FX & processors

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The modern sampler was born out of the early sampling delay units & is an instrument loaded with RAM memory chips which allows you to 'sample' or record any sound and then play that sound back at different pitches across your keyboard or do more creative things with the sound...
Basically for dance music FX & signal-processors can make or break a track and sound. Delay FX can be used to create new and cool rhythmic patterns with your sounds or to make thundering rolling beats and drum patterns such as on the classic Leftfield track "Born Slippy" where rhythmic delay was added to the drums to create the classic rolling beat.

Compression effects of course are another strong point in dance music. Compression can be used not only for it's classical role of containing, reducing and restricting the dynamic range of a signal, but it can be used creatively to spice up and modify basslines and drum parts by adding pumping or trigger style compression effects.

Broadly you can say that dance music tends to use effects and processors more creatively and in more extreme ways than other more traditional genres - By that we mean that items like a typical eq-unit tends to be used in 'traditional recording' to tweak sounds (often quite subtley) or for corrective tasks while generaly leaving the sound as natural as possible - With dance music production the eq-unit is often used radicaly to create unique sounds, huge eq sweeps and eq-filter effects etc.
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Audio FX processor types

Audio FX & processors are broadly divided into two main types or categories:

Insert Type FX & Processors

The effect processor is inserted across the channel ("strapped across the channel" in engineering talk), which means the audio signal passes IN to the effect unit via the Input, passes through the effect unit - where the processing happens to the signal - & leaves the effect unit at the Output. These type of Insert effects tend to be called audio Processors rather than 'Effects' because to 'process' an audio signal the entire audio signal must pass through the processor and come out of the other side 'processed'. Typical Insert type audio processors include Equalisers & Compressors.

'Insert' FX like Equalisers & Compressors CAN be used as Additive effects, but this is usually done for special effects or processing techniques.

Additive type FX & Processors

These type of effects are called 'Additive' because the effect sound always occurs AFTER the original signal. So rather than passing a signal in its entirety THROUGH the effects processor, the 'Additive' effect processor is used to ADD some effect to the original signal which itself passes through to the mix un-processed. Typical Additive type effects include Reverb, Delay & Chorus, which are ADDED to or 'blended in with' the original un-processed audio signal.

'Additive' FX like Delay, Reverb & Chorus CAN be used as Insert type effects, but this is usually done for special effects or processing techniques.
Further to those two general classification, we also divide FX processors into Time Based FX & Non Time Based FX.

Time based FX

As the name suggests, these are audio FX processors that manipulate the original signal in the domain of Time. These sort of FX include Reverb, Delay/Echo, Chorus & Flanging. Time based FX always add their effected signal AFTER the original audio signal has sounded, even if it is only very slightly after the original signal.

Delay & Echo repeats happen AFTER the original audio signal has sounded. Reverb sound (which is basically thousands of tiny short echos bouncing around a space forming a dense 'cloud' of repeats) happens AFTER the original audio signal has sounded. Chorus is created with a very short delay which is then Modulated up and down in pitch at various speeds and at various amounts of pitch modulation strength, and again this Chorus signal happens AFTER the original signal has sounded. Flanging is the sound when a copy of the original audio signal is very slightly delayed from the original & this delayed signal can then be 'swept' slowly to change the time delay between the original audio signal & the delayed copy.

Non Time based FX

These sort of FX or processors do not ADD an effect to the original audio signal which occurs in time AFTER the original signal; instead they 'Process' (change or alter) the original signal passing through in its entirety with no audio time delay *. These sort of Processors include Equalisers & Filters, Compressors, Limiters, Stereo imaging processors etc.

As you can see, generally therefore Time-Based effects & processors tend to be Additive & non Time-Based effects & processors tend to be used as an insert type.
* The rules? Yes, we broadly have Insert & additive effects & processors & those effects are either classed as Time or Non Time based, but techniques used in studios include using traditional Insert type processors in an Additive way to achieve what is usually known as 'Parallel' Processing, and traditional Time-based effects like reverb CAN be added to a signal insert fashion. A sound passing entirely through a reverb is totally different to a reverb being added to a signal. Again it's a special technique.
Let's check out the main effect & processor categories found in studios...

Reverb

The Akai MPC series is a much misunderstood product line. From the first model released - the MPC-60 - the MPC series were designed & marketed as a hardware sequencer AND sample based drum machine, all in one, designed to be the center piece of a MIDI based studio.

At the same time as Akai updated & released subsequent MPC models they also released their fully-featured rack & keyboard 'S' series samplers, with the MPC's always having the primary role of being a sample drum & loop player with combined hardware sequencer all they way through until the early 2000's at which point finally Akai started to bring what you'd call full sampler features to the MPC series and from that point forwards Akai samplers & their MPC series started to become interchangable as full fledged samplers allowing mapped sample sets with velocity layering and all the things you'd expact from a fully fledged sampler.

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Classic reverbs

Grampian 636

Famous old British spring reverb unit from the 1960's. It's well known that Pete Townsend used the Grampain as a guitar pre-amp (which it's Pre-amp can function as). Used by Scratch Perry etc. Arturia do a plugin of it for €99 Euros & P2F sell an IR. SoundsGas have developed a hand built re-make which you can buy for a meagre £4290 inc VAT!

Great British Spring

There were various version of the Bandive Great British spring, but suffice to say if you walked into any backstreet or reggae studio in the UK back in the day before the avalanche of cheaper digital reverbs appeared in the mid to late 1980's, you'd find a GBS. Once units like the Midiverb & Microverb appeared most smaller & home studios dropped them, but now considered a classic and they sell for bonkers money!

AKG BX spring reverbs

AKG made three spring reverbs which are internally quite complexed resulting in a smooth reverb with less 'boing' factor that cheaper units. The BX20 in the tall wooden box, BX10 (grey smaller box) & the BX5 (rack mount). AKG were still knocking out the BX5 as late as the early 80's when we used to go and play them at pool in the pub in Acton. The Sunset Sound BX10 is available as an IR (recorded through Sunsets outboard) in the IK Multimedia Sunset Sound reverb plugin (and very good it is too)

EMT 140

1957 the famous EMT 40 plate (also the 140ST stereo plate) hugely famous plate reverb used by every major studio to this day.

Programming Technologies Ecoplate

The other famous plate reverb from the old days built in the 1980's. Some say it's smoother than the EMT140, with a brighter top-end due to its stainless steel plate, which according to the designer Jim Cunningham gave a better top end response. The Ecoplate also featured high quality electronics including a filter which shelved off very low frequencies from reaching the plate driver. The Ecoplate has an adjustable reverb time from 1-7 seconds achieved by adjusting the damping lever, a S/N ratio of better than 60dB, and its frequency response curve is fairly flat from around 800Hz to 2kHz after which it gently rolls off by about 10dB up to 10kHz. All in/out connections are balanced. You can find examples of the Ecoplate secondhand in various states of repair for around £2-4 grand, but in plugin form you can find the Ecoplate in the IK Multimedia Sunset Sound plugin, as well as from The Department of Sound who make a stand-alone iLok controlled plugin emulation.

EMT 250

1976. The world's first digital reverb! Well actually the second; the first was the EMT 144 but almost none survive. This second digital unit from EMT is still considered today to be one of the finest digital reverbs ever made. Various emulations are available such as for the UAD systems. The 250 contained multiple large circuit boards of chips (a lot of them!), got very hot as a consequence in operation and thus the outside features full length external heat sinks.

Lexicon 224

1978. The Lexicon 244 released. Still considered one of the finest reverbs ever made.

Ursa Major Space Station

1978 and the Ursa Major Space Station was one of the first of the new digital delay reverbs that used 24 separate delay lines 'Taps' from a 256Ms delay chip, with feedback routing to achieve delay & reverb effects by attempting to simulate multiple early reflections. Kinda sounds like very short delays combined together and then played back at very short intervals along a total length of time to get a reverb sound & those very short delays can be fed back to the input to delay the delay Taps themselves and create a denser reverb sound. EQ & Comb filtering can also be switched in to add robot style reverb or filter the decay time of Taps. It's got a surprisingly good & warm sound given the technology of the time. Retailed at around $2000, making it the first ever 'affordable' digital reverb & multi-delay. Now re-released in a small form factor table-top unit, the new SST206 Space Station from Seven Woods Audio, Chris Moore's company, the original Space Station designer.

Quantec QRS

Released in 1982 the Quantec Room Simulator was a 16-bit true stereo reverb with an 8kHz top end. Very expensive at around £6000 GBP on release the Quantec is still revered today for it's realistic simulations of spaces.

AMS RMX16

What exactly is it about Burnley in Lancs? Must be something in the water. Well anyway, you'll definitely leave your light on for this one! Walk into any major studio in the 80's & 90's and you'd see one of these. The 1982 released RMX16 is considered one of the finest studio classic era reverbs ever made. The RMX16 is a 12/16-bit hybrid, with a bandwidth of 18kHz and 90dB of dynamic range. Available from high-end studio gear shops from time to time & in UAD form, however the best news is AMS Neve are making them again in a smaller re-release form for around 1000 quid.

Yamaha R-1000

1983 & Yamaha release the mono R-1000, the first affordable digital mono reverb launched at the unheard of low price of £493 inc VAT. Four mode (time) buttons & a parametric eq adorn the front panel, while the rear offers only a 1/4" mono in/out connectors accompanied by 1/4" Insert send & return sockets & the unit has a max bandwidth top end of 10kHz.

Lexicon PCM60

1984 The Lexicon PCM60 kicked of the PCM reverb series which became the ubiquitous single rack unit quality reverb found in studio & live racks all over the world. Based on Lexicon's 1978 244 studio reverb, the PCM60 offers cut down facilities at a much reduced price, released at around £1600 GBP.

Lexicon PCM70

1986 The Lexicon PCM60 kicked of the PCM reverb series which became the ubiquitous single rack unit quality reverb found in studio & live racks all over the world. Based on Lexicon's 1978 244 studio reverb, the PCM60 offers cut down facilities at a much reduced price, released at around £1600 GBP.

Dynacord DRP16

1984 & the Dynacord DRP16 hits the market offering serious competition to Yamaha's R-1000 which until the German Dynacord arrived had really no competition at the price point of under just under £500 GBP. The Dynacord cost a bit more at round £600 GBP & is a. 'pseudo-stereo' reverb offering a mono input to the mono processing 12-bit processor after which the signal is split for stereo simulation. The DRP16 offers 8 programs each with a progressively larger pre-delay & reverb time.

Alesis XT

1985 A sub 1000 dollar/GBP stereo digital reverb in 1985 was quite a big deal. The XT had a 14kHz top end too, which was the domain of the more high-end units back then. The XT had variable decay time & pre-delay & the delay & diffusion can be adjusted for frequency content damping + a hi & lo cut filter. Like all the older reverbs they have a sound.

Alesis XT:c

1986 The XT:c smashed the price point for a pro reverb competitor with this updated XT (now 16kHz, 39kHz sampling rate) reverb typically selling for around £590 GBP in early 1996. SoS's Dave Lockwood summarised the XT:c thusly: "Such remarkable value for money is, in my experience, very rare for a fully professional spec unit". Lot's of editing ability like time decay based damping, hi & lo filters, pre-delay & more.

Alesis Midiverb

1986 & Alesis not only brought the XT:c to the table but the groundbreaking Midiverb which was the real first digital reverb affordable for the typical budget home studio user. While the XT:c offered plenty of adjustable paramaters to tune the various presets, the Midiverb was a preset only affair with a 10kHz top end, but offering a large variety of programs from ambience spaces to huge halls + some gate & reverse entries. Midi program change was also a feature

Alesis Microverb

1986 & the Microverb continued the home studio digital reverb revolution selling at a ridiculously low price, but the units were so good pro studios bought them too. Having a max bandwidth of 10kHz & no edibility whatsoever the minuscule Microverb offered 16 presets in Large & Small flavours, plus a couple of gated verbs and one reverse. The reverbs are not only different in size but also brighter/darker, more or less pre-delay etc.

Roland SRV-2000

Roland's first digital reverb from 1985 costing just shy of £1400 quid. 8 Rooms, 5 Halls & 2 Plates presets are offered with the reverb time control. Adjustable pre-delay is also included as is a 2 band parametric eq with hi-pass shelf. All settings are saved to the 32 save slots & the unit features MIDI patch change

Yamaha Rev 7

1985 & Yamaha got really aggressive on the market pricing this 'pro features' reverb at around £1000 and included a free remote! 30 presets followed by 60 user storage slots, 3 band parametric eq (50Hz-700Hz - 350Hz-7kHz - 2kHz-20kHz). The Rev 7 has a 12kHz top end. You can adjust the high & low frequency decay times separately plus pre-delay, diffusion & initial reflections. A stereo unit but a stereo feed in gets summed to mono before processing by 2 separate DA's to get a different left/right reverb processing while the original signal passes through in stereo. The Rev 7 also does stereo delay with 1 second delay time per channel & the included LFO allows modulation FX like flange, chorus & vibrato..

Korg DRV-1000

1986 & nine months after the Midiverb breaks the budget price barrier Korg fires back with their own basic but quality reverb at a cheaper price point of just £333 RRP on release. The Korg DRV-1000 is a 16-bit reverb with a 20Hz to 10kHz bandwidth & like the Midiverb it offers preset only reverbs with 8 programs (different reverbs algorithms) from hall & plate to rooms plus reverse & gated. Each program can then have any of 8 selectable reverb times & finally a Lo-pass switch can be switched in to roll off the top end for a darker reverb. The problem for Korg & others was that Alesis had already cornered the market with their Midiverb and even cheaper Microverb products so it was hard to compete & thus there reverbs are fairly rare. Korg followed up the DRV-1000 the following year with the 1987 DRV-2000 & DRV-3000 units, which were fully featured with many editable parameters and a higher bandwidth.

Ibanez SDR-1000

The SDR1000 arrived in 1986 followed by the SDR1000+ s/w update in 1987, these were fairly well priced & sounded good for the time. The SDR1000 offered 30 presets & 70 user storage slots, editable parameters like reverb time, pre-delay, ER time & level, had a max top-end of 10kHz, MIDI program select & uniquely could operate in dual-mono mode thus giving you a stereo or dual-mono delay & reverb plus auto-panning & a programmable 4 band eq. The ability to do 2 mono delays or reverbs, plus things like setting different pre-delay on each channel meant they got snapped up by larger studios as well as the better off home recordist.

Klark Teknik DN780

1986 16-bit with a 12kHz top end

The Klark Teknik DN 780 digital Reverberator/Processor is not simply a reverberation device. The Klark Teknik DN 780 gives the user a unique and flexible means of producing realistic acoustic simulations for environments of all types and sizes. The provision of effects programs further extends this versatility, making the Klark Teknik DN 780 the most powerful acoustic processing package currently available.

Not happy with current designs with narrow fields of useful application, our research has led to a new operating concept for the Klark Teknik DN 780 to extend versatility, backed by an advanced high speed digital signal processor designed to handle the necessarily complex computations.

This technical innovation results in extremely high density reverberation with convincing small room performance, authentic concert hall reverberation and a wide ranging choice of basic ‘acoustic spaces‘, both natural and unnatural, selected by the innovative reflection ‘Pattern’ control.The remaining controls give accurate adjustment of all reverberation parameters, including ‘Roam size’, and when used with the ‘Pattern’ control these allow the engineer to create unique acoustic environments of virtually any type.

A number of factory-set acoustic simulations are available: see ‘Software‘ section. It is important to note that all these very different sounds were created using only the controls you have available: for example there is no dedicated ‘Room’ program as such. A room sound is created using the appropriate pattern (‘2′), and adjusting other parameters as required.

The factory-set memory locations should be used, then, as a reference point from which to create your own variation, forget the limitations of a dedicated system and let your creativity reign.

Fifty non-volatile memories are available for entering user variations and the sequence function allows instant recall of up to 16 factory or user memories in required order, allowing rapid movements through a series of previously planned acoustical settings for mix-down, film dubbing, t.v. production or live performance.

The remote control unit allows the chosen acoustic setting to be first selected, using the sequence key and then modified using the parameter sliders.

The Klark Teknik DN 780 performs to the highest specification and is engineered using the latest technology to keep component count down and reliability up. Electronics use a semi-modular system of construction distributed logically on six printed circuit boards, eliminating unreliable edge connectors whilst avoiding the servicing problems of single board systems.

The Klark Teknik DN 780 is a compact 2U, 19 inch rack mounting device equally at home in the recording studio, dubbing suite, broadcasting studio or on the road.

Lexicon 480L

Released in 1986 the 480L was the Daddy of digital reverbs at the time & one of the greatest algorithm reverbs ever made, still revered today for it's sound. The 480L is one of the few old digital reverbs emulated in plug-in form by companies like UAD.

Lexicon LXP-1

1988 & you could suddenly buy a Lexicon 16-bit reverb for just under £400 quid with a 15kHz top-end. Given the silly price the LXP-1 offers 16 presets with some delay patches & 128 user patch slots. Apart from the Microverb style rotary program selector, in/out level & a dry/wet mix pot, the controls are restricted to a simple decay & delay control to adjust the reverb decay & pre-delay (0-246 ms in 16 preset steps). To store edits in any of the 128 slots you had to attach a midi device such as a keyboard which sent program change messages. Want to go deeper? You needed to buy the MRC remote to then edit extra parameters like Pre-Delay Feedback, Size, Diffusion, Bass Multiply &High-Frequency Cutoff. A tray accessory was available to 19" rack-mount two LXP-1's side by side in a single rack space

Alesis Nanoverb

1996 and the Nanoverb is released which is essentially the upgraded Microverb. Now using a 24-bit internal processor sampling at 46.875kHz with 18-Bit ADC/DAC, Nanoverb delivered a frequency range of 40Hz to 20kHz and a dynamic range of greater than 90dB, the Nanoverb took over the Microverb's crown as the king of compact budget reverbs.

The Nanoverb featured 16 presets including halls, rooms & plates, chorus, flange, (mono) delay, and rotary speaker effects, but now featured an additional Adjust control to tweak one key parameter of each preset effect such as decay on reverb programs, speed & depth on chorus or speed of the rotary effect etc.

The Nanoverb whether the new & current version or the older model is a superb bang for buck quality reverb, which is at home in both budget & full pro studio setups. Paul White's SoS review concluded: "the best‑sounding budget reverb I've yet heard". Praise indeed!

MAM VSR3 spring reverb

The MAM VSR-3 is an old 19" rack triple spring reverb which was actually manufactured starting in the 1990's when pretty much every company in the affordable reverb market was selling cheap digital units, but the spring sound is always in demand! Variants of the MAM VSR-3 can be found in the Vermona VSR-3 and the HDB Audio VSR-3, all of which were made by German company HBD electronic GmbH & in production still today. All these units employ AccuBell (previously Accutronics) springs which were used in Fender Twin Reverb combos & some Marshall amps amongst others, and these MAM, Vermona or HDB spring reverbs are all variously rated for giving a classic, but decently rich, old spring reverb sound very suitable for dub & reggae productions and more.

MAM (Music And More) are probably best known for their MB33 Roland Bassline emulator synth back in the 1990's which was one of the various (& often rated as one of the best) TB-303 analog mono synth clones which sold well during the dance music 2nd wave craze of the era. The MB33 is still in production today, but now in a table-top form rather than the original 19" rack format.

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S.V.A. Spring Reverb A415

The S.V.A. A415 spring reverb is the unit for you if you can't afford thousands for a restored & original Grampian 636 as used by Lee Scratch Perry, Pete Townsend (who used it for a guitar pre-amp) and others. This is S.V.A's version of the classic Grampian 636. This is not a clone. Transformer Coupled Germanium Transistor preamp (preamp circuit taken note for note from the Grampian 636), coupled to a classic driver circuit that drives the tank in a  strong compressed way. L.E.S bulb compressed transistor driven Reverb tank driver. One of the warmest fuzziest transformer coupled mic amps and the most delicious spring reverb. Direct switch added so the A415 can be used on an AUX bus too. Built to order. Turnaround 14 days.

Alesis Picoverb

Ultra-affordable digital multieffects unit 16 presets including halls, rooms, plates, chorus, flange, delay, and rotary speaker Stereo 24-bit 1/4" inputs and outputs 28-bit internal processing, 48kHz sample rate Perfect for studio and sound reinforcement applications Super-compact 1/4-space rackmountCONTROLDedicated input, mix, and program select knobs. Power LED. CONNECTIONS. Audio: 2 inputs, 2 outputs (1/4" TS).
AUDIO SPECS
Converters and resolution: 24-bit A/D/A, 28-bit internal processing, 48kHz internal sample rate.Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz +0/–2dB.Distortion: 0.01% THD+N.Signal-to-noise ratio: 101dB (A-weighted).Maximum levels: input +7dBu, output +5dBu.
POWER
9V AC external transformer, UL and CSA approved
DIMENSIONS
(H x W x D): 1.5" x 4.25" x 5.3" (39mm x 108mm x 135mm), 1/4-U rackmount

Did we miss a classic Reverb unit from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Delay or Echo

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Classic delay units

Watkins Copicat

The Watkins Electronic Music (WEM) Copicat was for many people back in the old days their first taste of an echo machine. The echo is produced by a tape loop. Incoming audio is recorded onto the tape by a record head, then immediately afterwards the tape passes over the four play heads, one after the other, which play back the recorded audio making echo repeats. The repeats can be adjusted for level and the tape speed can be adjusted to give longer or shorter echo times. Various models were made until the arrival of digital units saw the end of tape echo units, however they are now prized for their sound, particularly and obviously for those wishing to recreate old dub plate sounds.

Maestro Echoplex

The Watkins Electronic Music (WEM) Copicat was for many people back in the old days their first taste of an echo machine. The echo is produced by a tape loop. Incoming audio is recorded onto the tape by a record head, then immediately afterwards the tape passes over the four play heads, one after the other, which play back the recorded audio making echo repeats. The repeats can be adjusted for level and the tape speed can be adjusted to give longer or shorter echo times. Various models were made until the arrival of digital units saw the end of tape echo units, however they are now prized for their sound, particularly and obviously for those wishing to recreate old dub plate sounds.

Roland RE-201 Space Echo

The famous Space Echo was released by Roland in 1974 and stayed in production until 1990

Lexicon Prime Time M93

The 1978 Prime Time M93 dual mono delay is a studio legend of sorts. Back in the old days this was a very advanced delay unit found in pro studios all over the world & it's still revered today for its unique & wide palette of sounds. In some ways the Prime Time M93 is similar to the Ursa Major Space Station, in that it could be used to generate an imitation of ambiences & reverb complete with pre-delay by using very short delay times and feeding the taps back into the delays to create a cascading effect of multiple very short delay taps with modulation to taste & thicken. To help facilitate this, the Prime Time M93 will display a lit red PRIME lamp next to the ms LED display when the raw delay time is set to a prime number & this combined with Recirculation & Delay Multiply will yield maximum echo density for that type of dense recirculation 'almost reverb' type effect... hence the Prime Time name.

All controls on the M93 are colour coordinated for easy use, with Delay-1 being Red & Delay-2 being Yellow, all controls for each delay follow this colour coding. The M93 shipped with a basic memory allowing a raw max delay time of 128 milliseconds, but this could be memory expanded to a max 256 milliseconds. The delay time for delay A & B can then be further modified with the Delay Multiply switching knob, giving three further choices of 2X, 4X or 8X the delay millisecond time which also correspondingly reduced the bandwidth to 6kHz, 3kHz and 1.5kHz. With an expanded memory the 8X multiply setting would yield a delay time of 2048ms (or 1024ms with stock memory). When running at 1X the bandwidth is 12kHz.

The Prime Time M93 has VCO controlled delays which can be modulated by an LFO. Kinda weird but it works like this: The two delay select controls adjust the basic ms delay in 60 steps, and then the continuously variable Delay-Adjust VCO control can be used to fine tune that ms time. When the Delay-Adjust VCO control is set to 1X (cal) the clock is generated by a stable crystal oscillator & the delay ms time will be as displayed on the LED panel for either delay A & B, but moving the Delay-Adjust VCO from 1X (cal) up to a max 5X then changes the clock to be controlled by high frequency VCO and you can adjust the initial delay time from 100% to 50% of its value.

Below the Delay-Adjust VCO is the actual triangle wave LFO modulation section with the inner control pot adjusting depth and the outer sleeve adjusting the frequency from 0.1Hz to 20Hz. With the depth control set at fully clockwise the set delay is modulated from 100% to 50% and back again.

Delay A & B can be 'Recirculated' back into themselves & the ROLLOFF control sliders allow the delay A/B signals being 'Recirculated' to have high end content reduced by the 6dB/Octave rolloff filter from 15kHz down to 800Hz. Further sound changes can be made using phase reverse switching available for the input or delay A & B.

The Prime Time M93 also had a basic sample & hold feature which can be activated by the front panel Repeat Hold button or via a foot-switch plugged in the rear panel.

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Bel BD-80

1984 and the BEL DB-80 delay arrives offering traditional delay duties but also offered sampling with more features than other delays which were at this time starting to offer a 'Hold' sampling control to retain the snaphot of audio in RAM and play it back continuously (think Ibanez dm1000 etc). The BEL BD-80 offered more advanced sample trigger playback via either the front panel PLAY button or from an audio trigger socket & the ability to edit the front of the sampled audio to get an exact start for any sample held in RAM. Samples can be played back in either single play loop, constantly repeating playback/looping or one-shot modes, and thus this unit could allow a custom drum sample to be triggered via the audio send from any traditional drum machine. Samples held in memory can have the start trimmed to get the exact start of a sample triggring properly, but you cant trim the end. So the BD-80 was a good quality 15kHz bandwith delay competing with the Japanese offerings from the likes of Roland & Korg etc, and delivering all the usual delay tasks including chorrus, flange etc, but the real pro-studio forte of this machine however was it's use for sampling and then 'Flying in' phrases to a multitrack, and bigger studios which could afford the wallet-busting RAM memory expansions could ramp the BD-80 up to a max 8Mb or 16 Mb RAM, giving 16 seconds sampling time & thus allowing the sampling of quite long phrases from one part of a multi-track to then be 'flown in' to another part of the multitrack, a job which previously had to be achieved by using a 2-track machine and very accurate PLAY button pressing. BD-80 memory was housed on two internal memory cards, each expandable in 2mb (2048) blocks. The BD-80 therefore shipped in standard form with a stock 2mb ram, allowing just 2 seconds of delay or sampling time (2048MS) and could then be expanded with 2mb RAM upgrade chunks until the first card was filled to a max of 8Mb giving 8 second  (8191ms) of total sampling & delay time. You could then add in an optinal second memory card and fill that up, again to a max 8mb giving you 16mb / 16 seconds sampling in total, but the price to do this blasted the unit far beyond the starting price of around £600GBP to a 'totally expanded' price of around £1000GBP to fill each 8Mb card to it's max capacity. Sampling times can be doubled on this unit via the 'x2' buttom which halves the bandwidth to 7.5kHz while doubling total delay/sampling time.

AMS DMX15-80

The classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

AMS DMX15-80S

The classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

Roland SDE-1000/2000/3000

1983 1984?

Lexicon PCM 41

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

Lexicon PCM 42

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

Roland SDE-2500

1985, this was Rolands first MIDI digital delay unit.

Yamaha D1500

Released in 1984 the D1500 was the first ever delay unit with MIDI. The D1500 has a bandwidth of 18kHz, a maximum delay time of 1023ms &you can store delay settings in any of the 16 memory slots which can be recalled via MIDI. The unit also features a typical delay unit modulation section but more advanced than usual, offering the choices of Sine or Square wave for the LFO as well as an inverse switch allowing creation of a variety of chorus & flanging type effects. You can even feed in an external waveform as the LFO source via the rear CV input socket. Input & mix output is via balanced XLR or 1/4" jack switchable between -20dB or +4dB and there is an additional delay only output on 1/4" jack. Additionally the unit features foot-switch sockets to control the modulation section on/off as well as delay Hold & bypass.
In practice you actually rarely if ever use the storage & bank switching MIDI features, and therefore the D1500 offers a quality delay with detailed modulation.

Roland SDE 1000/3000

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

T.C Electronics TC 2290

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Did we miss a classic Delay or Echo unit from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Multi-effects units

It's 1986 & Yamaha revolutionises the music industry with the SPX-90 the worlds first multi-FX unit. Yes before the SPX-90 we had FX units from various manufacturers which offered multi time-based effects in one unit, because essentially time-based effects (reverb, delay, chorus, flanging etc) can all be achieved by manipulating one or more delay repeats, but the SPX-90 was different.
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Not only did the SPX-90 offer the traditional time-based FX like reverb & delay, chorus & flanging, but also non-time based effects like Compression & Parametric Eq, Pitch Shifting, Gating & Auto-pan.. It even used it's delay chip to do basic sampling of about 500ms.

Once the word got around about the SPX-90 it was actually quite hard for a while to get one because studios were buying them in batches & they were sold out everywhere. Nowadays even with with it's typical 1980's 12k max frequency response, the SPX-90 still get's used for some things but the die was cast and it wasn't long before the other manufacturers all delivered their own Multi-FX... Here's some notable units from the past, although most stick to reverb combined with other time & pitch based FX that can all be derived from delay type processing...

Classic Multi-fx units

Yamaha SPX-90

T1986 - he classic acid bassline synth. Much imitated over the years with original units in good condition going for silly money.

Yamaha REX50

Table-top version of the SPX-90 with reduced features.

ART Proverb

1986/87. The full name of this unit is the Proverb 100 because it has 100 presets. The presets are mostly reverb (including gated & reverse presets) + delay, but also some chorus, flange & 2 'Choir' presets + MIDI patch changing.

ART Proverb 200

1988. ART releases the next Proverb, doubling the amount of presets to 200 (hence the name). 90 of the presets cover natural reverbs while the other 110 presets cover 20 gated reverbs, 10 reverse reverbs, 20 flanging, 20 chorus, 10 delay/echo presets & 20 delay/reverb combinations & 10 'special' effects "including the only percussive flange available in a digital reverb". Receives MIDI program changes. A typical gritty 16-bit budget verb & multi-fx with a 10k max FX bandwidth. This was a fairly big seller due to the home studio friendly £299 RRP.

Lexicon LXP-5

1989 & Lexicon release their first ever affordable Multi-FX unit for the masses, following fast on the heels of their previous LXP-1, another first, being Lexicon's first Reverb entry into the home-studio budget market. £435

Roland Dep-5

The old fabled monosynth. First port of call for thumping solid basslines & much much more.

Ensoniq DP/4

Released in 1992 for £1175 GBP, the DP/4 was a very unique unit & one of the few Multi-effects boxes that genuinely did Multiple Effects beyond the time-based FX choices of most other offerings. In that respect the DP/4 is, along with the SPX-90, a true 'Multi-Effect' unit and then some, offering: 11 types of Reverb (rooms, plates, reverse and gated), four types of Delay (including multi-tap and stereo, & delays can also clock to external MIDI tempo), Chorus, Vibrato, Auto-panner, Flanger and Tremolo (all of which include EQ and Delay facilities), Phaser/DDL, a special eight voice Chorus, a straight Flanger, three Pitch-shifters, Distortion, three Guitar Amps and three Speaker Simulators (including a rotating Leslie Cab'), and like the SPX-90, the DP/4 also offers Compression as well as three Expanders (one inverted), a De-Esser, Ducker/Gate, Rumble filter, Parametric EQ, an Exciter & a Sine wave/noise generator!! Yes, all in the one unit, and remember you get 4 x those choices!!

The PD/4 is basically four 24-Bit multi-FX processors, each one offering 44 different effect algorithms, which can be arranged into any configuration. The processors are labelled A, B, C & D, and the input configuration choices are as follows:

1 Source: Input 1 feeds all four FX processors to stereo output 1/2

2 Source: Input 1 & 3 feed processors A/B & C/D, each with its own stereo output, (outputs 1/2 & 3/4 respectively).

3 Source: Inputs 1 & 2 feed processors A & B each with a mono output (outputs 1 & 2 respectively), while Input 3 feeds processors C & D, using stereo outputs 3 & 4.
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4 Source: Inputs 1, 2, 3 & 4 feed processors A, B, C & D, each one having its own mono output 1, 2, 3 & 4 respectively.
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The DP/4 has 400 patch slots, half with factory patches and the other 200 as user patch slots. Further to this, because all four effect processor have their own DSP chip, each one can have the same effects but with the parameters tweaked in different ways.

Lexicon PCM80

Lexicon's 1994 successor to the PCM70, the PCM80 does reverb, delay & modulation effects offering 200 presets which could be expanded with PCMCIA cards & the unit can be upgraded with standard computer SIMM memory to increase the delay time from 2.6 seconds to a whopping 42 seconds. The PCM80 is 18-bit, and can function at 44.1k or 48k. Balanced In/Out plus S/PDIF I/O.

Zoom Studio 1202

1994 & the Zoom 1202 actually came before the later 1201 (weird numbering system). At £199 this unit sold in large quantities to home & semi pro studios alike. 512 presets (32 x 16 patterns). Two editable parameters per program such as diffusion, attack, density, damping etc. Reverb, delay & modulation FX, tremolo, & pitch shifting, including series FX such as  flange + reverb, pitch + reverb & chorus + reverb

Lexicon MPX1

1996 Lexicon's first 19" rack budget multi-fx using the LEXI Chip 2 from the PCM80 in tandem with a separate DSP chip for the other FX (delay, modulation FX & pitch shifting + eq/filter). It's got 200 presets, 50 user patches. SoS reckoned it sounded very close to the PCM80 and it cost @1199 quid on release, so a possible bargain PCM-80 sound-alike today.

Zoom Studio 1201

1997 at a super cheap £99 this sold by the truckload to home studios & higher-end users alike. 363 presets. Reverb, delay, modulation & pitch shift effects, auto resonant filter, ring modulation & even an 18-band vocoder!

Did we miss a classic Multi-FX unit from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Compressors

'British' speakers was a term coined back in the old days which not only meant the speakers were British made, but more importantly it refered to a pair of monitor speakers which delivered a 'flat' output, meaning they didn't hype the sound at all like typical hi-fi speakers from Japanese companies. If you go back only 20 years ago. Donec laoreet et leo at iaculis. Nunc et sem id eros gravida ornare. Vestibulum quis ex nec lacus tincidunt lobortis. Vivamus nec suscipit sem, nec sagittis urna. Etiam feugiat lacus ut dui convallis fringilla. Integer tincidunt purus vel dapibus venenatis. Vivamus blandit mauris at massa aliquet, nec pretium ipsum iaculis. Donec scelerisque, magna sit amet pulvinar tincidunt, nunc massa dapibus eros, fermentum elementum metus massa quis eros. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

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Classic compressors

Fairchild 670

The original & best! Superbly modelled 808 & 909 kits with separate outs for drums & you can mix & match kits to create 909-808 hybrids, all in a handy 19" rack format.

Teletronix LA2A

A cheap, controllable, genuine Roland oldie which can be clocked with midi-CV. It has plenty of realtime controllers to mess with & a built-in pattern sequencer, sorta like an SH-101 without the keys.

Urei 1176

From early hip-hop to Prince, this box has seen a lot of use in huge selling tracks in various genres.

SSL G bus compressor

Once the top-end sample drum box from Roland, if you can find them this unit takes expansion cards loaded with 909 samples and more.

Neve 33609 Bus compressor

The Neve 33609 - still in production - was derived from the Neve 2254 bus compressor from the centre section of Neve consoles & started life as in the image above, often referred to as the 'Metal knob' version because of its metal on/off switch. This version gave way to the 33609 'Model C' which used IC rather than 'discrete' amplifier cards and ditched the Maranair/St.Ives transformers of the original, replacing them with Belclere. The 33609 continued production over a few other revisions until the current 33609N model.

All 33609 version are ‘diode bridge’ compressors & feature a follow up limiter section allowing both compression and all the way up to final hard limiting all from the one unit. The 33609 is generally described as being warm and silky, and doesn't 'squash' the way some other bus compressors do. The 33609 is available in current version form from retailers for around £3000 GBP or €3500 Euros. Emulations of the 33609 in plugin form can be had from the likes of IK Multimedia (for native host processing) and from Universal Audio as part of their Neve Dynamics Collection running on UAD host hardware.

Api 525

Originally released in the 70's, the API 525 is a "feedback" type compressor. An input (threshold) control and output (make-up gain) control are provided, along with an additional "Ceiling" fine-tune function which can increase gain reduction (lower threshold) while simultaneously raising output level to match, so the user can alter dynamics "on the fly" without level changes. A compression/limit switch sets ratio at either 2:1 or 20:1. Attack time is as fast as 15u/s. Four auto release modes are offered via two switches, 0.1s, 0.5s, 1.5s, & 2.0s. A De-Ess function inserts an inverse vocal energy curve filter in the detector for effective sibilance/pop reduction. Release times vary with frequency, with high frequency / full bandwidth content released faster than lower frequencies for natural envelope tracking. Attack time is fixed, chosen to catch the fastest peaks, without "pumping". Equally useful as a tracking, mix-down or program compressor/limiter, the 525 utilises "vintage" dynamics control and an easy to use multi-function control set. The 525 has a hard-wire bypass switch, a balanced input, and a pinout that is the same as all the other 500 series modules. Two or more 525s can be linked for multi-channel compression.The API 525 Compressor makes use of the 2510 and 2520 op-amps.

Drawmer LX20

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Alesis 3060

Named after Alesis's street address at the time, the Alesis 3060 lays claim to be the most popular compressor of all time which is believable because despite the 3060 being generally sneered at by 'pro' users on it's release, this VCA compressor sold by the truckload all over the world offering both Soft & hard knee compression & gating all at a super low price. This compressor was used to create huge side-chain pumping bass & drums on the French house scene and elsewhere in the 1990's. Used on the big hit by Stardust, ‘Music Sounds Better With You’, with French producer Alan Braxe stating in an old interview: "Benjamin Diamond recorded the vocals which were compressed with an Alesis 3630, plus we used another 3630 compressor on the master buss of the entire track. And that was it". Despite still being sneered at by some 'high end' snobs to this day, the Alesis 3060 is actually a great little compressor for both the budget and pro studio alike, which can be used for general level control duties where a character compressor sound does not need to be featured at all, but it can do the big old pumping sound if and when required.

Drawmer 1960

The famous Drawmer 1960 is actually a stereo (or dual mono pair) of low-noise microphone pre-amp channels, each with 48 volt phantom power switching, followed by a soft-knee vacuum tube compressor section. Compressor attack & release times are switchable, with the attack offering a choice of slow, medium and fast while the release has six settings: Positions one to four have fixed release times whilst positions five and six are two different programme dependent release time modes making the unit ideally suited to programme material with complex dynamics such as complete stereo mixes and vocals. Interestingly, the attack times are further modified by the choice of release setting so the range of choices are wider than it might first appear. In addition to the balanced microphone & line inputs on the rear of the unit an auxiliary input on the front panel gives direct access for guitars or electronic instruments. The Drawmer 1960 is still in production and costs around £1750 GBP.

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DBX 160

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Empirical Labs Distressor

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Gates STA Level

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Manley Vari-Mu

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Fostex 3070

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Yamaha GC2020

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Symetrix 501

The Symetrix 501 is a mono / single channel  Compressor/Limiter released in the 1990's and it's a lesser mentioned unit which actually works really well for general studio compression duties. The 501 compressor section is an RMS soft-knee type & features the usual controls for Threshold, Ratio, Attack & Release, but also boasts an Auto Attack/Release setting, which switches the unit into a program dependent mode which works very well indeed on a variety of material, but particularly good for vocals. The Limiter section has controls for Threshold & Output make-up gain, & either the Compressor or Limiter section can be independently switch In/Out making the unit quite versatile. Further, by using higher Ratios aobe 12:1 and the following limiter section, the unit can effectively perform brick-wall Limiting duties if needed. The 501 also features a Side-chain input/output on the rear, allowing the unit with switching on the front to employ this mode, therefore allowing the 501 to not only do traditional Side-chain trigger compression tasks but also frequency conscious compressing by patching in an Eq unit to the send/return loop. Connections are on balanced XLR or un-balanced 1/4" jacks & two 501's can be linked for stereo operation with either unit being designated as 'Slave' unit via a front-panel button.

Valley Dynamite

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Boss RCL-10

An often overlooked bargain bucket old classic The Jen SX doesn't have alot of sound variety, but a very nice filter. Check one out.

Samson S-com 4

The S-Com 4 is an often overlooked budget compressor released around 2002, but those in the know rate this unit not only for the sound but also for the versatility, as the S-Com 4 offers four independent Mono Compressor/Limiter channels in one 19" rack unit, either pair of which can be linked into stereo mode. Further, the S-Com 4 has an Expander/Gate on each channel with variable threshold (Trigger) and a fast/slow release choice button. Round at the back each channel has a choice of either XLR or 1/4" Servo-balanced Inputs & outputs, with the Inputs being switchable between +4  or -10 operation. The S-Com 4 also features a  'Smart' knee system which switches from soft to hard knee depending on input level. Overall a super bang-for-buck unit which will handle many compression tasks in any studio setup.

Alesis Nano Compressor

1996, and as part of the Nano series Alesis releases the Nano Compressor which was both small in size and cost. Essentially the Nano Compressor is an Alesis 3060 but in a 1/3rd rack width size, with one set of controls & no expander/gate. Analog TRS 1/4" Input & outputs on the back can handle stereo or mono signals so the unit can be used as either a stereo or mono compressor, however you can't compress two mono sources independently. You even get an external side-chain send/return TRS socket allowing external side chain triggering, or you can patch in an equaliser to do frequency conscious compression such as de-essing. Like the Alesis 3060 it's based on, the Nano Compressor can be switched between either soft or hard knee side-chain sensing. You also get the same 3060 choice of switchable Peak or RMS detection mode, with the attack & release becoming automatic in RMS, while the controls becoming non-functioning & the unit becomes program dependent for those two parameters. The unit has two LED ladder meters, the left one always showing gain reduction level, while the right one labelled 'Signal' can be switched between input or output level display. Ratio is continually adjustable between 1:1 & Infinity, giving anything from the most mild and invisible dynamic range control all the way up to full on Peak Limiting. The whole thing runs off a 9-Volt wall-wart power supply and Alesis made a metal rack tray to house 3 of their Nano range units in a single 19" rack space.

In summary one of the cheapest workhorse comps you can get, suitable for all sorts of compression duties from subtle to full on pumping sounds, mono or stereo.

Did we miss a classic Compressor or Limiter unit from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Equalisers & Filters

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Aliquam vestibulum tempor dolor, at consectetur eros accumsan at. Mauris nec diam in libero sollicitudin elementum. Nam egestas, metus sit amet interdum aliquet, lorem quam maximus odio, vel imperdiet nulla enim quis tellus. Nam ullamcorper dignissim scelerisque. Mauris sit amet auctor augue. Aliquam auctor mi ut tincidunt bibendum. Suspendisse tincidunt, libero quis dignissim pellentesque, odio tortor scelerisque nisl, eu iaculis eros lorem nec lectus.

Classic equalisers

Neve 1073 (1066 1084)

Debuting in 1970 when Neve installed Britain's first 24 channel console, the 1073 is revered for it's sound. There are many Neve Pre-amp & EQ modules but these 3 are the main variations on the most famous 1073 module. The 1073 features a fixed 12kHz Hi-Shelf, a single switchable Midband, a switchable Low-shelf band & a Hi-Pass filter.

The 1066 variant has slightly different Hi-Pass filter & Mid Eq points and a 10kHz fixed shelf instead of the 12kHz fixed shelf of the 1073. The 1084 add's a Lo-Pass to the Hi-Pass filter, a switchable narrow/wide Q for the Mid-band & a 3-way switchable rather than fixed Hi-Shelf.

Like most of the famous early Neve modules these three are all 'Class-A' (method by which the voltage controls the amplifier) & 'Discrete' (meaning all individual hand-wired components & no IC's). The 1073 is considered the daddy of all 3 giving the classic warm & present Neve sound which Rupert Neve himself admitted is mostly due to the hand-wound input & output transformers which made these modules famous. The 1073 is still made today by Neve in various forms & hardware clones can also be found from companies like BAE & Vintech in both 19" rack mount of Lunchbox formats. In software form the 1073 is available as a plugin from companies like UAD, IK Multimedia, Waves, Lindell, Slate and others.

Neve 31102

The Neve 31102 featured Neve's 'New Age Design' (NAD) appearance, with a different face-plate colour & new design for the knobs. Essentially it's a 1084 (minus the Line input handling) with a new look & was fitted as standard to Neve's new range of 8058 & 8068 consoles. The 31102 modules only feature a Mic pre-amp as the new in-line format 8058 & 8068 consoles received the line or tape return input signals  from the 32430 Switching Module. Stand-alone 31102 modules are often modded to handle a Line input. The 31102 is essentially a 1084 with a new look and a Pre-amp with 10dB more gain and no Line input handling, and some people say the 31102 is the best Neve Mic Pre / EQ, surpassing the 1073.
Like with the other classic Neve modules you can get a 1084 clone (same as the 31102) from BAE & various companies do a plugin emulation including UAD & NoiseAsh (NEED 31102). Endless classic records were recorded with the 31102 by artists including Guns N’ Roses, Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, RHCP, Nirvana, Metallica & more.

Neve 1081

The Neve 1081 debuted in 1972 in a custom Neve console built for Decca in France and was available for Neve frames from 1973. The 1081 is a Class A/B and all 'discrete' design. The 1081 moved the Neve modules from the previous 3-band & filter/s arrangement to 4 Bands of EQ plus a Lo-Pass & Hi-Pass filter. Both the High & Low shelf bands can be switched to Peak mode & both Mids are switchable narrow or 'Hi' Q. The 1081 is available in hardware form as the 1081 Classic from Neve, while various hardware clones are available from the likes of BAE. In software form you can get the 1081 in plugin format from the likes of UAD, Waves (V-EQ4), IK Multimedia (EQ-81) and others.

API 550A

The 550 was from 1967
Few equalizers enjoy the respect and admiration of the coveted API 550A. Designed by the now-legendary Saul Walker in the late '60s, the discrete 550A was first used as a modular OEM equalizer. As the industry rapidly embraced the sonic quality of the 550A, it quickly found its way into many custom console designs by Frank DeMedio and other leading engineers. Many of these consoles are still in use today.Forty years later, the 550A remains the standard against which other EQs are measured, and it has played a major role in the recording industry for decades. Still copied but never duplicated, the 550A became API's standard channel module EQ when the company began manufacturing consoles in 1971. With virtually all existing units spoken for, popular demand for this EQ resulted in API finally resuming production in 2004.The 550A provides reciprocal equalization at 21 points in 5 steps of boost to a maximum of 12dB of gain at each point. The fifteen equalization points are divided into three overlapping ranges. The high and low frequency ranges are individually selectable as either peaking or shelving, and a band-pass filter may be inserted independently of all other selected equalization settings. Frequency ranges and boost/cut are selected by three dual-concentric switches, and a pushbutton "in" switch allows the EQ to be silently introduced to the signal path. A small toggle switch is used to insert the band-pass filter into the 550A.The combination of Walker's incomparable 2520 op amp and his "Proportional Q" circuitry gives the 550A user an uncomplicated way to generate acoustically superior equalization.With the long-awaited reissue of this unit, an EQ that has had such a part in the history of recording is continuing to make history in today's music.

API 550B

based on the famous 550A Equaliser but with an extra mid-band.

Based on API's original 550 from the late '60s, the API 550b is a continuation of the EQ that played a major role in the history of music recording, but with an additional filter band and several new frequencies. Incorporating API's exclusive circuitry and proprietary components (such as the legendary API 2520 Op Amp), the 550b artfully blends the past with the present. So many hit records still depend on the unique 550 sound that engineers around the world find it to be an invaluable tool. In fact, the 550b design has been taken from the original blue prints and spec control drawings from the API archives. It is unlike any other EQ you will ever use.Rather than offer a huge assortment of complex features, the API 550b provides exactly the right number of controls. Its four EQ bands are overlapped significantly to aid in dual roles as problem solver and sweetening device with each band offering seven switchable filter frequencies that span four-to-five octaves. These frequencies, purposely selected to be musical rather than numeric, were selected by an experienced "who's who" list of the industry's most proficient engineers.Making use of API's "Proportional Q," an innovation designed by Saul Walker in the '60s, the 550b intuitively widens the filter bandwidth at minimal settings and narrows it at higher settings without the need for additional bandwidth controls. This unique feature minimizes the "phase-shift" sound found in many equalizers. In addition, the reciprocal nature of the 550b enables the user to "undo" what has been done previously with exact precision.The benefits of the API 550b are most obvious to those who work with EQ on a continuous basis. If major tonal restructuring is required, the extraordinary headroom made possible with API's 2520 Op Amp offers the predictable and warm analog performance, even under duress. With a surprisingly wide range of tonal variations, the 550b is an invaluable and professional audio tool with great flexibility and excellent sonic ability.

API 560

Originally conceived for use in API consoles of the '60s and '70s, the 560 is a unique device designed to accomplish tasks that no other EQ can. Extremely fast to set and reset using accurate zero detents, the curve shaping potential of the 560 remains unmatched. With a wide range of 500 mounting options, from racks to consoles, the 560 proves an invaluable asset to all critical performance applications. Based on API's original 560 EQ, the current production 560 has improved resolution in the ±4 dB area and possesses our exclusive circuitry and proprietary components, including the API 2520 Op Amp.The extraordinary headroom made possible with the 2520 offers consistent analog performance even when using radical EQ curves. Of course, the 2520's ability to drive low impedance loads is key when it is paired with API's custom output transformers. The results are quite audible with better low frequency reproduction and tighter imaging, which gives you that legendary API "punch in your gut" sound.The 10 precision EQ bands make the 560 ideal for signal sweetening and room tuning. A great companion to a parametric EQ, the 560 utilizes API's unique "Proportional Q" design introduced during the '60s. This design intuitively widens the filter bandwidth at lower boost/cut levels and narrows it at higher settings. Additionally, boost and cut characteristics are identical, allowing previous actions to be undone if desired.Reliable, durable and uniform, the API 560 EQ delivers that "one-of-a-kind API sound" with precision easy set filtering and high headroom in a compact package. If you want the sound of classic American music in an easy-to-set graphic EQ package, you want the API 560.

Neve 33114

From the Neve 53 series consoles the 33114 has a switchable Hi-Shelf

Neve 33115

From the Neve 53 series consoles the 33115 has a fixed Hi-Shelf

Helios Type 69

From the Neve 53 series consoles the 33115 has a fixed Hi-Shelf

Pultec EQP-1A

One of the most revered equalisers in recording, the EQP-1A is a passive equaliser with a valve make up gain amplifier. It's a strange beast to work with because it has a different way of equalising which you have to learn. Additionally the Eq bands of the EQP-1A strongly interact with each other allowing various Eq possibilities including the famous 'Push/Pull' trick of boosting AND cutting the bass Shelf which creates a peaked frequency in the low band. A super equaliser for vocals, acoustic guitars, bass, kick drums & more.

Trident A-Range equaliser

From the 1970's famous Trident A-Range consoles, this is one of the great equalisers with distinct interaction between Eq bands. available in hardware form in both 19" rack & 500 Lunchbox formats & as a plugin from Softube & UAD.

Sony Oxford Equaliser

The Equaliser section from the famous Sony Oxford console. Available in hardware or plugin form from Sonnox, native or for UAD hardware accelerators.

SSL 4000 E/G

From it's introduction in 1979 the SSL 4000 series consoles redefined popular music with it's super tight combination of channel equaliser,  gate & compressor. The SSL 4000 consoles became so in demand that more Platinum hit records have been mixed on them than any other mixer, and this had an effect of making music of the 1980's and onwards into the 1990's sound tighter.
There are 4 channel Eq revisions, known as the O2 'Brown Knob' , the 242 'Black Knob', the 232 'Orange Knob' which is a passive design & different to all the others, and the 292 'Pink Knob' versions. Generally speaking the Brown Knob first version has a wider Q and is a bit grittier. The Black knob version is tighter.
You can get the 4000 E/G Eq in revised hardware form from SSL and in plugin format from (again) SSL themselves, but also from the likes of Waves, UAD, Brainworx, Ik Multimedia & others. Softube also include a 4000 E series Eq emulation with their Console One controller.

Klark Teknik DN27 / DN27A

The DN27 and DN27A can be found in studios and in pairs on live PA rigs all over the world as an industry standard 1/3 Octave mono graphic Equaliser.

Manley Massive Passive

From it's introduction in 1979 the SSL 4000 series consoles redefined popular music with it's super tight combination of channel equaliser,  gate & compressor. The SSL 4000 consoles became so in demand that more Platinum hit records have been mixed on them than any other mixer, and this had an effect of making music of the 1980's and onwards into the 1990's sound tighter.
There are 4 channel Eq revisions, known as the O2 'Brown Knob' , the 242 'Black Knob', the 232 'Orange Knob' which is a passive design & different to all the others, and the 292 'Pink Knob' versions. Generally speaking the Brown Knob first version has a wider Q and is a bit grittier. The Black knob version is tighter.
You can get the 4000 E/G Eq in revised hardware form from SSL and in plugin format from (again) SSL themselves, but also from the likes of Waves, UAD, Brainworx, Ik Multimedia & others. Softube also include a 4000 E series Eq emulation with their Console One controller.

Massenburg GML 8200 EQ

From it's introduction in 1979 the SSL 4000 series consoles redefined popular music with it's super tight combination of channel equaliser,  gate & compressor. The SSL 4000 consoles became so in demand that more Platinum hit records have been mixed on them than any other mixer, and this had an effect of making music of the 1980's and onwards into the 1990's sound tighter.
There are 4 channel Eq revisions, known as the O2 'Brown Knob' , the 242 'Black Knob', the 232 'Orange Knob' which is a passive design & different to all the others, and the 292 'Pink Knob' versions. Generally speaking the Brown Knob first version has a wider Q and is a bit grittier. The Black knob version is tighter.
You can get the 4000 E/G Eq in revised hardware form from SSL and in plugin format from (again) SSL themselves, but also from the likes of Waves, UAD, Brainworx, Ik Multimedia & others. Softube also include a 4000 E series Eq emulation with their Console One controller.

Sontec 432

Going back to the 1970's the Sontec 432 parametric equaliser is considered one of the worlds greatest equalisers. The 432 is a transformerless, solid state design and is absolutely transparent in use, featuring two sides, each with 3 parametric Eq bands covering Low, Mid & Treble ranges.
There is a Low‑cut filter switchable from 50 to 100 Hz

Maselec MEA-2

From it's introduction in 1979 the SSL 4000 series consoles redefined popular music with it's super tight combination of channel equaliser,  gate & compressor. The SSL 4000 consoles became so in demand that more Platinum hit records have been mixed on them than any other mixer, and this had an effect of making music of the 1980's and onwards into the 1990's sound tighter.
There are 4 channel Eq revisions, known as the O2 'Brown Knob' , the 242 'Black Knob', the 232 'Orange Knob' which is a passive design & different to all the others, and the 292 'Pink Knob' versions. Generally speaking the Brown Knob first version has a wider Q and is a bit grittier. The Black knob version is tighter.
You can get the 4000 E/G Eq in revised hardware form from SSL and in plugin format from (again) SSL themselves, but also from the likes of Waves, UAD, Brainworx, Ik Multimedia & others. Softube also include a 4000 E series Eq emulation with their Console One controller.

Did we miss a classic Equaliser unit from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Effect rack systems

One of the most popular formats for hardware Pre-amps, equalisers & effects processors today is the 'Lunchbox' or 500 system. The American company Automated Processes Inc or API as they are better known, started life in the late 60's and by the early 1970's were (like Neve) producing modular mixing consoles which could be fitted with their '500' series modules... starting with the famous 3-band 550A EQ & soon adding their 4-band 550B EQ, the 10-band 560 graphic EQ & their highly respected 512C Mic/Line Pre-amp.

API fast gained a reputation for excellence and perhaps can be thought of as America's version of the British Neve company as both created classic 3 & 4 band EQ's & mic pre-amps which could be fitted into modular mixing console frames in various configurations & which have been used to record 1000's of hit records over the years.

The 1980's rolled in and this saw a change in how many producer/engineers worked, with the bigger names now being hired to work in all sorts of studio locations rather than functioning out of one fixed studio (which they might often have actually owned). This 'travelling' Producer/engineer movement saw many things happen. Many would travel with a pair of Yamaha NS10 speakers used to check mixes and this eventually saw almost all studios purchasing a pair of NS10's to maintain compatibility. Similarly this was the era which saw the demand for the SSL4000 series console for mixing, & again, the bigger studios almost all fitted this console so as again to maintain compatibility.. no SSL meant no bookings for mixing & remixing work from the bigger named producers & record labels.

Another things that happened as a consequence of this new 'travelling' Producer/engineer movement was the creation of a demand for portability as engineers wanted to be able to carry around & use some API Mic pre's and EQ for tracking things like vocals or guitars etc.

To answer this demand API created a portable rack unit complete with power supply into which their well known & loved 500 Series Pre-amp & EQ modules could be inserted. The initial API portable rack could contain 4 modules, allowing the user to carry a portable API stereo (or 2 mono) Mic Pre-amp & EQ system to any location. This small portable rack unit had a carrying handle & was thus dubbed the 'Lunchbox' because it was like a typical metal lunchbox used by American workers to carry their mid-day meal to work. API went on to develop larger versions of this 'Lunchbox' bringing out the 500-6B six unit model and then the 500VPR 19" width 10 unit model.

API were not the only company developing portable rack based modular systems, but they were unique in that THEIR portable rack system was designed to accept the 500 Series modules from their mixing consoles, while other companies created a special format & size for their own modular rack systems which was unrelated to their other product lines.

Other companies also made similar systems, the most famous being the early SCAMP rack modular system which used larger sized modules, but also the British REBIS Rack was another such modular system which could be found in studios all over Britain and further afield in other countries. American company DBX also made their own '900' system while British company Studiomaster developed a similar modular rack based series with their StudioFEX system.

Classic modular rack systems

Scamp rack system

The Audio and Design SCAMP rack system was the grand-daddy of all these modular rack based systems, developed in the 1970's and used in hundreds of studios worldwide.

Rebis rack system

Walk into any backstreet studio in the 1980's & into the 1990's & you'd often see a REBIS rack, usually fitted with multiple Gate units & a couple of compressors because this format offered a really cheap route to get a row of Gates in your studio with the various slot-in processors offering excellent value & typically costing between £80 & £155 GBP while the rack itself cost a measly £120 GBP. The REBIS range included all sorts of  effects & processors, including equalisers, 5 different gates (including a FET & VCA model), compressors, delays, panner & even a sampler plus more. The REBIS rack could house 14 units plus the power supply. REBIS was a small British company that actually started life by building a custom mixing console for Mike Oldfield the guy who did Tubular Bells.

DBX 900 system

The DBX 900 system was introduced in the early 80's based on the F900A 3U 19" rack with power supply which accepted up to nine 5.25″ x 1.5″ modules. Modules for the system included the 902 De-Esser, 903 Compressor, 904 Noise Gate, 905 Parametric Equaliser, 906 Flanger, 907 Stereo Gated Compressor Slave, 911 Type I Noise Reduction, 941A Type II Noise Reduction, 942A Type II Noise Reduction, 929 Hiss Reducer & 933 Mixer module. Additionally Aphex created modules for the system including the Compellor 9301, Aphex Dominator II 9721, Aphex Expressor 9651, Aphex Aural Exciter, Aphex Equaliser & BBE 702.

Studiomaster StudioFEX

The Studiomaster StudioFEX system was released in the late 80's. The system comprised a 19" rack unit with power supply into which any combination of modules could be inserted. Processors and effects in the range included: the SF800 audio noise gate, SF801 compressor, SF802 dynamic noise filter, SF803 parametric eq, SF804 fader & panner, SF805 modulation, SF806 input meter & gain, SF807 output module (phones & line out), SF808 enhancer, SF809 dual delay/flanger & SF810 de-esser.

Boss Micro rack series

The BOSS Micro Rack series from it's initial release in 1985 offered an excellent value range of effects & processors for the home recordist in a 1/2 19" rack-width size. You could use an optional rack tray and fit 2 units side by side in a traditional 19" rack (image bottom), but BOSS supplied a special tabletop plastic rack to mount up to five units & eventually released a multi-unit power supply (all units run on 9V DC). There were around eleven units in the series, which comprised a compressor/limiter, three different delays (one of which also offered pitch-shifting), a 2-band parametric EQ, a 10-band graphic EQ, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser & an overdrive/distortion. Even today these units offer old-school Roland derived tech at excellent value for money prices and can be found quite easily in the free-ads.

API 500 Lunchbox

The system that has now become the industry standard: The API 500 format. The 500 system obviously offers great incentives for manufacturers, because 500 modules don't need a metal case & don't need a power supply, thus allowing companies to market much cheaper solutions while still delivering hi-end specs for their products & thus from it's inception the 500 Series system started to gain more and more companies developing compatible sized modules. Eventually in the mid 2000's API began the VPR Alliance to set standards for power/voltage and other things to ensure all 500-Series modules were compatible and would all work in the 500 racks.

Nowadays there is a huge variety of 500-Series modules available from the biggest names including API, Neve, SSL, BAE, Great River, Shadow Hills, Chandler, Trident and others plus many small boutique companies alike, and furthermore you can buy compatible 500-Series racks with power supply from a variety of manufacturers including API, Neve, Midas, Fredenstein & others.

Did we miss a classic Rack system from the past? Do you own any of these & want to give your own experience? Please leave your comments at the bottom of the page... No need to register, just tell us what you think.

Top selling Fx Processors

Here's the top selling FX processors at Thomann's store based on previous months sales figures. This will give you an idea about what products are currently popular at Europe's largest retailer.

Arturia Microfreak

Behringer Neutron

Behringer Pro-1

Behringer TD-3

Korg Minilogue XD

Moog Subharmonicon

Behringer Crave

Sequential Prophet 6

James

23-July-2020

SDR-1000+ Reverb has to be one of the most subjective tools in audio. Undoubtedly the SDR has some interesting heritage (Sony) in additon to some useful features that make it more flexible than other comparable units from that era (true stereo, basic routing of L & R processors, midi patch selection). But compared to other verbs around the same price point ($100-200 range), Im not feeling any baseline "magic" from its sound. More like a workhorse, again within the scope of the time period these were being made, which isnt necessarily a bad thing.

Perhaps if you're hunting down a specific production chain or setup (some well known artists apparently used these), otherwise much better uses of rack space available out there for the same money imho.

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an underated usb interface, Tascam has continued to update drivers and improve performance for this product. I own two of them, and like the size, sound quality and mulitude of connection and paths available.

I use the 64 bit windows 7 driver without problems. These are available used quite cheaply and are handy for vocal and guitar recording.The only drawback is the low profile knobs, which were designed not to snag when carried in a backpack or bag. it takes a while to get used to using two fingers to turn the knobs, instead of 1 finger and your thumb, but it becomes intutive like scratching a record. I colored the knobs on mine with different color sharpies to make it easier to quickly see which knob I wanted to adjust.

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awesome sound. capable of mybloodyvalentine type swirling sounds, as well as verve-y sonic paradise sounds. it is a permanent addition to my setup.

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i bought this delay a couple of months ago to use in my synth/drumachine setup. I was expeting kind of lofi style but was suprised with this "meaty" analog sound.. very musical and at once became a favourite.. it sounds like a instrument! love it..

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