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Post by cowboycoalminer on Jul 27, 2013 18:41:41 GMT -6
So a few years ago I sold all my 500 series gear with the thought that anything I wanted or needed was available in standard 19" or other rack gear. Also, when I compared 500 series modules to their direct/indirect 19" rack counterparts, the 500 series units seemed like "lesser than" versions. But, a few items drew me back in: 1) CAPI VP28. This alone was the worth the price of admission for a rack. I now have four VP28's w/ various DOA combinations. 2) LaChapell 583s. Such a smooth and beautiful tube pre that is unlike any other tube pre I've tried, and I've tried a lot. It's just spectacular on acgtr and vocals. QUESTION: What other 500 series modules provide something unavailable or superior to standard 19" rack configurations? The question here is not "convenience" but rather "usefulness" and "uniquness". Not to get too far off topic but have you tried the 583's against the 992eg? I came a flip buying a 992 off Scott once but couldn't pull the trigger. Same, similar, different? |
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Post by BradM on Jul 27, 2013 18:49:28 GMT -6
I'm a little reluctant to spill the details until I figure out what I'm going to do with it and when.  It was a design I did for a well-known boutique company that I have a lot of respect for, but we decided it didn't make sense to pursue it further. Let's face it--a HPF/LPF box isn't the sexiest thing in the world and it's hard to justify putting money behind something you know isn't going to be a high volume seller. That said, it's still really cool and at some point it should make its way into the world because I do think folks would find it useful. It's just a matter of allocating resources to make it happen. Bill Pearson (drBill...has he joined yet?!) and Greg from KuSh both have my prototypes in their racks. I'll tell you this much. It has variable HPF, LPF, and another novel tone-shaping filter, along with different modes not seen before in a product this un-sexy. Hypothetically speaking here... if I crowd-funded it using KickStarter and sold a "kit" that consisted of a couple fully populated PCBs, a faceplate, and some knobs...would anyone be down for that? The project would be a go if there was some minimal threshold of orders. It would be like one of those model airplane kits that a 5 year old can put together...no small pieces an no soldering required. That barely qualifies as DIY, but it saves some assembly costs. Again...I'm just thinking aloud here. Brad |
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Post by tonycamphd on Jul 27, 2013 19:01:46 GMT -6
I'm a little reluctant to spill the details until I figure out what I'm going to do with it and when. It was a design I did for a well-known boutique company that I have a lot of respect for, but we decided it didn't make sense to pursue it further. Let's face it--a HPF/LPF box isn't the sexiest thing in the world and it's hard to justify putting money behind something you know isn't going to be a high volume seller. That said, it's still really cool and at some point it should make its way into the world because I do think folks would find it useful. It's just a matter of allocating resources to make it happen. Bill Pearson (drBill...has he joined yet?!) and Greg from KuSh both have my prototypes in their racks. I'll tell you this much. It has variable HPF, LPF, and another novel tone-shaping filter, along with different modes not seen before in a product this un-sexy. Hypothetically speaking here... if I crowd-funded it using KickStarter and sold a "kit" that consisted of a couple fully populated PCBs, a faceplate, and some knobs...would anyone be down for that? The project would be a go if there was some minimal threshold of orders. It would be like one of those model airplane kits that a 5 year old can put together...no small pieces an no soldering required. That barely qualifies as DIY, but it saves some assembly costs. Again...I'm just thinking aloud here. Brad you could count me in Brad(i would have to know how many channels and the exact feature set though), i think even a straight diy kit would do well?, a filter array would be easier to build than a pre right? i'm not aware of any diy kits filling this void?, although sic did mention one, and i'm way into diy...that doesn't mean it doesn't exist though? i may have missed it. |
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Post by BradM on Jul 27, 2013 19:23:16 GMT -6
It would be a single channel 500 series unit, as its currently designed. I think I might need to get pre-orders for at about 20 to be able to make a run of 50...something like that. Here's something Sam Pura mixed using nothing but my two prototype filter modules. He bounced all the tracks through the units individually or in pairs. So it's actually rad enough to do things other than just HPF and LPF. Brad |
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Post by tonycamphd on Jul 27, 2013 20:03:40 GMT -6
If you get i situated, you can count me in brad, thanx
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 27, 2013 20:37:49 GMT -6
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 27, 2013 20:38:30 GMT -6
I'd like to keep this thread on the topic of 500 series, as title is listed.
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 27, 2013 20:43:23 GMT -6
So a few years ago I sold all my 500 series gear with the thought that anything I wanted or needed was available in standard 19" or other rack gear. Also, when I compared 500 series modules to their direct/indirect 19" rack counterparts, the 500 series units seemed like "lesser than" versions. But, a few items drew me back in: 1) CAPI VP28. This alone was the worth the price of admission for a rack. I now have four VP28's w/ various DOA combinations. 2) LaChapell 583s. Such a smooth and beautiful tube pre that is unlike any other tube pre I've tried, and I've tried a lot. It's just spectacular on acgtr and vocals. QUESTION: What other 500 series modules provide something unavailable or superior to standard 19" rack configurations? The question here is not "convenience" but rather "usefulness" and "uniquness". Not to get too far off topic but have you tried the 583's against the 992eg? I came a flip buying a 992 off Scott once but couldn't pull the trigger. Same, similar, different? I've not tried the 992. Scott said I could come to his shop and check one out but I don't WANT to hear it! I'm sure I'll love it! |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jul 27, 2013 21:48:17 GMT -6
Moog ladder?
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Post by noah shain on Jul 28, 2013 10:52:13 GMT -6
I'm in Brad.
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 28, 2013 15:11:20 GMT -6
Is Pan60 on this forum? He seems to be one of the 500 series guru's.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2013 16:07:01 GMT -6
The Serpent 4001 comes to mind,I think it has more features than its 19inch brother. And sounds frigginamazing. On Always.
Awtac have a sensational preamp/eq/mix tool/channel amplifier(2 slots wide) which will bring a smile to your face in any of its functions, but the fact it can do it all is amazing. Or awesome,if you will.Dave,the guy behind it all is totally awesome, and has quite some good stories,too.
The TBDD by member Horvitz has a dry/wet blend, which makes it --even-- better while tracking.
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Post by ionian on Jul 28, 2013 17:55:32 GMT -6
The 500 series Obsidian has one more ratio and a choice of HP Sidechain settings. Personally I would love to go to 19" for the Obsidian and I had always hoped that Dramastic would have updated the 19" hardware to reflect the changes they made with the improved 500 series but they never did so I just stayed with the 500 series hardware.
The 500 series Speck EQs are better than the half rack versions. Increased frequency selection and the high band can be either shelf or bell compared to just bell in the half rack. Same as Dramastic, I had hoped that Speck would have updated their half rack EQs to reflect the 500 series because I wanted to buy a few of those, but it never happened.
For compressors mostly, I like sticking to 19" solely because usually they will include an external sidechain input which is impossible in 500 series due to the limitations of that format. I like having that for ducking purposes and I've been thinking of getting rid of my 500 series Xpressor for the same reason and getting the 19" version to get the external sidechain input.
Regards,
Frank
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 28, 2013 18:40:19 GMT -6
The 500 series Obsidian has one more ratio and a choice of HP Sidechain settings. Personally I would love to go to 19" for the Obsidian and I had always hoped that Dramastic would have updated the 19" hardware to reflect the changes they made with the improved 500 series but they never did so I just stayed with the 500 series hardware. The 500 series Speck EQs are better than the half rack versions. Increased frequency selection and the high band can be either shelf or bell compared to just bell in the half rack. Same as Dramastic, I had hoped that Speck would have updated their half rack EQs to reflect the 500 series because I wanted to buy a few of those, but it never happened. For compressors mostly, I like sticking to 19" solely because usually they will include an external sidechain input which is impossible in 500 series due to the limitations of that format. I like having that for ducking purposes and I've been thinking of getting rid of my 500 series Xpressor for the same reason and getting the 19" version to get the external sidechain input. Regards, Frank great post, frank. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2013 18:58:31 GMT -6
Electrodyne 511
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Post by gouge on Jul 28, 2013 20:33:57 GMT -6
lola preamp.
best pre to be released since the vp28......
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Post by tonycamphd on Jul 28, 2013 20:44:01 GMT -6
lola preamp. best pre to be released since the vp28...... I'm champing at the bit for a pair of these also, mike doesn't come out and say what it's emulating, but is it the 1073 pre section? thats what i heard, but not sure though? |
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Post by gouge on Jul 28, 2013 21:04:34 GMT -6
I can't say it's the 1073 pre section because it's based on the cohen schematic. but it does have the input and output transformers from a 1073 preamp. mine has the dual hardy opamps. you can also build it dual eisen ba512 opamps which I suspect would put it well and truly in the neve camp.
I don't have a lot of neve experience. I have a/b it with an ma-5 and to me it doesn't sound like the ma-5. the ma-5 has a bigger bottom end hump to it and doesn't sound as open and expansive. I find the lola bottom end closer to a daking preamp being driven with the pad in. unlike the daking though the lola does not have the mid forward bite/edginess. it's very smooth and almost transparent through the mids.
there is a lot of talk online about the saturation of the lola. to my ears I don't like to push the saturation too hard. it is capable of ripping the tops off the transients. so I tend to only use a touch of output attenuation.
I usually end up in the middle. ie. on the cleaner side. just enough saturation to get some thickness in the bottom end but leaving the mids and top end alone. the lola is also capable of making things sound big. it seems to bring out detail like no other preamp I've used. I use it on marshall and orange amps and on vocals. am working towards a second one so I can park it on overheads as well.
but on electric guitars there is a detail it enhances that is fairly impressive.
so I'd say if it's 1073 you want then the lola is not it.
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Post by gouge on Jul 28, 2013 21:07:31 GMT -6
other thing I've noticed is every mic I have plugged into it whether dynamic or condenser sound like a million dollars. articulate, detailed, polished and plenty of reach. haven't tried it with a ribbon yet.
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Post by littlesicily on Jul 28, 2013 21:13:07 GMT -6
I wish people would stop making new preamps so I could sleep peacefully at night.  |
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Post by gouge on Jul 28, 2013 21:14:34 GMT -6
damn right there. and if it's not bad enough you need to buy 2 to be able to use the things properly.
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Post by gouge on Jul 29, 2013 1:01:57 GMT -6
bit of a cross post but just saw the TB audio 500 series dimension D......
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Post by tonycamphd on Jul 29, 2013 1:38:57 GMT -6
other thing I've noticed is every mic I have plugged into it whether dynamic or condenser sound like a million dollars. articulate, detailed, polished and plenty of reach. haven't tried it with a ribbon yet. I just champed through the bit! I think i'm gonna order a pair at the end of next week, mikes a cool guy, i've bought a shit ton from him, and he always delivers spot on. |
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Post by gouge on Jul 29, 2013 2:44:55 GMT -6
yeah, that's no exaggeration. the first time I used the pre was with a new mic i'd gotten(pm860). I sent a foldback feed to the singer and he said jeez, that's sensitive, I can hear every detail.
I really didn't know if it was the mic or the preamp at that point but a few more sessions with other mics and it's the preamp. it seems to allow mics to give their full potential. it does tend to need a little bit of eq to add air in the top end with the gefells on vox. unlike the daking that has it straight up.
I guess that's not unusual. the ma-5 has it's 28k switch to open it up.
I don't know what the specs are of the lola but I suspect it is fairly linear.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 2:57:26 GMT -6
sidenote, the Serpent 4001 does have a sidechain input.
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It was a design I did for a well-known boutique company that I have a lot of respect for, but we decided it didn't make sense to pursue it further. Let's face it--a HPF/LPF box isn't the sexiest thing in the world and it's hard to justify putting money behind something you know isn't going to be a high volume seller. That said, it's still really cool and at some point it should make its way into the world because I do think folks would find it useful. It's just a matter of allocating resources to make it happen. Bill Pearson (drBill...has he joined yet?!) and Greg from KuSh both have my prototypes in their racks. 
