First Impressions of the TOFT ATB - 16

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Red Rockets Glare
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First Impressions of the TOFT ATB - 16

Post by Red Rockets Glare » Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:48 pm

(Edit as of 10-30, Please read the most recent post I have written on this board on page 6 where I essentially warn you off this mixer)

Hey Folks,

I picked up my Toft ATB 16 about two weeks ago and am ready to report some initial impressions of it.
Unpacking it I was more than a little suprised to find that all the knobs are anodized metal. This gives the board a very expensive feel that actually tranlates well to how it sounds.
It is a little taller than my last board, so we had to do some construction to fit it perfectly into it's new home, but now that it's installed and connected it is a real showpiece. I'll post some pics later this week. The wood they used on this board will give you, ....well, wood.
The preamps sound really good, somewhere between a sytek and a vintage Trident channel. No suprise there.
The only A/B tests I've really had a chance to do so far involved a phantom powered PZM mic and my acoustic guitar.
I have been getting a really bright, strident tone from the PZM that I have mounted behind my upright piano, but once I plugged the PZM into the Toft and fired up the phantom I was really suprised. It sounded smoother right off the bat! I did some EQ'ing and got it to sound like a really balanced picture of the whole piano. Something I hadn't been able to get before.
The Acoustic test was between the Toft and my Vintech 1272 using a Royer Modded MXL 2001, and the Vintech really stood out as the better choice, even after using the low cut on the TOFT.
No suprise there really.
I look forward to recording an entire song on the TOFT, but am a little busy at the studio for pure experimentation at the moment. Sometime later this month I will try to post something like that if I can lure a couple of friends out just for fun.
I have had a chacnce to mix a few songs on the board so far with 8 stems coming from ProTools, and was really impressed at how much sculpting you can do with the EQ's. I have to say I like them a lot more than the pre's which works out well since I use mostly outbaord preamps anyways. That is not to say that the Preamps don't sound fine, but one really can't expect them to compete with API's and Neve's at this price. I am mostly happy that they don't color the sound when I mix through them.
The mixes I did this past week sounded really clean at first and they went to the Mixdown deck with loads of punch and clarity.
THEN I started cranking the master output fader and was really impressed with the results. As with any piece of analog gear, there was distortion, but it was in the form of making the midrange more aggressive and pronnounced rather than the eventual clipping I would get with my Soundtracs. I fear I may start to abuse this function quite a little bit. It was addictive, and the clients I was working with were really digging it.
There were only a few things I was a little bummed about with the board, including unbalanced sends on the master channel, and VU meters that are a little hard to keep track of since they are mounted flush with the board.
I am sure I will find more things to write about as I get used to the board, but I have to say it has really changed my studio's sound for the better.

I really want to thank Reid and Malcom for making a board that is so perfectly suited for engineers like me that need a great board, but don't have investors or a trust fund.

Cheers,
Raymond Richards
Last edited by Red Rockets Glare on Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:57 am, edited 2 times in total.

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I'm Painting Again
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Post by I'm Painting Again » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:35 pm

sounds like a good board..

post pics of the inside!

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Post by asmara » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:52 pm

Thanks for your initial impressions. I would love to here some A/B examples if you care to post.

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pk
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Post by pk » Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:08 am

How much does the 16ch cost?

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Post by JdJ » Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:29 am

Thanks for the initial impressions. Very interested to hear your opinion/mixes etc as you are able to spend more time with it.

Thanks,

J

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:55 pm

anything new to report?

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:11 pm

I'm totally thinking of getting one..I would love to hear some more about it as well..

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Jon Nolan
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Post by Jon Nolan » Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:09 am

yes! more info! (and clips would be cool too.)

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:46 am

Did you own a soundtracs topaz before. I PM you awhile back about this. How is the ATB comparing?

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:28 pm

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthre ... t=toft+atb

these are the only clips I could find on the net..

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Post by Sculli » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:16 am

Very interested in Toft ATB 16.Can't seem to find any current pricing.
Any help is much appreciated.
Peace,
Kevin

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:14 pm

it's about 3 grand..

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Post by inverseroom » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:09 pm

I notice on their site that the strips are in 8-channel modules. I wonder if there will be a little one someday...

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Post by mjau » Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:59 pm

inverseroom wrote:I wonder if there will be a little one someday...
*glances at wallet, ponders this idea for a moment*

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Post by Red Rockets Glare » Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:52 am

trodden wrote:Did you own a soundtracs topaz before. I PM you awhile back about this. How is the ATB comparing?

Hi Brandon,
It smokes the Soundtracs in just about every way you can think of.
I am hooking a plate reverb up to it later this month and can't wait to hear how it takes to that.
I'll post some sound files soon of a song tracked with only the ATB preamps.
CHeers,
Raymond

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