Manley Labs prices?

[thepilgrimsdream]

First of all, I don't doubt the quality of their products or their performance.

I know there are other boutique manufacturers in this price range, But what do they have that gives it more cost value than say a UA la-2a, 1176 or neve unit?

Are they more flexible? Specified for a special task?

[Sugar Stinky]

R&D,
reputation,

And they sell more then you could imagine, so why not?, ;-)

[jonathan jetter]

i don't know that they really do cost more than an La-2a, 1176, 33609, etc.

33609 = $4750

pair of LA-2A = $5000 or so

pair of 1176 = $4000

2-1176 = $2800 (and this is not necessarily the same as 2 individual 1176)

Manley Vari-Mu = $3960

[thepilgrimsdream]

Ha, I'm a dummy haha, I wasn't thinking stereo at all. I noticed that they're stereo eq's fall on the expensive side.

I never hear these units talked about much in vocal chains and such. Is it more on the mastering side?

[jonathan jetter]

the Vari Mu is a positively awesome vocal compressor. i love it.

the La-2a never did it for me. the Mu does for me what the La-2a seems to do for everyone else. and it's the perfect counterpart to my Purple MC77.

i also enjoy mine on the mix bus sometimes. i'm sure it'd be great on other things (acoustic guitar, horns, certain types of drums) but haven't tried it out yet.

[TheBankInc]

Made in Chino, not China

[Sugar Stinky]

Originally Posted by TheBankInc

Made in Chino, not China

engineered in Chino, made in Mexico?, right?

[Neil Pickles]

Originally Posted by jonathan jetter

i don't know that they really do cost more than an La-2a, 1176, 33609, etc.

33609 = $4750

pair of LA-2A = $5000 or so

pair of 1176 = $4000

2-1176 = $2800 (and this is not necessarily the same as 2 individual 1176)

Manley Vari-Mu = $3960

Exactly it is totally in the ball park for this type of high end gear, in fact I'd say it's some of the best built engineered gear around. Perhaps a better question is why is it such good value?

By the way I have and have used other boxes of similarly priced more "boutique" gear and often wonder, why isn't the build quality as good as the Manley ? Why are these knobs so plasticky and shitty unlike my Manley and I paid how much for this?

On a final note when I was thinking about the mastering version vs the standard MP I sent several emails and got replies from EvaAnna herself, I have also subsequently had amazing post purchase service from them, my UK Distributor Gary Ash and my Dealers Studio Creations.

[Neil Pickles]

Originally Posted by thepilgrimsdream

Ha, I'm a dummy haha, I wasn't thinking stereo at all. I noticed that they're stereo eq's fall on the expensive side.

I never hear these units talked about much in vocal chains and such. Is it more on the mastering side?

I use my MP mastering version on everything, recording, mixing mastering, my Colleague has a vari mu in the studio as well, same they're just great pieces of kit.

[TheBankInc]

Well, their staff does seem to be Mexican leaning, but we are all Americans.
S class Mercedes are made in Mexico.

[mista min]

Is their stuff really made in Mexico? It isn't a problem for me if they were, the QC at Manley is outstanding, wish I had a Slam! Or a Voxbox

Was on the phone with them once and had a nice chat with an older gentleman. Really nice dude, but don't remember his name.

Sent from my HTC Dream using Gearslutz.com App

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by Sugar Stinky

engineered in Chino, made in Mexico?, right?

No - its made in the Manley Labs factory in Chino, CA. If you're ever in the area you should give them a call and get a tour of the factory... its really very impressive. They make a lot of their own parts there... like all of the face panels are machined at their factory, all the transformers are wound at the factory... assembly, testing, etc. -- all right there in Chino, CA.

Imagine that...

[latestflavor]

imo they are a little overpriced, but they are also over engineered and you pay a lot but you get a lot.

i'm so sick of the mid level crap being churned out these days. they are the real deal. would be a sad day in the audio industry if we ever lost manley!

[skiff]

manley refcard is my favourite mic I love it. I only have a few different mics but now I am not looking any more.

[Ken Walker]

I have a Mono Pre and a Langevin DVC in my rack. Solid build, very easy to use, and does what its supposed to do very well. I submit that the DVC is one seriously underrated piece of gear. I have never done any recording, and I mean, none, without using one of these pieces of gear.

[NathanEldred]

Manley is a familiar but also unique sound. Familiar in that its in the same family as much vintage gear that is now very overinflated in price, but unique in that its not an exact copy of those pieces (which is for the best) and has made its own classic niche. Lots of vibe, low noise, well built, so worth every penny IME.

[TheBankInc]

Manley also builds GML in Chino
I could also use a SLAM

[evilrocker]

Besides the china made capsule in the ref c mic that costs a forttune.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

If Manley gear was over-priced, it would not sell.
They appear to sell adequate amounts.
Is it more than any given individual might pay? Some people are looking for cheaper substitutes for that pricy Behringer gear.

We all have to live within our budgets. Chinese knock-offs for Manley, Fearn, Pendulum, etc, anyone????

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

Chinese knock-offs for Manley, Fearn, Pendulum, etc, anyone????

[xj32]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

Chinese knock-offs for Manley, Fearn, Pendulum, etc, anyone????

What like a "Behri-Mu"? Or a "Zlam" or a "Moderately Large Passive" ?

[RedTuxedo]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

If Manley gear was over-priced, it would not sell.
They appear to sell adequate amounts.
Is it more than any given individual might pay? Some people are looking for cheaper substitutes for that pricy Behringer gear.

We all have to live within our budgets. Chinese knock-offs for Manley, Fearn, Pendulum, etc, anyone????

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

Headslap for sure. Read the rest of the quote though.

[notyetfamous]

We just bought a Vari Mu mastering version with the T bar mod, HP, and mid side upgrades.. Expensive but absolutely stellar and worth every penny! EvaAnna Manley helped me choose our mods herself when I called the factory. (i think she moderates one of the techie threads on her so go ask her about her gear, super nice person) We also have a Vox Box and we are considering picking up a second so we can have a stereo pair for... Overheads! My all time favorite overhead pre/comp for rock or heavy drums is the voxbox hands down. I even use the deesser for a cool semi breathy cymbal control trick.. We have considered just picking up a dual mono mic pre but I love the way the comp smooths out resonance in cymbals on the VB. Anyone else tried this with two voxboxes? Curious about stereo with this application ???

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by notyetfamous

Anyone else tried this with two voxboxes? Curious about stereo with this application ???

I used a pair of VoxBoxs for years, I liked that it was split up into two parts. Sometimes if I wanted a little less coloration I could go out of the transformerless output, I would do this on two bus at that time which gave the mix a little more punch and clarity (or less thickness). The EQ was perfect for two bus since a gentle smiley face curve makes sense there.

[Sugar Stinky]

Originally Posted by TheBankInc

Well, their staff does seem to be Mexican leaning, but we are all Americans.
S class Mercedes are made in Mexico.

It's not to take anything from Manley, to be honest Mexico has a pretty darned good reputation,

i was just kinda stating that I heard their stuff was made down there...

My 2011 tacoma was made there!!!, I love mexico, don't get me wrong, e ;-)

[Jim Williams]

It's because that Chinoese labor is so high.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

It's because that Chinoese labor is so high.

They've tried to get them to stop...

[kafka]

Originally Posted by thepilgrimsdream

I never hear these units talked about much in vocal chains and such. Is it more on the mastering side?

I love the Massive Passive for tracking anything. If you want huge tone shaping or just a subtle tweak, it does it all. Once you start understand of all the little subtleties of how the controls work together, you have vastly more shaping capability than number of knobs would indicate. I don't consider it to be overpriced at all. It's the kind of gear that you buy and own forever. I wish I could have 16 channels of MP.

[mista min]

Originally Posted by Jim Williams

It's because that Chinoese labor is so high.

It's interesting you mention that. My girlfriend works in the fashion industry or better is starting her carrer there (she just graduated from her University). And we were watching a report on how the Chinese textile factories are having to raise wages. The Chinese no longer need to work at those factories to make a descent living, there are now more opportunities for them to earn a descent wage.

The report had stated that the average textile worker is now being offered the equivalent to 400, € a month. I don't know how they calculated that, but that's what was in the report. Also, that manufacturers are now heading to South East Asian, because the shops there are still relatively inexpensive, though the quality is lower. Kinda interesting really.

So, China is and will be continuing a trend of becoming more expensive. Just food for thought.

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by mista min

The Chinese no longer need to work at those factories to make a descent living, there are now more opportunities for them to earn a descent wage. So, China is and will be continuing a trend of becoming more expensive. Just food for thought.

I think you misunderstood, Jim was basically making a joke because the word China and Chino are only one letter off. Manley is made in Chino, California - NOT China the country. It's American made in California, and they also make the GML gear there too. The name of the city where Manley is built probably has created some confusion for some people, hopefully anyone who reads this understands.