Tube Equipment Corp. SR-71 Compressor/Limiter

Biaseelfsu · 27th January 2006, 12:11 AM

Model SR-71 Compressor / Limiter for Recording and Broadcast Applications

The Tube Equipment Corporation SR-71 Stereo Compressor/Limiter utilizes the Dynamic-Mu gain reduction technique used by the revered Fairchild 660 and 670 of the 50's and 60's. It's unique sonic character when reducing gain is very pleasant to the ear, and quite reminiscent of records made in a previous era.

jdunn · 27th January 2006, 08:41 AM

Very nice!

drmmrboy · 27th January 2006, 09:08 AM

Holy schnike!!
Looks quite manly!

C/G · 27th January 2006, 02:18 PM

So am I really seeing 16 tubes in there?

Larrchild · 27th January 2006, 03:36 PM

Well 17 including the Voltage Regulator, lol.

Gotta have a tube voltage regulator, nice soft start=)

Larry

Ribbonmicguy · 27th January 2006, 05:58 PM

Looks very nice!

I wonder how it would sound.....

*peeking at my bank account*

I wish I have $7.5k :D

Good Luck, T.E.C!

bee · 27th January 2006, 10:47 PM

How many rack spaces is it?

kevinc · 27th January 2006, 11:39 PM

Theres not nearly enough tubes in that thing.

Larrchild · 28th January 2006, 01:37 AM

4 Rack Units

Biaseelfsu · 29th January 2006, 02:51 PM

Your courteous comments are much appreciated. Thank You

kevinc · 29th January 2006, 05:16 PM

So how close do you think you got to the real thing Chris ?

It looks like a really amazing compressor.

Larrchild · 29th January 2006, 05:28 PM

In our bake-off with a real Fairchild 670, all agreed it had the compression characteristics of the 670 with more transparency. The original 670 transformers are only rated to 15khz, so that would make sense.

Larry Janus
Tube Equipment Corp.

**Lindell** · 29th January 2006, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larrchild

In our bake-off with a real Fairchild 670, all agreed it had the compression characteristics of the 670 with more transparency. The original 670 transformers are only rated to 15khz, so that would make sense.

Larry Janus
Tube Equipment Corp.

Do we want "transparency"?. If I patch in a "Fairchild like" compressor, I'd like it to sound like a Fairchild.....

**Lindell** · 29th January 2006, 05:36 PM

....it looks cool and vintage nevertheless.

Larrchild · 29th January 2006, 05:44 PM

Good Point! When I asked folks if they prefer I dull it to match, most said no.

If you start your mix with a 670 patched in, I'm sure your hands will turn the knobs to compensate any hi freq rolloff. But if you patch it in after your mix is set, you might not want to suddenly be missing the ultra-hi's.

The conclusion was that if you could keep the magical sound of the Fairchild compression circuit, but make the box more invisible otherwise, it would be more versatile.

It's truly easy to add one cap and roll the hi's to match a 670.
We toyed with that, but it seemed that what we had wasn't really getting any negative response, so we didn't=)

Larry

Tom VDH · 29th January 2006, 05:46 PM

Whoa!! it looks really nice! Gee, just another good reason to play the lottery...

Looking forward to testing it.
Best of luck with it!

**Lindell** · 29th January 2006, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larrchild

Good Point!
It's truly easy to add one cap and roll the hi's to match a 670.
Larry

You should add this option on a switch.........also does it do 220V ?

Cheers,

Larrchild · 29th January 2006, 06:13 PM

I think a switch on the back could happen.

And yeah, it's wireable for 220v.

Europe's desire to remove lead from all imported electronics is another matter. =(

kevinc · 29th January 2006, 07:04 PM

The switch is a good idea especially if it really matches up well with a real Fairchild with it on. (or off)

Than it`s kind of like the real deal + the modern enhanced verion.

Larrchild · 29th January 2006, 07:21 PM

Indeed.

Because if I don't, a contingent will say it's not exactly like a Fairchild.

And they are right. The simple addition of a switch that makes the freq response dead on is a claim to authenticity. I alternate back and forth thinking it's a gimmick and let the operator choose to lose hf (bear in mind this is a 1.5 db difference at 15 khz).

But when you line it up next to a properly-oiled 670, a perfect match is a nice achievement.

So i'll do that.

Thanks.

**Lindell** · 29th January 2006, 07:36 PM

I had a closer look on the pictures on your website. You might wanna go with proffessional built pcb's before you start selling them. Those lab boards ain't so happening.....

Talk to Labs here on GS. He is the pcb beeeaytch....... =)

Larrchild · 29th January 2006, 07:46 PM

Yeah thems old pix, they got the boards.
Needed final parts sizes to finish layout.

It's mostly point to point, but has boards for power distribution and a few components of the sidechain amp. And the time constants are on a small board.

The rest is old school.

Beautiful pics on website coming soon.

Biaseelfsu · 31st January 2006, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lindell

....it looks cool and vintage nevertheless.

Yes, she sure does. We strive to build heavy tube and transformer-laden future classics in the old world way.

Berolzheimer · 31st January 2006, 04:07 AM

Looks very nice but- DON"T PUT THE SWITCH ON THE BACK!!!! Nothing that is intended to be rack mounted should ever have any controls on the back.
You don't want to end up in this thread:

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...ghlight=design

Larrchild · 31st January 2006, 04:35 AM

Dude, make your IMDB link hot.

Like this: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418377/filmoyear

I'm not sure it's a control as much as a termination switch. Something you might be inclined to set once. Or twice. But I know what you are saying. Access will contradict how often it gets used .

I predict new users will set it once to "dull".. set it back, and leave it that way.
It's hard to type about these sound things. I'll just add one and see how people use it.
Thanks,
Larry

Larrchild · 31st January 2006, 05:22 AM

<img src="http://www.globalnetvillage.com/cam_upload/blackbird.jpg">

Company Jet.

kevinc · 31st January 2006, 01:18 PM

Nice plane !

Goes with the theme.

I

Larrchild · 31st January 2006, 06:43 PM

Being an aviation fan, I kept drawing analogies.

The limiter leaks less fuel.

Berolzheimer · 31st January 2006, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larrchild

Dude, make your IMDB link hot.

Like this: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418377/filmoyear

I'm not sure it's a control as much as a termination switch. Something you might be inclined to set once. Or twice. But I know what you are saying. Access will contradict how often it gets used .

I predict new users will set it once to "dull".. set it back, and leave it that way.
It's hard to type about these sound things. I'll just add one and see how people use it.
Thanks,
Larry

how's this?

It may have taken me months to figure out how to do that, but I do know that any conrol that effects the sound of a piece of gear should be on the front, acccessable by the user.

Larrchild · 31st January 2006, 11:46 PM

I'm diggin the IMDB link and I'm diggin what you are saying. It was a matter of wire length and high impedance. I'll use less capacitor and more wire and even it out=)

Larry

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27th January 2006, 12:11 AM	#1
Biaseelfsu Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 28	Tube Equipment Corp. SR-71 Compressor/Limiter Model SR-71 Compressor / Limiter for Recording and Broadcast Applications The Tube Equipment Corporation SR-71 Stereo Compressor/Limiter utilizes the Dynamic-Mu gain reduction technique used by the revered Fairchild 660 and 670 of the 50's and 60's. It's unique sonic character when reducing gain is very pleasant to the ear, and quite reminiscent of records made in a previous era. __________________ Chris Juried - WWW.Tubeequipment.com

27th January 2006, 08:41 AM	#2
jdunn Head of Bumping Security (B.S) Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: in the hills of Southern California Posts: 2,695	Very nice! __________________ Jason Dunn 5 Sonic Productions

27th January 2006, 02:18 PM	#4
C/G Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 2,799	So am I really seeing 16 tubes in there? __________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Colin G. http://www.myspace.com/generalsandmajors

27th January 2006, 05:58 PM	#6
Ribbonmicguy Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Posts: 319	Looks very nice! I wonder how it would sound..... peeking at my bank account I wish I have $7.5k :D Good Luck, T.E.C! __________________ ------------------------------ Harmoko Aguswan Big Knob Studio Right Track Productions ------------------------------ On one hand, I can certainly sympathize with the approach of "Hey, I can't hear any difference, so why should I pay that much?". On the other, I wonder why anyone who can't hear a difference is recording, mixing, or producing records. -DAVE MARTIN

27th January 2006, 09:08 AM	#3
drmmrboy Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Philadelphia PA Posts: 1,617	Holy schnike!! Looks quite manly!

27th January 2006, 03:36 PM	#5
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Well 17 including the Voltage Regulator, lol. Gotta have a tube voltage regulator, nice soft start=) Larry

27th January 2006, 10:47 PM	#7
bee Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 322	How many rack spaces is it?

27th January 2006, 11:39 PM	#8
kevinc Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Beantown Posts: 2,464	Theres not nearly enough tubes in that thing. __________________ - Kev

28th January 2006, 01:37 AM	#9
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	4 Rack Units

29th January 2006, 02:51 PM	#10
Biaseelfsu Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 28	Comments Your courteous comments are much appreciated. Thank You __________________ Chris Juried - WWW.Tubeequipment.com

29th January 2006, 05:16 PM	#11
kevinc Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Beantown Posts: 2,464	So how close do you think you got to the real thing Chris ? It looks like a really amazing compressor. __________________ - Kev

29th January 2006, 05:28 PM	#12
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	In our bake-off with a real Fairchild 670, all agreed it had the compression characteristics of the 670 with more transparency. The original 670 transformers are only rated to 15khz, so that would make sense. Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corp.

29th January 2006, 05:36 PM	#14
Lindell Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,625	....it looks cool and vintage nevertheless. __________________ Tobias Lindell Bohus Sound Studios Myspace Lindell

29th January 2006, 05:44 PM	#15
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Good Point! When I asked folks if they prefer I dull it to match, most said no. If you start your mix with a 670 patched in, I'm sure your hands will turn the knobs to compensate any hi freq rolloff. But if you patch it in after your mix is set, you might not want to suddenly be missing the ultra-hi's. The conclusion was that if you could keep the magical sound of the Fairchild compression circuit, but make the box more invisible otherwise, it would be more versatile. It's truly easy to add one cap and roll the hi's to match a 670. We toyed with that, but it seemed that what we had wasn't really getting any negative response, so we didn't=) Larry

29th January 2006, 05:46 PM	#16
Tom VDH Gear maniac Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the studio Posts: 207	Whoa!! it looks really nice! Gee, just another good reason to play the lottery... Looking forward to testing it. Best of luck with it! __________________ Tom Van Den Heuvel www.vdh-recordings.com

29th January 2006, 06:13 PM	#18
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	I think a switch on the back could happen. And yeah, it's wireable for 220v. Europe's desire to remove lead from all imported electronics is another matter. =( __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

29th January 2006, 07:04 PM	#19
kevinc Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Beantown Posts: 2,464	The switch is a good idea especially if it really matches up well with a real Fairchild with it on. (or off) Than it`s kind of like the real deal + the modern enhanced verion. __________________ - Kev

29th January 2006, 07:21 PM	#20
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Indeed. Because if I don't, a contingent will say it's not exactly like a Fairchild. And they are right. The simple addition of a switch that makes the freq response dead on is a claim to authenticity. I alternate back and forth thinking it's a gimmick and let the operator choose to lose hf (bear in mind this is a 1.5 db difference at 15 khz). But when you line it up next to a properly-oiled 670, a perfect match is a nice achievement. So i'll do that. Thanks. __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

29th January 2006, 07:36 PM	#21
Lindell Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,625	I had a closer look on the pictures on your website. You might wanna go with proffessional built pcb's before you start selling them. Those lab boards ain't so happening..... Talk to Labs here on GS. He is the pcb beeeaytch....... =) __________________ Tobias Lindell Bohus Sound Studios Myspace Lindell

29th January 2006, 07:46 PM	#22
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Yeah thems old pix, they got the boards. Needed final parts sizes to finish layout. It's mostly point to point, but has boards for power distribution and a few components of the sidechain amp. And the time constants are on a small board. The rest is old school. Beautiful pics on website coming soon. __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

31st January 2006, 04:07 AM	#24
Berolzheimer Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: El Lay Posts: 1,941	Looks very nice but- DON"T PUT THE SWITCH ON THE BACK!!!! Nothing that is intended to be rack mounted should ever have any controls on the back. You don't want to end up in this thread: http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...ghlight=design __________________ Purveyor of fine sounds since 1961. My very incomplete IMDB list: My very incomplete IMDB list I'm all ears.

31st January 2006, 04:35 AM	#25
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Dude, make your IMDB link hot. Like this: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418377/filmoyear I'm not sure it's a control as much as a termination switch. Something you might be inclined to set once. Or twice. But I know what you are saying. Access will contradict how often it gets used . I predict new users will set it once to "dull".. set it back, and leave it that way. It's hard to type about these sound things. I'll just add one and see how people use it. Thanks, Larry __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

31st January 2006, 05:22 AM	#26
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	<img src="http://www.globalnetvillage.com/cam_upload/blackbird.jpg"> Company Jet. __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

31st January 2006, 01:18 PM	#27
kevinc Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Beantown Posts: 2,464	Nice plane ! Goes with the theme. I __________________ - Kev

31st January 2006, 06:43 PM	#28
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	Being an aviation fan, I kept drawing analogies. The limiter leaks less fuel. __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

31st January 2006, 11:46 PM	#30
Larrchild Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: My Career's been in a tailspin since the 90's Posts: 205	I'm diggin the IMDB link and I'm diggin what you are saying. It was a matter of wire length and high impedance. I'll use less capacitor and more wire and even it out=) Larry __________________ Larry Janus Tube Equipment Corporation

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