hate-'em or love-'em equalizers, got-a have-'em

[pan60]

i hate eq's, i love eq's, i can never decide if i like-'em or not, but..... i know it never fails i need one no matter what i do or how i track and sometimes i just want some mojo!
so Vince at speck sent me one of his eq's to review and as always i had to do it.
The Speck ASC-V Vince sent arrived in good order and well packed. This EQ has some nice options you generally will not see.
To start you can use this as a stand alone (with the optional power system), you can choose between transformer balanced or active-balanced output (nice). The choice of a transformer balanced or active-balanced output is simple and straight forward. Simply pull the small black caps off the pins and move them over (as the diagram indicates), push them back on the other set of pins. I was able to make this change with my fingers, (and I have large fingers), but some may find tweezers a bit easier to use.
I used my OSA 500 form rack so I did not get the optional power supply but it looks to be very straight forward. I can not see anyone having any issues with it in a stand alone operation.
Now to the build
I love gear with a good build quality, just love it. The unit is closed up, I like that, no worries about bumping or hitting something on the way in or out. The captive screws are also a very nice touch. Not only can you keep up with them but they offer something to hold when pulling the card, another plus.
The knobs have a much better feel than I had expected, nice, tight, a good solid feel. I really did not expect this for the price. As well there are detents on the unity gain positions. The push buttons are a little tough for my big fingers to get to, but they feel nice, and remember I have large fingers. Also a note here, this thing is packing a lot of features for such limited acreage, so it is expected things will be tight.
I opened this baby up to take a look inside and wow, it is nice and tidy, clean, very nice, very nice.

[pan60]

The captive screws are also a very nice touch.

[pan60]

Okay so how dose it sound. This is a very clean and neutral EQ. I was very surprised the transformer did not impart more color, very neutral.
If you are looking at an EQ that will add color or maybe that mystical mojo this aint it, but, if you need an EQ that does not leave its stain on what you already have (other than the job of course), then this is big time it! I ran some vocals, having cut some problem issues, it still sounds like what I had captured minus the issues.
Boost the top, add some air, but forget the color, just air On the bottom, well nice, fat, you get more bottom. I cut, I boosted, and I tweaked, and I want this EQ. If you are looking for a EQ that is neutral and does the job this is it. You've track and got the sound you want you just need a bit of tweaking. Well I am not a big EQ fan, but I cannot see how anyone could move forward without one of these EQ's.
Very nice Speck!

[pan60]

So what did I not like hmmmm.
Well I really did not expect I would like this EQ as much as I do, but I do and it is hard to find fault in a product that delivers what it is suppose to in all areas for me, build, sound, and service. I did not really like the little plugs (or caps, also called "shunts" or "shorting jumper"), to go from transformer balanced to active-balanced. Aside from my big hands causing issues I can just see me dropping one of these and it's gone ... forever. I would have preferred to see a dip switch or something else there instead.
Suggestion, ask for a couple extra caps and put them in a drawer some where for safe keeping when you order this EQ (and you will want one of these).

[heyman]

Pan, thanks, but how does that Bad Boy sound?

[gainreduction]

Thanx for the review. This eq has been on my want-list for a while, maybe time to move it to the shopping list.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by heyman

Pan, thanks, but how does that Bad Boy sound?

post 3

[r0ck1r0ck2]

here's the answer to your big ole' finger problems..

everyone should have about 12 of these..

[Tom H]

Nice review Pan! thumbsup

I've noticed a few differences compared to the horizontal version; there is no gain adjustment on this one and also the low and high band seems different... did anyone get a chance to compare them? I've been considering the horizontal version for a while but now this baby shows up.... mmm

[RCM - Ronan]

I have a pair of the horizontal stand alone transformer versions. I had read so many amazing things about the EQs on line that I was expection them to be amazing, so they had a lot to live up to. I am not sure I would call them amazing but they are very very good and I am very happy I bought them. I use them almost exclusively for sugical cutting, which they do extremely well. I love them for pulling out ugly frequencies in a singers voice with out messing up the good parts of the voice.

As pan said, these are not mojo boxes. They are not like an API or an Avedis, or lod Neve where you can boost something 2 db and really bring a track to life, but they are also a fraction of the price. Actually the on board EQs of my D&R console are a little better than the Specks for making things sound big.

None of this is to say anything bad about them. They are really nice clean EQs that I am very happy to have at the studio. I spent some time doing some comparision trying to fix some problem tracks with the Speck vs the Waves EQ, and the speck blew the Waves stuff out of the water. Not even close. They are the best outboard EQ I have used under $1000.

[midnightsun]

Good review,

Thanks

[Tundradawg]

Nice!

[pan60]

Originally Posted by r0ck1r0ck2

here's the answer to your big ole' finger problems..

everyone should have about 12 of these..

funny!

[r0ck1r0ck2]

kindof...

really...those things are lifesavers..

well...literally and figuratively.

no really they're used for other things than roach clips..

trust me on this one.

[max cooper]

Pan,

Are those the same jumpers that come with hard drives?

[pan60]

Originally Posted by max cooper

Pan,

Are those the same jumpers that come with hard drives?

as i understand they are

FYI, the little caps you refer to a called "shunts" or "shorting jumper". It is very common to find them inside computers, hard drives, and audio equipment where semi-permenant and reliable reconfiguration of circuits need to be made.

--Vince

this is what Vince sent me.

[squeegybug]

You can also just wire those jumper pins to little toggle switches and do your changes with those.

Steve

[pan60]

a bump for anyone that may have missed this

[loujudson]

Originally Posted by r0ck1r0ck2

here's the answer to your big ole' finger problems..

everyone should have about 12 of these..

Doesn't that belong in the pot thread???
Lou

[dubrichie]

ah you silly yanks... just roll WITH A ROACH IN IT.

roll up a little piece of cardboard and voila.

no more burnt fingers, no more soggy smokes, no more need to carry around feckin surgical implements!

but i suppose you should all just learn to roll AT ALL first.

.

.

.

ah im only winding you up!

[loujudson]

I used a pipe in the day...

L

[pan60]

time for a bump

[drummerboy1533]

Let GRAVITY be your friend pan60.When ya gots to move the jumpers,lay on the floor hold the Speck above you and jumper your ass off.If it falls,it falls on you...

[amishsixstringe]

Originally Posted by r0ck1r0ck2

here's the answer to your big ole' finger problems..

everyone should have about 12 of these..

How many hands do you have?

Neil

[pan60]

[espen askelad]

I like the idea of a clean EQ. If I'm reaching for EQ, it's generally for that last little tweak I didn't find in mic placement, mic/pre choice, dynamics... too many "mojo" pieces makes a mess sometimes once you're in the arrangement rather than the excitement of the solo'd channel... I don't want everything to be imparting it's tonal stamp on my work, sometimes I just need a little more 2k or a little less 140!

I'm eager for the Purple EQ to come out. It and the Speck are two I'm interested in for my return to the 500 series. I wish Helios would make a standalone of their EQ, as well... Neve, for that matter. Risking crucifixion, I'll say I like the 1073 EQ more than the mic amp...

[pan60]

a bump for anyone that my have missed this one: )~

[pan60]

bump for all the new 500 format super freaks!

[TonyBelmont]

In general, EQ is the number one mixing tool that we as engineers have in our arsenal. thumbsup

[pan60]

any more 500 format slutz try these?