Anyone using the Rascal Audio Analogue Tonebuss?

[soundtrack2life]

Originally Posted by t_d

sorted everything out with Joel who was kind enough to talk through a hookup scheme in my complicated studio wiring.... and my ToneBuss has been shipped today (i hope!) and i'll have it next week. really looking forward to trying it out.

Thats awesome! When I do mixes with the ToneBuss IMO the magic starts to happen when you push the buss a bit. . . . .

[superwack]

How hard do you hit the 2buss, what output setting do you prefer? Thanks

[jordanvoth]

You guys are KILLING ME, mine gets here tomorrow. F**king customs man, damn thing left Fargo at 2:00PM on Friday, it's not a far hike and I was all amped up to have the thing in my hands so I could spend the weekend in doors where it's not 35 degrees out. Tomorrow I will have it, I have some stuff ready to go and I'll post my initial impressions tomorrow.

[Googlyman]

Originally Posted by jordanvoth

You guys are KILLING ME, mine gets here tomorrow. F**king customs man, damn thing left Fargo at 2:00PM on Friday, it's not a far hike and I was all amped up to have the thing in my hands so I could spend the weekend in doors where it's not 35 degrees out. Tomorrow I will have it, I have some stuff ready to go and I'll post my initial impressions tomorrow.

and?

[eatthebeat]

I love mine. I 've been using it for a little over a year now. I hit it hard. In fact soon after I got it I sent it back to Joel and he modded it for an additional 4db of gain for hitting the buss harder.

I also use this Neve console a lot: KBC Records, Inc.

The Tonebuss keeps me happy when I'm mixing at home.

[Googlyman]

I cant see why this tonebuss is so great if all one can do is hardpan a signal L,R or hard center. Its mentioned in the review as well.
We need total analog summing in the full stereo field.

Or what am I missing here ?

[popmann]

You're "missing" that you pan in the DAW...to stereo busses and out. Tonelux is one of the few offering pan functionality in the summing unit.

Anyway...you can still pan anywhere--it's just acting like the summing section of a console--not the channel pan.

[t_d]

you feed it stereo busses for which you've panned in your DAW, yes.

that being said... the rascal website is sort of gone

www.rascalaudio.com

and has been for a couple months... which can't be a good sign.

maybe i snagged one of the last tonebusses from joel..

?? anyone have any news about the company?

[s_sibs]

The website seems to be gone.

I thought Rascal was working on a mic pre...

It would be too bad if they went under.

[blackwatch5805]

Joel has built some Pultec clones for me among repairing some of my gear, building my patchbay, and modifying my console. Great guy and I've heard great things about all of his stuff.

[kbshearer]

Originally Posted by t_d

you feed it stereo busses for which you've panned in your DAW, yes.

that being said... the rascal website is sort of gone

www.rascalaudio.com

and has been for a couple months... which can't be a good sign.

maybe i snagged one of the last tonebusses from joel..

?? anyone have any news about the company?

Actually, they appear to be alive and well. The website is just a ".net", not a ".com". I don't know if they always were a .net, or if he changed it at some point. But anyway, they appear to still be alive and kicking.

Kirt Shearer
Paradise Studios

[s_sibs]

I followed the .com link from the Rascal Audio Facebook page.

Good to see the .net page.

[Koachie]

I too was worried when I couldn't find the website. Glad to see he is still going.

I have a question for those of you using Tonebuss. At the moment I have a Dangerous D-Box handling summing duties, which I love for its transparency, but I'm looking for TONE!

I'm thinking either the Tonebuss or Juggernaut Twin. The Juggernaut would give me more 'coloring' options and I would use it on the two 2bus chain back into my DAW (as well as for some additional options for tracking) but I am really drawn to the Tonebuss.

What say you? Would the Tonebuss be a better option as it is a dedicated summing mixer rather than a mic-pre patched into the 2bus chain (like the Juggernaut)?
Would the Tonebuss play nice with my D-Box as I would in essence connect the Tonebuss to the D-Box so I can still use it for monitoring and routing the final signal back into my DAW?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks.

[Message edited: Replace APA Levithan with Juggernaut Twin]

[superwack]

I have a Tonebuss but haven't used the D-Box so I can't shed too much light on your question but I can say the tonebuss sounds amazing! I can't see why it wouldn't play well with the D-box

Also... I think you meant to say Juggernaut Twin not Leviathan - the Levithan is a 500 series opto compressor, the Juggernaut Twin is an amazing box (tonewise, feature wise AND build quality)... Honestly my only complaint with it is that it sometimes presents you with too many options (sometimes that's a nice problem to have!)

[Koachie]

@superwack Thanks for the correction you're absolutely right...I meant the Juggernaut Twin!

I am hearing great things about both the Tonebuss and Juggernaut Twin. I would love the added options of the Juggernaut but do not feel comfortable walking away from the Tonebuss!

[soundtrack2life]

Still loving my ToneBuss! It is pure magic in a box for me.

[jordanvoth]

I hit the tonebuss as hard as I can without clipping the D/A and into Sick Sick Sick Bus Comp from Regular John Recording. I LOVE it. Phenomenal sounding box. Joel is working on a 1272 flavored preamp in the 500 series. Last I heard he was picking out xformers for them. I can email him and ask him to check this thread? He's really good on the email front.

[Koachie]

@jordanvoth That would be incredible! The 1272 sounds interesting too as I have a few slots spare in my lunchbox!