 George
Shilling reviews:
Inward
Connections Vac Rac TEQ-1
The
Vac Rac was originally reviewed by Dave Foister in the March 1996
edition of Studio Sound. This revisit is to evaluate the new EQ
module, but first, a quick recap...
The Inward Connections Vac Rac design team is a tight-knit three man
unit with a wide range of music industry experience between them.
The Vac Rac 4000 comes as a sturdy 3U rack-mounter, with space for
four modules and an onboard tube power supply in the section to the
right. At nearly double the price there is also a model 6000 with
space for six modules with the power supply moved into a separate 2U
rackmount unit, along with the mains transformer. The 4000 has an
external cased toroidal mains transformer which is extremely heavy,
and is connected via a thick 15-way cable. This is optionally
rackmountable with half-rack ears. A rackmountable grille is
supplied to be fitted above the main unit - a great idea to ensure
all those valves don't get too hot. The TEQ-1's lone tube is an
authentic American GEC 6072A.
Buy Joe Meek TwinQ Studio Channel Strip and other equipment in our shop.
The range of 'Rac modules now comprises the TMP-1 Microphone
Pre-Amplifier, the TLM-1 Tube Limiter, the TII-1 Direct Inject
module, and now the TEQ-1 Step Equalizer. The whole look of the
range is unashamedly very retro: grey 1940s military-spec paintwork,
bakelite knobs, and heavyweight metalwork. Even the manual looks
like a dossier of Top Secret papers, with "OPERATIONS
MANUAL" printed on the cover, and plenty of technical diagrams.
The TEQ-1's control knobs are all stepped: there are three-bands
with gain settings of plus or minus 2,4,6,9 and 12 dBs. The low band
has frequency settings of 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400Hz, the mid has
400, 800, 1.5k, 3k and 5kHz, and the top has 5k, 7.5k, 10k 12.5k and
15kHz. These all look like sensible choices, and the overlaps are
welcome, although one wonders if slightly differing frequencies
would not have more useful where overlap occurs. Unfortunately, the
stepped knobs are much stiffer than those on the TLM-1, but this is
not generally a problem. They click solidly into place, and there is
little possibility of confusion when recalling previously noted
settings, a definite plus in mixing and mastering situations. The
US-style upside-down-operating toggle switches of the earlier
modules have been abandoned in favour of tiny plastic green
pushbuttons, mainly I think due to reasons of space. These are
perhaps less confusing to Europeans. However it is less obvious at a
glance which position the button is in, as their travel is shallow,
and there are no accompanying indicator lights except an LED for EQ
On. There is also a Power On LED, although of course the power
switch is on the transformer box. The TEQ-1's switches and LEDs
detract from the retro look and feel of the other modules. Like its
brethren, the TEQ-1 module is held in the rack with four screws and
features a little chrome handle at the bottom of the front panel for
removal. On the back there are XLR and jack connections for input
and output, and I was surprised how cheap and plasticky the sockets
were. Not what you expect on a unit such as this, but they seem
serviceable enough.
The buttons operate High- and Low-Pass Filters set at 50Hz and 15kHz
respectively, (not 50kHz as stated in the manual and brochure!) and
also separately switch the high and low bands between peaking and
shelving. The five mid-band frequencies are "reciprocal
bell-shaped peaking curves". Bandwidth is unspecified but
sounds about average and is well chosen. Frequency response is
quoted at a remarkable +0.25dB@5Hz to 100kHz. It is virtually
impossible to overload the input, yet the output is astonishingly
quiet.
As you notch the gain up it seems very subtle: 6dBs of 10kHz shelf
added to a vocal or mix does not sound as much as the numbers
suggest. This is because the unit works so effortlessly, with
seemingly little distortion or unpleasant phase shifting which
lesser EQs sometimes suffer. The TEQ-1 is wonderfully smooth and
gentle, but nevertheless very powerful. The low frequency shelf just
goes down and down. Nothing you do with any of the knobs ever sounds
wrong! It is easy to get carried away and make huge boosts and cuts
without realising the extent of the changes you have made until you
compare the flat signal. Despite the diminutive front panel, this
has more clout than many larger units. I found it to be better than
units such as the Tubetech PE1C, but quite different in approach,
i.e. the module concept and the switched controls, which make it
more like the (transistor) API 550. It is best suited to gently
shaping a signal rather than dramatic wrangling and manipulation.
Because of the modular approach it is difficult to compare prices,
as the rack and power supply are the most expensive part.
These
are not cheap units, and work out somewhere in the same region as
the aforementioned Tubetechs. There are few if any really similar
units on the market that I know of, and I would certainly recommend
them as a 'best buy'.
Buy Aphex and other recording equipment in the music studio shop
Reproduced
with kind permission from www.George.Shilling.Com. Copyright ©1997
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