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Post by thehightenor on Mar 27, 2023 14:47:00 GMT -6
I looked at this unit and the 2A3 after buying the Retro STA Level, I thought they sounded great, in the end
I bought the Thermionic Phoenix MP and Swift EQ at they suited my productions better, but I think all the Retro gear
is class leading, they are at the very top of the outboard processing tree imho.
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Post by seawell on Mar 27, 2023 14:55:46 GMT -6
I looked at this unit and the 2A3 after buying the Retro STA Level, I thought they sounded great, in the end I bought the Thermionic Phoenix MP and Swift EQ at they suited my productions better, but I think all the Retro gear is class leading, they are at the very top of the outboard processing tree imho. How did the 2A3 compare to the Swift? I tried the 2A3 for Mix Buss but it was a little too much color for what I was looking for. |
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Post by drsax on Mar 27, 2023 17:46:20 GMT -6
I finally got a chance to demo one last week! It was such a joy to use, I got lost in it and shot an hour long video 🤣. Had to edit it down but here it is: well done man. Dig your reviews 🙌 |
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Post by thehightenor on Mar 28, 2023 1:02:07 GMT -6
I looked at this unit and the 2A3 after buying the Retro STA Level, I thought they sounded great, in the end I bought the Thermionic Phoenix MP and Swift EQ at they suited my productions better, but I think all the Retro gear is class leading, they are at the very top of the outboard processing tree imho. How did the 2A3 compare to the Swift?  I tried the 2A3 for Mix Buss but it was a little too much color for what I was looking for.  Exactly that, too much colour for my taste and production goals. The Swift is much more controlled and detailed yet still broad (not precise like a parametric) The Swift has an active Bax hi/low shelf, passive Pultec style inductor mids, and a beautiful air band. It’s secret weapon is the Vic Keary Presence control that dials in a really unique thing - I love it - just a touch is enough. It’s not toobey sounding as a unit - very subtle and a very wide bandwidth. I bought the balanced version as it plays so nice paired with the Thermionic Phoenix MP. I like Dave Gilmour, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Sting (I’m old too  ) and these units give that big, wide, 3D, top to bottom production sound I love so much. I think it’s the very wide bandwidth that does it, it’s why I add in the Roll Music RMS755 VCA before the Phoenix as it also has a really wide bandwidth. It’s a big sound - keeps me on my toes mixing, well it will, these units are new to me and the album I’m currently working on will be the first time I’ve used them on my own music. Which stereo EQ did you end up using? |
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Post by Ward on Mar 28, 2023 6:16:02 GMT -6
Anyone notice the L/R balance skews right when the Revolver comes in on the electric guitar in the Vintage King demo? Common amongst stereo vari-mu. Painstakingly matched GR tubes will minimize that….and they may drift out of match before long. May drift? Will usually drift. I’ve experienced this with many pieces of stereo gear not limited to vacuum tubes. Diodes can change over time. So can mosfets. Maybe not as much… but it can happen. Everything eventually decays. |
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Post by seawell on Mar 28, 2023 6:38:15 GMT -6
How did the 2A3 compare to the Swift?  I tried the 2A3 for Mix Buss but it was a little too much color for what I was looking for.  Exactly that, too much colour for my taste and production goals. The Swift is much more controlled and detailed yet still broad (not precise like a parametric) The Swift has an active Bax hi/low shelf, passive Pultec style inductor mids, and a beautiful air band. It’s secret weapon is the Vic Keary Presence control that dials in a really unique thing - I love it - just a touch is enough. It’s not toobey sounding as a unit - very subtle and a very wide bandwidth. I bought the balanced version as it plays so nice paired with the Thermionic Phoenix MP. I like Dave Gilmour, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Sting (I’m old too ) and these units give that big, wide, 3D, top to bottom production sound I love so much. I think it’s the very wide bandwidth that does it, it’s why I add in the Roll Music RMS755 VCA before the Phoenix as it also has a really wide bandwidth. It’s a big sound - keeps me on my toes mixing, well it will, these units are new to me and the album I’m currently working on will be the first time I’ve used them on my own music. Which stereo EQ did you end up using? Thanks for sharing, that sounds like something I need to try! I ended up going with an Avalon AD2055 but it was a bit too far the other direction(clean). Great piece but I’d like to eventually land somewhere in the middle. |
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Post by thehightenor on Mar 28, 2023 12:56:54 GMT -6
Exactly that, too much colour for my taste and production goals. The Swift is much more controlled and detailed yet still broad (not precise like a parametric) The Swift has an active Bax hi/low shelf, passive Pultec style inductor mids, and a beautiful air band. It’s secret weapon is the Vic Keary Presence control that dials in a really unique thing - I love it - just a touch is enough. It’s not toobey sounding as a unit - very subtle and a very wide bandwidth. I bought the balanced version as it plays so nice paired with the Thermionic Phoenix MP. I like Dave Gilmour, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Sting (I’m old too ) and these units give that big, wide, 3D, top to bottom production sound I love so much. I think it’s the very wide bandwidth that does it, it’s why I add in the Roll Music RMS755 VCA before the Phoenix as it also has a really wide bandwidth. It’s a big sound - keeps me on my toes mixing, well it will, these units are new to me and the album I’m currently working on will be the first time I’ve used them on my own music. Which stereo EQ did you end up using? Thanks for sharing, that sounds like something I need to try! I ended up going with an Avalon AD2055 but it was a bit too far the other direction(clean). Great piece but I’d like to eventually land somewhere in the middle. The Swift might get you to that place. I have a Millennia EQ and it's very clean (like your Avalon) - it's really nice but not my ideal for the stereo mix bus - The Swift is exactly my kind of stereo mix bus EQ - it could of been designed for me personally :-) |
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) and these units give that big, wide, 3D, top to bottom production sound I love so much.
