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Post by nomatic on May 16, 2017 12:55:43 GMT -6
Hey folks,
I just got some CAPI BT50s together and am in love but now I need more tracking EQs.... I am curious to know from those who have heard all 3 of these units what you like as far as application with these units? (I.E. 25 for kick 40 for snare?) Do the rotary graphics sound as sweet as the 50s? I am having my tech guy build some units next week and i am having decision making problems!
Your opinions audio guru's...
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Post by drbill on May 16, 2017 13:32:36 GMT -6
I have all 3. Along with vintage 550-A1's from the 80's. They came out of Leon Russell's old API console which ultimately was reworked to become the flagship console in OHenry's iconic studio A. (IMO, one of the best rooms LA ever had, with the largest API on the west coast.) Hank sold me two of the 550A1's and offered me an entire large box of em, but I didn't have the $325 X 30 to buy the rest. (big facepalm in retrospect)
Honestly my favs are the 550-A1's. Beyond that, sonically, I prefer the LC25 first, the LC40 second, and the BT50's third. Mine (BT50's) have GAR 2520's in them which I didn't particularly care for. Moved to Rogue 5's which I like, but they were the wrong direction for the BT50's. Next up for me to try is Red Dots. I'm hoping that gets the love affair started.... Or else.......
To choose between the 25's and 40's, the 25's seem to suit my esthetic best, although the 40 just as sweet and often gets chosen when its freq.'s match up better with what I need.
Hope that helps. If I was building "two", I'd build 2 25's. My $0.02.
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Post by nomatic on May 16, 2017 14:18:15 GMT -6
Thanks DR Bill,
I have the Gar1731s in the Bt50s and I love them..... I had a 5500 and these smoke it... I am gonna go with the 25s with the 1731 and see what happens...
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Post by c0rtland on May 17, 2017 7:12:10 GMT -6
I have all 3. Along with vintage 550-A1's from the 80's. They came out of Leon Russell's old API console which ultimately was reworked to become the flagship console in OHenry's iconic studio A. (IMO, one of the best rooms LA ever had, with the largest API on the west coast.) Hank sold me two of the 550A1's and offered me an entire large box of em, but I didn't have the $325 X 30 to buy the rest. (big facepalm in retrospect) Honestly my favs are the 550-A1's. Beyond that, sonically, I prefer the LC25 first, the LC40 second, and the BT50's third. Mine (BT50's) have GAR 2520's in them which I didn't particularly care for. Moved to Rogue 5's which I like, but they were the wrong direction for the BT50's. Next up for me to try is Red Dots. I'm hoping that gets the love affair started.... Or else....... To choose between the 25's and 40's, the 25's seem to suit my esthetic best, although the 40 just as sweet and often gets chosen when its freq.'s match up better with what I need. Hope that helps. If I was building "two", I'd build 2 25's. My $0.02. Really. You like the a1's. Those are supposed to be the runt of the bunch. No proportional q, only one 2520... interesting.
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Post by kevinnyc on May 17, 2017 7:25:09 GMT -6
I can represent to you that he sometimes prefers VP26s over VP28s in instances where the additional opamp in the 28s is too thick.
Is there something wrong with that preference?
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Post by c0rtland on May 17, 2017 8:09:31 GMT -6
I can represent to you that he sometimes prefers VP26s over VP28s in instances where the additional opamp in the 28s is too thick. Is there something wrong with that preference? Oh please. Nothing wrong at all with any preference. Could really care less what people like. I'm interested in the why of it. It's always refreshing to hear different takes on gear. Actually I was wanting to hear his take on what he enjoys about them.
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Post by kevinnyc on May 17, 2017 8:29:08 GMT -6
My apologies for reading into your comment...it seemed as though you were in disbelief, and perhaps I read judgement into it where it did not exist.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 9:50:09 GMT -6
I have all 3. Along with vintage 550-A1's from the 80's. They came out of Leon Russell's old API console which ultimately was reworked to become the flagship console in OHenry's iconic studio A. (IMO, one of the best rooms LA ever had, with the largest API on the west coast.) Hank sold me two of the 550A1's and offered me an entire large box of em, but I didn't have the $325 X 30 to buy the rest. (big facepalm in retrospect) Honestly my favs are the 550-A1's. Beyond that, sonically, I prefer the LC25 first, the LC40 second, and the BT50's third. Mine (BT50's) have GAR 2520's in them which I didn't particularly care for. Moved to Rogue 5's which I like, but they were the wrong direction for the BT50's. Next up for me to try is Red Dots. I'm hoping that gets the love affair started.... Or else....... To choose between the 25's and 40's, the 25's seem to suit my esthetic best, although the 40 just as sweet and often gets chosen when its freq.'s match up better with what I need. Hope that helps. If I was building "two", I'd build 2 25's. My $0.02. Really. You like the a1's. Those are supposed to be the runt of the bunch. No proportional q, only one 2520... interesting. For me it's about the "size" and "open-ness" of the EQ's in question. Those are my thoughts. Sorry if they go contrary to traditional thought. I'm not done with the BT50's yet, but they were not completely what I expected upon usage. Keep in mind, I've been using API EQ's as my primary EQ's whenever possible for 30+ years, so I know em like the back of my hand. BTW, this has got nothing to do with 26 vs 28's. Cheers, PS - I would not call the A-1 a "runt". Not by any means. You are correct - it does not have the proportional Q, but it's a fine EQ, and it sounds more vintage, fuller, and more open than any of my other API style "alternatives" - so who's the real runt? LOL BTW, from the clips I expected more out of the 50's. Maybe the builder substituted something, or maybe Jeff changed something from when the sound clips were made (which I loved) until when the kits were sold. As I mentioned, I'm not done with em yet, but a bit surprised to be honest. As a matter of note : I've only had them a couple of months, but they are increasingly sliding down the list when I'm looking to grab and EQ. The LC's are working out awesome - especially the 25's, and I'm really happy with the detented switches as opposed to faders (which I originally thought I wanted, but now glad Jeff used switches - he knew what he was doing!!)
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Post by EmRR on May 17, 2017 10:45:37 GMT -6
drbill, you have LC53A's? And you put them where on the list?
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Post by jsteiger on May 17, 2017 11:07:44 GMT -6
Interesting that you are not loving them Doc. Hunter aka roundbadge has been selling off his newer 550A's and replacing them with BT50's. He's had nothing but praise on how they hold up against his vintage units as well.
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 17, 2017 11:22:46 GMT -6
For the BT50's, it was all about the 1731's for me.... I didn't like them nearly as much with 2520s. One of each also worked well, but dual 1731s suited my ears the best, and sounds fantastic.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 12:26:20 GMT -6
drbill, you have LC53A's? And you put them were on the list? Nope, sorry - I can't comment.
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Post by Steamy Williams on May 17, 2017 12:56:36 GMT -6
BTW, from the clips I expected more out of the 50's. Maybe the builder substituted something, or maybe Jeff changed something from when the sound clips were made (which I loved) until when the kits were sold. If you're referring to the sound clips Jeff posted on this forum, the opamps used were gar1731's. Perhaps that's why you preferred the sound of those to your ones.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 13:19:16 GMT -6
Interesting that you are not loving them Doc. Hunter aka roundbadge has been selling off his newer 550A's and replacing them with BT50's. He's had nothing but praise on how they hold up against his vintage units as well. Hi Jeff!! Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem here is. I want to try some Red Dots. Do you know what Hunter is using? Litz transformers? Which Opamps? Like I mentioned, I tried the Rogue5's and it accentuated some of the things I was not completely digging. I'm curious what Red Dots will do. You know - Hank Williams Says It Best "One man's feast is another man's grub"
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 13:20:11 GMT -6
BTW, from the clips I expected more out of the 50's. Maybe the builder substituted something, or maybe Jeff changed something from when the sound clips were made (which I loved) until when the kits were sold. If you're referring to the sound clips Jeff posted on this forum, the opamps used were gar1731's. Perhaps that's why you preferred the sound of those to your ones. Great! That gives me some direction!! Thanks.
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Post by nomatic on May 17, 2017 15:29:37 GMT -6
Hey Y'all,
My BT50s as I mentioned earlier are equipped with the gar1731's and hang toe to toe with the Eqs in the vintage API 3288 across the street from me. My builder feels the 1731s are the ticket in these EQs..... It sounds like the opamp combo is not hitting your target esthetic Dr Bill but I will say again these are ridiculous equalizers in this configuration! I am a mastering engineer by day and have 25 years behind the console and I feel shocked how great the CAPI stuff is for the price. I kinda want to see about a gain mod for a mastering pair as they slay the old 5500 subjectively. I just ordered a LC 25 from my tech and will test next week..
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Post by jsteiger on May 17, 2017 16:43:44 GMT -6
Interesting that you are not loving them Doc. Hunter aka roundbadge has been selling off his newer 550A's and replacing them with BT50's. He's had nothing but praise on how they hold up against his vintage units as well. Hi Jeff!! Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem here is. I want to try some Red Dots. Do you know what Hunter is using? Litz transformers? Which Opamps? Like I mentioned, I tried the Rogue5's and it accentuated some of the things I was not completely digging. I'm curious what Red Dots will do. You know - Hank Williams Says It Best "One man's feast is another man's grub" Yeah Hunter is red dots and Litz iron.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 16:56:19 GMT -6
Hi Jeff!! Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem here is. I want to try some Red Dots. Do you know what Hunter is using? Litz transformers? Which Opamps? Like I mentioned, I tried the Rogue5's and it accentuated some of the things I was not completely digging. I'm curious what Red Dots will do. You know - Hank Williams Says It Best "One man's feast is another man's grub" Yeah Hunter is red dots and Litz iron. Thx Jeff! I'll steal some Red Dots from my VP26's and try em out. I'm 99% sure the ones I got have Litz iron. Do you have a personal preference over Red Dots or GAR 1731's in this design?
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Post by Johnkenn on May 17, 2017 18:37:29 GMT -6
I can represent to you that he sometimes prefers VP26s over VP28s in instances where the additional opamp in the 28s is too thick. Is there something wrong with that preference? Oh please. Nothing wrong at all with any preference. Could really care less what people like. I'm interested in the why of it. It's always refreshing to hear different takes on gear. Actually I was wanting to hear his take on what he enjoys about them. There's a shootout between the BT-50, API Vintage 550 and 550A and new API 550 here on the forum...You should listen and be the judge for yourself. My experiences with them were much different than Drbill's.
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Post by nomatic on May 17, 2017 18:48:29 GMT -6
Just for discussion my units have the Litz iron........
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Post by Johnkenn on May 17, 2017 18:51:56 GMT -6
After hearing the Litz (maybe it's a placebo, IDK) I'll never go back!
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Post by nomatic on May 17, 2017 18:56:51 GMT -6
The lowed is so sick! I cranked the 50 Hz shelf on an old p bass today on a song and it was magic! I am gonna need about 10 of these for the new tracking rig........
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Post by Johnkenn on May 17, 2017 19:36:58 GMT -6
The lowed is so sick! I cranked the 50 Hz shelf on an old p bass today on a song and it was magic! I am gonna need about 10 of these for the new tracking rig........ Yeah, in comparison to the LC's, I thought the low end was a little thicker on the BT50's.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 21:26:18 GMT -6
Oh please. Nothing wrong at all with any preference. Could really care less what people like. I'm interested in the why of it. It's always refreshing to hear different takes on gear. Actually I was wanting to hear his take on what he enjoys about them. There's a shootout between the BT-50, API Vintage 550 and 550A and new API 550 here on the forum...You should listen and be the judge for yourself. My experiences with them were much different than Drbill's. My experience with the SHOOTOUT audio files was very positive. In studio, hands on, not so much. But I'm going to try Red Dots first, and then hopefully 1731's to try and change what I'm hearing.
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Post by drbill on May 17, 2017 21:29:16 GMT -6
Oh please. Nothing wrong at all with any preference. Could really care less what people like. I'm interested in the why of it. It's always refreshing to hear different takes on gear. Actually I was wanting to hear his take on what he enjoys about them. There's a shootout between the BT-50, API Vintage 550 and 550A and new API 550 here on the forum...You should listen and be the judge for yourself. My experiences with them were much different than Drbill's. My experience with the SHOOTOUT clips was very positive as well. In studio, hands on - not so much. I'm looking forward to trying Red Dots and/or 1731's though.
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