square state solid state EQ

[Dakota]

it's alarming to thing that R&D should be rewarded for a lifetime.

Then it's alarming to think that songwriting or unique creative craft or intellectual property should be rewarded for a lifetime.

Anyway, back on a posi tip, inductor EQ is cool, independent local businesses are cool.

If anyone around Boston has a pair of these EQ's I could try/hear, let me know. I'm interested in picking some up over the next year, seeing how they'd fit in to my rig would help.

[Osumosan]

Looks like there's $225.00 in parts here, tops. What's the design worth? Another hundred bucks. $325.00 should be the retail price here. Then again, the faceplate design could be more expensive in small runs. Maybe $400.

How much could the Chinese make this for?

Under $100.

For the TapeOp community, what's it worth?

You can have your opinion, certainly. But why do you think someone should make us a good EQ for us for us for free? He should make no profit? Do you honestly think that a box that has $225 in parts is too expensive at $500?

[PT]

Honestly guys, I'm not giving this guy a hard time. I'm interested in what is inside this thing.

Knowing how little there is under the hood of some great pre amps, it's alarming to thing that R&D should be rewarded for a lifetime. The Neve name comes to mind. Ever crack a Portico? Priced over $1K? Not even worth it.

I cracked open my Portico and saw something fairly complex that, to me, took a lot of knowledge and experience to design and manufacture. Much more complex than the Hamptone pre amps I built myself. Both pre amps sound great in different ways.

I don't exactly see how less under the hood should necessarily equal a lower retail price. Sound quality, functionality, and customer service seem to be more important factors in determining the price of gear, than the number of electronic components contained within the box.

Don't get me wrong. If something is dead simple and cheap to build, it should not be marked up a thousandfold. That would simply be lame. But I think value is created with R&D that can rightfully be added to the retail price of a product.

[@?,*???&?]

Looks like there's $225.00 in parts here, tops. What's the design worth? Another hundred bucks. $325.00 should be the retail price here. Then again, the faceplate design could be more expensive in small runs. Maybe $400.

How much could the Chinese make this for?

Under $100.

For the TapeOp community, what's it worth?

You can have your opinion, certainly. But why do you think someone should make us a good EQ for us for us for free? He should make no profit? Do you honestly think that a box that has $225 in parts is too expensive at $500?

No, but I'm taking the TapeOp stance here for arguments sake, whereas I used to take a 'defend the industry' stance and was typically flamed for it.

You guys appear to want great gear, but don't want to use 'real' studios- at least that appears to be what folks have posted. It doesn't really make sense to me if the 'real' studios have great gear. I'm reacting to 6 years of posting here and watching the trend.

If I can get an amazing UAD emulation of a Pultec EQP1A, why do I need an actual Pultec? A Pultec EQP1A as hardware (because of rareness) would run me $4k. The plugin price is factored in with the price of buying a UAD-1 or UAD-2.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

your 'argument' has nothing to do with anything.

you do realize that there are plenty of 'you guys' on this board who have studios that are more 'real' than yours, right?

[chris harris]

No, but I'm taking the TapeOp stance here for arguments sake, whereas I used to take a 'defend the industry' stance and was typically flamed for it.

No. You're taking the same "bad pet monkey flinging shit everywhere" stance that you take in every thread, every time. The shit you continually fling comes from your own ass and doesn't represent the "stance" of any other member of this community.

You guys appear to want great gear, but don't want to use 'real' studios- at least that appears to be what folks have posted. It doesn't really make sense to me if the 'real' studios have great gear. I'm reacting to 6 years of posting here and watching the trend.

BAD MONKEY!!!!

[Andy Peters]

Knowing how little there is under the hood of some great pre amps, it's alarming to thing that R&D should be rewarded for a lifetime. The Neve name comes to mind. Ever crack a Portico? Priced over $1K? Not even worth it.

It's not "rewarding R+D for a lifetime."

It's about paying the current bills: the salaries and benefits of the engineers and support staff. It's about keeping the lights on, the phones on, the internet on, and keeping water running in the bathrooms. It's about paying the rent on the office space. It's about paying for various safety agency regulations and compliance testing. It's about paying taxes at all levels of government.

It's about paying for custom-wound transformers and custom-taper potentiometers in quantities of less than a zillion. It's about paying for software licenses for things like schematic capture and PCB layout and mechanical design and resource management (there's got to be some way to track parts orders, kitting, production runs and the like).

So, please, detail for all of us your experience in bringing to market a consumer electronics product. We're all waiting.

-a

[Marc Alan Goodman]

I don't see how anyone can argue that pricing has anything to do with the cost of physically building a product.

Pricing is based on what people will pay. If it only takes me x much effort to grow an apple, and you build wheelbarrows that take 100 times the effort each but you're starving, then the apple is still a valid exchange. It doesn't matter how much effort or resources you put in to it.

Once again, in all things, pricing has to do with perceived value, which can be more than the sum of its physical or intellectual pieces.



Anyway, this is all off topic. The short of it is that the Model One B is an amazing equalizer and I think it's valid for me to own one. You may want to check it out and consider that option for yourself.

[the finger genius]

No, but I'm taking the TapeOp stance here for arguments sake, whereas I used to take a 'defend the industry' stance and was typically flamed for it.

Please don't ever claim to be taking the "TapeOp stance" again. You're completely clueless, or else purposefully stirring shit up. Either way, I'm getting pretty sick of having to count to ten after seeing a thread completely derailed by your posts.

[Recycled_Brains]

So, this is a thread about EQ, or....?

Thinking the moderator should moderate.

Or maybe you all just ignore symbol dude.

[Dakota]

So, about EQ. Question for the good gentleman Mr. Scum, or whoever else wants to chip in:

(Not in reference to the stable current production model of the Square State Solid State EQ, but toward an idea about what might be possible in the future).

Topology of LC (inductor/capacitor) EQ's are really given to discrete stepping or toggle switches, because sweep variable capacitors and inductors in the values needed for audio range EQ are not practical as standard parts. But there is that other family of inductor filter topology - the wah pedal, which does sweep, and makes cool harmonic overtones. In theory, would a racked line level and expanded take on the wah filter circuit make any sense as a sweepable EQ that would have that unique inductor character? Expanded, as in Q variable and variably resonant low pass, hi pass, band pass, band reject, & variable clean to saturated drive sound.

Blue sky idea, but everyone loves that ringing stuck wah sound, or playing the knobs.

[joel hamilton]

So, this is a thread about EQ, or....?

Thinking the moderator should moderate.

Or maybe you all just ignore symbol dude.

Yeah. so anyway...

Jeff: you gotta chill out a little, man. Really. WTF? if you are not trying to be a ding-dong, then stop posting, because you are coming off like a ding-dong without trying.
Know what I mean?

I thought this thread was safe from such crappy attitudes. Whatever.
I like this EQ a lot and I dont give a fuck what is inside and what it costs the guys who make it.
I actually care about the sound coming out, not the fucking internet-boredom-blabber-mouth shit that labors over serial numbers and mouser/digikey part numbers when there are records being made CONSTANTLY with things that this neurotic, bored, lame-ass self righteous type of person always harps on.
Its pointless. absolutely pointless.
All the plants are dying while you argue the brass content of the threaded end of the garden hose being used to get water to the plants. Or the diameter, or the length, or the "manufacturers rating" for how much water could be safely passed through their garden hose.
The faux-academic critique of every detail of a useful tool is a joke to me.
Sorry it annoys anyone on this board.
Ignore that shit.
any bum can walk up to a room full of rocket scientists and say "it'll never work" and it will only reveal the fact that the guy is a bum for a reason...
Enjoy.
Puppies.
Kittens.

[Dakota]

Puppies.
Kittens.

Pie.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

All the plants are dying while you argue the brass content of the threaded end of the garden hose being used to get water to the plants.

so good.

[KennyLusk]

I know there's gotta be gobs of attitude and color here with meaty ballsy sort of rumble, but does it retain a decent dose of dimension at the same time? (Provided of course there was dimension in the track to begin with.)

It's actually not an EQ that I would call super colorful. It's really smooth and clear sounding. Amazingly clear for the price. Due to the design I would have assumed it would be a similar vibe to my Purple ODDs or Auditronics PEQ-82, but in reality it is more powerful with less color than either of them.

Thanks for the reply Marc, I appreciate it.