Bang for the Buck EQ

[toledo3]

Originally posted by XHipHop
Are the TL Audio Eq units that i've seen for about $700 used any good?

Ok, discuss Give me a reason to spend more money!

Yes. and the eq in the vocal channel is the shit!

[Drumsound]

I've got an HHb radius EQ that's kinda cool. It's a two-channel toob model. I don't use it much, my new console EQ is great. I also have an Ashley seven band parametric that can be very useful.

[Jay Kahrs]

You can't go too wrong with an Orban. They're older and will probably need caps but they are pretty solid. The 622B is the 4-band, stereo parametric deal. I use it mainly on things where I need control over the low end, it's not clean enough for the mix buss IMHO.

[fatty]

http://www.arx.com.au/MultiQ.htm

this unit looks really interesting. don't know if it sounds any good but i have used their compressors and they are good, so if thats anything to go by it should be ok.

anyway i just think its a great concept. its a six band parametric eq. but each band has an input and output. so it can be used as six one band eq's, one six band eq, or any combination in between.

i know i posted about one of their preamps the other day, but i don't work for them or anything! they just make some interesting products that i have been checking out in recent times. not very sexy looking though.

[jeronimo]

What about the one from Speck?

[dave-G]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
You can't go too wrong with an Orban. They're older and will probably need caps but they are pretty solid. The 622B is the 4-band, stereo parametric deal. I use it mainly on things where I need control over the low end, it's not clean enough for the mix buss IMHO.

What Jay said.. The Orbans are sleepers.. I had much fun with the 672A, which is an 8-band para-graphic. I really regret selling mine.

-dave

[mdbeh]

I've got an Orban 674A that I bought used for pretty cheap, and it's not bad. I think it falls in the category of good-but-not-"vintage" used analog gear, where there are some good deals these days.

The Speck is also nice, a little more expensive, but still a good deal.

[Gie-Sound]

Originally posted by G-man
Yes. and the eq in the vocal channel is the shit!

wich vocal-channel?! The white (5051) or the blue one (VP-1)?!?

[jspartz]

How about the DBX Project 1 EQ (Bob Orban designed - So I am told). Cost effective. Not as great of a tool as the Speck but it does work.

jason

[chessparov]

There may still be an Orban 622A for sale at e-bay.
Jim Williams at www.audioupgrades.com modd's these BTW.
If I mixed at home for anything serious it would have been snagged.

Chris

[jspartz]

What type of upgrade does he do? How does it impact the sound of the EQ? What is the cost of the upgrade? Thanks.

jason

[chessparov]

It should make it sound much better, although I haven't personally had him do any modifications (yet).

The other info is still on his site I think.

Chris

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

I like the Urei 545 Eq.. nice an d usical and not too expensive if you can find them... they have not suffered the major price rise like the 1176...

Gee imagine if u coulda bought shares in 1176's before UA reissued them.. if they had never done that the original black and silver faces would be going up like fairchilds, 1081/73 etc... but then we woulda been fuct cos UA came and crashed tha party.. lol

PEACE
Wiggy

[alphajerk]

i picked up a moog para 3band that im fond of for certain things... only $270.

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by jspartz
How about the DBX Project 1 EQ (Bob Orban designed - So I am told). Cost effective. Not as great of a tool as the Speck but it does work.

Those are also sleepers and yes, it is an Orban design. In the funky but cool at times catagory is the ART "toob" EQ. The midrange bands are kinda fun on guitars for broad shaping and overdriving.

[Sir Bob]

I am just a home recording guy and I haven't used eq on the recording chain, just in mixdown.

What in the world am I missing?

[jspartz]

Eq only on mixdown is not a bad habit. That is usually how I use it as well. I feel mic/preamp choice and mic placement are my form of EQ while tracking. Well other than wild tracks (vocal distortion and telephone effects) which Eq can be part of the effect.

jason

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by Sir Bob
I am just a home recording guy and I haven't used eq on the recording chain, just in mixdown.

What in the world am I missing?

Honestly, not much. If your building a project one track at a time your better off waiting until you get everything together before you EQ a lot. In your case I'd only EQ if there was a really obvious thing that needed to be done, like chop away at something boomy or too muddy or brighten up an acoustic guitar with old strings. Only whack or enhance what you know needs to be done. Other then that, your taking shots in the dark.

[moon_unit]

Originally posted by jspartz
How about the DBX Project 1 EQ (Bob Orban designed - So I am told). Cost effective. Not as great of a tool as the Speck but it does work.

Yes, the dbx 242.

These are the ones Bob Orban will recommend to you, himself, as his best design. Very similar to the older Orbans, but with cleaner signal path and slightly greater flexibility. A steal for the money. Can be snagged off ebay anywhere between $100-200.

[Tim Farrant]

Originally posted by Wiggy Neve Slut
I like the Urei 545 Eq.. nice an d usical and not too expensive if you can find them... they have not suffered the major price rise like the 1176...

The original 545 has a quad version of the 741 op amp (4741 I think) which is not a particulary good device as it's real slow. The problem is if you try and add 10dB boost at 10kHz , the 741 cannot slew fast enough and distorts. So if you get one, get the opamps changed to something a bit more modern - makes a big difference to the top end !!

Cheers
Tim

Buzz Audio

[Jay Kahrs]

Wouldn't it start to oscillate because it's faster? I've run into that before on Orban gear.

[Ianneve]

This may sound strange but Pendulum audio's acoustic guitar stereo preamp/eq's are really good eq's. I use them to track with coming out of my Neve modules to tape. I have 2 of them. An HZ-10se 4 band mono eq and an sps 1 stereo 3 band eq's. Both are really nice and you can probably get them for around $500 or $600 and then you have the worlds best acoustic guitar pre to boot. Good luck.

[Beech]

Looks like Malcolm Toft is making another comeback. He was at AES with three of his latest gadgets, one being a dual mic pre/ eq. He was one of the few who actually had a few sounds available to play through it! I cannot see how people expect us to pay thousands for their gear without trying.tutt . Anyway, my impressions were "I'm going to order one as soon as it's on the market". Very nice eq...I cannot comment on the pre but it's cheap enough not to care.

http://www.toftaudiodesigns.com/afc2.html

DW

[Jay Kahrs]

I'll give almost anything Malcom Toft has his name a listen. He has had QC problems in the past though, but I've rarely heard complaints about the sound quality of his designs.

[Beech]

That's right Jay. He has however been in a number of different partnerships, one with Ted Fletcher (Oram is another). Certainly the MTA A Range module was a piece of crap. Unfortunately I found out too late
I would still give his gear a listen though. He has one thing going for him, he's an audio engineer at heart. It really depends on who he teams up with. I see he's very buddy buddy with a guy called Alan Hyatt. I know that name is going to ring a few alarm bells.

DW

[littledog]

Years ago I saw a demo of the coolest EQ by Nightpro. In the demo they twisted the pots to virtually any extreme position and the results were always sweet and musical.

But since then I've seen virtually no mention of it. Anybody have one or used one?

[Jay Kahrs]

I think your talking about the NQ3 or whatever it was called. The "airband" EQ. Never used one, I think Jule's has one.

Toft was one of THE guys at Trident in the 70's and 80's. Oram was also there but was mopping floors (or whatever) rather then designing gear.

[e-cue]

Originally posted by littledog
Years ago I saw a demo of the coolest EQ by Nightpro. In the demo they twisted the pots to virtually any extreme position and the results were always sweet and musical.

But since then I've seen virtually no mention of it. Anybody have one or used one?

Was it a 1 space unit (EQ3-D) or the 2 space joint (EQ3)? At any rate, they ain't cheap by a long shot. They have almost no phase shift.

[littledog]

I'm pretty sure it was one space - it was a few years back. I remember it was a newer less expensive version of their high end eq, but some reviews said it sounded even better than the original.

It sounded killer. I was about to buy one, but right around the same time I got into Pro Tools and my available money went into plug-ins instead.