UTA Fairchild

[ev33]

Originally Posted by SamPura

Hey Eric,

Do you have any information or pictures about the UTA Fairchild you've been mentioning and developing?

Thanks for doing this Q&A. I really value your production and taking all the time to share your experiences with so much detail.

Sure Yeah,

Here is a picture of the prototype in my control room:



We actually finally just decided today on the final name... UTA UnFairchild 670

The idea is to do a Fairchild remake that is affordable. here is the spiel that is going up on the UTA website soon.

UTA UnFairchild 670V/M

We decided to take on the well traveled path of remaking a fairchild because it has yet to be done in a way that focuses on what is special about the fairchild without getting caught up in details that make it wildly unaffordable. The vast majority of what is special about the sound of a Fairchild is inherent in the topology of the circuit itself. It seems a waste of such a clever design to have it always represented in a form that is simply unobtainable for most. Simply put, a faithful recreation of the Fairchild circuit doesn't have to cost $20,000. In addition to that, modern features can easily be added to bring this classic circuit up to date with modern expectations. We have developed two version at two different price points. One that is an exact duplication of the original circuit and one that is cleverly optimized to be more affordable. The UTA UnFairchild 670V is the version that exactly duplicates the original circuit and will sell for $7500. The UTA UnFairchild 670M is the modified version that makes use of carefully chosen component alternatives that further reduce the expense and will be sold for $5000.

* faithful recreation of the original Fairchild circuit
* Modified version for increased affordability
* sidechain input
* stereo linking
* additional time constant settings for added flexibility
* authentic classic look
* front panel control of DC offset (behaves like a combined threshold/ratio control)

I have mostly been using the "modified" version because it has needed the most testing and listening to get it right. It uses 6BC8s instead of the annoyingly expensive 6386s. 6BC8s are great. They are used in the old UA 175 - 176 compressors. They are a bit more aggressive than the 6386s and I have really been enjoying the results. It is the first tube compressor I can use on drums that sounds really aggressive. Here are some audio snipits:

This is a short section of the drum mix from the TBS song "El Paso". The UnFairchild is on the kick and snare.

http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/ElPasodrmclip.wav

When I mixed the song "Gives You Hell" I printed the mix with and without mix buss compression. That mix was designed to have mix buss compression and it has been really great for evaluating the UnFairchild. I kind of wish I had this thing when I printed the GYH mix for the album. I really love the way the low end pumps with these 6BC8 tubes. Here's the mix with and without the UnFairchild so you can hear the difference:

http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/GYH%20no%20comp.wav
http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/GYH%...nFairchild.wav

EV

[chrisjones]

Originally Posted by ev33

The idea is to do a Fairchild remake that is affordable. here is the spiel that is going up on the UTA website soon.
This is a short section of the drum mix from the TBS song "El Paso". The UnFairchild is on the kick and snare.

What a beauty! Sounds great... Been saving money a long time now to get a great tracking/mixing console. And the UTA console and unFairchild compressor is the only thing on my mind right now.

The drum clip... can you share any more information about the mixing? Did you use a pair of distressors on the drumbus and the 1176 on paralell?

What are your compressor on the cymbals? Do you compress a lot on the cymbals/overheads/underheads or just a little and let the drumbus take care of that?
How do you eq the cymbals and room mics to complement eachother and rest of the kit? Hpf and Lpf?

Really liked the unFairchild on the GYH clip! What was on the original mix, Alan Smart?

Btw did you use a similar vocal setup/chain for All American Rejects and pre Louder Now like you did with the new TBS?

Thanx again for doing this Eric.

[SamPura]

Originally Posted by ev33

I want to be careful to NOT have this Q&A turn into a spam-fest for UTA. If people are genuinely interested in this stuff, I am happy to post info about it. I am definitely very excited about the UTA stuff and it's easy for me to start to babble on about it. If I start to sound like car salesman just tell me to shut the f*** up about UTA

Thanks for all this information! I was really curious to hear more about this because you are so enthusiastic about it's performance... and rightfully so... those clips sound AWESOME!

Could you go into a little detail about what else is going on in that drum mix? Are you using the distressors as well?

Thanks again!

[ev33]

Originally Posted by chrisjones

The drum clip... can you share any more information about the mixing? Did you use a pair of distressors on the drumbus and the 1176 on paralell?

I just checked the mix notes to make sure I am remembering things right. The kick and snare were compressed individually with the UnFairchild. The over heads were compressed with the Crane song STC8. Not aggressive though. Maybe only 4 or 5 db of compression just to even it out a little bit. The toms had distressors on them set very aggressive (nuke ratio mode) slow attack/ fast release. There was no compression on any of the room mics (big room or chamber). The drum buss is mult'd and comes back on 3 pairs of stereo faders. The main pair has a pair of distressors on it. In this case the distressors were set pretty light because most of the compression was already coming form the UnFairchild. The other 2 stereo pairs had a Compex and an EMI stereo limiter. Those compressors were set for absolute destruction and blended in very very little. I mostly use those to thicken the back ground ambience. They are usually about 20db quieter than the distressor pair.

How do you eq the cymbals and room mics to complement eachother and rest of the kit? Hpf and Lpf?

I usually mostly just try to even them out. for me, the OHs and Room Mics are supposed to be a balanced over all picture of the drum kit. I look at my spectrum analyzer and try to get it more flat. That usually means pulling out some low mids and boosting some high end above 6K or so. I do play with the phasing on the room mics to make sure they are reinforcing the body of the kick and snare. Sometimes high passing them can help clear up issues with that by altering the phasing of the lower part of the frequency spectrum.

Really liked the unFairchild on the GYH clip! What was on the original mix, Alan Smart?

The original GYH mix had the Crane Song STC8 on it.

Btw did you use a similar vocal setup/chain for All American Rejects and pre Louder Now like you did with the new TBS?

I did! SM7 -> Neve 1064 -> 1176. I guess the only difference being there was no room mic and only one compressor on the SM7.

EV

[chrisjones]

Eric, Thank you sooo much!

[neb]

not to worry. Found it!

[Noise10]

When will the compressor be available to purchase? And the channel strip? Will they be sold direct or through dealers? Can't wait for the 670M!!!!

[ev33]

Originally Posted by Noise10

When will the compressor be available to purchase? And the channel strip? Will they be sold direct or through dealers? Can't wait for the 670M!!!!

We are working hard on finishing the channels strip now. should be another month or 2. There will be an initial run of 100 limited edition versions of the channel strips. They will have the same special porous metal that the consoles have. After the first 100 the face plates will be standard anodized aluminum.

The UnFairchild will be next after the channel strip. Initial run will be 10 - 670Ms and 10 - 670Vs.

All sales will be direct through UTA to start out. In about a month when I am absolutely sure when the channels strips will be ready we will start taking deposits to hold a place on a waiting list.

Let me know if you want me to contact you when the waiting list opens up.

EV

[walth]

Originally Posted by ev33

Sure Yeah,

Here is a picture of the prototype in my control room:



We actually finally just decided today on the final name... UTA UnFairchild 670

The idea is to do a Fairchild remake that is affordable. here is the spiel that is going up on the UTA website soon.

UTA UnFairchild 670V/M

We decided to take on the well traveled path of remaking a fairchild because it has yet to be done in a way that focuses on what is special about the fairchild without getting caught up in details that make it wildly unaffordable. The vast majority of what is special about the sound of a Fairchild is inherent in the topology of the circuit itself. It seems a waste of such a clever design to have it always represented in a form that is simply unobtainable for most. Simply put, a faithful recreation of the Fairchild circuit doesn't have to cost $20,000. In addition to that, modern features can easily be added to bring this classic circuit up to date with modern expectations. We have developed two version at two different price points. One that is an exact duplication of the original circuit and one that is cleverly optimized to be more affordable. The UTA UnFairchild 670V is the version that exactly duplicates the original circuit and will sell for $7500. The UTA UnFairchild 670M is the modified version that makes use of carefully chosen component alternatives that further reduce the expense and will be sold for $5000.

* faithful recreation of the original Fairchild circuit
* Modified version for increased affordability
* sidechain input
* stereo linking
* additional time constant settings for added flexibility
* authentic classic look
* front panel control of DC offset (behaves like a combined threshold/ratio control)

I have mostly been using the "modified" version because it has needed the most testing and listening to get it right. It uses 6BC8s instead of the annoyingly expensive 6386s. 6BC8s are great. They are used in the old UA 175 - 176 compressors. They are a bit more aggressive than the 6386s and I have really been enjoying the results. It is the first tube compressor I can use on drums that sounds really aggressive. Here are some audio snipits:

This is a short section of the drum mix from the TBS song "El Paso". The UnFairchild is on the kick and snare.

http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/ElPasodrmclip.wav

When I mixed the song "Gives You Hell" I printed the mix with and without mix buss compression. That mix was designed to have mix buss compression and it has been really great for evaluating the UnFairchild. I kind of wish I had this thing when I printed the GYH mix for the album. I really love the way the low end pumps with these 6BC8 tubes. Here's the mix with and without the UnFairchild so you can hear the difference:

http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/GYH%20no%20comp.wav
http://undertoneaudio.com/Audio/GYH%...nFairchild.wav

EV

cool unit. i'd like to hear one

the ear and ADL models are cool too. the vintage ones are great but difficult to find.

[Noise10]

Originally Posted by ev33

We are working hard on finishing the channels strip now. should be another month or 2. There will be an initial run of 100 limited edition versions of the channel strips. They will have the same special porous metal that the consoles have. After the first 100 the face plates will be standard anodized aluminum.

The UnFairchild will be next after the channel strip. Initial run will be 10 - 670Ms and 10 - 670Vs.

All sales will be direct through UTA to start out. In about a month when I am absolutely sure when the channels strips will be ready we will start taking deposits to hold a place on a waiting list.

Let me know if you want me to contact you when the waiting list opens up.

EV

I do. PM'ing you now.