New T-RackS Master EQ 432 NOW AVAILABLE (full GUI pic inside)

[Agreed]

That is a very interesting once-upon-a-time, not the least of which because it doesn't account for a great deal of mastering units that just talked about themselves as "program" _____________ (insert whatever there; let's say program compressor, for kicks, haha). And there are not all that many stepped pot designs, either, though I do agree that they offer a level of recall precision that's better than any cheat sheet. How sure are you of your description? Would it be untoward to ask for a source? Always love to learn more, and this is one description of mastering gear that I have never heard before, but which also doesn't quite click for me, as stepped potentiometers haven't been the norm for many many products that fall under the general purview of mastering quality gear. What do you know that I don't, and where'd you learn it, with regard to naming this sort of thing? I would love to fill in a gap if I've got one here Thanks for your time!

[DaveGamble]

That is a very interesting once-upon-a-time, not the least of which because it doesn't account for a great deal of mastering units that just talked about themselves as "program" _____________ (insert whatever there; let's say program compressor, for kicks, haha).

Well, obviously there are units which were designed to be as good as possible, which ended up being adopted by mastering engineers, which are "mastering" processors, and then there are units designed for use by mastering engineers, which are "mastering" processors.

The sontec 250 is the former, then the 432 is the latter- a revision designed to appease mastering engineers needs. In a general sense, of course.

And there are not all that many stepped pot designs, either, though I do agree that they offer a level of recall precision that's better than any cheat sheet. How sure are you of your description? Would it be untoward to ask for a source?

Unsurprisingly, from my time at Focusrite. It was explained to me how they went about designing the Blue range mastering units.

Always love to learn more, and this is one description of mastering gear that I have never heard before, but which also doesn't quite click for me, as stepped potentiometers haven't been the norm for many many products that fall under the general purview of mastering quality gear. What do you know that I don't, and where'd you learn it, with regard to naming this sort of thing? I would love to fill in a gap if I've got one here Thanks for your time!

Well, these things have to be understood in historical context. "Mastering" really didn't mean the same thing it does now, 40yrs ago.

[Agreed]

That is most definitely true. Thanks for the quick history lesson, sincerely appreciated

Edit: Hey, if you don't mind my asking, which hardware unit that started life as a good idea and ended up as a mastering tool "holy grail," to borrow the terminology of use here, do you think is the neatest?

I know it's nothing revelatory in terms of one-of-a-kind, but I have to go with the Fairchild 670 just because the many, many albums that have been made with some of them stand out so much - not every unit has held up over the years, but the good quality ones have such a signature, characteristic sound, they totally leave their "fingerprints" all over a track or album and can make pumping sound magic instead of, frankly, unintended, haha.

And speaking of "mastering doesn't mean what it did 40 years ago," the Model 670 was definitely made with the idea of cutting stereo vinyl in mind, quite explicitly. High headroom high voltage operation; one of the first vert/lat processors designed specifically to do that job well and prevent phase issues inasmuch as possible while doing it; some really lovely stuff in the time domain; killer choice of tubes and transformers in the original hardware with a great signal path (imo); ultimately, they just sound so cool and totally nailed their intended job - and now they do so much more than that, too. The role of the tools has changed over time, as well as the role of the mastering engineer.

My runner up would probably be the LA2A just because it's basically a "make it sound better" box that could not be easier to use. Third place goes to the 1176LN revision E. I guess I have a thing for comps.

So: question for you, again just if you don't mind: What's your favorite piece of hardware that's attained legendary status over the years?

(To everyone else, sorry for the derail, but I looooove talking gear and this gentleman is knowledgeable, so I'm inclined to listen closely if he's willing to share!)

[DaveGamble]

Edit: Hey, if you don't mind my asking, which hardware unit that started life as a good idea and ended up as a mastering tool "holy grail," to borrow the terminology of use here, do you think is the neatest?

Miles OT Drop me an email

Dave.

[4tune]

Edit: Hey, if you don't mind my asking, which hardware unit that started life as a good idea and ended up as a mastering tool "holy grail," to borrow the terminology of use here, do you think is the neatest?

Miles OT Drop me an email

Dave.

Or start a new thread please?

Interesting stuff!

[meloco_go]

Always love to learn more, and this is one description of mastering gear that I have never heard before, but which also doesn't quite click for me, as stepped potentiometers haven't been the norm for many many products that fall under the general purview of mastering quality gear.

Actually, there are "mastering" versions of some gear (like Massive Passive) and the difference includes stepped controls. Some of the gear often used in mastering have stepped controls already.

[fese]

...

Or start a new thread please?

Interesting stuff!

Yes, please! There's always something to learn when Dave is around, don't just drop a teaser and go private

[Agreed]

Always love to learn more, and this is one description of mastering gear that I have never heard before, but which also doesn't quite click for me, as stepped potentiometers haven't been the norm for many many products that fall under the general purview of mastering quality gear.

Actually, there are "mastering" versions of some gear (like Massive Passive) and the difference includes stepped controls. Some of the gear often used in mastering have stepped controls already.

Very good point! In fact I have looked at getting one of those before, just haven't pulled the trigger, so to speak. The degree of precision with stepped potentiometers is definitely much higher than you can get on your own unless you're some sort of robot. Thanks for the reminder of another good mastering unit with that option I think it's as Dave says - some units get taken into the "mastering" category because they're just really nice, some units are made for mastering from the start, and some go from the first category to the second as a result of manufacturers seeing their hardware being used in a new, precisely demanding capacity and want to make sure to service that need.

I'm afraid I already emailed, but yes, I definitely agree, any opportunity to learn from somebody with as much knowledge and experience as he has is not to be missed and I appreciate very much his willingness to communicate with me on the topic in whatever format he feels is easiest.

[pheeleep]

Until recently I was in the "not another EQ" camp, out of selfish reasons, because I have so many great ones. Then I got the NI/Softube Passive EQ (Manley Massive Passive emulation) as part of Komplete Ultimate and "wow". There will always be room for more EQ's and they too are getting better and better. I wonder how this new IK one compares to the plugin mentioned above. They are both "Mastering EQ's" that seem to have similar functions. I am just going to have to demo this thing. I was hoping for more user comments by now..

[4tune]

Is 451 samples latency a measurement without oversampling enabled in T-Racks?

Yes this was just the single running at standard settings.

Until recently I was in the "not another EQ" camp, out of selfish reasons, because I have so many great ones. Then I got the NI/Softube Passive EQ (Manley Massive Passive emulation) as part of Komplete Ultimate and "wow". There will always be room for more EQ's and they too are getting better and better. I wonder how this new IK one compares to the plugin mentioned above. They are both "Mastering EQ's" that seem to have similar functions. I am just going to have to demo this thing. I was hoping for more user comments by now..

I have to say I am extremely tempted to pull the trigger on this. It seems a great plug to add an `airy sheen` on the master bus and to get it without too much fuss!. Some particularly nice results with the M-S preset, which I am having a hard time to recreate with other M-S Eqs. I can get closish, but things tend to sound a bit flatter and harsher than the 432 to my ears.

However I am encountering some problems with the M-S mode which I have opened a support ticket about. Just wondering if anyone else here can re-create this where M-S values are not remembered correctly (at least on the GUI)?

The Following picture shows the Lin phase EQ working fine in this mode, but if I try similar settings on the 432 the remembered values seem to get lost flicking from M to S





Edit:Similar situation as the values are opposite but still shows the issue. S mode should be stored on -6 here

[pheeleep]

Okay, I demoed it. It's nice. However, too similar to the NI Passive EQ that I already have (which also has a m/s feature). Will I get this now? Nope. Will I eventually get it? Probably in a year or 2 in a sale or something. It's worth having, but is not essential given what I already have. In my one test, on the Master on a song I am working on, I preferred the NI/Softube (different emulation of a different Mastering EQ). Both units added pleasant "air" and bassy Oomph and sounded better than without the EQ, but the NI/Softube had an edge for that sound (electronic beat). But don't feel bad IK, I prefer your compressors over the NI ones The Precision and Bus comps are stellar.

[4tune]

Anyone else getting bursts of white noise appearing?

I`ve got 11 days left of demo and the plug won`t register that the Custom Shop is already open. If I close the CS and open again, still no joy. Tried to re-install everything but to no avail. Started a support ticket with IK but thought I`d check if I`m the only one.

[b15fliptop]

You have to open the CS first, or you get the white noise. If you open the plug before the CS you have to remove and reinsert the plug.

[4tune]

You have to open the CS first, or you get the white noise. If you open the plug before the CS you have to remove and reinsert the plug.

It makes no difference here, it was working fine before, but even if I do it in the order you say I still get the hissing. It is like the plug is unaware that the shop is already loaded and open.

Edit: Strangely in the meantime initialising demos of the white channel and tape echo seems to have reset something and all is working as before now.

[Eddie TX]

As for why this plugin is called a "Mastering" EQ, maybe it's because you'll not likely be able to run more than one or two instances of it before your CPU begs for mercy. Major CPU hog ... even more hungry than Ozone 5 on my system (Ivy Bridge i7).

It does sound really good, right up there with nearly every other high-end EQ plugin I've tried, including UAD and Waves' latest models. Worth $100, yes, but I'd demo alternatives before deciding, since each plugin tends to have a different character which may or may not suit you.

Anyway, nice job by the IK developers to get such a good sound from a reasonably-priced plugin. For mastering, it's a good choice since you won't be worrying as much about resource usage. Just don't expect to use it as a track EQ.

Cheers,
Eddie