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Post by kevinnyc on Mar 21, 2023 10:49:34 GMT -6
Back in the day I used to manage a studio in NYC called East Hills Studios. Beautiful place but it was a little light on outboard gear.
Hutch Hutchinson had just left Electric Lady as a tech and started a gear brokering business, and was an early evangelist of Manley Gear.
Running into him at an AES show he told me it was my order of a dual mono mic pre, an elop, 2 Pultecs and two single channel vari mu’s that started his dialog with Manley and where he ended up designing some of their coolest projects.
I’m currently considering offers for the enhanced Pultecs, serial numbers 1039 and 1040. I believe they started the serial numbers at 1000 as this was early on in Manley’s existence as a company (hence the association with Vacuum Tube Logic).
I haven’t considered yet if I’m selling the vari mu’s, dual mono mic pres or the elop yet…all of those units were within the first 10 made of each.. but I’m open to offers on the 2 enhanced Pultecs at the moment…
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Post by kevinnyc on Jan 25, 2023 8:01:56 GMT -6
The Soundskulptor CP5176, CAPI fc526 and JLM LA500 are all worth a look. I love them all. The SS and CAPI are both fet comps, with the CAPI cleaner but they both have a 2:1 ratio which (for me anyways) make them super versatile. The JLM is just about impossible to make sound bad, largely idiot proof (important to me when self tracking) and adds a sparkle/sheen I can’t get with my other comps (I’m guessing the Jensen trafos).
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Post by kevinnyc on Sept 18, 2022 16:49:44 GMT -6
Pretty much all my favs have already been mentioned love an EV n/d868 on kick! also really like the X1D (been using it on the batter side.. 'knee' position, but it seems to work well on either end.. thanks to you for that suggestion Tony) m88 and d12 also give me things I like down there.. but I'd pick the above first if I had to choose Someone also mentioned an r44ce. I love that batter side .. too afraid to place that out front. Makes me nervous enough down there as it is... but the bottom end is glorious Rented a 47fet .. had to know, but it just didn't do it for me .. the problem could be me It’s funny because I almost never hear anyone talk about the N/D 868….for years and years I wasn’t happy with anything on outside kick. The 868 just sounds right to me.
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Post by kevinnyc on Jun 24, 2021 18:26:08 GMT -6
I don't tolerate very well musicians who can't cut the gig. Or those that aren't adaptable in the studio to changing up the feel or the arrangement on the fly. Sometimes it gets the better of me. I’m right there with you...
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Post by kevinnyc on May 2, 2021 15:15:43 GMT -6
I remember reading someone’s description of the difference between the VP28 and the VP312 that felt right to me...it was something like...the 312’s sound “taller” almost as if the ceilings were higher.
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Post by kevinnyc on Apr 19, 2021 7:36:19 GMT -6
Mine showed up a couple of days ago and am half way through the build. I instantly regretted only ordering one.
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Post by kevinnyc on Mar 5, 2021 10:00:54 GMT -6
Cool info! From Tom's video, it looks like you need to have the second audio start ahead of the reference audio to get the classic flange sound. After it crosses and lags the main audio, it doesn't sound quite as cool. Can I ask, what do you need this plugin for? I ask because, if it's just for your guitar, might I suggest picking up the Strymon Deco? It's a tape based fx (flanger, chorus, saturation, slap back delay) unit in a box. It's really great for that tape-specific version of those type of fx. Matter of fact, you can also run stereo line level into it as well. So you could use it for mixing purposes as well, if so desired. Maybe you've already used one before? Either way, it's an option worth mentioning. The Deco is fantastic. Using it I get the same feeling I got as a young kid hearing an echoplex for the first time.
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Post by kevinnyc on Dec 4, 2020 10:29:17 GMT -6
Footnote: That sustained note at the end of the "Reaper" solo was augmented by a tape loop of it running during the mix down and faded up. The machine playing the loop had a piece of splicing tape on the capstan so you got that flutter effect on the note. I think that was Shelly Yakus' idea. It sustains almost 8 bars. No digital editing in those days. I’ve wondered about this for decades! 😊
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Post by kevinnyc on Dec 3, 2020 21:11:29 GMT -6
I think it should be a standard feature on compressors...along with a 2:1 ratio...
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Post by kevinnyc on Dec 3, 2020 11:32:53 GMT -6
I had a racked pair for a while. They sounded very nice. I remember on acoustic they sounded surprisingly similar to my UA LA610. Sold them, in part, to fund the start of my 500 series rabbit hole. That rabbit hole is deep....very deep.
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Post by kevinnyc on Dec 2, 2020 19:39:58 GMT -6
Make a pair of those helios cards I put on the diy forum last March. Has anyone ordered up a batch of pcbs? I think I want to make some, they look amazing!
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Post by kevinnyc on Nov 22, 2020 13:22:25 GMT -6
Curiously, Fender is having a fantastic year.
Is anyone surprised though? It’s the vulture capital way...
Find something good, suck the life out of it, leverage the shit out of it, extract massive management fees then part out the carcass...
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Post by kevinnyc on Oct 9, 2020 9:38:42 GMT -6
I have one and love it. It’s CAPI it’s gonna sound great!
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Post by kevinnyc on Sept 30, 2020 16:12:29 GMT -6
Haven't tried it but went looking for info on it just for fun. The frequency response looks a lot like the Audix D6 or the cheaper Audix F6 with a big scoop in the midrange. I think this is what I like about it. The Audix gave me too much of a good thing... The EV.....just right.
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Post by kevinnyc on Sept 30, 2020 10:32:58 GMT -6
I don’t know about the newer ND/68 but the ND/868 is my all time favorite kick drum mic. I searched forever and nothing sounded right until I stumbled onto that mic...
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Post by kevinnyc on Sept 19, 2020 10:39:58 GMT -6
Manley elop. Made everything down the line easier.
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Post by kevinnyc on May 8, 2020 17:23:54 GMT -6
I have enough CAPI pres for an entire kit but I also have the warm 412. While CAPI is my first choice I’m also really happy with the warm...the DI’s are super handy and since my VP28s don’t have di’s the warm sees lots of keys.. On a budget or not the warm is a worthy tool as part of the arsenal. How do the Warm compare to the VP28s? Do the VP28s really sound much better? I already own a pair of those. I’m afraid I’m totally biased. The VP28s are super rare in their ability to excite me. Their perfect for me. Gives me the same feeling as a refined sports car that still has murderous amounts of torque and power on tap if ever needed, and I’ll always reach for them first. How much better (or even if) is a subjective exercise in minutiae...love em both...and love both company’s inclusion of useful bells and whistles...hp filters on the CAPIs and the impedance changing tone switch on the Warms... The warm almost gets me there..I believe someone out there does a $300ish transformer upgrade but they are such good values as it I haven’t felt the need. At the end of the day though I’m thoroughly hooked on dual stage topology of the VP28 and why I think they’re king.
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Post by kevinnyc on May 8, 2020 12:30:40 GMT -6
I have enough CAPI pres for an entire kit but I also have the warm 412. While CAPI is my first choice I’m also really happy with the warm...the DI’s are super handy and since my VP28s don’t have di’s the warm sees lots of keys..
On a budget or not the warm is a worthy tool as part of the arsenal.
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Post by kevinnyc on May 1, 2020 10:10:36 GMT -6
The best producers I’ve encountered are vibe curators, creating the atmosphere in which participants naturally want to giver their best and, as importantly, are happy to do so and have fun while doing so...
Browbeating a performer into outdoing themselves is never without adverse consequences in the future I think.
Every person is unique, and finding what motivates them the most under studio conditions is an art in and of itself.
I laugh at how many times the keeper performance is the one you’ve told the vocalist you’re not recording...just letting them warm up and get in the vibe 😂.
What do I know though...some of my favorite music was born out of misery and psychological abuse 🧐
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Post by kevinnyc on Apr 30, 2020 13:18:25 GMT -6
Music is life!
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Post by kevinnyc on Apr 30, 2020 11:08:09 GMT -6
Knowing when you’ve reached the point of diminishing returns is a good skill, in life as well as engineering/production.
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Post by kevinnyc on Apr 15, 2020 15:32:33 GMT -6
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Post by kevinnyc on Jan 17, 2020 19:21:41 GMT -6
Anyone run a mic into a VP28 into another VP28 (LINE MODE) into their DAW? Yep. I’ve got 8 VP28s and 2 VP312s. I love feeding one into the other as well as feeding different pres of mine into the line mode of a 28 (ISA215/Manley/Germanium clone, etc). CAPI always gives me a feeling I want to have. And too much is never enough.
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Post by kevinnyc on Jan 17, 2020 7:17:18 GMT -6
I’m dying to hear how this project is coming along 😀
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Post by kevinnyc on Dec 6, 2019 9:43:29 GMT -6
Hats off to the engineers who artfully deal with single coil noise...recently watched a YouTube video of Jeff Beck in the studio soloing on someone else’s record...
The noise coming out of his guitar when not playing kind of shocked me how crazy loud it was...
But I guess if you want those tones...
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