ProAudio Review - December 2008 - (Page 32)

studio review by Rob Tavaglione Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor For the mythical “desert island gig,” the Germanium’s extreme flexibility makes it a great choice in compression. I often talk about compressors as “paintbrushes” because of the way they impart a particular character on our tracks. As engineers, we purchase a variety of them, each for their individual traits and colorations, never expecting any one processor to function ideally across the board (pun intended). I now stand corrected. The Chandler Germanium Compressor has taken my own world of compressor assignments and methods and turned them inside out. This many features and this much versatility has made me rethink what I expect out of dynamics controllers. Features The $1,680 (list) Germanium—named after a lustrous metalloid chemical element in the carbon group—is eye-catching with its yellow “chicken head” knobs and kidney-shaped VU against a dark blue chassis. It is an FET-based compressor with two XLRs for I/O (with transformers at input and output) and an outboard power supply (the PSU-1 at $225 list) that can power two Germaniums (two compressors strapped together for stereo operation or another model in the Germanium line). Germanium’s numerous controls include a hardwire bypass switch, a clean/dirty compression switch, a continuously variable input control that ranges from 1 to 11, a side-chain control, a ratio control (again, 1 to 11), a compression curve selector, a wet/dry mix control, controls for attack and release times, a stereo link switch, the germanium output drive control and, finally, a feedback control. Most notable is the Germanium’s choice of compression curves, which include six modes (achieved through a network of resistors, germanium diodes and silicon diodes): R soft, Germanium soft and medium, Silicon medium and hard, and Zener hard. R soft is very neutral gain reduction, whereas the other modes offer the pleasantly warm, round, and distorted sounds that such transistor/diode materials are known for. Germanium, the element, in particular is often used for great guitar distortions, but is expensive and difficult to work with—noisiness being one its problems. The side-chain control is also notable for its ability to HPF the control signal (without an external EQ) to prevent bassinduced pumping when used on final mixes and other full-bandwidth material. This control ranges from out (no HPF) to 300 Hz in six stepped settings. “Why Germanium?” by Wade Goeke of Chandler Limited What originally got me started on the whole Germanium trip was that two of my all-time favorite units used them: the Neve 1057 [mic pre/EQ] and the EMI TG 12345 [EQ]. The sound of both intrigued me, but in some cases they were difficult to deal with—low headroom, oscillation, and noise. I wanted to make something with that type of sound and fix the negative aspects. My first experiments were very positive, and I knew I was on to something. Historically, germanium transistors came between tubes and today’s standard silicon transistors. Many users say that our Germanium pieces have a tube-like quality when set certain ways; it makes sense when you think of them as the transition from tube to transistors. For me, [germanium transistors] offer a more organic, natural sound than silicon transistors. I do think there is more to the germanium thing than just throwing a couple of them together and expecting magic. A good deal of what I believe is special about our Germanium products is the implementation of the germanium transistors and the product design as a whole, not just the fact that we used germanium.” Rob Tavaglione owns and operates Catalyst Recording in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.catalystrecording.com 32 ProAudioReview | December 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.catalystrecording.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - December 2008

ProAudio Review - December 2008 Contents Technically Speaking New Studio Products Opinion: Mastering Matters Review: BIAS Peak Pro XT 6 Review: Zaxcom Fusion ENG Mixer and Multitrack Recorder Review: Sound Devices 788T 8-Track Digital Audio Recorder Review: Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo DSP Accelerator Review: Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor Review: RME ADI-8 QS A/D-D/A Converter Feature: Converters and Clocks: Engineers on Their Choices New Live Products Opinion: From the Road Review: Yamaha IM8 Series Mixing Consoles Review: NTI Digirator DR2 Digital Audio Signal Generator Review: Sencore SoundPro SP495 Audio Consultant Test Set Single Slice

ProAudio Review - December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.