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Post by gouge on Feb 23, 2014 7:12:39 GMT -6
number 2 item on my diy list was the la500 but I'd have to say it is in danger of being knocked off by the capi 553f which I'd most likely get more use out of at this stage, it looks especially good for tracking to me.
any fans of the unit that can comment on the sound. my only reference with api gear is the vp28 or the eisen 312v any preference with opamp config?
have looked around and there is not a lot of info.
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Post by tonycamphd on Feb 23, 2014 7:28:05 GMT -6
Hey Paul, I haven't built one YET..., but if the Lc53a is any indication of the performance of the 553f, I'd just get it, the Lc is so smooth and musical it's not even funny.
hope this helps somewhat 8)
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Post by gouge on Feb 23, 2014 7:49:25 GMT -6
does sound promising then, especially the musical part, I like musical. I like clean musical, dirty musical fat musical....... :-)
I don't have a lot of options with shelfs so have been using a wide boosts.
I'm not paul though.  |
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Post by gouge on Feb 27, 2014 18:44:31 GMT -6
so gar2520 and gar1731 combo?  same as in the vp28's I use? anyone had any preferences themselves. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2014 19:11:21 GMT -6
Why would you want fixed frequency eq's when you could have selectable frequencies with the LC53?
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Post by gouge on Feb 27, 2014 19:29:02 GMT -6
for the price it's got everything I am chasing for tracking. I'm not a big eq person. I'd rather change mics or preamps. I do like hp and lp filters and I need a high shelf for e guitars to boost them prior to tape.
during mix i'll use it acroos a buss to add it's flavour during mixdown. I've got more refined eq's and channel eq on the console.
so it's only $300........
I;ve already got
urei 535 orban 624b 2xfiltek mk3 2xfiltek mk5 2xlilpqr soundcraft ghost channel eq
etc. |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 16, 2014 13:32:48 GMT -6
Bringing this thread back to life... I built a pair of these when they came out, and they've gotten a lot of use. I have gar2520's in both positions, but eventually I'm going to try some gar1731's as well. I use the high and low pass filters a lot for tracking, and they've gotten a lot of use on lead vocals too during mixing. The fixed frequencies are very useful for a lot of sources, and I like simple tools that are effective, and they're pretty broad in that they affect frequencies above and below what they're rated at, which is 100k shelf, 2.7 k peak, 10k shelf. They sound very sweet, and allow me to quickly get a vocal sounding good... then (if needed) I'll use the daw paragraphic eq to notch out anything bothersome.
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 16, 2014 13:50:59 GMT -6
The phase accuracy of the 53a seems to sound better than almost every piece of hardware i've used, the F being fixed point is probably even better, I've become totally hooked on the 2520 in the 1st position and 1731 in the 2nd position on my Vp28's and Lc53a's, and believe me i'm a pain in my own ass when it comes to this stuff, the red dots in the front impart that goo, and the 1731's are just buttery on the way out ime. gouge sorry about calling you paul? weird, i have no recollection of knowing your real name?...buddy 8) |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 16, 2014 13:54:39 GMT -6
The phase accuracy of the 53a seems to sound better than almost every piece of hardware i've used, the F being fixed point is probably even better, I've become totally hooked on the 2520 in the 1st position and 1731 in the 2nd position on my Vp28's and Lc53a's, and believe me i'm a pain in my own ass when it comes to this stuff, the red dots in the front impart that goo, and the 1731's are just buttery on the way out ime. LC53a just arrived at my door -- I'll have to try that opamp configuration. Curious to see how these two EQs compare. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 16, 2014 13:59:58 GMT -6
The phase accuracy of the 53a seems to sound better than almost every piece of hardware i've used, the F being fixed point is probably even better, I've become totally hooked on the 2520 in the 1st position and 1731 in the 2nd position on my Vp28's and Lc53a's, and believe me i'm a pain in my own ass when it comes to this stuff, the red dots in the front impart that goo, and the 1731's are just buttery on the way out ime. LC53a just arrived at my door -- I'll have to try that opamp configuration. Curious to see how these two EQs compare. Me too! post your findings, awesome! congrats. Tough build btw, take your time 8) |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 16, 2014 14:15:48 GMT -6
LC53a just arrived at my door -- I'll have to try that opamp configuration. Curious to see how these two EQs compare. Me too! post your findings, awesome! congrats. Tough build btw, take your time 8) Will do. I've never had any issues with any CAPI builds, but yeah... this one looks like it takes the cake. Slow and steady.... hopefully I won't need the hakko 808  |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 19, 2014 23:02:13 GMT -6
Almost finished with my love child... I did get a chance to do a side by side comparison of the dual 2520 configuration vs the 1731/2520 in the 553, and it seemed to take the edge off a bit... subtle, but I think it might allow me to push the high shelf a tiny bit further. I like. Attachments:
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Post by levon on Oct 20, 2014 6:01:59 GMT -6
I used to build airplane models, but, man, I'm amazed you guys can build this stuff yourself. Congrats.
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 21, 2014 23:23:53 GMT -6
LC53a just arrived at my door -- I'll have to try that opamp configuration. Curious to see how these two EQs compare. Me too! post your findings, awesome! congrats. Tough build btw, take your time 8) Finished the LC53a, and did some comparisons with the 553. First thing I noticed was that the LC53a has a subtle smoothing effect even when it's not doing any boosting or cutting, which is cool. LC53a is a little thicker and darker and doesn't reach the extremes of the 553 on any bands, at least when comparing the same/similar frequencies (10k/3k/100hz). It's a little more subtle given a similar amount of gain and it's really hard to make it sound harsh. I preferred it on the slightly sibilant male vocal track I was working with. I also compared the two on a strummed acoustic guitar recorded with an mk012 at the 12th fret. In this case, I could get a little bit more sparkle out of the 553 when I pushed it, and preferred the 553 in this instance. It seems like the 10k shelf on the 553 has a more 'all encompassing' brightness effect as you push up the gain, and the LC53a is a little more accurate to the selected frequency. That being said, you could get the two to sound similar if you backed off the gain on the 553 a little, but the general differences in tonal quality were still evident, albeit subtle. I can see myself using the 553 more during tracking since the variable hi and lo pass are really convenient, whereas the LC53a has fixed 15k and 50hz. For mixing of course, the LC53a is much more versatile with the large number of frequencies available for each band and options for peaking and shelfing hi/lo. I also love the easy recall of having all switches. On the other hand, I like the simplicity of the 553.... most of the time you can get a great sound in <5 seconds, and recall is still relatively easy since the controls are simple and everything is clearly marked. The LC53a will probably be my go-to vocal EQ, and the 553 will handle anything else that works well with the available frequencies, which in my case will mostly be electric/acoustic guitar, snare, and OHs. For the comparison, I had the 2520 on input and 1731 on output in both units, which I found had a smoother, slightly fatter sound than the reverse or dual 2520s. (Although I haven't yet, it might be worth trying dual 1731s on the 553, but probably not on the LC53a.) I could say a lot more, but I feel like this is getting long..... if anyone has files they want me to process with one or both, I'd be glad to do it. Thanks Jeff for putting out these sweet sounding EQs! |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 22, 2014 0:19:11 GMT -6
most excellent review man, thanx!....for the gass 8)
btw, love that 2520/1731 combo, it's in all my capi stuff now.
how long did the build take you?
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Post by unit7 on Oct 22, 2014 1:04:31 GMT -6
I used to build airplane models, but, man, I'm amazed you guys can build this stuff yourself. Congrats. I did too. If you liked doing that, and have good hands and a little patience, you'd probably like this too. |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 22, 2014 8:43:23 GMT -6
most excellent review man, thanx!....for the gass 8) btw, love that 2520/1731 combo, it's in all my capi stuff now. how long did the build take you? I usually keep track, but I spread it out over several days with lots of interruptions.... so I lost track, but I would estimate around 10 hours not including the 2 opamps I built. Maybe even longer. I'm sure I could shave a couple hours off if I do another (which I'm sure I will). If I recall the 553's took around half as long. Since it's fresh on my mind here's some general advice for anyone building this for the first time: -Look over each BOM closely BEFORE you start building the associated PCB. This will help you know what to expect, and avoid errors. -And related to the above, double and triple check all of your resistor values and placement. There's waaaaaaay more resistors than other CAPI kits, and extremely close values that were close to the tolerances of my (decent) DMM.... like 2.4k, 2.37k, 2.32k, etc. So plan on measuring AND reading the resistor markings themselves. Jeff makes this a lot easier than it could be since he separates everything into baggies for each PCB. -Make sure you have good cutters for trimming the leads tightly to the board... I already had the recommended Hakko CHP170's which are like $5 on amazon, so no biggie. -Read Jeff's guide AND follow Chunger's photo guide on groupdiy. They're very useful when taken together. -Set your iron to at least 700 degrees or more... especially for the opamp sockets. -Get the extender kit for easy CMRR adjustment (also useful for other EQ's, Missing Link, and opamp swapping/testing). -If you don't have a panavise or something like it, get one... this would have been a lot harder without my panavise 350. There's nothing terribly difficult about this build if you have the right tools and good soldering skills..... as long as you're patient and take your time, and follow the instructions closely, you should be okay. |
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 22, 2014 8:49:50 GMT -6
Btw, I bought some digital calipers to measure the board length (I've been meaning to buy some for a while anyway). I bought the lowes kobalt 6 inch version, lured in by the lifetime warranty. But I'm really not happy with the quality... they don't seem to be machined very well, and they usually don't return to zero when you close them.... usually 0.01, 0.02. They were about $30.
Can anyone recommend some good quality digital calipers under $50? Does such a thing exist?
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 22, 2014 9:14:04 GMT -6
Harbor freight $9, got mine about 6 years ago, only maintenance is battery changes, not superior precision , but not bad for what I need it for.
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Post by mdmitch2 on Oct 22, 2014 14:31:22 GMT -6
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 22, 2014 15:39:33 GMT -6
got one like the 2nd one, really expensive now? |
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Post by keymod on Oct 23, 2014 5:59:09 GMT -6
Based on this thread, I'm going to try some 1731's.
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Post by keymod on Nov 13, 2014 15:46:04 GMT -6
Ordered five 1731s this afternoon. Jeff already sent a tracking number. Nice!
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Post by keymod on Dec 27, 2014 14:52:41 GMT -6
So on the 553f, is opamp A1 the output and A2 the input? I have finally got to building my 553's and want to put the 2520s on input and 1731s on output.
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Post by Johnkenn on Dec 27, 2014 18:25:09 GMT -6
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same as in the vp28's I use?
