Your experience and thoughts on Focusrite Blue 315 mastering eq?

thestudioguy · 10th May 2007

I have never heard it mentioned as a go-to mastering eq, even though it's listed in a number of mastering rooms. Observations, ruminations, castigations, qualifications?

MIKEHARRIS · 10th May 2007

It was very expensive when new...but an excellent EQ

lucey · 10th May 2007

It's been used by some guys to bill a lot, and I mean a lot, of good work .... and it's still used by a few top MEs (usually the mk-ii). But it's pretty smeary. Plenty of IC artifacts from over 60 5534s and a lot of caps in there as well. Great control, less than stellar tone. If it came out today at the inflation adjusted price, or even the old price, it would be dead in the water IMO.

I had a like-new $3500 mkii worked over by Rob Harvey in LA for $1500 including parts. He experimented at length to find the best ICs and decided on the OPA627s. He also eliminated a host of caps and did some subtle output amp redesign. Two or three others have done this mod with (last I knew) great happiness in the result. The net tone is an ever so slightly forward IC quality of the utmost sweetness for that genre. Three to five times cleaner than stock IMO. The slight push is still there, without the other annoying other artifacts. I use it mostly for cuts.

helterskelter · 10th May 2007

Hey there! Focusrite 315, nice one. I'm lucky enough to use it everyday for stereo mastering, it's a terrific EQ in my humble opinion. Can't be as selective as the newest digital equipement, but it's great for a gentle touch of EQing, or just onto more agressive fiddling with freqs. The amplification sounds great too. I can't remember a mastering session in which the 315 was not used. Just my 2 cents, hope they can be of help!

Ben F · 11th May 2007

It's a very good EQ for precisely cleaning up signals. It's a little bit too clinical for boosts IMO, prefer the Maselec MEA-2 for clean but sweet boosts, and actually prefer the Maselec overall in comparison.

thestudioguy · 19th May 2007

Gentlemen, thanks for your thoughtful and "un-smeared" advice. Much appreciated!

10th May 2007	#1
thestudioguy Gear nut Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 76 Thread Starter	Your experience and thoughts on Focusrite Blue 315 mastering eq? I have never heard it mentioned as a go-to mastering eq, even though it's listed in a number of mastering rooms. Observations, ruminations, castigations, qualifications? __________________ thestudioguy tommy wiggins cleveland, oh www.tommywiggins.com www.myspace.com/thestudioguymastering

10th May 2007	#3
lucey Gear Guru Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 12,407 Verified Member	It's been used by some guys to bill a lot, and I mean a lot, of good work .... and it's still used by a few top MEs (usually the mk-ii). But it's pretty smeary. Plenty of IC artifacts from over 60 5534s and a lot of caps in there as well. Great control, less than stellar tone. If it came out today at the inflation adjusted price, or even the old price, it would be dead in the water IMO. I had a like-new $3500 mkii worked over by Rob Harvey in LA for $1500 including parts. He experimented at length to find the best ICs and decided on the OPA627s. He also eliminated a host of caps and did some subtle output amp redesign. Two or three others have done this mod with (last I knew) great happiness in the result. The net tone is an ever so slightly forward IC quality of the utmost sweetness for that genre. Three to five times cleaner than stock IMO. The slight push is still there, without the other annoying other artifacts. I use it mostly for cuts. __________________ Brian Lucey Magic Garden Mastering Dr. John, The Shins, The Black Keys, OAR, David Lynch, Sami Yusuf, moe., Sigur Ros Spiral Groove Studio One - mixing monitors

10th May 2007	#4
helterskelter Gear interested Joined: May 2007 Location: Argentina Posts: 2	Hey there! Focusrite 315, nice one. I'm lucky enough to use it everyday for stereo mastering, it's a terrific EQ in my humble opinion. Can't be as selective as the newest digital equipement, but it's great for a gentle touch of EQing, or just onto more agressive fiddling with freqs. The amplification sounds great too. I can't remember a mastering session in which the 315 was not used. Just my 2 cents, hope they can be of help! __________________ Ezequiel Morfi Andres Mayo Mastering&DVD www.andresmayo.com www.myspace.com/andresmayo

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10th May 2007	#2
MIKEHARRIS Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2002 Location: MIAMI FLA Posts: 1,685	It was very expensive when new...but an excellent EQ

11th May 2007	#5
Ben F Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,748 Verified Member 1 Review written	It's a very good EQ for precisely cleaning up signals. It's a little bit too clinical for boosts IMO, prefer the Maselec MEA-2 for clean but sweet boosts, and actually prefer the Maselec overall in comparison.

19th May 2007	#6
thestudioguy Gear nut Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 76 Thread Starter	Gentlemen, thanks for your thoughtful and "un-smeared" advice. Much appreciated!