channel eq

[assfortress]

What would be a good eq for mixing. I like the idea of an api lunchbox but i'd like to find something thats $300 per channel at most. Any suggestions?

[@?,*???&?]

$700 per channel is about the limit for getting a decent single channel EQ. Avoid the cheap graphics like the plague. Parametrics like the 550, 550A and 550B from API are fantastic. Very guitar/snare friendly. Their 560's are good too, but offer much different frequency selection. Think about what you'll be wanting to eq. Speck makes a good eq too, similar to the famous SSL E-series but without the shelving. Otherwise consider the economics of getting a console. Oram makes some decent boards that have that Trident sound in newer designs.

[joel hamilton]

The neuman PEV EQ's are really great, and they show up on ebay for like 200 a channel, no PS, and no connectors. If you have a tech, or are handy with a soldering iron, yo could rack a quad of these EQ'S up.

I also have a quad of Filtek/telefunken/BFE Eq's. They are really cool, more surgical EQ's.

Otherwise, Jeff is kinda right. Avoid the cheap outboard shit like the plague.

they do more harm than good IMO...

[psychicoctopus]

Any comments on the Orban parametric or paragraphic EQs?

[joel hamilton]

I used to want to love the Orban paragraphic, but it has no headroom, and I always felt that the first 3 db of boost on the top and upper mids was simply to correct for insertion loss in whatever chain I had it in.

I kinda thought it was okay for guitar for a minute, but it is just not good enough to bother patching it in IMO.

I wouldnt use one nowadays under normal conditions. maybe for something weird. They dont even drive well, they just start farting. If they would at least crap out in an interesting way, I would be more into them. They take up too much space in the rack for what they do, as well.

Big and almost useless, and not very fun for any reason other than being baby blue= No thanks.

[Shawn Simmons]

I've got an Orban 4 band parametric. Ditto what Joel said about the headroom. Seems like a lot of the Orban stuff is like that. But I have to say, it looks cool cause it's baby blue. IT'S BABY FREAKIN BLUE!!

I've heard good things about the Speck ASC (?) EQ. Cheap and not too bad sounding. I've never tried it myself.

Shawn

[chickenbop]

I got a discontinued speck 316 with 16 STEREO eq's for dirt cheap on ebay.It's really nice.Not all of the models produced were stereo though.Some had 8 channels of stereo,some 12,and some 16.It has 3 bands on each channel,none overlap,and each band has a frequency sweep and boost or cut,no bandwidth adjustment.Not quite as flexible as the asc but a great eq.I saw one the other day on ebay for around $500 I believe.16 channels!

[justinf]

yep, dammit. I lost that auction by a hair. Fuck! sniper.

That seems like an awesome deal indeed, 16 channels of proper eq for 500 bucks.

[jspartz]

I would suggest the DBX Project 1 EQ. It can be had for about 100.00 on the used market for a single channel. It works well and sound good. If you want to take the next step up then I would have to say pick up the Speck ASC. I have a pair of them and they are fuck'n awesome! Check them out.

Jason

[psychicoctopus]

Thanks for the Orban advice. Cool-looking units for sure, but the consensus on lack of headroom is good information. Maybe you could drop in better op-amps and get an improvement?

[JGriffin]

I have an Orban limiter I've been wanting to hook up; Joel, does all Orban stuff in your experience suffer from that cruddiness or is it just the EQs?

[lobstman]

There are stories about swapping chips and clipping caps on the older Orban eqs- they'll never be APIs, but I think you can make them sound better than what you pay for 'em.

I've got a 622B on the way that I plan to hack, I'll keep y'all updated...

[eeldip]

give that dbx unit a listen. 242? i think. $100 a channel. it is the last orban designed eq, and he considers it his best unit.


great value. i would say that if you want a bunch of channels of parametric, you can get a pair of some really great eqs, then fill it out with the dbxs till you upgrade them....


from rap:


>"Having met Bob Orban years ago, I felt comfortable contacting him, so I
>shot him out an email asking which of his equalizers he thought I should
>track down and purchase. I was a little surprised when his answer
>came. He told me that his "final analog parametric eq" was the DBX
>Project 1 Model 242, and that was what he recommended that I purchase.
>He said he was sure that I'd be happy with it."
>
>Is this true? Mr. O? Has anybody tried this unit? Are they good for
>anything?

Yep.

The design started out as the successor to the Orban 642. The improvement
was a complex crosscoupled feedback arrangement that allowed reciprocal
curves to +/-16dB EQ, yet still allowed an infinite notch. The whole
thing required a MAJOR optimization to solve all of the relevant
equations, because, unlike most EQ designs, the properties are not
guaranteed by the topology but rather by correct selection of (if I
recall correctly) six different resistors.

(We have since received a patent on the topology, and, for the
brave-hearted, the optimization procedure and the equations are to be
found there.)

About that time, AKG decided to drop the Orban studio line and just
concentrate on broadcast because they had just purchased the remains of
the dbx Pro operation, and dbx was to become the new "pro" line.

The EQ design was pretty cool, but the powers that be at AKG decided that
we would sell a lot more of them if they were aimed towards the project
studio market. This required a few compromises, like a wallwart power
supply. But the main signal path is 5532s in low-gain inverting mode, and
it's actually pretty clean.

There _is_ an entirely gratuitious electrolytic coupling capacitor at the
input, which I would advise bypassing. At this point, you will have an
admirably clean signal path.

The parametric filters are made with TL074s, and these could certainly
stand an upgrade.

Bob Orban

[@?,*???&?]

I would suggest the DBX Project 1 EQ. It can be had for about 100.00 on the used market for a single channel. It works well and sound good. If you want to take the next step up then I would have to say pick up the Speck ASC. I have a pair of them and they are fuck'n awesome! Check them out.

Jason

The cheaper dbx equipment has noise issues. Any problems with that? Have you compared it to some Class A stuff?

[@?,*???&?]

By the way, one of the charms of both the API 560 graphic eq and the old SSL E-series eq is how aggressive they are. The API gives you an amazing 12db of boost/cut that really enables you to carve out a sound.