Review

Reviews

By George Shilling and Russell Cottier

Mutronics Mutator Stereo analogue filter, modulation and envelope follower
Dec 23 2008 Stereo analogue filter, modulation and envelope follower
Mutronics Mutator

It is not uncommon these days for record producers to have ProTools systems with software plug-ins to digitally emulate analogue effects.

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Neve 8801 88R console channel strip
Dec 23 2008 88R console channel strip
Neve 8801

This is a product that now seems obvious, and although there have been board room and financial shenanigans, one might wonder why it has taken Neve so long to produce it.

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Neve 8803 Dual channel equalizer and filter
Dec 23 2008 Dual channel equalizer and filter
Neve 8803

The 8803 features comprehensive four band EQ, plus high and low filtering. The case is fairly shallow, and while the colour scheme is very Neve, the build quality is not quite as reassuring as chunky 1073s and 1081s.

EQ
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Presonus ADL 600 Dual channel mic, line, instrument pre
Dec 23 2008 Dual channel mic, line, instrument pre
Presonus ADL 600

The story of Italian-American designer of boutique outboard Antony DeMaria meeting up with PreSonus president Jim Odom at the New York AES Show will be familiar to some readers from press releases.

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Purple Audio MC76 Mono FET compressor
Dec 23 2008 Mono FET compressor
Purple Audio MC76

I have yet to meet a recording engineer who dislikes or actively avoids using Urei 1176 limiters. Every commercial music recording studio worth its salt usually has two or more of these mono units in the rack as standard.

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Roll Music RMS755 Super Stereo Compressor
Dec 23 2008 Super Stereo Compressor
Roll Music RMS755

Minneapolis-based Roll Music… (which is a different company from Rolls Corp in Utah, here ‘Roll’ is derived from the difference between ‘Rock’ and ‘Rock and Roll’ music) …claim that the RMS755 is designed to squeeze life into your mix, not out of it.

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Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Discrete Analogue Mixer
Dec 23 2008 Discrete Analogue Mixer
Rupert Neve Designs 5088

At 80, Rupert Neve can look back proudly at a career of console design, his CV including numerous models which pushed the boundaries of audio quality and ergonomics.

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Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5033 Five Band EQ
Dec 23 2008 Five Band EQ
Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5033

George Shilling walks through another doorway to find out whether this EQ provides the entrance for classic Neve sounds... The pro-audio industry is littered with remnants of Mr Rupert Neve’s distinguished - if disjointed - career.

EQ
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Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5043 Compressor / limiter duo
Dec 23 2008 Compressor / limiter duo
Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5043

Industry legend Rupert Neve adds a compressor to the Portico series, George Shilling finds the way in. Rupert Neve founded the famous Neve console company many decades ago, and it is many years since connections were severed with what is now AMS-Neve.

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Sonnox Oxford SuprEsser De-esser plugin
Dec 23 2008 De-esser plugin
Sonnox Oxford SuprEsser

New from Sonnox is the Oxford SuprEsser, designed to be “the last word” in De-Essing.

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SSL Alpha Channel Pre-amp and EQ with digital conversation
Dec 23 2008 Pre-amp and EQ with digital conversation
SSL Alpha Channel

SSL seems an increasingly go-ahead and dynamic company, especially since the last change of ownership.

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SSL Duende DSP powered plugins
Dec 23 2008 DSP powered plugins
SSL Duende

Duende is a Spanish word – “A mysterious power that all may feel and no philosophy can explain.” But I’m going to try anyway… Duende comes as a 1U rackmount box which houses a board with 40-bit floating point DSP processing engine chips.

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SSL X-Rack Mixer Modular rack system
Dec 23 2008 Modular rack system
SSL X-Rack Mixer

I took a look at the SSL X-Rack a while back but back then the only module available was a Dynamics processor.

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Summit Audio TMX-420 Four channel tube mixer
Dec 23 2008 Four channel tube mixer
Summit Audio TMX-420

The TMX-420 comes accommodated within the familiar silver-coloured Summit 2U rack housing. It is built like the proverbial brick outhouse, and weighs a stonking 23lbs. Large black and red knobs and industrial strength toggle switches adorn the front panel.

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TC Electronic DVR2 Digital Vintage Reverb TDM Plugin
Dec 23 2008 TDM Plugin
TC Electronic DVR2 Digital Vintage Reverb

DVR stands for Digital Vintage Reverb, which might sound like an oxymoron, but this Pro Tools HD or HD Accel plugin is a faithful recreation of the EMT 250, the first useable digital reverb, designed back in 1975.

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TC Electronic NonLin2 TDM Plugin
Dec 23 2008 TDM Plugin
TC Electronic NonLin2

NonLin2 is another reverb plugin for Pro Tools HD or HD Accel ported directly from tc’s flagship M6000 processor. Perhaps more of a niche effect, NonLin2 provides the ultimate flexible gated reverb effect.

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