EQ Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 64)

GEAR HEAD STANDARD AUDIO LEVEL-OR PRICE: $485 STRENGTHS: Great bang for the buck. Nice leveling with moderate uses, but also capable of serious sound destruction. LIMITATIONS: DI does not override XLR input. Aggressive sound not appropriate for every source. No metering. CONTACT: www.standard-audio.com The Standard Audio Level-Or is a JFET limiter/distortion processor inspired by the Shure Level-Loc PA limiter. It has two modes: Level and Crunch. Set to “Level,” the unit behaves similarly to the Level-Loc. However, Standard Audio has added an additional, faster release time for even more flexibility. The insides feature some beefy transformers, and the sound, although raw, caused one listener to dub the Level-Or as the “Poor man’s LA-2A.” I could certainly agree with that assessment, especially on bass and some vocal tracks. On a whim, when we pulled up a piano track from a country session for Christian Trich, the Level-Or destroyed the keys in a fashion that mirrored the destruction in the singer’s story. Really cool. In “Crunch” mode, the Level-Or can start from slight harmonic enhancement, but quickly moves to aggressive crunch, to distortion, to complete and utter destruction of the original source material. Think of a Big Muff or a Pro Co Rat in a 500 series module and you have the idea. Users can take advantage of the 1/4-inch jack on the front, which is line level and parallels the rear XLR jack, to plug in devices like samplers and drum machines without having to deal with 1/4-inch-toXLR adapters. All in all, this does some cool leveling and destruction. It’s not a piece for everyday use, but at this price, a pair could really round out a studio’s effect collection. 500 SERIES MODULE ENCLOSURE OPTIONS Users interested in the 500 Series format have more options than ever when it comes to finding a home for their electro-critters; following are three of the more popular chassis on the market. API LUNCH BOX This is where the lunch box got its name, because, well, it looks like a lunch box. The API unit can accept six modules and has an internal power supply; a standard IEC cable and some modules are all you need. Several vendors sell this unit, but Mercenary Audio will supply you with blank panels to cover any unfilled slots you may have. Even better, if you return the panel to Mercenary they’ll credit you $50 towards the purchase of a new 500 series module. Price: $425 Contact: www.mercenary.com ATLAS PRO AUDIO REVOLVER For users who want even more portability than the six-space lunchbox, the Revolver—a two-slot 500 series rack— is a great solution. Like the other cases, it’s self powered (and can provide up to five times more than the API minimum power specification). You can configure it in multiple ways; as a stand-alone unit, it can be positioned vertically or set up horizontally for standard 19" rack mounting. Price: $400 (less when purchased with modules) Contact: www.atlasproaudio.com PURPLE AUDIO SWEET TEN RACK In addition to being an internally-powered rack, the Sweet Ten has several unique features. As the name implies, up to ten units can be loaded into the chassis. However, slot 9 is a special slot that is designed to accept Purple’s Moiyn 8x2 mixer module. The Moiyn effectively turns the Sweet Ten into an 8x2 summing mixer. So, in addition to tracking with modules, you can add equalizers, compressors, or other devices at mixdown. The Sweet Ten can also accept the Purple Audio Cans headphone amplifier, making this a viable replacement for a small format mixer. Around the back, you’ll notice a third XLR row. The second XLR out on each channel provides the option of running modules split, or linked to one another. Our sample unit came with some six-inch long XLR cables that make linking two units a snap. Price: $800 Contact: www.purpleaudio.com Other options from API and A-Designs are also available, so evaluate your usage scenario and choose accordingly. (CONTINUED) 64 EQ DECEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.standard-audio.com http://www.atlasproaudio.com http://www.purpleaudio.com http://www.mercenary.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - December 2008

EQ Magazine - December 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In My Morning Jacket Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 8 Propellerhead Reason 4 Indie 500: Lunchbox Pres and Compressors 500 Series Preamps 500 Series Compressors Gadgets and Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - December 2008

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