Retro Instruments 176 Bedienungsanleitung PDF herunterladen

RETRO Instruments

2A3 Dual Program EQ

This story begins badly, but stick with it; it gets better.

Naturally, I was amped to fondle the new RETRO 2A3 Dual

Program EQ, whose circuits are based on one of my favorites, the

venerable Pultec EQP-1A3. I would like to pretend that I’m an

unbiased reviewer; I’m not. I love both the RETRO Sta-Level

(Tape Op #61) and the 176 (#66), and I expected to feel the

same about the 2A3. A few months ago, I got the unit, plugged

it in, ran some stuff through it, and... Hate is a strong word,

really, one that should be reserved for things like Nazis and

Teletubbies and people who don’t use turn signals. I didn’t hate

it, but I didn’t like it — insofar as I expected it was going to

sound like a clone of a Pultec. It didn’t. I picked a great vocal

track and ran it through my vintage EQP-1A3. Sweet. Plugged

through the RETRO. Meh. Actually, the low end sounded pretty

great. It was nice and thick and solid and not mushy but pillowy

smooth, in a tube-ish way. But the top end wasn’t Magic. And

that’s what I was hoping for. So I emailed RETRO and reported

thusly, figuring that would be that; they’d tell me I was crazy,

deaf, or both, thereby ending another chapter of the Things That

Try to Sound Like Pultecs and Don’t. But Phil Moore is a

persistent cat and he wouldn’t take meh for an answer.

Did I mention that this was an extremely early prototype of

the unit? Sorry. This was an extremely early prototype of the unit.

So, I emailed Phil and said, “Phil, the low end is nice but the top

end isn’t Magic.” He asked, “What does Magic mean?” I

responded, “Hell if I know but that’s what happens to the high

end when I run stuff through my EQP-1A3, and I can’t get it out

of the 2A3. Sorry.” Phil responded, “Don’t be sorry, I want to hear

what you’re hearing, so just ship me your Pultec.”

Who does stuff like this? Over a course of the next few months,

my EQP and the 2A3 made a couple of cross-country trips.

Measurements were made and listening done. I’m guessing that

he’s also probably shot out every available transformer and tube

out there for this thing too; the process really feels thorough.

Finally, after a few revisions, the final RETRO 2A3 arrived back at

my studio — the same version shipping today. So, does it sound

great? Yes, it does. Does it sound like a Pultec?

No, it doesn’t. Let’s rest this — nothing is ever going to, just

like nothing Fender makes today is going to sound like a good

1964 Jazz bass. I’ve heard painstakingly exact copies of

vintage Pultec EQs, replicated down to the transformer

windings, and they don’t sound like a vintage Pultec. Or at

least like mine. I’m pretty sure nobody knows why really, if it’s

aged components or the iron in the transformers or the ghosts

in the machine. And there’s a good argument that no two

vintage pieces sound the same anyway. But Pultec addicts

know that there’s a select few that just sound like, well, Magic.

But who cares? The RETRO 2A3 isn’t a Pultec, it’s the third of

the new classics that this company is so good at creating, and

it sounds great. There are three things that I specifically like

about it — the top, middle, and bottom.

The sparkle on the top end is great. I use it in series with

my Pultec on every vocal I mix and will keep it there until

someone shoots me and steals it. The highest band is

phenomenal; it’s not the Pultec Magic glow thingy, it’s the

Open and Airy and Effortless thing way up high that really

makes a great vocal shine and sound open and yet cut

through without hurting. And this is a beautiful thing,

because this characteristic translates really well to things like

overheards, acoustic guitar, piano, strings, and the like. It’s a

really great top-end boost, up there with vintage Pultec, the

Cello Palette, and the Sontec Mastering EQ.

The midrange is my favorite part of this box. It’s my personal

opinion that the midrange of the RETRO 2A3 is the best I’ve

ever heard. It’s a difficult range to do well, and the RETRO nails

it. Vocal and guitar definition for days. It’s eminently usable,

and that’s a blessing, as most midrange EQs can get really

harsh or barky, and this one is smooth and present at the same

time. Honestly, I was really shocked. (Even the first iteration

had amazing midrange.) It’s worth owning for that alone.

The bass is sweet and tight, but the best part here is the

addition of the subsonic filter switch. There are two settings —

40 Hz and 90 Hz. The 90 Hz filter does rolloff, sure, but

switching in the 40 Hz filter does Magic. Paradoxically, it makes

the bass sound tighter and fuller and better; it feels like there’s

more sub bass, not less, but it’s not boomy — it’s just killer.

And it works on vocals, bass, guitars, the whole mix — you

name it. It’s a revolutionary addition — and improvement —

to the venerable Pultec circuit. Apparently, it uses an

interstage transformer that colors stuff and a sharp cutoff or

whatever — I don’t actually care. I just know this is the magic

bullet for the old Pultec LF issue where the wide curves force

subsonic garbage into overdrive and you lose headroom and

things get all muddy and sloppy. 40 Hz rolloff switch —

problem solved. It makes the whole unit sound better. I can’t

wait to cut kick drum with this thing. And electric guitars —

a Neve Class-A preamp, Sennheiser MD 409, and RETRO 2A3

sounds fantastic on a guitar cab.

If you’re still in the recording business, you’re online, so surf

to RETRO’s site to stare at all the lovely frequencies and switches

and geek stuff. The build is standard RETRO, which is to say, it’s

totally overbuilt, super-heavy-duty, and gorgeous to look at. It’s

also heavy as hell; it must be all the custom transformers in this

thing. They stuck with the killer hash marks on the panel that

make it super-easy to read and recall. XLR I/O is also nice. I

urged a mono/stereo switch in place of the power switch (who

turns off tube gear anyway?) but got shot down. I’d love to see

an option for Goldpoint switches in place of pots for mastering

guys and control freaks, and apparently, that option may be in

the cards. I lobbied for some different frequencies, but really,

why mess with the slightly expanded (14, 6, and — thank

God — 1.5 kHz AKA bass growl) kid-tested, mother-approved

ones on there? Honestly, I’d love to see this in a modular format

at some point; I would likely build a 4-band unit with one Low,

two Mids, and one High section — especially for vocals. I’d also

love to see a High/Low stereo-only model for mix bus. I can

easily see myself owning more than one of these in the future;

it really is that good, and I use it on every song I mix. So, as

an apology for my earlier rant, dear RETRO 2A3 Dual Program EQ,

you know that when I hate you, it is because I love you to a

point of passion that unhinges my soul. (Apologies to Julie de

Lespinasse.) ($3750 street; www.retroinstruments.com)

–F. Reid Shippen,

Sonnox

Restore plug-in suite

This new trio of plug-ins from UK-based Sonnox (the group

that brought us plug-ins based on the Sony Oxford digital

console) includes Oxford DeClicker, Oxford DeBuzzer and Oxford

DeNoiser. They represent over a year and a half of research and

development, and promise significant advances over

competing products.

I’ve been using restoration software professionally for about

15 years. During this period, software companies made big

advances in transparency and effectiveness. In recent years,

improvements have come in smaller increments, leaving many

of us wondering, “What’s next?” This situation has not gone

unnoticed by Sonnox, who are presenting not just new

versions, but a new way of approaching restoration. For the

first time, we’re seeing intelligence and processing discretion

being built into the applications. For example, many

contemporary restoration applications work by examining a

section of the audio, then processing the whole file. It is sort

of like a guided missile. You program, aim, and let loose on a

target. The problem with this approach is that source material

changes. In some sections, one type of processing is

appropriate, while in other sections, it is not. To get around

this, more astute restoration engineers would chop up source

material, process each section individually, and then

reassemble the finished product. While the approach works, it

is labor and time intensive, can cause cross fade problems

when the audio is stitched together, and is prone to human

error when working with extended duration materials (e.g.,

classical recordings). Large restoration projects take much

longer in time and more in fees. The new approach from

Sonnox hopes to address many of these concerns.

DeClicker helps to remove clicks, pops, and other quick-burst

disturbances. There are three different sections devoted to

managing pops, clicks, and crackles. Instead of the standard

click-as-a-line display used by almost all click-correction

software, the main event window displays events as three-

dimensional bubbles across the frequency spectrum (the louder

the event, the larger the bubble). By lowering the threshold,

more events are detected, while the sensitivity control tells

DeClicker how many events to repair. A Diff (difference) button

allows you to hear the content to be removed, which is crucial

for avoiding over-processing. Without this feature, you can

easily remove “good” source signal along with “bad” source

signal — throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.

One of the most intriguing features is the Exclude Box,

which allows you to tell DeClicker to ignore audio by

frequency or amplitude. For example, suppose you were

processing a drum track but wanted to keep the hi-hats. With

other applications, you would have to lower the threshold to

allow the hi-hats to pass unprocessed. However, this would

allow the loudest clicks through as well. By drawing an

exclude box on the area around 12 kHz, for example, DeClicker

will ignore the hi-hat information in that vicinity but remove

clicks in all other areas.

Dialogue Mode is another example of building pseudo

intelligence into the system. It allows you to choose two sets

of Threshold/Sensitivity settings: one that is used during

speech, and a second for background and non-dialogue audio.

Anyone who has restored narration, interviews, or theatrical

recordings has already set down this issue and is purchasing

Restore. For those still reading, this level of control could save

hours and hours of editing and processing time. You’ll have one

of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments the first time

you see the Dialogue Mode screens.

/Tape Op#79/Gear Reviews/

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RETRO Instruments 1
Universal Audio 2

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Seite 1 - RETRO Instruments

RETRO Instruments2A3 Dual Program EQThis story begins badly, but stick with it; it gets better.Naturally, I was amped to fondle the new RETRO 2A3 Dual

Seite 2 - Universal Audio

I tried DeClicker on several test files I have. (When I runinto an issue during a project, I copy the worst offenders toa “Save for Restoration Softwa

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Retro Instruments 176 Bedienungsanleitung

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