

Personally I'd get the GML. But that would be suiting my needs.

:)

[Damien]

maybe is should ask this a different way..

if you were to record in a place like ours, what eq would you expect to see and what would you want to use.

i had the whites, sold them years ago (when they break theses some parts no longer made.) also had the tc.. sold some really ugly (beautiful) nova eq's as well...

we are getting more tracking only jobs, and we have some rack space..

yes our "console" (mouse and keyboard replacer) is a c24, so yes we mix in the box but use some external inserts (up to 16 channels of insert on mix) through the lynx.

damien

[Chris H]

Aha!..The Nova's. Had the 3 ru parametric with the faders selecting the frequency and pots for notch and gain at Richard Cook's studio where i did a lot of work when i first got into recording seriously. I found it a very powerful but not a musical eq. To be honest, these days i think quality plugins are just as good as a lot of outboard for that type of surgical eq, but it's the musical eq where analogue really does stuff the digital options don't really get close to doing and thats what i would be looking for.

[TimS]

If you have the 500 VPR series rack, fill up some slots with various modules - greater variety and it looks good for your clients when you say " well, we have this EQ, this EQ and these EQ's - take your pick" e.g API, Daking Plus, Avedis, JLM, Buzz Audio, Helios, Purple, Shadow Hills, A Designs or Speck. Lots to choose from..
I have an Orban 622B stereo parametric EQ. Its nice (but a little noisy at times) and probably not looked upon as a super EQ unit, but it does the job nicely for me..
However, I'm still going to add 2 EQ modules to my lunchbox.. always handy..

[13thbeach]

Hey yeah, I had a few of those Nova eq's. Big and grey. Sold them years ago, I liked them but they were too noisy for me. I agree, plug eq's have come along way and i would think would be better than the Novas.
But the Nova is vintage now so..........It has to be better!!!!

Hey Damien, if your interested, I have some Auditronic's 501 strips that i'm moving on. They need to be racked. They have a great musical (not surgical) eq on them.

[rick]

your and your clients atually clients want to see the usual suspects
pultec, gml, avalon, manley, api,focusrite (old isa red blue)

your bank manager wants to see you neglect this part of the game .

you want tracking eq ? .. sounds that go to tape (or lack of )

eqpia - bottom . bass, kick low toms
meq5 - middle- gtrs vocals snr
api lo mids and middle -gtrs snr
gml/avalon/focusrite tops - all the stuff in between (rooms , keys piano, noises etc ) and on top

manley does all of these things but none as well as each to its own .

i am sure any eq handled by a skilled sound pilot will suffice .

but if your studio is handled by a sound butcher from time to time ,
its better to give them a shop that is easy for anybody to sell your wares for you without
excuses .

[Chinagraf]

I have a fair few eq's just not 500 any stuff. I keep thinking I should get some API's.
If I was tracking the one EQ I'd want is a Pultec. 1073>good opto comp>Pultec is pretty much the vocal chain I always use, unless there is some sort of problem. I have an EQH-2 which is a good alternative to the EQP if you don't have the bucks (although even these are getting rediculously expensive nowdays). Another passive I have is the Amtec, which is not a Pultec clone as such, it is transformerless in, but awesome. A cleaner version of a passive tube eq. I hear they are aslo not so cheap nowdays, but cheaper than a Pultec. The bottom is way tight and the top is beautiful on them.
I've got a massive passive too, it has some fully sick mids mate, but it is not for kids. Takes a bit of getting your head around as it works a little differently to a normal passive. The one eq I don't have and would like is the GML. I grew up on one and miss it. Even though to my ears it has no 'vibe'. Sometimes you don't want no 'vibe'.

[musikwerks]

I have a pair of Avedis E27's in my 500 rack. They are superb.

I also used to have a Focusrite Red 2 EQ which I miss. I actually really dig the Red series. They're WAY overpriced in Aus but can be found for reasonable prices on evil bay.

[Luke Garfield]

I haven't used it for tracking but in the mix the manley massive passive is great. It can be a bit of a monster if you get to happy with boosting frequencies but that's what it's all about anyways - "balance". I love seeing a manley box in a studio. You can't miss them.