Purple Audio / Eisen LILPEQr

[embrionic]

A new version of the fine LILPEQr eq by Jens has been (re)released by Purple Audio. [Designed by Eisen Audio for Purple Audio.]

thumbsup

Info Here

[EisenAudio]

Yes, it has taken nearly two years but we're finally able to consistently reproduce the sound of the original limited edition LILPEQr, and thanks to Purple Audio the number of modules produced shall no longer be limited. Details to follow.

[gm5k]

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

Yes, it has taken nearly two years but we're finally able to consistently reproduce the sound of the original limited edition LILPEQr, and thanks to Purple Audio the number of modules produced shall no longer be limited. Details to follow.

congrats Jens! thumbsup this is really great news.

about the details, very curious about the input transformer

[EisenAudio]

Originally Posted by gm5k

about the details, very curious about the input transformer

Ed Anderson (designer of the Purple Audio Odd and TAV EQ modules, and fine transformers) hooked us up with a custom input transformer which I feel sounds consistently indistinguishable, in context, from the vintage Marinair/St. Ives 31267 part that we had used. This is primarily what took so long; it was difficult to get it right.

[p_bro]

Wow, that is very exciting!! Purple do provide amazing transformers, sometimes I go through my Actions with compression set to off just to get that tone. And I'm a big fan of their ODD EQ... So considering that and the reputation of the LilPeqr... I think I'll have to buy a pair of these... would be nice on the mix buss!!!

I like it when gear designers join their forces, I think we almost always get the best of both visions! Congratulation!

[Nolet]

hmm..think I just found the thing to fill the last slot in my lunchbox.
Is it available already?

[infiniteposse]

Question: If you use this on the 2-buss, will roughly matching the settings on the units be sufficient for stereo program material? I've never used program EQ before, so I'm not sure about how exactly matched everything has to be to not cause problems.

Thanks!

[ToneRanger]

Are the controls detented/stepped?

This unit looks super cool and exactly what I've been looking for. I'm considering buying two, mostly to be used on individual tracks for "broad strokes" and also on the buss, but that won't be the main use.

[airmate]

Originally Posted by ToneRanger

Are the controls detented/stepped?

yes, that's a qood question...
if they were, i might consider purchasing a pair. if only the face plates weren't so ugly...

[Coyoteous]

Little Pecker?

[TAVD]

No transformer bypass as on the gold ones? I really like that feature.

[Coyoteous]

Well, pecker can mean courage, or literally "that which pecks," like a bird bill... but more often than not, it's vulgar slang for penis.

[Silver Sonya]

Yes, the name is a dick joke. I don't think they're hiding this.

- c

[Marcocet]

I've said it before and I'll say it again

I don't care what it's named if it sounds good and hits the right price point.

Andrew's supposed to be sending me some TAVs asap. Perhaps the lilpeqr will fill out the rest of the desk.

[Coyoteous]

I also wonder what TAV stands for... marijuana, a Hebrew letter or some unknown acronym (being all caps). If it's Gypsy for weed, then Kush 420 joins it in the pot reference realm along with "higher than high end" or whatever their motto is.

Call your companies and products what you want. I just find it interesting someone would actually choose these names. Who knows, maybe they'll sell more than if they were named something less provocative. Oh, and of course, these take the cake:

Vacuum Tube Modules for Electronic Music by Metasonix - KV-100

Vacuum Tube Modules for Electronic Music by Metasonix - G-1000 Guitar Amplifier

It's UP YOUR BUTT

File:MetasonixTM7web.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Okay, back to the Little Pecker...

[drBill]

Originally Posted by Coyoteous

Little Pecker?

Originally Posted by ncskolrud

it-is-actually-pronounced

the


LIL-PECKER

Yup!

Seriously, the PeqR is killer. I have 2 of the originals. As for the transformer, I will defer to Jen's observations, but I find it difficult to believe that someone could come up with a modern alternative that sounds as sweet and weighty as the Marinairs in the original PeqR's. It's a seriously mojo-ized box.

For whoever asked about stereo matching and stepped controls, the original does not have either, it can be a little tricky at times, but since the Freq's are not sweepable, you can usually get pretty close if your ears are matched.

[NathanEldred]

Very Cool!!thumbsupthumbsup

[drBill]

Originally Posted by ncskolrud

thanks-for-the-info-dr-bill.....

i-always-love-your-usually-informative-posts!

No problem. Do you hate the unusually stupid ones???

[GYang]

Excellent EQ (original).
If new is 95% there, I'm first to buy pair.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

Yes, it has taken nearly two years but we're finally able to consistently reproduce the sound of the original limited edition LILPEQr, and thanks to Purple Audio the number of modules produced shall no longer be limited. Details to follow.

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

Ed Anderson (designer of the Purple Audio Odd and TAV EQ modules, and fine transformers) hooked us up with a custom input transformer which I feel sounds consistently indistinguishable, in context, from the vintage Marinair/St. Ives 31267 part that we had used. This is primarily what took so long; it was difficult to get it right.

very very cool!!!!!!
Ed Anderson dose some great work!

i wanted one of these when they first came out, glad to hear i have a second chance at them!!!

[PlugHead]

dang.

And I thought I was part of this 'exclusive' club?!? Now they're letting the 'riff-raff' in?

All kidding aside, I'm kinda glad others will be able to hear these EQ's - they are now an integral part of my chain, and I LOVE the particular sound they impart to my mixes.

ATTENTION PURPLE - I think I have a slogan for these puppies:

A lil (peq-R) goes a LONG way...

[Duardo]

I'll wait for the "Big Pecker"...the two-channel rackmount box...

[EisenAudio]

As anticipated, you've all asked excellent questions, forcing me to reveal more details. This is why I like gearslutz!

Is it available already?

It should start shipping in about 6 weeks; we've just begun the manufacturing.

If you use this on the 2-buss, will roughly matching the settings on the units be sufficient for stereo program material?

I would say yes, but it's always best to double check the visual settings (apparent knob rotation) against what your ears tell you. Some users may find this process cumbersome, and so your mileage may vary.

A few of the LE60 LILPEQr customers told me that the HF pots didn't match %100 between units across rotational travel, and so L to R unevenness had to be compensated for by ear. We're using tighter tolerance pots this time. Nevertheless, like drBill, these LE60 users also say that stereo compensation (if and when necessary) is worth the effort.

Are the controls detented/stepped?

No, they are not. The LILPEQr wasn't designed for the kind of precision which lends itself well to switched or detented controls; it's a vibe unit, a tone control. Both of these things (precision design and stepped rotary controls) add considerable expense, and I felt it was more important to keep the module as close to the originals as possible: low price and continuous boost/cut; let more people have access to uninhibited mojo.

Moreover, many users I've heard from describe how carefully they they turn the HF/LF knobs to just past center, for (remarkably effective) amounts of coloration/balancing which would likely be lost in the case of a center detent or fixed steps.

I'm considering buying two, mostly to be used on individual tracks for "broad strokes"

Exactly! "Broad strokes" is one of the descriptions we were using at AES this weekend. The fader knob was added for even greater usefulness on individual tracks (especially when using a Sweet Ten Rack full of LILPEQr with the Moiyn mixer module). Not only does it provide overall level control, it can change how hard you drive the EQ (for tonal variation), and provide an inherently "tighter" response, thanks to the accompanying fader buffers, so that tracks retain more individual focus when stacking.

For example, while tracking if I crank up my source preamp for extra harmonics and then send this signal to the LILPEQr, I can turn down the Level knob so that only the input transformer starts to saturate (and sounding awesome in the process!) while the rest of the circuit is buffered (for less soft/glue effect and more controlled adjustments) and operating at a level more reasonable for printing than that which came out of my preamp.

No transformer bypass as on the gold ones? I really like that feature.

No, we omitted the "IN - DIRECT" mode (xfmrless, unbalanced input) in favor of an "IN+LEVEL" mode, whereby the input transformer stays and a buffered overall level control is added.

I wish I'd heard this from you sooner, Tom. Everyone I did hear from considered the transformer bypass "direct" mode a failed feature, and said they never used it. Indeed, it suffered from lack of a buffer, dramatically limiting the amount of available boost and messing up the overall freq response. At least you've got a pair of transformer bypass versions for yourself.

Yes, the name is a dick joke. I don't think they're hiding this.

"LIL" = little, because it is physically much smaller than the valve units that it imitates, and "PEQ" = Program EQualizer. LILPEQ seemed ambiguous, likely to be taken by another product, so a colleague of ours suggested adding "r" at the end. The word "rack" begins with this letter, and indeed the end result is amusing.

I also wonder what TAV stands for...

TAV is short for octave, as in 1/3 octave spacing of the 10 frequency points.

[EisenAudio]

Originally Posted by Duardo

I'll wait for the "Big Pecker"...the two-channel rackmount box...

There are no plans for a standard rackmount version, and said unit likely would not cost any less than two LILPEQrs in a 1RU 500 Series enclosure.

[airmate]

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

There are no plans for a standard rackmount version, and said unit likely would not cost any less than two LILPEQrs in a 1RU 500 Series enclosure.

...and what about an alternative version with detented knobs / rotary switches?
i for one would be happy to pay more for such a thing and would probably not buy the regular version at all.
i would love to use these EQs on sub groups and perhaps even the mix buss. precise and convenient matching of both channels would be great!

[TAVD]

I wish I'd heard this from you sooner, Tom. Everyone I did hear from considered the transformer bypass "direct" mode a failed feature, and said they never used it. Indeed, it suffered from lack of a buffer, dramatically limiting the amount of available boost and messing up the overall freq response. At least you've got a pair of transformer bypass versions for yourself.

I like the direct mode for bass guitars but generally I do use them in transfomer mode. Had I known what you were working on, I might've suggested a differential KDJ4 input/transfomer input modes. I bet the transformer+level mode rocks too and I never would've thought of that.

[Coyoteous]

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

"LIL" = little, because it is physically much smaller than the valve units that it imitates, and "PEQ" = Program EQualizer. LILPEQ seemed ambiguous, likely to be taken by another product, so a colleague of ours suggested adding "r" at the end. The word "rack" begins with this letter, and indeed the end result is amusing.

TAV is short for octave, as in 1/3 octave spacing of the 10 frequency points.

If it were me, I'd rewrite history using the "small with courage" angle.

Also, I seem to recall the TAV explanation now... no conspiracy after all.

Thanks for the rundown and good luck with your new product.

[ToneRanger]

Originally Posted by EisenAudio

As anticipated, you've all asked excellent questions, forcing me to reveal more details. This is why I like gearslutz!



It should start shipping in about 6 weeks; we've just begun the manufacturing.



I would say yes, but it's always best to double check the visual settings (apparent knob rotation) against what your ears tell you. Some users may find this process cumbersome, and so your mileage may vary.

A few of the LE60 LILPEQr customers told me that the HF pots didn't match %100 between units across rotational travel, and so L to R unevenness had to be compensated for by ear. We're using tighter tolerance pots this time. Nevertheless, like drBill, these LE60 users also say that stereo compensation (if and when necessary) is worth the effort.



No, they are not. The LILPEQr wasn't designed for the kind of precision which lends itself well to switched or detented controls; it's a vibe unit, a tone control. Both of these things (precision design and stepped rotary controls) add considerable expense, and I felt it was more important to keep the module as close to the originals as possible: low price and continuous boost/cut; let more people have access to uninhibited mojo.

Moreover, many users I've heard from describe how carefully they they turn the HF/LF knobs to just past center, for (remarkably effective) amounts of coloration/balancing which would likely be lost in the case of a center detent or fixed steps.



Exactly! "Broad strokes" is one of the descriptions we were using at AES this weekend. The fader knob was added for even greater usefulness on individual tracks (especially when using a Sweet Ten Rack full of LILPEQr with the Moiyn mixer module). Not only does it provide overall level control, it can change how hard you drive the EQ (for tonal variation), and provide an inherently "tighter" response, thanks to the accompanying fader buffers, so that tracks retain more individual focus when stacking.

For example, while tracking if I crank up my source preamp for extra harmonics and then send this signal to the LILPEQr, I can turn down the Level knob so that only the input transformer starts to saturate (and sounding awesome in the process!) while the rest of the circuit is buffered (for less soft/glue effect and more controlled adjustments) and operating at a level more reasonable for printing than that which came out of my preamp.



No, we omitted the "IN - DIRECT" mode (xfmrless, unbalanced input) in favor of an "IN+LEVEL" mode, whereby the input transformer stays and a buffered overall level control is added.

I wish I'd heard this from you sooner, Tom. Everyone I did hear from considered the transformer bypass "direct" mode a failed feature, and said they never used it. Indeed, it suffered from lack of a buffer, dramatically limiting the amount of available boost and messing up the overall freq response. At least you've got a pair of transformer bypass versions for yourself.


"LIL" = little, because it is physically much smaller than the valve units that it imitates, and "PEQ" = Program EQualizer. LILPEQ seemed ambiguous, likely to be taken by another product, so a colleague of ours suggested adding "r" at the end. The word "rack" begins with this letter, and indeed the end result is amusing.


TAV is short for octave, as in 1/3 octave spacing of the 10 frequency points.

Jens, thank you for a great and detailed response!

[soypancho]

YES!!!

[Dennisb]

Any shipping dates on these yet? I'm longing for the Buy Now button...