22nd October 2009
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#1 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2003 Location: New Jersey, Exit 55
Posts: 1,877
Thread Starter  | KuSh Audio/UBK Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer (formerly Clarity Control)
Imagine our surprise when, after we announced and introduced the UBK Clarity Control at AES, we were made aware of another audio company with a product using the word Clarity to describe an audio process.
Since we are in pre-production, we felt it was easiest to avoid any confusion and/or consternation and simply change the name.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen of Gearslutz may we present the KuSh Audio UBK Clariphonic TM Parallel Equalizer (shown here with the UBK Fatso): 
from the original press release:
KuSh Audio, the guys who brought you the UBK Fatso, are proud to announce the Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer, a radical new processor with an interface only UBK could dream up.
Imagine a box whose sole purpose is to lift your sounds out of the mud and bring your elements, busses, and mixes into extreme focus with the simple twist of a knob. What if a second knob enabled you to effortlessly tighten and define the low end while opening up the kind of air and shimmer up top that most engineers dream about but can't attain?
Following up on the UBK Fatso's can't-screw-it-up design philosophy, the Clariphonic is a dual-channel toneshaper unlike any you've ever seen or heard.
Out front, an unorthodox array of 12 switches and 4 knobs invites the operator to explore and experiment with all the possible combinations using a creative right-brain aesthetic. Inside, a fiendishly minimal mastering grade signal path with meticulously chosen components (such as capacitors by Wima and Panasonic) yield a sound that is extremely clear and focused. Four frequency-bending engines work in parallel with both of your full-range signals, and all six paths are blended inside an onboard mix buss with nearly unmeasurable phase distortion.
The effect of this unique internal architecture is a form of equalization that is nearly holographic in effect and impossible to get wrong. You will have detail, presence, and focus in spades. The only danger is doing too much... the Clariphonic is truly an addictive flavor. Consider yourself warned...
MSRP $1749
Availability: December 2009
additional details and product info at kushaudio.com 
__________________ www.wavedistro.com
West Milford New Jersey USA
Cartec/Empirical Labs/Unity/Pelonis (Europe)
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22nd October 2009
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#2 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,130
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What do I do?  | |
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22nd October 2009
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#3 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 3,856
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Damnit, i got a "clarity control" tattoo when the product was announced.
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22nd October 2009
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#4 | | Gear addict
Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Washington State
Posts: 390
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Too bad. The new name doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
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22nd October 2009
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#5 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,577
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Or: Clairvoyance (17th century French)
I still like Clarity best....
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22nd October 2009
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#6 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Mar 2007 Location: Sweden
Posts: 2,854
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Looks great. I immediately thought Clarity Control sounded better, but tasting the new name a few times makes me think it's not bad either. "Clariphonic" sounds classy and old school.
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22nd October 2009
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#7 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,130
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Okay, from the other thread, we know the CPE is boost only. From RCM's AES video the frequencies are quoted approximately (best guesses) as 800 (open?) and 3K (lift?) switchable from shelf (diffuse?) to bell (tight?) on the Focus engine, and 6K (presence?), 12K (sheen?), 20K (shimmer?) and 40K (silk?) shelf only on the Clarity engine. In parentheses are best-guess decoder-ring settings from, uh... guessing and trying to follow Greg's finger in the video. The curves are a "new shape" that boost both high and low with a high to low ratio of 3 to 1 (probably could have worded that better, but you get the idea). It's a parallel summed architecture: dry/focus/clarity in parallel with mute-able dry. Anyone who knows better... please feel free to correct or verify. After all that other grief, I think I've found what I wanted to know... thought I'd share. So, what do I do? STFU? Buy one? There are four possible outcomes.
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22nd October 2009
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#8 | | Pragmatic Snob
Joined: Oct 2004 Location: The Land of Sunshine
Posts: 12,005
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Coyoteus, your assessment is perfect. The only thing to add is that every individual band has a mute switch ("out") as well.
The knobs are not traditional eq boost knobs either, in the sense that they don't drive your signal harder and harder into a filter. Your signal is split into 4 and fed thru each filter in parallel at full boost, and that filter is then blended into the mix buss via its respective knob. So the knob is technically a fader on a mixer, with an eq inserted across the channel at 100% wet.
I stress that point because when you, e.g., mute the dry signal with all knobs at 50%, you don't hear 4 bands at 50% boost. You hear 4 bands at 100% boost but 50% gain into the mixer. It's kinda hard to impart how this is new and different, and why it matters, until you've used the box for a while.
I'd also say, from further listening, that 3:1 is generous. It's more like things are 15db up on top when cranked, and maybe 2 or 3 db up on bottom.
Gregory Scott - ubk
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22nd October 2009
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#9 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,350
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reading the last two posts i definately will be out smartened by this box!
Felt like i was bk at school learning algebra & physics
ubk fatso is a dumb proof comp
clarity control is a brain box.
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22nd October 2009
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#10 | | Pragmatic Snob
Joined: Oct 2004 Location: The Land of Sunshine
Posts: 12,005
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio Child  clarity control is a brain box. |
Quite the opposite, in fact!
Truly, despite all the fancytalk, your approach to eq with the Clariphonic is the same as it is to compression on the UBK Fatso: flick some switches and turn some knobs until you hear what's right. You'll see that when I do the video, the design is unorthodox but operation couldn't be simpler.
The thing about it is this: while everything works primarily on the high frequencies, every switch has a very different curve and corner, so it's very obvious from one to the next what it's doing. But more importantly, it's generally very obvious which one is magical and which are just ok. In that respect I think it's very much like the presets on the UBK Fatso.
The 40k Silk is like crack, and you think it's gonna be perfect on the vocal, then you switch it in and it turns out it doesn't have near enough of an impact, so you go to 22k (?) Shimmer and there it is, the voice pops out of the speakers and into the room. But on the acoustic, the 6k Presence, which can be overwhelming on some voices, might be exactly what the guitar needs.
The whole idea was to get you to not think about what you're doing, to have the device play like a musical instrument. That's how it played out at AES: everyone who saw it came up, had a scrunched brow as they tried to figure out what it was, and before they were even aware of it they were grabbing and flipping switches with both hands (something very few eq's encourage you to do).
You'll see...
Gregory Scott - ubk
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22nd October 2009
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#11 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,332
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How does it sound compared to the original "Clarity Control"?
But seriously, I like the new name better. Maybe I am the only one ...
__________________
Apogee Rosetta 200, UA LA-610 MKII, Korg Kronos 61, Kurzweil K2661, DSI Evolver, Event TR-8 monitors
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22nd October 2009
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#12 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 8,022
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Farshad How does it sound compared to the original "Clarity Control"?
But seriously, I like the new name better. Maybe I am the only one ... | Ha ha ha ha!
That's good GS humor.
And I agree, I like the new name too.
I want both products. If any distributor/shop is reading this: offer a UBKFatso/Clariphonic package deal and you got me.
- c
__________________
www.soundcloud.com/beautypill
www.twitter.com/beautypill | |
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22nd October 2009
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#13 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 599
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So now the prototype that still says "Clarity Control" will shoot up in value versus the "Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer" while people claim that the "vintage" Clarity Control had a "vibe" that the later "Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer" just didn't quite capture. The old one(s) will go for 10k on ebay.....
Kirt Shearer
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22nd October 2009
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#14 | | Lives for gear
Joined: May 2003 Location: New Jersey, Exit 55
Posts: 1,877
Thread Starter | Quote:
Originally Posted by Silver Sonya I want both products. If any distributor/shop is reading this: offer a UBKFatso/Clariphonic package deal and you got me. | Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g
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22nd October 2009
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#15 | | Gear Head
Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Devon, UK
Posts: 31
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g | Me | |
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22nd October 2009
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#16 | | Can't stop buying gear...
Joined: Nov 2002 Location: Seattle | Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in? | I'll sell a body part if I have to! | |
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22nd October 2009
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#17 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles | Quote:
Originally Posted by kbshearer So now the prototype that still says "Clarity Control" will shoot up in value versus the "Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer" while people claim that the "vintage" Clarity Control had a "vibe" that the later "Clariphonic Parallel Equalizer" just didn't quite capture. The old one(s) will go for 10k on ebay..... | Ha. You beat me to it!!
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22nd October 2009
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#18 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jun 2002 Location: London
Posts: 2,056
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g | Oh shit...
R.
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22nd October 2009
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#19 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Oct 2005 Location: Topanga, CA
Posts: 1,398
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g | double crap. I would adopt early for that kind of savings.... | |
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22nd October 2009
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#20 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jul 2007 Location: Here, There, and Everywhere.
Posts: 1,611
| Quote:
Originally Posted by u b k Quite the opposite, in fact!
Truly, despite all the fancytalk, your approach to eq with the Clariphonic is the same as it is to compression on the UBK Fatso: flick some switches and turn some knobs until you hear what's right. You'll see that when I do the video, the design is unorthodox but operation couldn't be simpler.
The thing about it is this: while everything works primarily on the high frequencies, every switch has a very different curve and corner, so it's very obvious from one to the next what it's doing. But more importantly, it's generally very obvious which one is magical and which are just ok. In that respect I think it's very much like the presets on the UBK Fatso.
The 40k Silk is like crack, and you think it's gonna be perfect on the vocal, then you switch it in and it turns out it doesn't have near enough of an impact, so you go to 22k (?) Shimmer and there it is, the voice pops out of the speakers and into the room. But on the acoustic, the 6k Presence, which can be overwhelming on some voices, might be exactly what the guitar needs.
The whole idea was to get you to not think about what you're doing, to have the device play like a musical instrument. That's how it played out at AES: everyone who saw it came up, had a scrunched brow as they tried to figure out what it was, and before they were even aware of it they were grabbing and flipping switches with both hands (something very few eq's encourage you to do).
You'll see...
Gregory Scott - ubk
. | Would this box be magic during tracking (if used judiciously), or would you recommend saving for mix time?
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22nd October 2009
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#21 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Jan 2004 Location: Berlin
Posts: 1,302
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g | $800 on list price or on street prices like vintage king ones??
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22nd October 2009
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#22 | | Gear interested
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 16
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+1
> If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
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22nd October 2009
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#23 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 562
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Count me in too, with that discount.
Also curious as to if it's that's discounted from vk's price or list.
thumbsup
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22nd October 2009
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#24 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 8,022
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Gil, it's not an exaggeration to say that I feel like singing the chorus of "Wild Horses."
In other words, I say yes.
- c
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22nd October 2009
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#25 | | Gear addict
Joined: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego
Posts: 391
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g | I would buy both right now if it was an $800 discount.
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22nd October 2009
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#26 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2007 Location: Bristol, England
Posts: 606
| Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave Funny you should bring that up - we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
That's GearSlutz Members/Early Adopters Discount
If you could save, say, $800, how many members would buy in?
-g |
I'd be in!
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23rd October 2009
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#27 | | Gear maniac
Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 202
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already have the UBK Fatso, so a package wouldn't help me, but would love an intro price on the Clariphonic alone!?!?
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23rd October 2009
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#28 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 562
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I didn't read Gil's post thoroughly enough it seems. I was like "$800 of on the clariphonic?"
I'm also interested in an intro price to the Clariphonic. Just don't have the funds for both at the moment.
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23rd October 2009
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#29 | | Gear nut
Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 79
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Count me in as interested. Quote:
Originally Posted by GilWave we are considering a GSM/EAD package deal if you buy both together.
-g | | |
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23rd October 2009
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#30 | | Lives for gear
Joined: Mar 2006 Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 1,956
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I want to see the guts  | |
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