User manual
resolution July/August 2014
34
GEAR MODULAR PROCESSING SUPPLEMENT
Daking
Daking’s Mic Pre 500 single-channel microphone/instrument
preamplifier module is derived from the
company’s Mic Pre One freestanding unit. The
preamp has switchable phase, 20dB mic input
pad, +48V phantom power, and a selectable 1/4-
inch line/Hi-Z instrument input. Like the Mic Pre
One, the Mic Pre 500 shares the gain structure
and Class-A, fully-discrete transistor circuitry
design of Daking’s Mic Pre IV. The front panel
controls include a variable HP filter (0-200Hz)
and continuously variable input gain. It also
includes an eight-segment tricolour LED with
simultaneous VU and Peak.
The Comp 500 is an easy-to-
use VCA compressor/limiter
module that has been designed
to perform and sound similar to the FET circuitry
found in Daking’s other compressor products,
even though it uses a VCA. Compression is set
with one knob, ranging from Less to More and
Release time is switchable between Fast (0.5ms)
and Auto — the Auto setting engages a dual time
constant. Attack can be switched between Fast
(1ms) and Slow (16ms), while Ratio is switchable
between Compressor and Limiter modes, setting
a 3:1 or 15:1 ratio. There is also a hard-wire Bypass
switch. A Stereo switch is provided that allows up
to six units to be linked. The eight-segment meter
is selectable between gain reduction or output levels and oers
VU ballistics with a oating peak.
www.transaudiogroup.com
Warm Audio
The WA12 500 Discrete mic pre uses custom-
designed Cinemag input and output transformers.
Other features include 71dB of gain, a Tone button
(to switch the input impedance from 600Ohm to
150Ohm and change the tone of the mic and Hi-Z
inputs), 48V phantom, 20dB pad, and a 2MOhm
true Hi-Z front panel input (to send the instrument
signal through the entire circuit, including Cinemag
transformers and the discrete amplier).
www.warmaudio.com
Audio Maintenance Limited
The AML 54F50 is a Class-A compressor and limiter module that
occupies three slots in a 500-Series rack. Populated with Carnhill
transformers, this British-built module offers make up gain
of 0-20dB in 2dB steps; compression ratio of 1.5:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1,
and 6:1; dual attack speeds (100µs and 5ms); recovery release
times of 400ms, 800ms, 1.6s, and Auto; and threshold settings
from 4-12dBu (in 1dB steps). AML oers pairs of 54F50s in a dual
racked unit with a mono stereo switch or in a 10-slot rack with a
mono switch.
www.audiomaintenance.com
Rupert Neve Designs
Based on the Portico 5017 Mobile Pre, the 517
is a transformer-coupled preamp, compressor,
and DI with Vari-Phase — used to adjust phase
incrementally, Silk — reduces negative feedback
and adjusts the frequency spectrum to provide a
very sweet and musical performance — and DI/
mic blending capabilities. The 511 Mic Pre with Silk
incorporates the preamp circuitry from the 517, the
sweepable HP lter from the Portico 5012 Duo Mic Preamp, and
a variable Silk circuit from the Portico II Channel. The 511 can be
used for mic or line sources and has a polarity
reverse switch and a 12dB/octave swept HP
lter, while the Silk Red mode can be engaged
to add thickness and sparkle in the high end as
the Texture level is increased.
The 542 Tape Emulator is a follow-up to the
Portico 5042 Tape Emulator and delivers a
simulation of classic tape sound through the
inclusion of tape drive circuitry. The True Tape
drive circuit works by feeding a tiny magnetic record head, which,
in turn, is coupled to a correctly-equalised replay amplier. As the
voltage rises on the record head, saturation increases, and a soft-
clip circuit engages at higher levels to round o peak transients.
The sound of the tape circuit can be further modified with
selectable 15 and 30ips modes and a pre/post-tape blend control.
The 543 is a mono compressor-limiter with feed-
forward/feed-back modes, Peak/RMS detection,
and a built-in sidechain HP lter. It has individually
controllable threshold, attack, release, makeup
gain, ratio, sidechain HPF, Feed-forward/Feed-
back selection, and Peak/RMS detection modes.
With the compressor inactive, the 543 may be
used as a transformer-coupled, high-
performance line amplifier. Two 543s
may be linked for stereo operation. The 551
Inductor EQ is designed by Rupert Neve. Featuring
three bands of EQ inspired by his most prized
vintage designs it has custom-wound inductors,
transformers, and Class-A gain blocks.
RND re-entered the proprietary modular
processing fray with its Shelford Series — named after
Little Shelford, near Cambridge, UK, where Rupert
Neve crafted a series of preamplier and equaliser
designs. The 5051 EQ/Compressor combines a classic
3-band EQ based on Rupert’s vintage designs with
the power and exibility of the Portico II compressor,
while the 5052 echoes the simple and denitive 1073
feature set with a vertically-orientated microphone
preamplier, HP lter, and 3-band inductor EQ, also
incorporating modern capabilities like the variable Silk/Texture
control from the Portico II series and simultaneous pre/post ‘tape’
operation. His rst fully-discrete mixing design in more than 30
years, the 5051 and 5052 may also be tted into any of three available
vertical racks for standalone usage.
www.rupertneve.com
Spotlight: Maag Audio
Maag Audio’s EQ2 is a 2-band EQ. It features Maag’s Air Band (shelf
boost from 2.5-40kHz) and a Low Mid Frequency bell boost from
Sub to 1.4kHz with tight and wide curves and an input attenuation
control providing -12.5dB of attenuation. The EQ2’s Air Band boasts
an additional 15kHz frequency selection.
The EQ4 is a one-channel 6-band equaliser with Air Band. EQ
adjustments are obtained with minimal phase shift and detented
controls allow for easily recallable settings. The PREQ4 is a one-
channel microphone preamplier with Air Band. Features include
65dB adjustable gain, phase reverse capability, 70Hz HP lter, +48V
phantom power, and -20dB pad.
www.maagaudio.com
SM Pro
The MBC502 is an optical multiband
compressor. The LF and HF channels
each offer controls over level,
compression and attack and release
times. Switches allow you to mute one
of the compression channels so that
the other can act as a filter, with the
filter’s centre frequency determined
by the front panel Frequency selector
knob setting. The VU meter displays
the master level output, while gain
reduction is shown on the LED meters.
The PEQ505 is a 5-band parametric
equaliser and each of its identical
channels feature continuously variable
level, frequency, and bandwidth
controls, an On/O switch,
and a switch for selecting the channel’s frequency
operation range. The Master output includes a level
control, bypass switch, and an LED level meter with
peak indicator.
The Phase Box is a phase manipulation tool. The
phase can be manipulated by up to 180° with the
front panel rotary encoder. Bypass,
Low-Cut Filter, and Phase Reverse
switches are provided along with
Output level adjustment and VU
metering. The Pre-Z mic
preamp has 80dB of gain with
variable input impedance. HP
and LP lters oer additional
control and signal shaping
choices while LME49720
Op-Amps ensure low noise
and wide dynamic range.
The Tube Box is a single-
slot 500-Series microphone preamp that
features a Class-A tube preamp, switchable
Phantom, phase invert, -20dB pad, and an
in-line optical compressor.
SM Pro offers a range of
500-Series racks, ranging from
the JuiceRack 1 (single-slot
power source for operating one module)
to the JuiceRack 8 (19-inch rack-mount
power source designed to house eight).
JuiceBlock 3 is a portable power block
designed to house three modules.
www.smproaudio.com
Eventide
Eventide’s DDL-500 is a digital delay that
features 10 seconds of delay at 192kHz
and a design that keeps the amount of
digital circuitry to the minimum. Soft
saturation clipping, LP filter, feedback,
insert loop, relay bypass, and +20dB boost
are all analogue. Delay time can be varied
manually by connecting an LFO to the
remote input to allow short delays to be
used for comb lter or anging eects. The
DDL-500 is also capable of extremely long
delays (up to 160s at 16kHz) to allowing
long passages to be captured for looping.
www.eventide.com