Is ADT audio the german SSL? (pics)

[jindrich]

Well, actually more like SSL, Neve and Soundcraft together. This people build a billion products. Crazy
I've just spent a whole afternoon (I'm in bed with flu) diving into their HUGE, endless and chaotic website, which btw reminded me someway of using Logic Pro: having there every conceivable option and feature, you just need a month or two to figure them out. Must be a german thing ;-)

I cannot think of a single audio product they don't manufacture, really. This is their flagship studio console:




Anyway, besides the big studio and smaller broadcast consoles, they have some very interesting line of outboard processors.


-The ToolMod line,
basically pieces of a big console channel strip:
http://www.adt-audio.ws/ToolModProAudioGear.html






-The ToolKit line,
to build a rackmountable line/small mixer:
http://www.adt-audio.com/UsProducts/...lMainPage.html




-The Integrator line,
build a custom console, a rack mixer or anything in between:
http://www.adt-audio.com/UsProducts/...dulesMain.html





-The premium V700 line,
same as the Integrator but with highest sonic quality, transformers and 120dB range:
http://www.adt-audio.com/UsProducts/...0MainPage.html





--------------------------------------------------------

That was just a tenth of their product lines. Anyhow, one of particular interest, specially considering their prices, is IMO the ToolMod line, see:

-€360 for a compressor module,
-€295 for a 3 band EQ
-€370 for a 5 band EQ

or €1800 for a 1U fulll channel, comprising pre, di, gate, 5band EQ and (ext) power supply unit. (the first 1U image above)




Buuuuff, so much gear, so little time! (unless you're in bet like me with flu )


Now the BIG question: has anyone tried first hand any product from this guys? Do they perform as good as they look?
Any german gearslutz care to comment? they appear to be THE central europe broadcast product provider. I'm sure every german/austrian/swiss studio, radio and tv has at least something from ADT. Isn't it?
Please, report back.

Cheers

[WEAPON_X]

the only problem with adt is, that clients often do not know what/ how adt is. for everybody else with ears, the whole product line is big time audiophile's heaven.

if i had to compare it to some other major player in console biz, i would say - yes, on par with ssl any day at least.

[Alexi]

Buuuuff, so much gear, so little time! (unless you're in bet like me with flu )


Now the BIG question: has anyone tried first hand any product from this guys? Do they perform as good as they look?
Any german gearslutz care to comment? they appear to be THE central europe broadcast product provider. I'm sure every german/austrian/swiss studio, radio and tv has at least something from ADT. Isn't it?
Please, report back.

Cheers[/quote]





the site really is terribly chaotic.............maybe it was programmed by a 12 year old which would explain all the candy colored gear

[jansens]

Well,

we`ve got such a desk since a couple of years.
It`s quite hard to judge because it's so ambivalent.
First of all: It's sounds amazing!

If you going to do some "rocky, edgy" stuff (Everything else than ultra clean )
it's a great desk.
While tracking Drums I tend to use lot of Eq and Compression.
That it's great.
To me it doesn't work that much if you need to "polish, repair" things but it's great to
"make" sound. (btw. best "line-Input distortion" I know for Gtrs)
To me it's always a little dirty.

An that's the other point of view.
If you looking for a clean i.e. Vocal sound it doesn't work for me.
Don't know about the single ChannelStrips, maybe the are different.

my2cents

[jindrich]

thx for the replies.

I wasn't referring to the consoles, but instead about the quality and sound of their outboard gear, which look fabulous and very versatile.

The fact that they are unknow to the public doesn't have to be a problem at all. After all, who the hell knows what a 500 series module is, or a pacifica, a tonelux, a shadow hills, etc etc.

so, anyone got any of the rack pieces?
Jules, I think you tried some once?


(PS: if you think the website is terrible, take a look at its code. havent's seen such awful html in decades. the modules look very neat though)

[blaugruen7]

"sam c" is an adt gearslutz heavyweight.
it should take only minutes until he enters the door.
lindell is waiting since few months for a demo of several v700 modules...
and I have just no money and use plugins.

[the russian]

I'm super interested in ADT, but can't seem to find anything about them anywhere. The web site isn't that bad (look at John Oram's) and the gear has a cool look to it. As far as it being a german version of SSL... I wish I could confirm or deny that. But when it comes to this company, I'm like most other Americans: in the dark.

[beechstudio]

The gear looks really nice! It was the pricelist on these puppys that made me go whoa...... A little pricey....

[Pat]

Here is my baby.
ADT 5 MTS 48 frame fitted with 42 channels.
I bought it new from ADT one year ago.

[dlmorley]

Originally Posted by beechstudio

The gear looks really nice! It was the pricelist on these puppys that made me go whoa......worried A little pricey....

I don't know. It's HIGHLY respected stuff. It's pretty cheap if you want some serious channel strips or some decent outboard. The desks are high end.

I used one once for a short time once and even considered getting a used one as I thought it was very good, but it was out of my budget (I think it was a used one for €25000 and I had €15000)

You are probably suffering because the dollar is bad these days. Buying ANYTHING from over here would be expensive, but I think below €400 for pre amps, EQ's and comps is pretty fair considering the features, build quality and "potential" sound. If they sound as good as the desk did, it's a very fair price.

[juicylime]

This is interesting. I work in event video and often do gigs with a guy from ADT who wants to keep me in his good books. I reckon I could get a pretty hefty discount should any of this stuff be worth chasing up. Nice!

[dubrichie]

Originally Posted by jansens

Well,

we`ve got such a desk since a couple of years.
It`s quite hard to judge because it's so ambivalent.
First of all: It's sounds amazing!

If you going to do some "rocky, edgy" stuff (Everything else than ultra clean )
it's a great desk.
While tracking Drums I tend to use lot of Eq and Compression.
That it's great.
To me it doesn't work that much if you need to "polish, repair" things but it's great to
"make" sound. (btw. best "line-Input distortion" I know for Gtrs)
To me it's always a little dirty.

An that's the other point of view.
If you looking for a clean i.e. Vocal sound it doesn't work for me.
Don't know about the single ChannelStrips, maybe the are different.

my2cents

which desk do you have?

does it have the optional transformers on the preamp inputs? if so, are these contributing to the diggin overdrive saturation you're getting?

thanks,

regards,

richie.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by jindrich

...Now the BIG question: has anyone tried first hand any product from this guys? Do they perform as good as they look?...

I actually think the gear sounds better than it looks, and it really looks good...and although that's just my opinion, everyone that I know who have used this equipment, always gives high marks and respect.

I own a bunch of ADT gear, (I just picked up my 5MT D series console this weekend), including the V700, Integrator, Toolkit, Toolmix and Toolmod systems and can verify that the system is first class. It sounds great, have a lot of control and features and the build quality is second to none.

A few of the features and some of the processing modules they offer are very unique
and you will not find them anywhere else.

If there is something specific that you wanted to know about the gear ask and I might be able to help, you can also call them and speak to Gerd, the head honcho and resident genius who's reall easy to talk to.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by jansens

Well,

we`ve got such a desk since a couple of years.
It`s quite hard to judge because it's so ambivalent.

Just curious, what model console do you have?

First of all: It's sounds amazing!

This I totally agree with.

If you going to do some "rocky, edgy" stuff (Everything else than ultra clean )
it's a great desk.
While tracking Drums I tend to use lot of Eq and Compression.
That it's great.
To me it doesn't work that much if you need to "polish, repair" things but it's great to
"make" sound. (btw. best "line-Input distortion" I know for Gtrs)
To me it's always a little dirty.

But this is the total opposite of what I know about ADT consoles and gear. The transparency of this gear is one of the first things people usually make remarks about after their first listen.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by juicylime

This is interesting. I work in event video and often do gigs with a guy from ADT who wants to keep me in his good books. I reckon I could get a pretty hefty discount should any of this stuff be worth chasing up. Nice!

Yes it's worth "chasing up"....I hardly think this guy is associated with this company. In any case, unless his name is gerd...he can't do squat for you.

[jindrich]

so Sam, just to start with,

What are the difference between the different series? mainly betwen the Toolmod, Toolkit and Integrator -because the v700 states it clear on the website. I mean, do they have similar specs and sound qualities, and just differ in the form and/or application or what?

Also, what other brand, in terms of sonic footprint, would you compare those modules to? for instance, what about the Toolmod compressor and EQ?


Why is this brand so unknown?

Can we get Gerd to the boards to ask him some questions?

thx

[Samc]

Originally Posted by jindrich

What are the difference between the different series? mainly betwen the Toolmod, Toolkit and Integrator -because the v700 states it clear on the website. I mean, do they have similar specs and sound qualities, and just differ in the form and/or application or what?

The Integrator, Toolkit and Toolmod systems are basically the same family. There is no difference in the audio performance of these units.

The big difference is in the feature set and presentation. The Toolkit offers a fixed set of processing stages, while the Toolmod offers modularity plus additional processing not available on the Toolkit.

The Integrator system is constructed with all the sophisticated control and logic circuits, frames etc which allows you to construct a console with all the standard features plus sophisticated routing. The modules themselves are also constructed differently with metal knobs, stainless steel cases etc.

Also, what other brand, in terms of sonic footprint, would you compare those modules to? for instance, what about the Toolmod compressor and EQ?

I really don't know, I judge gear on its usefullness to me....nothing else.

Why is this brand so unknown?

That's like asking me to tell you why you didn't know them...another one I can't answer.

Can we get Gerd to the boards to ask him some questions?

You can ask him that yourself, send him an email or give him a call.

[TheSweetener]

First of all, I'd propose all the American slutz to contact Gerd and ask him whatever you need to know. He knows everything about the gear and is very friendly.
The website is an adventure, right.

I've got some of the Toomod stuff. It's very clean sounding and does just what it should. The preamps are very fast and accurate and get used each time my APIs are too colourful. I've got 12db versions of the EQs (at no extra costs), which works better for me than the usual 20db. The knobs are very close to each other, so sometimes it's not that comfortable, but who cares as long as it sounds good!
ADT is one of the only companies offereing steeoversions of their stuff. I really love having stereo EQs!

[Ricey]

i for one find the site awesome. nunna that flash shite. it's just that they offer some solutions that just stop me. so much information! are there any records or engineers that are known to use these things?

[seaneldon]

well...the Integrator and V700 stuff looks RIDICULOUS. I'll give them that. Certainly wouldn't mind playing with the mic pres and eqs.

[recky]

A friend of mine owns an ancient (early 80s) ADT desk and I love tracking drums and vocals through it. While it's relatively transparent sounding, the old transformers on the input channels do add a nice thick tone, and the EQ sounds awesome! The desk pres are maybe not quite as coloured as APIs, but they definitely have 'mojo'.

I don't know much about ADT's current range, though.

Cheers,

Recky

[blaugruen7]

from what i know the colors came originally from broadcasts needs.
i think you can have different colors.
lindell posted a v700 setup which was black

[jansens]

Originally Posted by dubrichie

which desk do you have?

It's the 5MT Series D
Don't know the exact name of the Channel module, but the're the standard inline modules.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by blaugruen7

from what i know the colors came originally from broadcasts needs.

The knob colors were dictated by the German broadcast authorities (IRT), I'm surprised that no one has noticed that all the old German modules from companies like Telefunken share the same color scheme.

i think you can have different colors.
lindell posted a v700 setup which was black

That's a picture of one of my racks.

By the way, Lindell did get to test a V700 rack, I think he still has it.

[Samc]

Originally Posted by jansens

It's the 5MT Series D
Don't know the exact name of the Channel module, but the're the standard inline modules.

I have a 5MT series D console with the 105 D/C inline modules and my experience has been the total opposite to yours. Very high headroom and clean (without being sterile), which seems to be consistent with all of ADT's other consoles and gear. So I'm really surprised by your earlier post.

[blaugruen7]

Originally Posted by Samc

That's a picture of one of my racks.

wow sam,
this is amazing. i have thought lindell took the picture at some AES or something like that.
what would i give to hear this some day.

Originally Posted by Samc

By the way, Lindell did get to test a V700 rack, I think he still has it.

i hope this means we can have a review soon here at GS.

all the best,
gunnar

[DrDeltaM]

Originally Posted by blaugruen7

wow sam,
this is amazing. i have thought lindell took the picture at some AES or something like that.
what would i give to hear this some day.



i hope this means we can have a review soon here at GS.

all the best,
gunnar

Correct, that pic is from a demo Samc gave us at AES.
About reviews, I just made a little review of the ADT ToolMod system, check here:
ADT ToolMod review