 George
Shilling reviews:
Joemeek
MeekBox VC6
Since
the introduction of the Joemeek Compressor a few years ago, Joemeek
have been steadily increasing their range. They have found a
particular niche with the all-in-one type of processor for use
mostly as a direct-to-tape microphone processor.
Joe
himself was a pioneer of Direct Inject recording, but nevertheless
these are unmistakeably 1990's fad gadgets. From the budget VC3
Voice Channel, through the VC1 right up to the VC2 top-end
valve-based design, there is something in the range for every
pocket. I was therefore somewhat mystified to receive the VC6. It is
more expensive than the VC3 but still somewhat cheaper than the VC1.
Why bring out a fourth box that does pretty much the same job as the
three already in existence?
Buy the Joe Meek TwinQ Studio Channel Strip in our shop.
The
mystery was solved by a quick call to Ted Fletcher, the Joemeek
founder and designer. The VC6 replaces the VC3, with enhancements
made to the old Voice Channel design which were requested by users.
The most obvious change is that the unit is housed in a standard 1U
rackmount case, as opposed to the VC3's half-width 1U size. This
extra space has enabled the power supply to be moved to an internal
location instead of the irritating external type of the VC3. The
unit is nevertheless very light and shallow. Ted has carefully
positioned the little transformer as far away as possible from the
mic amp. On the back is an XLR mic input, and unbalanced jack
sockets for line input, mix in, and, usefully, two identical
outputs. There is also a TRS jack insert socket, which is
particularly intended for hooking up the new VC5 Meequalizer EQ
introduced at the Vision and Audio 97 Show in London in November.
There is lastly an IEC mains socket. On the front there is an
instrument jack, which, like the line input on the back, has
priority over the Mic input. This input has been optimised for
instruments such as electric guitars, and was designed by plugging
in a Fender Jazz Bass and experimenting to find the best matching.
This turned out to be 180 KOhms - exactly the same as an Ampeg bass
amplifier input. Great minds etc.
A
gain pot is accompanied by a small phantom power switch with LED to
indicate On. The compressor section has an On button. Adjacent is an
LED that disconcertingly does not light when you press the button,
but instead glows when the compression threshold is crossed, as no
doubt do the two on the circuit board in front of the photoelectric
cell. One knob sets Compression on a range of 1 to 11, continuing
the perennial Spinal Tap gag. This knob increases the sidechain gain
to the compressor as it is turned up, thus increasing compression. A
ratio knob can be set between 1.2:1 and 6:1. There are no marks on
the scale between these extremes, which makes noting settings
difficult. It is the same with the Attack and Release pots. The
Compressor is very similar to that found in the Joemeek Compressor.
Next comes the Enhancer section, which is identical to that on the
VC1. Controls comprise Drive, Q and Enhance. There is no bypass
switch, you just have to turn the Enhance knob down. A dimly glowing
LED brightens as the enhancer adds sparkle to the signal. I found it
a bit edgy sounding, but used with care it is good. I preferred it
on instruments rather than vocals.
The
Output knob is accompanied by 5 LEDs that indicate level before the
pot, to help you set input gain. The first one lights all the time
to indicate power on. Personally, I would have preferred the LEDs to
indicate gain reduction for the compressor rather than level: one
overload light would have sufficed. Finally, there is a small
front-panel power on/off rocker switch. I found the front panel
legending nearly impossible to read: the labelling of the knobs is
tiny, and black on fairly dark green is not the best contrast!
However, it is easy to see the position of the black rubbery knobs
with their green insert pointers. The manual is written in Ted
Fletcher's inimitable boastful yet charming style. It could perhaps
do with a few diagrams but is otherwise a delightful read. The sound
quality is very high for a budget unit. The overload margin is very
high, and the compression is unusual. In terms of character it is
slow, and sounds more like axle grease than WD40. This suits some
vocalists more than others: for some it is perfect, but for others
does not work as well. You won't be able to achieve the vicious
graininess of some competing compressors, but this is not what
Joemeek is about. Ted Fletcher places great importance on phase
linearity right down to 5Hz and this pays off with a great solidity
in the sound.
Costs
have been kept down, for example by not using balanced connections,
but there are a few cheaper competitors. However, this is quite
different from the competition, and while ergonomics design is not
its strong point, its foibles are probably part of its charm.
Buy the Joe Meek TwinQ Studio Channel Strip in our shop.
Reproduced
with kind permission from www.George.Shilling.Com. Copyright ©1997
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