manley Variable Mu vs tube tech smc 2a

[Mastering101]

im going to order one of these tomorrow.. has anyone had the opportunity to hear both of these? the tube tech 3 band compressor sounds interesting.. i have never heard either in person. this is just for straight mastering,2 buss..guidance please

thank you

[Revelation]

Though I have not heard the Tube tech myself, if so many pro studios can buy anything they want, there must be a reson why so many choose the Manley Mu. I am sure the tube tech is a great piece of gear but for mastering, everyone who has a MU loves it.

[Mastering101]

Originally posted by Revelation
Though I have not heard the Tube tech myself, if so many pro studios can buy anything they want, there must be a reson why so many choose the Manley Mu. I am sure the tube tech is a great piece of gear but for mastering, everyone who has a MU loves it.

i agree.. thats why the tube tech is kind of number 2 on the list.
but the 3 band i really like.....

[Revelation]

The most important thing is sound, at Manley's got it. I used to always think you needed 3 bands to master. However with the engineering that went into it they got it right. Read the manual on the MU on line very closely. They really explain in detail what they came up with and how to use it to get amazing results.

[MASSIVE Master]

MU me!

Not that the TT isn't pretty cool...

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by effectsnut
im going to order one of these tomorrow.. has anyone had the opportunity to hear both of these? the tube tech 3 band compressor sounds interesting.. i have never heard either in person. this is just for straight mastering,2 buss..guidance please

thank you

First of all this is the High End forumn man, there are no
"versus" threads.

Its "which one should i get first"?

They are both useful tools.

I've used both and owned both.

They are 2 different beasts.

For mastering neither one by itself would be enough for all kinds of songs.

The MU is strong on character.

The Tubetech is a little more neutral but its easy to screw up your music(works really nice for hiphop).

If i could have one i 'd probably would get the MU(mastering version with the detents and M/S processing). If you need a multiband compressor you can always use the Waves C4.

[brownmouse]

if it were my choice (and it isn't), i'd go with
c) pendulum es-8
ymmv.
joshua

[qnix]

Hi effectsnut,

I've used both units and I think they're great. They're just different.

I think the Manley Vari Mu is the more fool proof of the two. That is, unless you do something really obscene with it, what you get out of it will probably sound more pleasing than what you put in.

The SMC 2B is less forgiving. If you don't know what you're after and how to get it you can get sideways and upside down very quickly as thrillfactor alluded to. If, however, you do know what you're going for, you can get results with a multiband compressor that are really hard to get otherwise. The SMC 2B is also a bit more flexible (because of it's multiband capabilities).

You may also want to consider the LCA 2B from Tube Tech which is a more fair comparison to the Vari Mu.

But it all comes down to what you're comfortable with and what you are trying to achieve. The build quality and sonic atrributes of both products are very high.

[Mastering101]

well i went for it and got the Manley Vari Mu ..i think that unit will
work for me now.. it will complement my distressors as well..
thanks for all the help people!!!!!!

wayne