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Post by forgotteng on Sept 19, 2015 19:16:37 GMT -6
Thank you John. Good to be here. Seems civil so far.
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Post by kcatthedog on Sept 21, 2015 19:30:31 GMT -6
new D 864 vari mu comp is shipping to day !
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Post by Martin John Butler on Sept 21, 2015 22:21:59 GMT -6
Can't wait to hear more about this thing. I've been so happy with the D4 preamp, it's a good bet this will be something special.
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Post by LesC on Sept 23, 2015 11:00:15 GMT -6
Can't wait to hear more about this thing. I've been so happy with the D4 preamp, it's a good bet this will be something special. I must have missed something, what does "RIP D41" mean?
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Post by Martin John Butler on Sept 23, 2015 11:48:15 GMT -6
Well, the IRS has me by the balls, and my rare and unique D-41 Turbo had to go.
There's long story behind it, but there were only 11 ever made to it's specifications, and only one other ever made with those specs, and a shade top. It was like owning a Stradivarius, you just knew it was special in an instant.
The good news is that our good friend cowboycoalminer bought it. I could''t think of anyone more deserving than him to have it.
I guess I should ask John to find a new quote for me, as that's not exactly a great memory, and I get reminded every time I come to Real Gear.
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 23, 2015 19:09:30 GMT -6
Anyone had one of these shipped in the last while?
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Post by kcatthedog on Sept 23, 2015 23:59:29 GMT -6
I have a pre order bUT nothing received yet sure someone stateside will get units first!
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Post by 2020digging on Sept 24, 2015 21:36:48 GMT -6
Can't wait to hear more about this thing. I've been so happy with the D4 preamp, it's a good bet this will be something special. Have you been running your bass through the D4? And vocals too? I suppose what I'm asking is: is the D4 a versatile pre? I am looking at it as my first and only pre for the time being. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Sept 24, 2015 21:58:50 GMT -6
Yep, D4 all the way. I had two other choices in preamps, and the D4 won every time. What the D4 has that the others didn't isn't so easy to describe. It does have it's own sound, bright, but not edgy, smooth high end and very solid. By solid, I mean in the same way a great preamp is solid, in the same way a Neve console is, there's just a feeing of muscle on the low end, not exaggeration, but power. Also, if I had to say what I like best about the D4, I'd say the presence of huge amounts of low level detail. When I use it for a vocal, the ends of the words and the quieter parts are there in such a way, that the feeling of a singer is expressed by nuance.
It also mates well with my Warm Audio EQP-1A.
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Post by jayson on Sept 25, 2015 5:21:24 GMT -6
We gotta get a thread going with some sound samples. I could definitely see a D864 or two in my future if they sound as nice as they look. Cosmetically I like what I see; there's certainly a few really tasteful nods to Fairchild, if the audio quality follows the same trajectory I'd be a pretty happy guy!
The price point is also amazing if the sound delivers, it tends to make me curious as to what the possibilities are for hot-rodding them - although I think it's a very safe bet they sound great as they are...ya know...better, if possible, is BETTER!
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Post by kcatthedog on Sept 25, 2015 6:36:51 GMT -6
I am very happy with my d4 and have a second on the way.
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Post by Ward on Sept 25, 2015 6:59:51 GMT -6
I've done my share. I bought 2 - D4s and have a deposit for 2 of the Federal Comps. If I had your money, I'd burn mine.
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Post by odyssey76 on Oct 6, 2015 4:15:56 GMT -6
Any news/reviews about the 864 yet? Still curious here!
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Post by kcatthedog on Oct 6, 2015 8:08:55 GMT -6
I haven't seen any references to units being received yet.
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Post by gouge on Oct 7, 2015 0:00:10 GMT -6
My music partner bought the varimu and we have a punk band session in the next few weeks followed by a mix session.
If it is here by then it will be used. Music partner said he'll buy a second one if it smokes.
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Post by kcatthedog on Oct 10, 2015 4:47:25 GMT -6
https%3A//soundcloud.com/kcatthedog/time-waits
Morning Everyone,
I got a 2nd dizengoff d4 and here is a raw recording of my new song using the 2 d4's, 2 octvamod sdc and a just hpf at 75 cycles in my daw.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Nov 11, 2015 18:56:07 GMT -6
I just posted this demo using the D4 preamp:
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Post by odyssey76 on Nov 11, 2015 19:12:12 GMT -6
I just posted this demo using the D4 preamp: Nice MJB! The most striking difference to me was the high end extension of the D4. Really apparent on your vocals and AC Guitar - nice guitar BTW, very cool how you have your name on the headstock . Was the final mix difference really only the D4? Again, the high-end clarity was stunning and the 3D image was a lot deeper. This may be one of the biggest differences I've heard in preamps. Damn, I want one. Thanks for the taking the time, that's a huge effort! Always a pleasure listening to your tunes, great job!
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Post by odyssey76 on Nov 11, 2015 19:14:59 GMT -6
kcatthedog - Matt, could you run a mix through your D4's? Actually, I don't think there's line level is there?
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Post by kcatthedog on Nov 11, 2015 19:51:56 GMT -6
No just xlr in but I can sent the output on my Apollo or send me your stereo sub mix as a wav file just give me sample and bit rate ?
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Post by Martin John Butler on Nov 11, 2015 20:56:18 GMT -6
Thanks Justin. The processing was exactly the same, except for the D4. For the guitar, bass, and vocal A-B, I had no processing whatsoever. For the mixes, I used the same plug-ins, set exactly the same, the RelabXL-480 reverb, UAD Ampex ATR-102, and Logic's compressor for a little gain. And even for those, I kept it to a minimum, so I didn't oversaturate.
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Post by forgotteng on Nov 11, 2015 21:07:31 GMT -6
Very cool MJB. That was so real. Now I got to get one or two of those D4's
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Post by Martin John Butler on Nov 11, 2015 22:31:15 GMT -6
Get em' while you can forgotteng.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Nov 14, 2015 22:36:58 GMT -6
https%3A//soundcloud.com/martin-john-butler/all-again-mix-9%3Futm_source%3Dsoundcloud%26amp%3Butm_campaign%3Dshare%26amp%3Butm_medium%3Dfacebook
I've just posted the final mix of the song from the D4 video, All Again. I thought folks might enjoy hearing the final "D4" mix, with cowboycoalminer on pedal steel, M57 on piano, accordion and BG vocals, and Henge on bass. I guess you could call us the RGO All Stars.
I did 16 mixes in two days, and two were far more perfect mixes, no glitches, better fade out, pedal steel more in balance with the piano, fuller vocal, but they just didn't have the same emotional impact, so I went with this mix.
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Post by winetree on Nov 15, 2015 0:56:54 GMT -6
I haven't seen any references to units being received yet. I just got this e-mail from Matt. I hope he doesn't mind me posting it. It gives some insight to the operation of the D864.
Hi Robert I apologize for the delay--your compressors have shipped. My enclosure manufacturer was three weeks late with their delivery, and that held things up. They should arrive Thursday 10/19/15 I'm working on a manual, but I thought I'd include a few tips to help you get started. The D864 seems to be pretty tolerant of settings and tube mismatch (unlike most varimu comps) but they take a little time and patience to really get to know them. I know you don't need a tutorial on how compression works . They have about 30dB of gain, which is about 15dB less than the original. The "dim" switch cuts it down to 25dB, but does this by padding the output signal down. Optimum input signal is about -10dBV to about +6dBU. If you feed it 0dBV to +4dBU, and you want your output to be about the same level, set the input knob between 4 and 5 (about 9 o'clock as it relates to a clock dial). With no compression (all knobs set to 0) you'll see about +6 to +7dB at the output. Once you raise the attack/release/ratio you will see the level start to pull down. Threshold, Ratio, Attack, and Release are all at their lowest setting when the knobs are at 0. Raising the attack and release toward 10 will increase the amount of attack/release time. Raising the ratio knob toward 10 will increase the compression ratio. Raising the Threshold knob toward 10 will increase the threshold level. The compression circuit is based around a half-wave rectifier (6SQ7 tube, like the Federal). It's not a very efficient circuit, which means the response can be a little slow and unusual compared to modern designs. But it's part of the Federal's sound. It also means that the compression control knobs will all interact with each other slightly. The meter circuit is an exact copy of the original--which means it behaves exactly like old school meters behave. In compression mode (when the switch is up) you'll measure gain reduction. In output level mode, you'll get a little bit of added distortion because of the meter's rectifiers. It's not super accurate but it's close enough. The Growl switch is a parallel germanium compressor. At low levels it will act like a hard knee limiter. At higher levels it will saturate and add extra harmonic distortion. With a 0dBV input signal and about 5-7dB of gain reduction, you'll see about 0.5% THD without the Growl switch flipped down. With the Growl engaged it's more like 3-5% THD. The Glow switch shifts the output stage bias and transformer saturation point. As it does this, it gives an apparent 'bump' to the 1-2kHz band. The signal response is flat, but the distortion curve shifts. I find it's helpful in bringing out a vocal or snare crack while compressing. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy them! --- Matt Dizengoff Audio
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