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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 6:14:23 GMT -6
What's inside Zulu? You know if it's cool to ask Cheers Wiz Illocov's workshop .... Zulu workings ......
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Post by illacov on Jan 1, 2017 8:50:43 GMT -6
What's inside Zulu? You know if it's cool to ask Cheers Wiz Custom Altran transformers. High quality film capacitors, 1% resistors, 8 rotary switches, 2 slide switches, Neutrik XLR jacks, flat ribbon interconnect cables, 4 circuit boards. Military Epoxy and a great deal of hard work and patience. Everything in Zulu is electronically assembled via through hole assembly, no SMD/SMT. Our units ship with a warranty. Thanks -L.
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Post by wiz on Jan 1, 2017 16:26:18 GMT -6
What's inside Zulu? You know if it's cool to ask Cheers Wiz Illocov's workshop .... Zulu workings ...... I just love steampunk.... wish gear came like that. cheers Wiz
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Post by illacov on Jan 1, 2017 16:56:26 GMT -6
Illocov's workshop .... Zulu workings ...... I just love steampunk.... wish gear came like that. cheers Wiz Who you callin a punk? LOL Thanks -L.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 17:51:11 GMT -6
Just so I understand the passive aspect of this - does it need an external preamp such as a mic pre to drive it? I'm trying to get my head around where the transformers come in. Thanks.
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Post by illacov on Jan 2, 2017 8:55:16 GMT -6
Just so I understand the passive aspect of this - does it need an external preamp such as a mic pre to drive it? I'm trying to get my head around where the transformers come in. Thanks. You can use a Mic preamp to drive it if you want to, but it's not a requirement. Zulu has no issue working off the outputs of your DA and back into the AD on your system. Using the microphone preamp to drive Zulu is a technique that we discovered while testing Zulu's readiness for tracking (a major concern of mine). Using Zulu into a mic preamp as well was us trying all the different ways you can use a passive device without the same concerns you'd have for an active device. (More on this to come!) The transformers are custom designed by Altran to offer lush harmonic content and excellent frequency response under load. As well the transformers offer a balanced input and output section along with their enhanced frequency response. As far as how they come into play, the transformers are integral to the sound of Zulu. As far as how they work with Zulu to create the tape effect, that's my trade secret. But I'll reiterate this for you. If you run signal into Zulu's inputs from your DA and then patch Zulu's outputs to your computers AD, you'll get signal back. Average loss (without use of the Enhance control) is 6 -10db depending on how hot you go into Zulu. Once you start dialing in the Enhance control, you gain level back (thus experiencing less loss) along with increased transient response and an increase in detail circa the 4k range and beyond, plus some delicious extra extra bass. This is when you are in a DA to AD patch. IF you tried the same patch but used a mic preamp to drive Zulu, your loss can be as low as 3db and even closer to 1db when using the Enhance control. During printing this insane! Use your mic preamps like crayons to color the audio along with Zulu to keep it reel analog. IF you patch a microphone preamp AFTER Zulu then your loss is 0 but you also have to gain stage accordingly since you can go louder than the source and brighter than the source via the Enhance control in this configuration (HX or EX mode is recommended for this). We originally discovered this with a Mackie preamp. It offers superb depth and some gorgeous harmonic content that's amazing for mixes and especially for mastering. I'd recalled reading some time back how folks modified their tape decks to have a repro amp bypass whereby they could use a different amplifier to make up the gain after the repro head, often to far more desirable results. So while this is not the same concept, it is completely inspired by it and I developed Zulu's calibration control and output stage to react in a similar fashion, whereby you can get different reactions from Zulu by coupling different microphone preamps with it. As well FYI, you can run a microphone preamp into Zulu and have another mic preamp following Zulu. Talk about thick yet open. My partner at Handsome Audio (Tod), he parks a TK Audio BC1 at the top of his chain, feeds the output of the BC1 into Zulu, oftentimes slamming the inputs of Zulu with the active makeup gain on the compressor and then uses a microphone preamp after Zulu set to HX mode (Yamaha PM2K or whatever he chooses for the record). The result of these chains and techniques is just mind boggling. There's also a special technique we developed during a demo for one of our Zulu artist candidates that we will release after Zulu comes out. Pretty insane sounding and beyond. All in all, it should present no true issues in a typical studio environment, it works as a regular in and out patch, as a go between during tracking (before the AD but after the mic preamp or compressor or EQ etc..) and even functions as an insert on your console (you'll need the right cabling obviously!). If you've used a compressor before with your computer or used a console with it, this is far less complicated but far richer and more rewarding. In the process of inventing what I feel is an amazing tape emulator, I also developed one of the best damn buss processors around. Use Zulu wherever you reach for a compressor or an EQ during mixing and see how you feel about ITB compression and EQ after that. I use the most generic stuff in my plugin folder to mix now, because I get all my harmonic content and depth from Zulu. Most times ReaEQ, Classic Compressor, some Variety of Sound stuff for kicks but that will change once my GA Comp2A is finally in my hands (and the 3A too) expecting mods for them. I also have a custom 1073 headed here that I will be making a matched pair with. Should be pretty sweet to have that matched up with Zulu during printing and mixing. A Neve Tape Deck So just to clarify you DO NOT have to use any pres to drive Zulu or make up gain with it. But you have to find your own path with it. There are sonic finger prints to each of these techniques. Each one is different from the next and like all gear, they all work best for certain scenarios better than in others. But, if you have microphone preamps, compressors, do use them during your mixes and do experiment with connecting them with Zulu. You'll discover many new things about your latest purchase Thanks -L.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2017 14:16:20 GMT -6
Thanks for such a comprehensive reply. I was wondering about the gain staging, but see how there are a ton of options. Can't wait.
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Post by BradM on Jan 2, 2017 14:18:13 GMT -6
Langston,
I just caught up on all the messages in the thread regarding the product imagery. I'm curious what the prototype looked like. It sounds like there were various beta units out for evaluation. Any pictures of that floating around? It's always fun to see the evolution of a product from concept to production. It can give a cool insight into the design process.
I hope the rest of the manufacturing process goes smoothly!
Happy new year,
Brad
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Post by illacov on Jan 2, 2017 17:36:42 GMT -6
Langston, I just caught up on all the messages in the thread regarding the product imagery. I'm curious what the prototype looked like. It sounds like there were various beta units out for evaluation. Any pictures of that floating around? It's always fun to see the evolution of a product from concept to production. It can give a cool insight into the design process. I hope the rest of the manufacturing process goes smoothly! Happy new year, Brad Happy New Year Brad! I'm attaching a picture of the original platform for the prototype. This is before we adopted the transformers. The sound of these units was impressive to our Beta testers/Handsome Audio Endorsers, but these units had a fixed headroom, variable pots, no calibration circuit to speak of and we were calling the Enhance circuit "Contour." I remember buying these cloned Fuzzface (?) cases off ebay. I gave these out to people wrapped in Handsome Audio T shirts. I still dig the t shirts but we moved on from these tiny cases to a much larger platform. More room for parts and such. I'm twisting my electro mechanical guy's arm to get me a 3D render with our silkscreen artwork on the final case design (which is huge compared to these tiny cases we started out on). I do have good word that my trip to the factory will be coming soon! Thanks -L
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Post by illacov on Jan 3, 2017 15:20:24 GMT -6
As promised, here is a photo grid depicting our latest 3D renders with our artwork and also the real world 18 gauge steel case, powder coated in our Retro Beige green color on it's way to the silk screen shop! Tag your friends. (Click the photo it gets bigger, still don't know the ins and outs of this newfangled website forum). Thanks -L.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 15:51:53 GMT -6
Gas like jumping jack flash
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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 4, 2017 22:18:34 GMT -6
Just so I understand the passive aspect of this - does it need an external preamp such as a mic pre to drive it? I'm trying to get my head around where the transformers come in. Thanks. You can use a Mic preamp to drive it if you want to, but it's not a requirement. Zulu has no issue working off the outputs of your DA and back into the AD on your system. Using the microphone preamp to drive Zulu is a technique that we discovered while testing Zulu's readiness for tracking (a major concern of mine). Using Zulu into a mic preamp as well was us trying all the different ways you can use a passive device without the same concerns you'd have for an active device. (More on this to come!) The transformers are custom designed by Altran to offer lush harmonic content and excellent frequency response under load. As well the transformers offer a balanced input and output section along with their enhanced frequency response. As far as how they come into play, the transformers are integral to the sound of Zulu. As far as how they work with Zulu to create the tape effect, that's my trade secret. But I'll reiterate this for you. If you run signal into Zulu's inputs from your DA and then patch Zulu's outputs to your computers AD, you'll get signal back. Average loss (without use of the Enhance control) is 6 -10db depending on how hot you go into Zulu. Once you start dialing in the Enhance control, you gain level back (thus experiencing less loss) along with increased transient response and an increase in detail circa the 4k range and beyond, plus some delicious extra extra bass. This is when you are in a DA to AD patch. IF you tried the same patch but used a mic preamp to drive Zulu, your loss can be as low as 3db and even closer to 1db when using the Enhance control. During printing this insane! Use your mic preamps like crayons to color the audio along with Zulu to keep it reel analog. IF you patch a microphone preamp AFTER Zulu then your loss is 0 but you also have to gain stage accordingly since you can go louder than the source and brighter than the source via the Enhance control in this configuration (HX or EX mode is recommended for this). We originally discovered this with a Mackie preamp. It offers superb depth and some gorgeous harmonic content that's amazing for mixes and especially for mastering. I'd recalled reading some time back how folks modified their tape decks to have a repro amp bypass whereby they could use a different amplifier to make up the gain after the repro head, often to far more desirable results. So while this is not the same concept, it is completely inspired by it and I developed Zulu's calibration control and output stage to react in a similar fashion, whereby you can get different reactions from Zulu by coupling different microphone preamps with it. As well FYI, you can run a microphone preamp into Zulu and have another mic preamp following Zulu. Talk about thick yet open. My partner at Handsome Audio (Tod), he parks a TK Audio BC1 at the top of his chain, feeds the output of the BC1 into Zulu, oftentimes slamming the inputs of Zulu with the active makeup gain on the compressor and then uses a microphone preamp after Zulu set to HX mode (Yamaha PM2K or whatever he chooses for the record). The result of these chains and techniques is just mind boggling. There's also a special technique we developed during a demo for one of our Zulu artist candidates that we will release after Zulu comes out. Pretty insane sounding and beyond. All in all, it should present no true issues in a typical studio environment, it works as a regular in and out patch, as a go between during tracking (before the AD but after the mic preamp or compressor or EQ etc..) and even functions as an insert on your console (you'll need the right cabling obviously!). If you've used a compressor before with your computer or used a console with it, this is far less complicated but far richer and more rewarding. In the process of inventing what I feel is an amazing tape emulator, I also developed one of the best damn buss processors around. Use Zulu wherever you reach for a compressor or an EQ during mixing and see how you feel about ITB compression and EQ after that. I use the most generic stuff in my plugin folder to mix now, because I get all my harmonic content and depth from Zulu. Most times ReaEQ, Classic Compressor, some Variety of Sound stuff for kicks but that will change once my GA Comp2A is finally in my hands (and the 3A too) expecting mods for them. I also have a custom 1073 headed here that I will be making a matched pair with. Should be pretty sweet to have that matched up with Zulu during printing and mixing. A Neve Tape Deck So just to clarify you DO NOT have to use any pres to drive Zulu or make up gain with it. But you have to find your own path with it. There are sonic finger prints to each of these techniques. Each one is different from the next and like all gear, they all work best for certain scenarios better than in others. But, if you have microphone preamps, compressors, do use them during your mixes and do experiment with connecting them with Zulu. You'll discover many new things about your latest purchase Thanks -L. cdn.niketalk.com/9/98/900x900px-LL-98b1f6d9_transformer-boner.gif
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Post by illacov on Jan 9, 2017 9:17:00 GMT -6
While I get my travel plans situated, I figured I'd share a clip from an album that saw Zulu on the 2 buss. This album was recorded at Evergroove Studio with Alan Evans of Soulive at the helm producing and later on mixing. The band's name is Shakewell and I'm posting my favorite song off the EP they recorded with Zulu. Fun fact, they produced the tracking session while monitoring through Zulu. This helped them to sculpt the tones and sounds they wanted in context of what their Zulu told them sounded best. Mic placement framed by tape in advance but with 0 latency. I believe the pre's were on the cleaner side (Sound Tracs console?) and Alan mixed this at his studio with Zulu on the 2 buss. Thanks -L.
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Post by illacov on Jan 9, 2017 9:21:29 GMT -6
And my new favorite by this band Shakewell, produced with Zulu. HOLY SH*T. Produced by Alan Evans of Soulive. FUNKAY. Dear God the tape vibes!! The bass how it shakes my soul.
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Post by wiz on Jan 9, 2017 16:37:20 GMT -6
While I get my travel plans situated, I figured I'd share a clip from an album that saw Zulu on the 2 buss. This album was recorded at Evergroove Studio with Alan Evans of Soulive at the helm producing and later on mixing. The band's name is Shakewell and I'm posting my favorite song off the EP they recorded with Zulu. Fun fact, they produced the tracking session while monitoring through Zulu. This helped them to sculpt the tones and sounds they wanted in context of what their Zulu told them sounded best. Mic placement framed by tape in advance but with 0 latency. I believe the pre's were on the cleaner side (Sound Tracs console?) and Alan mixed this at his studio with Zulu on the 2 buss. Thanks -L. Great sound.... width for days... I am digging it... cheers Wiz
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Post by wiz on Jan 9, 2017 16:38:56 GMT -6
Those songs are good example of the "Black Curtain" I was talking about in another thread... how the silence is black and makes stuff pop and sound expensive...
great stuff
cheers
Wiz
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Post by illacov on Jan 11, 2017 20:05:28 GMT -6
And as promised, here is the finished case for Zulu. It still needs to be populated with internals and screwed together but I will be heading to our facilities and getting full production model pictures and video. Feast your eyes on this beauty! Thanks -L
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Post by wiz on Jan 11, 2017 20:07:02 GMT -6
sooo... pony up info about the multitrack version... 8)
this one is stereo yes?
cheers
Wiz
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Post by illacov on Jan 11, 2017 20:20:15 GMT -6
sooo... pony up info about the multitrack version... 8) this one is stereo yes? cheers Wiz Yes this is a stereo version. Multi-track will feature the same Zulu controls as the stereo version, but slightly simplified for faster ease of use during tracking and as well all rack versions of Zulu will be fully modular. This means that if you opt to buy the stereo rack version, it can be converted into an 8 channel version by sending it back in for an upgrade or a 16 channel if you opt to go for the grand slam. Our rack platform will be housed in a modular 3U case, this is to accommodate our 2 channel and 8/16 channel layout. The 2 channel version will feature our standard knobs and settings, the 8 and 16 will utilize slightly smaller knobs and rotary switches (same quality) to fit the Zulu channels in a vertical layout along with the calibration control for each channel (a golden control during recording). Because we developed Zulu from day 1 to be a modular assembly system, our largest obstacle at this point is simply making a new controller board layout (pretty straight forward since the remainder of our boards will work for the rack box) and getting our panel layout for the front and back of Zulu R (rack) and Zulu M (multitrack) completed. Expect the same smokin retro look. Promotional pricing for the rack will be $750 and full retail will be $1000. Stereo unit. Multitrack pricing is TBA, but expect a great price for 8 or 16 channels! Thanks -L.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 11, 2017 21:00:44 GMT -6
What's the pricing on the one pictured?
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Post by illacov on Jan 11, 2017 21:32:32 GMT -6
What's the pricing on the one pictured? d Thats the unit we have on promotion for $400. Once the slots for promo are filled its $750 full price. It measures 6" wide by 9" long and at its tallest its 4" tall. Thanks -L.
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Post by Quint on Jan 11, 2017 21:50:27 GMT -6
sooo... pony up info about the multitrack version... 8) this one is stereo yes? cheers Wiz Yes this is a stereo version. Multi-track will feature the same Zulu controls as the stereo version, but slightly simplified for faster ease of use during tracking and as well all rack versions of Zulu will be fully modular. This means that if you opt to buy the stereo rack version, it can be converted into an 8 channel version by sending it back in for an upgrade or a 16 channel if you opt to go for the grand slam. Our rack platform will be housed in a modular 3U case, this is to accommodate our 2 channel and 8/16 channel layout. The 2 channel version will feature our standard knobs and settings, the 8 and 16 will utilize slightly smaller knobs and rotary switches (same quality) to fit the Zulu channels in a vertical layout along with the calibration control for each channel (a golden control during recording). Because we developed Zulu from day 1 to be a modular assembly system, our largest obstacle at this point is simply making a new controller board layout (pretty straight forward since the remainder of our boards will work for the rack box) and getting our panel layout for the front and back of Zulu R (rack) and Zulu M (multitrack) completed. Expect the same smokin retro look. Promotional pricing for the rack will be $750 and full retail will be $1000. Stereo unit. Multitrack pricing is TBA, but expect a great price for 8 or 16 channels! Thanks -L. Can you further describe how the stereo rack version is upgraded and converted to the 8/16 channel version?
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Post by illacov on Jan 11, 2017 22:19:01 GMT -6
Yes this is a stereo version. Multi-track will feature the same Zulu controls as the stereo version, but slightly simplified for faster ease of use during tracking and as well all rack versions of Zulu will be fully modular. This means that if you opt to buy the stereo rack version, it can be converted into an 8 channel version by sending it back in for an upgrade or a 16 channel if you opt to go for the grand slam. Our rack platform will be housed in a modular 3U case, this is to accommodate our 2 channel and 8/16 channel layout. The 2 channel version will feature our standard knobs and settings, the 8 and 16 will utilize slightly smaller knobs and rotary switches (same quality) to fit the Zulu channels in a vertical layout along with the calibration control for each channel (a golden control during recording). Because we developed Zulu from day 1 to be a modular assembly system, our largest obstacle at this point is simply making a new controller board layout (pretty straight forward since the remainder of our boards will work for the rack box) and getting our panel layout for the front and back of Zulu R (rack) and Zulu M (multitrack) completed. Expect the same smokin retro look. Promotional pricing for the rack will be $750 and full retail will be $1000. Stereo unit. Multitrack pricing is TBA, but expect a great price for 8 or 16 channels! Thanks -L. Can you further describe how the stereo rack version is upgraded and converted to the 8/16 channel version? You ideally would mail it back in to us for the upgrade. Front face plate comes off, ribbon cables to controller board unplugged. We replace the stereo face plate with a multi-channel face plate. If you order an upgrade to 8 channels, we install 3 more tape opamps. We install 8 channels worth of Zulu M controller boards. There will be cutouts on the faceplate for the other 8 channels. Ribbon cables are installed to connect the controller boards. Output section will come setup in a similar way for adding io boards (Neutrik XLR). Each rack case will come additional mounting points for tape opamps. There are enough for 16 channels of Zulu. Even if you have just a stereo unit, the other mounting points are fabbed into your rack case. After we make these add ons happen, the case goes back together, new knobs go on your Zulu and it goes back to you. You'd obviously pay an upgrade fee, but it would be less money than buying a 16 channel unit from scratch. Overall its designed to be a very fast turn around process. Thanks -L.
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Post by donr on Jan 11, 2017 22:44:34 GMT -6
Langston, your stereo promo buyers are crying for production units. Well, I am..
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
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Post by ericn on Jan 11, 2017 22:56:57 GMT -6
Langston, your stereo promo buyers are crying for production units. Well, I am.. I'm crying to hear what you think!
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