Fans of ribbon mics know that generally while tracking there might be 2 adjustments to be made: low end CUT or top end BOOST. AEA recognized the need and coupled a fantastic pair of preamps with these features. However, the RPQ is a serious preamp for any microphone, and has phantom power available (in a separate input path, keeping the non-phantom mics away from capacitors!) for condenser mics as well. Designed by Fred Forsell, the master of the high gain / uber-detailed sound without being boring or overly hard, this is one serious pre that is not just a ribbon preamp.

With +80dB of available gain, this JFET design is ultra quiet and natural and fast with the transients, which gives a superb realistic image and no compromise sound reproduction. Its not one of those I only use on acoustic sources type of preamps either, it delivers a 3D image on everything you record. With its very high input impedence it doesnt load down the mic either, allowing any mic you use with the RPQ to shine. Its one of the few preamps you would want around for location recording to pick up every last detail say in a classical orchestra in a hallyet you would love to use it on rock guitars with any of your favorite ribbon (or non-ribbon!) mics too.

Conclusion: Fantastic piece of gear, a serious gotta have for those who want pleasing 3D sound in the studio, and do remote recording where detail, high gain and low noise matter. Dont forget the perfect curve shaping EQ on board.

This 1073 clone mono channel strip offers your choice of mic, line or instrument level input, features phase reverse, selectable mic pre input impedence (300 or 1200), phantom power and limited LED input metering (better than nothing!). There is also an output volume control, which gives you more choices in gain staging (driving the input if desired). The mic pre offers an astounding +80dB of available gain so its one of the few that would never leave you high and dry wishing you could push a little more. There is a switchable hi-pass filter, as well as 3 band (2 shelving, one peaking mid) EQ on board which takes the unit over the top for usefulness.

The 7602 MKII is one of the better values on the market in mic pre and EQ. The discrete design is all hand soldered (read also can be easily repaired if needed) using discrete components. Every part on board is sourced in China where it is built, except for the gold ELMA switch used in the mic / line gain position. The switches all feel good and pots are pretty darn smooth in action too. The staging for the input gains takes a little bit of getting used to, discerning between line and then mic / DI stages, but is not difficult to grasp. Concerning the mic pre, it delivers an overall smooth sound (transformer i/o helps) and tames the extreme transients of things like snare drums nicely. It has a full range response with detailed midrange, and the stock unit is slightly soft up top. It has decent depth to it overall too. The DI on bass I really like, its not one of these big boomy sounding DIs (where you have to roll off all that low end in the mix anyhow) but rather it has a tight midrange sound to it which lets face it, is what brings definition to bass and keys in a mix.

The EQ section is simple and straight forward, offering classic frequency bands to choose from plus a few updated ones. For kick drum I regularly enjoy the pre by filtering the low end at 50hZ, boosting 60hZ, scooping 360hZ and adding a little slap at 3.4k. Very big and controlled sound can be had with these settings on just about any kick drum. For snare, filtering 80hZ and boosting 220hZ (sometimes 110hZ depending) and adding some 7k if needed, or some 12k shelf (if it doesnt bring up the hat bleed too much!). These pre / EQ units are first reaches for me on kick and snare, controlled and big sounding stuff (kick and snare are the pulse of your music, make it rock).

The top end shelf is one of those a little dab will do ya deals: rarely do I find myself using more than a small turn of the dial. It can be pretty brutal if you just start cranking it, but hey sometimes brutal is called for in rock and pop production! The low end can just get downright huge with this unit, a big round bottom and thickens up nicely. I do like that filter so I can tame the subsonic stuff easily (click, done!). The midrange is an obviously EQd sound but its a good obviously EQd sound, smooth enough for electric guitar EQing while tracking or mixing too.

ZenPro Mod: It brings a new depth and richness to the sound by starting with the Carnhill transformer upgrade on the mic in and line out. Bottom end gets deeper, mids are more detailed and rich. Next the tantalum capacitors bring a subtle upper midrange edge that gives definition to the source, without being annoying. The Motorola output transistor (new old stock) offers more clarity and brings a bit more transparency to the sound. Overall the mod brings a high-end sound, and its all based on original Neve values. We find it to be a fantastic upgrade, been doing this a long time too. The other upside of the mod is the extra step of testing and Quality Control each unit goes through.

Conclusion: Stock units are excellent, I mean they really excel in their price range. The fully modified unit is where its at though: there is a whole new life to be had by taking the standard mod into a deeper territory of sound enhancement and certainly brings it where you want it to be.  

Built in the USA by Geoff Daking and Company, this Trident A Range recreation gives you not only a great high end preamp but also a full range 4 band EQ section (as well as high and low filters!) that really delivers on most sources. 5 points available per band (20 total) and variable gain mean a lot of control.

The tone of these EQs is subtle, but it has a definite flavor to it that sort of creeps into your mixes (in a good way!). You can really twist stuff up no problem, as there seems to be so much headroom on them that they can take the extremes. There is a small amount of overlap between the bands, but they are in pretty good spots. The only wish list I would add to this EQ would be some kind of control between 250 and 500hZ for kick drums (Im a 350hZ to 400hZ guy like most). Certainly not a huge drawback for most.

Conclusion: Tons of control from top to bottom, with switchable points so repeatability is easier with these as well. No Ive never put them side by side with an A Range but they sound fantastic with a subtle character that makes them useful on almost any source.

This review is for the Phoenix Audio DRSQ4 (stereo) and DRSQ4M (mono)

The DRSQ4 (available in stereo or the mono DRSQ4M) is one of those pieces of gear that can fulfill many needs of the studio owner all in one spot. Its an excellent DRS series preamp featuring the transformer-less input Class A circuit they are famous for, it has a very high input impedence DI input (10M ohm) and also accepts line level sources with ease (by padding the mic pre input, trust me its not a negative!). Now, add in a hi-pass filter + a full 4 band 11 point gyrator EQ (dont ask me what that means! ok its a simulated inductor type of EQ) with possibly the most well thought out and chosen points you could ever need. OK if thats not enough, route it all to the famous DSOP-2 transformer balanced output section (aka the sweetener) and youve got yourself one heck of a high end front end for tracking, submixing of groups, and 2 buss sweetening + EQ.

You can see my DRS preamp mini-review here: Phoenix Audio DRS-2

Now, onto this EQ!

Really take a look at the available points, all 11 of them, and youll realize that these are HOT reaches on most anything. Shaun and David have really done their homework here it seems. There is no overlap of course, except when dealing with engaging the hi-pass as well as the lower frequencies. So you have the hi-pass filter and a high and low shelf EQ, as well as hi-mid and lo-mid peaks. The available points are:

Hi-Pass: 120hZ @ 12dB per slope

Low EQ: 40hZ, 80hZ, 130hZ

Low-Mid EQ: 200hZ, 400hZ, 800hZ

Hi-Mid EQ: 1.6kHz, 3kHz, 6kHz

High EQ: 10kHz, 15kHz

Overall the tone of these EQs is pretty smooth and natural, with a slightly excited sound though. There is a vibe and a character to them, but in typical Phoenix style its not over the top but just right on most sources. Boosting to the extremes brings no noticeable noise, they are very quiet. Even though the manual references all 4 EQ bands frequency points as centers, Robin (USA rep) is telling me the top and bottom bands are shelf types (shelving EQs dont have centers, the figure represents where the shelf begins to rise or fall). They dont seem to act as shelf-y to me as other EQs, more like a wider peaking curve. The bottom end doesnt bloat into the sub-bass region as quickly, and the top end doesnt open up super high airy like most shelves Ive used anyhow. They have a more controlled type of sound that really must be pushed to reach the extremes.

The 2 mid peaking bands are fairly wide at first, but seem to tighten the closer you get to max cut or boost. For gentle sculpting this makes them very useful to make subtle balance changes without obvious peak-y stuff happening. However, you can push them pretty hard on drums and guitars to get a more pointed and cutting sound. Voice benefits from gentle sculpting, you dont have to hit the top end real hard for it to open up very nicely without getting harsh or too air-y. Boosting 10k on the snare drum doesnt necessarily grab all the hat and cymbals to the extreme, and what it does grab certainly is pleasant.

The bottom end is unique in that it seems to stay very controlled, but there is a cool trick I like to use with the Phoenix EQ: engaging the hi-pass and boosting the low shelf at the same time. Doing this sort of creates your own curve, with a moderate 12db per octave slope starting at 120hZ with the hi-pass. Now you are pushing up at say 80hZ on kick drum, and you end up with this nice WIDE low end response that doesnt allow the sub-bass rumble to take over! Also, I think it goes without saying that the center frequency at this point isnt 80hZ but more of a moving target: push it around and try other low end frequencies too. This makes the Phoenix very handy on bass and kick drum by allowing you to dial in the right boom without having to deal with subsonic stuff.

A lot of people ask for favorite starting points on EQ, so Id like to break this down into the four food groups of pop music production:

Drums / Bass / Guitar / Vocals

Drums:

Kick Drum: HI-PASS, Boost 80hZ, Cut 400hZ, Boost 6kHz, Cut 10kHz

Snare Drum: HI-PASS, Cut 80hZ, Boost 200hZ, Cut 1kHz, Boost 10kHz

Rack Tom: HI-PASS, Boost 130hZ, Cut 400hZ, Boost 6kHz, Cut 10kHz

Floor Tom: Boost 80hZ, Cut 800hZ, Boost 6kHz, Cut 10kHz

Bass: HI-PASS, Boost 80hZ, Boost 800hZ, Boost 3kHz, Cut 15kHz

Electric Guitar: HI-PASS, Cut 130hZ, Boost 200hZ, Boost 6kHz, Cut 10kHz

Vocals: HI-PASS, Cut 130hZ, Boost 400hZ, Cut 3kHz, Boost 15kHz

Those are just some favorite reaches of mine, and typically great places to start for me. Some of this stuff ends up being pretty gentle as far as suggesting a boost or cut, all of this stuff varies anyhow.

Conclusion: A very versatile channel strip, youd love to have just one for processing voice or bass and guitar. Having a pair though opens you up to having a very useful 2 buss EQ for final mixdown, as well as being able to process drum submixes and other groups along the way. The DSOP-2 output section is enough reason to own at least 2 channels of something from Phoenix, if anything just to run the mix through.

The P1 is literally the first piece of gear I ever refused to review, only because instead I opted to start importing it exclusively. My relationship with Robert is many years now, and the P1 continues to be used daily in my studio. Having a clean and robust mic pre, a single knob expander, a 3 stage compressor that is almost impossible to make sound bad and a limiter that absolutely will prevent your converters from ever clippingputs the P1 in the gotta have category for tracking voice, bass and other acoustic sources. The built in monitoring section might seem kind of eh to some, but think about it; the ability to blend a vocalist within a stereo feed from the DAW in absolute real time with no latency has a LOT of value in todays computer recording environment.

Ive always felt the P1 strong suit was in tracking vocals in particular, singing / speaking / screaming it can handle it all and the multi stage compressor delivers it soooo naturally and still with nice size to it. I can set my P1 up with a 3 or 4:1 ratio, attack time of 15ms, and I am just varying the threshold at that point to cover any vocal duties that walk through the door. Dont believe me? Ask any P1 owner, this thing flat out delivers on voice. The expander is super easy to dial in, does great at removing background noise from fans and HVAC systems. The set and forget limiter, I normally leave about 2dB of space between where it turns on and the input of my analog converter hitting 0, and Im done for life. A small screwdriver and a 1k test tone and you no longer worry about overloads. Oh, and the limiter can be full on engaged and simply does not square wave like other designs. Its a look ahead style design but completely analog; it detects hot signals and momentarily turns the volume down rather than a hard clip.

Conclusion: Voice, bass, acoustic guitar, drums, you name it the P1 will handle it and control the dynamic range without giving you a small, pinched sound like other compressors. Its so easy to dial in too, it keeps you working. One man engineer / songwriters will love the fact that you can dial it up so nicely with little effort. A must for any studio doing voice work.