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Post by jtc111 on Mar 25, 2019 10:06:13 GMT -6
Thanks jcoutu1 and @hermetechmastering. If I'm understanding it correctly, something like the Curve Bender would have a switch whereas the xfilter would have a detented potentiometer, and the former is a of a higher quality and more precise than the latter. |
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Post by drbill on Mar 25, 2019 10:12:06 GMT -6
if you need stepped boost / cuts, that pretty much takes you into the land of mastering EQ's, and those get pricey quick! Really quick. I recently searched for a high end EQ and ended up with the Miad LCPQ-4040's. Very euphonic and I really love them. But they don't have stepped pots. Not sure if they would meet your other requirements or not. My runner up was the Great River EQ's. I think their mastering version has stepped pots. Not sure though.... But be prepared to spend. For some reason, high end EQ's come at a premium price. Were you able to shoot out the GR with the Miad? I’ve got the GR EQ-2NV, but I am intrigued by the Miads. I was never able to do that side to side. Eventually I just followed my gut instinct, and I ended up quite happy. I'm sure I would have liked the GR as well. The Miad's have a very euphonic sound. I'd love stepped switches, but sonically I love them. |
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Post by matt@IAA on Mar 25, 2019 10:31:49 GMT -6
Thanks jcoutu1 and @hermetechmastering . If I'm understanding it correctly, something like the Curve Bender would have a switch whereas the xfilter would have a detented potentiometer, and the former is a of a higher quality and more precise than the latter. A pot doesn't mean low quality, though they are (as a rule) less expensive. There's tradeoffs. Sometimes you have to use a switch. Switches give you precise, repeatable action. Pots give you infinite variability. A detented pot is sort of a compromise between those two, but may not necessarily have the best accuracy (in the detents themselves). Anything that says "steps" is almost surely switched. The Curve Bender looks like it's all switched. The Xfilter site does say that they're computer selecting the pots from low tolerance lots, so the accuracy may be very good. |
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Post by stratboy on Mar 25, 2019 21:27:04 GMT -6
I’ve had an xFilter on my stereo bus for several years now. It’s a well-built device with a very good sound and stepped pots. It also has a couple of nice tone enhancing features for the master, even though it’s not gooey. I really like it, especially as I can’t afford a hi-end EQ As usual, YMMV, FWIW, IMO, etc.
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Post by spock on Mar 25, 2019 23:01:22 GMT -6
The Curve Bender looks like it's all switched. The Xfilter site does say that they're computer selecting the pots from low tolerance lots, so the accuracy may be very good. The Curve Bender is all switched and hand wired, every resistor, every juncture. |
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Post by javamad on Mar 26, 2019 9:13:21 GMT -6
My understanding is that a indented (or not) pot is a variable value input into a subcircuit .. so one set of components.
A switched control however is a set of discrete subcitcuits with a subcircuit hanging off each switch position. So a 20 step switch volume control will have 20 resistors all hand wired to the switch position contacts. This is why they are more expensive to build. More actual componrments and more man hours of work.
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Post by drsax on Mar 26, 2019 10:46:59 GMT -6
I had the Great River Mastering version of the EQ - was forced to sell it years ago and miss it a lot. That said, It didn’t sound like a curvebender. It was amazing but different than Chandler. Chandler’s pieces are their own thing as far as I have experienced. I think you’d best save for a curvebender if you want that sound. Or lose some functionality and try their 500 series which sounds fantastic. I’d like to have one of everything they make... now I just need to win the lottery  |
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Post by jtc111 on Mar 26, 2019 12:56:34 GMT -6
I think you’d best save for a curvebender if you want that sound. My checkbook just burst out in tears. |
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Post by ericn on Mar 26, 2019 18:22:46 GMT -6
I think you’d best save for a curvebender if you want that sound. My checkbook just burst out in tears. I heard the original title of the Beatles classic was “While my Checkbook Gently Weeps”, Ringo reminded George they all had more money than Jesus and that led to a whole knew set of problems for John😎 |
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Post by jtc111 on Mar 27, 2019 12:14:33 GMT -6
My dreams of a real Curve Bender will have to go on the back burner for now. But I negotiated a great deal with VK for an elysia xfilter.
I've no idea if that will beat out the Curve Bender plugin.
We'll see.
My checkbook just said... |
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Post by plinker on Dec 24, 2021 14:09:16 GMT -6
My dreams of a real Curve Bender will have to go on the back burner for now. But I negotiated a great deal with VK for an elysia xfilter.
I've no idea if that will beat out the Curve Bender plugin.
We'll see.
My checkbook just said... Whatever happened between these two champs? |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Dec 24, 2021 21:26:15 GMT -6
To add to the above, even a high quality potentiometer is usually plus or minus 5 or 10 percent on the value. A detented pot just has a sort of groove in it at fixed intervals to have it "set" at certain angles. The detents themselves add more variability, because physical detent location can vary from pot to pot but also where it sits on the pot resistance leg can vary. You can make a switch dead nuts accurate. I mean, 0.1% or better resistors if you wanted to. But 1% is easy and cheap. If you're doing serious mastering work or work where recall is a must, switches are the way to go. Keep in mind a switch is maybe $10-$30 while a pot is anywhere from a few cents to $10. Also, some circuits simply require switches to work properly. You can't infinitely vary a cap value, so many EQ circuits require switches to change caps out. And certain filters aren't amenable to varying pots but need specific resistor values - so you switch that style as well. Edit to add. Anything with a pot can be converted to switched. But not necessarily vice versa. Something to keep in mind. I too love the UAD CB. I've had the API 5500 for about four years now and have tried different combos of op-amps in it (currently the CA-0252's). That said, if I didn't have the 5500 I would lean hard into the Iron Age LH95. Seems like it might be in the same pocket but get you a bit further. It's all subjective though. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2021 22:22:56 GMT -6
The UA curve bender is one of a very few plugs I'll actually miss.. It has an exceptional mid / side function that can add some serious width without resorting to fakery which results in mono collapse. However the HW doesn't have this function unless I'm missing something?
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Post by matt@IAA on Dec 24, 2021 22:45:41 GMT -6
I too love the UAD CB. I've had the API 5500 for about four years now and have tried different combos of op-amps in it (currently the CA-0252's). That said, if I didn't have the 5500 I would lean hard into the Iron Age LH95. Seems like it might be in the same pocket but get you a bit further. It's all subjective though. Thanks for the kind words. I think the V2 would compare more to a 5500. |
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Post by phantom on Dec 25, 2021 10:31:49 GMT -6
The UA curve bender is one of a very few plugs I'll actually miss.. It has an exceptional mid / side function that can add some serious width without resorting to fakery which results in mono collapse. However the HW doesn't have this function unless I'm missing something? It's made by Softube and they sell it native as well. |
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Post by kcatthedog on Dec 25, 2021 11:58:26 GMT -6
And it goes on sale typically for lower cost than UA and uses no ua dsp.
I have ST CB.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2021 19:56:58 GMT -6
And it goes on sale typically for lower cost than UA and uses no ua dsp. I have ST CB. My mastering chain has gone completely OTB, Tubecore (Vari-Mu) > API 5500 > Bettermaker mastering limiter so "miss" might not be the right word here. I don't often praise plugins, the best you'll get from me is it does the job but I can't help but give kudo's to the Curve Bender plug. It really is good IMO.. |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Dec 27, 2021 20:21:25 GMT -6
I too love the UAD CB. I've had the API 5500 for about four years now and have tried different combos of op-amps in it (currently the CA-0252's). That said, if I didn't have the 5500 I would lean hard into the Iron Age LH95. Seems like it might be in the same pocket but get you a bit further. It's all subjective though. Thanks for the kind words. I think the V2 would compare more to a 5500. Thanks for mentioning that Matt! Wouldn't want to steer anyone wrong. Makes sense looking at the V2 though. |
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Post by petergreeny on Jan 15, 2023 12:43:40 GMT -6
Every time I seriously consider spending the money on a hardware Curve Bender (and I've come close), I find myself irritated at the gall of Chandler to sell you a $6500 stereo EQ that you can't turn on. There's really no room in Chandler's margin to add in the $150 power supply to the package? We're not talking a $1000 500 series unit here - the Curve Bender should come ready to use, especially when stores often can't seem to keep both the unit and power supplies consistently in stock.
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Post by drumsound on Jan 15, 2023 13:27:51 GMT -6
Every time I seriously consider spending the money on a hardware Curve Bender (and I've come close), I find myself irritated at the gall of Chandler to sell you a $6500 stereo EQ that you can't turn on. There's really no room in Chandler's margin to add in the $150 power supply to the package? We're not talking a $1000 500 series unit here - the Curve Bender should come ready to use, especially when stores often can't seem to keep both the unit and power supplies consistently in stock. I have to agree with this. Selling anything electric without the power supply included seems especially shitty. I understand that There are companies that make power supplies that allow multiple units, and that's cool, but there should be a discount option because you already have a power supply. Of course something modular like 500, 900 series or Scamp racks is a different ball of wax. |
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Post by kcatthedog on Jan 15, 2023 13:51:09 GMT -6
That’s astounding:(
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Post by yewtreemagic on Jan 15, 2023 20:40:32 GMT -6
I also LOVE the UAD curve bender. I gotta put the hardware on my bucket list, who knows when I would ever have that money. I have very limited experience with hardware EQ. It's a bit different but a lot of people seem to use the Maag stereo thing. I think that one's a little over $2K I have the Maag plugin and I don't like that it has fixed frequencies. I feel like being locked into frequencies works against me at times. When it's the right eq, it's great, but more often than not it doesn't work as well as other choices. Back in November or December, Chris Yetter (Audio-Scape) asked for suggestions for new gear. I suggested a Curve Bender clone and a bunch of other people liked that idea. Chris seemed intrigued by the idea but I don't know if he'll actually take it on. I know this is an ancient post (in a thread that just got a new update), but it's still probably worth mentioning that I often prefer the Maag EQ2 plug-in to the more standard (based on the hardware) Maag EQ4, because instead of the latter's multiple fixed frequency bands, the EQ2 concentrates on the air band plus a single low-mid band with a choice of 12 different frequencies between SUB and 1.4kHz.  And you lose all the other minor EQ ripples of the EQ4 at their '0dB points'. |
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