TECHNOLOGY FOCUS OUTBOARD Outboard
From equalisers and converters to preamps and compressors, we take a look at some of the latest outboard gear.
The API 500 series lunchbox is a six-slot 500 series chassis containing a chunky power supply unit capable of driving up to six VPR Alliance-certified 500 series modules, supplying a max 215mA per slot. The beauty of the 500 series lunchbox format is the open, modular nature of the system. Need an ultra-high-quality channel strip? Screw in a 512 mic pre, 550A three-band EQ and a 527 compressor. If you decide later you fancy a different style compressor, unlike a fixed-architecture channel strip where you would have to replace the entire unit, you can simply swap out the 527 for the 525, or any number of the hundreds of 500 series modules being created by a wide range of different manufacturers.
www.sourcedistribution.co.uk
Designed in 1974, the original Neve 2264A mono limiter/compressor unit delivered similar facilities and performance as the earlier 2254 limiter/compressor type despite being packaged in a more compact form-factor. Discrete, Class A/B design and transformer-coupled circuits – used in the input, bridge-driver design, side-chain, and output stages – ensured a unique sound. The original 2264A units are still sought after, decades after production stopped. Now the 2264A is available for your lunchbox. Crafted in England by Neve engineers, the 2264ALB retains the sonic characteristics of the original 2264A – by using the same architecture, matching components, and original hand-wound transformers – as its classic counterpart and adds new features: a Signal Presence indicator LED and a Slow Attack option. Install in your compatible lunchbox rack, connect your line level signals and inject the Neve dynamic sound into your audio creations. The 2264ALB module can additionally be inserted between the input and output stages of the Neve 1073LB microphone preamp module.
www.ams-neve.com
The Cartec Fe-Q5 is an inductor-based equaliser for the API 500 series format. It has three bands of
equalisation, with a separate Sallen-Key 12dB/octave high pass filter. Its designer, Liam Carter, hints towards the classic Neve 1084 with this module. It also boasts custom wound input and output transformers (making use of the same input transformer as the EQP-1A) and is an all-discrete op-amp design. The high band features a cut/boost shelf with an illuminated ‘Air’ button, which pushes the Q point from 12kHz to 20kHz. Similarly, the low shelf has a button labelled ‘Deep’, which brings the Q point of the low band down from 100Hz to 20Hz. The mid band features a multi-tap inductor with six selectable cut/boost points between 400Hz and 7.2kHz. The ‘High Q’ button narrows the mid-band notch from two octaves to one for more precise cuts and boosts. Fine control and recall of previous settings is made easy on each band control with Grayhill stepped rotary switches. This is a particularly useful feature when working with two of these units in stereo.
www.unityaudio.co.uk
38 October 2013
The Bettermaker EQ 232P is a hybrid analogue/digital stereo equaliser that features a four-band parametric section, a stereo Pultec-style section, and a high- pass filter. Designed for mixing and mastering, the Bettermaker EQ 232P boasts 24dB of headroom and features two additional outputs allowing further processing such as parallel compression. The unit can be controlled from the front panel dials and switches as a normal analogue processor. In addition to this,
you can also store settings internally for instant reset, and A/B them, just as you would a plug-in.
It also comes with its own plug-in that can do everything a standard plug-in can do, including drawing automation. The full Bettermaker range also features a unit without front panel controls, the EQ 232P Remote, for those who just want to use the plug-in, and the 500-series version, the Bettermaker 502P.
www.kmraudio.com
The ISA 430 MkII channel strip brings together a set of classic Focusrite heritage elements to provide a diverse set of analogue processing tools that can be used as a comprehensive channel strip or as separate processors in any combination. At the heart of the ISA 430 MkII is the classic Focusrite transformer-based mic preamp featuring variable 600- to 6,800-ohm input impedance for maximum control of microphone
characteristics such as flatness, transparency, presence, and boost. The EQ section derives from the classic Focusrite ISA 110 EQ and features HPF, LPF, two separate bands of parametric EQ, and HF and LF shelving sections. The compressor is dual mode featuring both a transparent VCA circuit, which can be used to apply significant amounts of compression without audible artefacts, and a vintage optical design that brings
with it a traditional analogue sound. Optional auto release and blend control is available to retain the most natural dynamics possible. Also included is a gate/expander section, which is based on a transparent VCA design and includes a phase cancelling de-esser. There is an optional A-D converter card, which adds two channels of 24-bit A-D conversion at sample rates up to 192kHz.
www.focusrite.com
www.audiomedia.com
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