Recording - February 2015 - 40

Universal Audio / Manley Massive Passive

This was because I kept trying to make
the Massive Passive behave like a normal 4-band parametric-boost a frequency, do a sweep, find the offending
tones, flip the switch, boost or cut accordingly. I also kept treating bandwidth as a
normal Q. Working this way, 75% of the
time I found the plug-in frustrating, and
would move on to easier parametric EQ
choices like the Millennia NSEQ-2
(reviewed November 2013) or UA's own
Precision EQ. I should note that I must not
be alone, as the Massive Passive's manual recommends taking some time to
read it cover to cover, so others don't fall
into this same trap!
Sadly, it was not until I read the manual and had the hardware under my fingers that I really "got" the unit. Once I
got the feel of how the Massive Passive
should be used, and what it does and
does not do best, then everything fell into
place. Once I was comfortable with the
paradigm, I used it on everything from
vocals and instruments to the drum bus
and full mixes.

Massive highs, mojo lows
On high frequencies the Massive Passive
is equal parts clean, smooth, and threedimensional. You can push the Massivo
pretty hard at 8 kHz and beyond; sources
like cymbals, guitar strings, and even
dreaded tambourines get subtly more open
but not biting or harsh. Unlike the current
trend in active solid-state EQs, this is not a
box that adds what most now call the "air"
band.
The low end has a nearly intangible
fullness that surrounds lows with an
almost harmonic resonance rather than
pushing or thumping them forward. You
feel the low end through this EQ just as
much as you hear it; again, the best word
is "dimensional."
Bend, pull and overlap
For me the real heart and soul of the
Massive Passive lies in the Bandwidth. It
is the most important tone shaping parameter on the unit, and it's what gives the
Massive Passive a sculptural quality
rather than a surgical or utilitarian one.

More than just making a frequency poke
out or notching one out like a Q control,
here it is all about the width and the overlap between bands. Manley's description
of the Bandwidth as damping and resonance will make perfect sense as soon as
you turn and twist the controls; you'll hear
tones get duller or more excited rather than
just wide or narrow.
Having the choice of shelving bands really
highlights the elastic taffylike nature of the
box. Using these shelves together brings
more of the vintage passive EQ flavor forward, and at times can be like boosting and
cutting similar EQ bands on a Pultec.
Calling all sources
As to sources, this is one of those boxes
that is at home on pretty much anything,
though it will live on your mix bus if you
let it. It's a standout on vocals, where you
can get equal parts chesty low mid presence and nice open naturalness on the
top that sits nicely in the mix. My most revelatory use of the Massivo, however, was
on electric guitars. Here, the midrange
shines in both boosting and cutting, especially the 2K7 (2700 Hz) range. In each
instance the High and Low Pass filters are
more than just add-ons; nicely smooth,
they play a large role in the overall sound
sculpting of the unit.

Recording - February 2015

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