Recording - October 2012 - 53

also to eliminate ultrasonic and out-of-band noise which is a fancy way of saying “high stuff you can’t hear.” Again it is a 12 dBper-octave cut with frequency choices of 70, 28, 18, 12.6, 11.1, 9 and 7.5kHz. I am not sure I have ever given consideration to 70 kHz in my life, but according to Dangerous it can adversely affect your A/D converters with regard to slew rate etc.. In fact, I could not really hear the filter doing anything until I hit 18 kHz. That’s it, 4 sections, 8 controls, and yet this unit does offer a great deal of eq power. In the mix So far the most obvious and wellreceived use of the Bax has been in mastering studios for tightening a track’s bottom and removing harshness. However, lately the Bax is making a name for itself as a 2-bus/master bus eq, which is where it spent much time in my studio. Since brightness seems to be a current mixing and mastering trend thanks in part to cheap mics, white ear buds and—in my opinion—poor taste, I found the Bax to be a nice reminder that there is a difference between clarity and brightness. Depending on the mix, 18k and 12.6k are great for taking the edge off. If you find it to be too much, the Bax shelf can be used to put back a dB or so of 18 or 7.1k to bring back sonic definition and the clarity mentioned above. It’s similar, and the reverse of the old trick of filtering out the low end while simultaneously boosting the frequency above the cutoff point for clear and punchy low end, which this unit also does in a subtle way. While I found 7.5k is a bit much filtering on a modern pop mix, it is an easy way to simulate a warm old vintage record sound. The low-cut is really subtle and even deceptive because much of it you will not hear unless you have a subwoofer. Remember this filter only goes to 54 Hz, which is where many highpass filters start. On my mixes I found 36 Hz worked the best to get rid of sub-sonic mud. If you mix with a subwoofer, even just for reference, the Bax can be invaluable to tweak out a mix that thumps, but does not resonate and rumble the sidewalls of your room or, better yet, your car. As to the Bax shelves, they will take some playing with to find what works in your mix. On the 2-bus or in mastering, this is one of those equalizers where a half dB can make a huge difference. Again, the magic happens as the shelves and cuts interact to give your mix more punch and life in a natural and subtle way. Because this unit is so focused (pun intended) and simple, it is not the same as using a regular eq setup in any way. I tried to simulate the Bax with my other eqs (hardware and software) and could not get them to nail what it does at all.

Not just for mixes The real fun and a largely untapped use of the Bax is on individual instruments. During tracking, the filters alone can work great to get rid of rumbles and resonances as they happen, meaning less cleanup when mixing. Bass guitar can be nicely sculpted and I found +3 dB @ 131 to be pretty magical to add a nice low presence; the high shelf is nice to accentuate the string sound in an even, natural way. On acoustic guitar, the low filter and low shelf worked great as a cut to get rid of woof while retaining the woody tones of the instrument; the high shelf boost and high-cut added sparkle that was never harsh. Thin electric guitars can be made to have thickness and midrange punch with a combination of liberal low-shelf boost and high-filter cut of up to 4.8. On vocals I was very surprised at how well it worked to add in some chest resonance while simultaneously taking out spitty harshness, all without sounding over-eq’d in any way. This could be a drum-bus secret weapon. I had it on a setting of low-cut at 36 Hz, Low Shelf at 361 Hz + 5 dB (yep—wide open), High Shelf boost of 3.4k at +3 dB and High Cut at 18k. Overall it brought out the room around the drums and made the kick sound and feel like I was standing next to it. The highs and width were also nicely accentuated but not brash at all. Conclusions Overall I only found two things I did not like about the Bax. One is a taste issue; the knobs have a strange gritty finish that feels like fine sandpaper to my fingertips. It’s not a showstopper, but I have similarly-shaped knobs on my A Designs Nail and my dbx 160SL and I like their smooth finish better. Second, I know it would require double the real estate, controls and price, but it’s a bummer to waste one of the stereo channels when using the Bax EQ on mono instruments. The Bax EQ is simple, well thought-out, and ot really cleans up and moulds frequencies like no other box on the market, period! It is versatile enough for the mastering house, as well as mix and tracking rooms. It is built like a tank and sounds incredible. Unashamedly aimed at the high-end market, at $2199 it is not a cheap investment, but for many mastering suites and mix rooms it can be an invaluable investment. I know I really don’t want to ever have to mix without one on my master bus again! Price: $2199 More from: Dangerous Music, www.dangerousmusic.com

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Recording - October 2012

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