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Post by itsgoodnow on Jun 28, 2024 16:55:45 GMT -6
Hey all,
I have a Chandler curve bender and wanted to see if anyone had recommendations for a second eq to pair with it. I do more aggressive music (metal) or vibey music (nine inch nails) and wanted a second eq to help give me some sculpting options in the low and high end. I was contemplating a maag rack unit but I just wanted to see what people would use as complementary colors. I would use it for some tracking and various bus duties. Thanks.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Jun 28, 2024 20:39:38 GMT -6
Welcome to RGO, One of my underrated or often forgotten favorites for what you want is the Speck, great piece to start a 500 collection because you can buy it run it with the PSU then move it to a rack. The transformer keeps it from being sterile.
On the cheap if you have a 500 series rack the deal JK found on the Harrison is interesting, haven’t heard it but I lived behind a Alive for a bit owned a Raven and knew the one at Smart.
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Post by drumsound on Jun 28, 2024 20:42:44 GMT -6
Maybe a GML if you want to stay 'high class.'
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Post by Blackdawg on Jun 28, 2024 22:43:53 GMT -6
High voltage Audio NEQ
Or if you want cheaper but still awesome the EQ6-s from them is great.
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Jun 29, 2024 0:51:35 GMT -6
^^This^^
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Post by Dan on Jun 29, 2024 6:57:20 GMT -6
Heavy music? You cannot beat API style for midrange pop. API 5500 for bus. I cannot think of anything else stereo, switched, and API off the top of my head. Whatever you want API style for tracks. If you want to make tracks sit, there are a ton of lower fidelity eqs starting out at the 300 dollar DBX 530 and going up in price to whatever. The Speck EQs ericn mentioned give you the option for pristine sound or a transformer. But honesty though, you have your color broader eq. get a good eq plug that runs the filters at a decent sample rate where it doesn’t have to warp them. Softube Weiss EQ1 and TDR Slick EQ M are favorites. This is what I would do because heavy music comes in fucked up. If you want the api curves and not the sound you can get them from waves, McDSP channel G, Softube American Class A, while the UAD Vision always has the sound of recent API. There are also the PSP Avedis E27 and Fuse VQA-154 that sound great. Or you could get their relatively inexpensive hardware… |
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Post by sean on Jun 29, 2024 7:14:01 GMT -6
API 5500 or 5502 comes to mind as well as the Iron Age Audio V2.
Cleaner, sweepable options have been mentioned but the Tonelux Equalux might be worth as well.
The High Voltage Audio EQ6S is wonderful and a great sweetener but pretty limited in frequency choices. But it can really take a mix from close to done sometimes.
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Post by paulcheeba on Jun 29, 2024 7:22:28 GMT -6
Avalon 2055 is the most complimentary I’ve heard. Get a used one.
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ericn
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Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,084
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Post by ericn on Jun 29, 2024 7:59:38 GMT -6
Heavy music? You cannot beat API style for midrange pop. API 5500 for bus. I cannot think of anything else stereo, switched, and API off the top of my head. Whatever you want API style for tracks. If you want to make tracks sit, there are a ton of lower fidelity eqs starting out at the 300 dollar DBX 530 and going up in price to whatever. The Speck EQs ericn mentioned give you the option for pristine sound or a transformer. But honesty though, you have your color broader eq. get a good eq plug that runs the filters at a decent sample rate where it doesn’t have to warp them. Softube Weiss EQ1 and TDR Slick EQ M are favorites. This is what I would do because heavy music comes in fucked up. If you want the api curves and not the sound you can get them from waves, McDSP channel G, Softube American Class A, while the UAD Vision always has the sound of recent API. There are also the PSP Avedis E27 and Fuse VQA-154 that sound great. Or you could get their relatively inexpensive hardware… m The API is the tone of Heavy music, but everything I love about it as a tone monster limits it as a general problem solver, would love to live behind a desk full of them as long as I have a couple of clean parametrics or sweeps that are going to let me get right at the problem. |
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Post by sean on Jun 29, 2024 8:15:06 GMT -6
Avalon 2055 is the most complimentary I’ve heard. Get a used one. Yes x 10, love ours. |
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Post by Dan on Jun 29, 2024 9:19:12 GMT -6
Heavy music? You cannot beat API style for midrange pop. API 5500 for bus. I cannot think of anything else stereo, switched, and API off the top of my head. Whatever you want API style for tracks. If you want to make tracks sit, there are a ton of lower fidelity eqs starting out at the 300 dollar DBX 530 and going up in price to whatever. The Speck EQs ericn mentioned give you the option for pristine sound or a transformer. But honesty though, you have your color broader eq. get a good eq plug that runs the filters at a decent sample rate where it doesn’t have to warp them. Softube Weiss EQ1 and TDR Slick EQ M are favorites. This is what I would do because heavy music comes in fucked up. If you want the api curves and not the sound you can get them from waves, McDSP channel G, Softube American Class A, while the UAD Vision always has the sound of recent API. There are also the PSP Avedis E27 and Fuse VQA-154 that sound great. Or you could get their relatively inexpensive hardware… m The API is the tone of Heavy music, but everything I love about it as a tone monster limits it as a general problem solver, would love to live behind a desk full of them as long as I have a couple of clean parametrics or sweeps that are going to let me get right at the problem. to get the most out of broader, vibier eqs, you need multiple channels to play the filters against one another to get sounds you wouldn’t get by a surgical eq alone. This usually requires a stereo unit, board, or plugin. The PSP Avedis E27 present this to the user with a x2 button. Otherwise, you’re not going to be able to do much besides cut the box, add a push, use the shelves to change the tone a little bit because small moves on api are so broad (like bigger moves on neve) Some of the better than Fabfilter eqs can pretty much sound invisible and you can get away with stupid cuts and shelves. Playing out with the MDWEQ made me realize this and the Softube Weiss EQ MP is faster and cleaner. Using it feels console like with a computer, more than the console 1 with the physical knobs adjusting analog models (cool but no cigar and the Weiss one is annoyingly limited vs the real plugs) or fabfilter with the nice gui but the not nice sound. |
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Post by spacecowboy on Jun 29, 2024 10:45:22 GMT -6
If you’re doing rock you gotta look at API. And if you’re looking at a 5500 you gotta check out the Iron Age V2.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 29, 2024 11:04:14 GMT -6
That Iron Age V2 looks to be very nice.
Shame it doesn't have a 160Hz band - that's a very important band to have available, especially for cutting and clearing
up low mids - prosumer playback system struggle big time with that band.
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Post by Darren Boling on Jun 29, 2024 11:45:52 GMT -6
If you do go for API 5500 try the CAPI CA-0252's in it. I'm a broken record on this but man do they make that EQ more awesome.
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Post by ab101 on Jun 29, 2024 12:12:43 GMT -6
Custom Audio Germany (CAG) makes some nice gml-ish eqs. I would think it would compliment the Chandler.
Also, the Zahl eq-1.
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Post by christophert on Jun 29, 2024 13:32:05 GMT -6
Custom Audio Germany (CAG) makes some nice gml-ish eqs. I would think it would compliment the Chandler. Also, the Zahl eq-1. Yes - the CAG-250 is amazing for tracking / mixing / mastering / MS |
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Post by kbsmoove on Jun 29, 2024 14:32:52 GMT -6
also doing lots of metal over here - and another vote for the 5500 or the iron age V2. love the 5500 on individual tracks (mainly drum shells and bass guitar) and drum bus, love the V2 on individual tracks (guitars, overheads, vocals) and 2mix. both get used on every record i do. i find the 5500 so useful on mix that i bought a pair of 550Bs to have more channels.
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Post by deaconblues on Jun 30, 2024 8:48:12 GMT -6
Custom Audio Germany (CAG) makes some nice gml-ish eqs. I would think it would compliment the Chandler. Also, the Zahl eq-1. +1. I pair the Zähl EQ1 with my more colorful eq's frequently. The low end control is excellent thanks to the overlapping frequencies. I have used it on a few metal projects to keep the low end under control / coherent. |
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Post by smashlord on Jun 30, 2024 14:55:27 GMT -6
API 5500 is what you want. Killer on heavy guitars and drums. Tight low end on mix buss.
FWIW, I also have the Maag. Air band lives up to the hype, but a friend, who has the earlier NTI unit, and I were talking yesterday about how the other EQ points are weird and often tough to find an application for. I think you'd get much more mileage out of the API.
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Post by kbsmoove on Jun 30, 2024 16:16:02 GMT -6
API 5500 is what you want. Killer on heavy guitars and drums. Tight low end on mix buss. i have a hard time with the 5500 on heavy guitars. usually i want a small boost somewhere from 1.5-5k and the 5500 just sounds so scratchy to me - i'm hoping an opamp swap will help. low and low mid boosts are absolute smashers though. |
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ericn
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Balance Engineer
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Post by ericn on Jun 30, 2024 17:53:34 GMT -6
API 5500 is what you want. Killer on heavy guitars and drums. Tight low end on mix buss. i have a hard time with the 5500 on heavy guitars. usually i want a small boost somewhere from 1.5-5k and the 5500 just sounds so scratchy to me - i'm hoping an opamp swap will help. low and low mid boosts are absolute smashers though. Yeah the thing with modern API is it always leaves me wanting CAPI, cause I want that old API tone of the opamp and transformer.. |
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Post by ab101 on Jun 30, 2024 19:46:02 GMT -6
The new Drawmer 1971 may work for this.
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Post by smashlord on Jun 30, 2024 21:11:30 GMT -6
API 5500 is what you want. Killer on heavy guitars and drums. Tight low end on mix buss. i have a hard time with the 5500 on heavy guitars. usually i want a small boost somewhere from 1.5-5k and the 5500 just sounds so scratchy to me - i'm hoping an opamp swap will help. low and low mid boosts are absolute smashers though. I like the 3 kHz band a lot on it for guitars. Since its wide, you are bringing up that annoying 4kHz range a bit, but nothing a little notch can't solve ITB. i have a hard time with the 5500 on heavy guitars. usually i want a small boost somewhere from 1.5-5k and the 5500 just sounds so scratchy to me - i'm hoping an opamp swap will help. low and low mid boosts are absolute smashers though. Yeah the thing with modern API is it always leaves me wanting CAPI, cause I want that old API tone of the opamp and transformer.. I own a lot of modern API and CAPI stuff. I don't find one to be any better or worse than the other. Different maybe in some aspects, but both are great (except on vocals. Hard pass on both on that application). I actually think the transformers in some of the CAPI stuff can be a little much sometimes. I love the VP28 PTs on drums, bass, and acoustics...fat...but much prefer API 312s on distorted guitars. The CAPI just rounds off what little attack they have to begin a little toooooooo much. As far as the EQs go, the BT550s are nice, but so is having 1/2db increments of adjustment with the 5500. |
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Post by vintagelove on Jul 2, 2024 9:33:40 GMT -6
The GML is my favorite, but I was pleasantly surprised by the API. Both of these alongside a curvebender FWIW.
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