Recording - September 2016 - 43

piano tracks, all without being harsh or strident. Like Justin, I also really liked what this
EQ does to electric guitar tracks-this time
with the highs in the 7.5 to 10 kHz range
along with the mids choices. The mid band
is so broad now, with too many useful
choices for both cutting and boosting to
pick just one!
On the low end, this is a broad-throw
EQ that is better at adding thickness and
weight rather than forward punch; in
other words, I liked it better on a full
drum mix and the 2-bus than on, say, kick
drum alone. Based on that, I did not
expect to like it as much as I did on bass
guitar... but it can add a subtle pristine lift
to the bass that fills it out nicely while still
sounding natural and not overprocessed.
The Hammer 2 is definitely a toneshaper EQ rather than a surgical fixing
EQ. It has a nice broad range of uses
from 1-2 dB of simple subtle sculpting to
big bold sonic gestures. If a mix or
instrument is anemic or brittle, the
Hammer 2 is a great antidote. Overall I
found myself boosting much more than
cutting, and often just running a source
through it with a touch of 30 kHz Shelf
would bring in some added life.
If I had one gripe, it would be that I
wish that the Hammer 2 EQ had output
attenuation. It does add a significant
amount of volume when bands are boldly boosted. You can bring the level down
in the mix pretty easily, but when using it
in on the 2-bus before the HM2 Nail, I
had to work the two in tandem to get levels, threshold, and compression just right
any time I made large EQ changes. As
such, I would recommend mixing into it
and adjusting frequencies as you go,
rather than slapping it on the mix when
the mix is done. Of course, that's always
good 2-bus advice for any gear.
Conclusions
It's easy to see why so many engineers are big fans of the original
Hammer. It sounds great, is easy to dial
in, and has a very broad sonic throw. If
you own a Hammer already, it is in no
way obsolete and the old and new models have the same sonic signature
(except in the extreme highs).
That said, if you have not pulled the trigger on a good bus EQ that also excels at
individual instrument use for both tracking
and mixing, the Hammer 2 demands your
attention and consideration.
Price: $2495
More from: A-Designs Audio,
www.adesignsaudio.com
RECORDING SEPTEMBER 2016

43


http://antelopeaudio.com/zen-tour-quiz http://www.clearsonic.com http://www.adesignsaudio.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2016

Contents
Recording - September 2016 - Intro
Recording - September 2016 - Cover1
Recording - September 2016 - Cover2
Recording - September 2016 - 1
Recording - September 2016 - 2
Recording - September 2016 - 3
Recording - September 2016 - 4
Recording - September 2016 - 5
Recording - September 2016 - Contents
Recording - September 2016 - 7
Recording - September 2016 - 8
Recording - September 2016 - 9
Recording - September 2016 - 10
Recording - September 2016 - 11
Recording - September 2016 - 12
Recording - September 2016 - 13
Recording - September 2016 - 14
Recording - September 2016 - 15
Recording - September 2016 - 16
Recording - September 2016 - 17
Recording - September 2016 - 18
Recording - September 2016 - 19
Recording - September 2016 - 20
Recording - September 2016 - 21
Recording - September 2016 - 22
Recording - September 2016 - 23
Recording - September 2016 - 24
Recording - September 2016 - 25
Recording - September 2016 - 26
Recording - September 2016 - 27
Recording - September 2016 - 28
Recording - September 2016 - 29
Recording - September 2016 - 30
Recording - September 2016 - 31
Recording - September 2016 - 32
Recording - September 2016 - 33
Recording - September 2016 - 34
Recording - September 2016 - 35
Recording - September 2016 - 36
Recording - September 2016 - 37
Recording - September 2016 - 38
Recording - September 2016 - 39
Recording - September 2016 - 40
Recording - September 2016 - 41
Recording - September 2016 - 42
Recording - September 2016 - 43
Recording - September 2016 - 44
Recording - September 2016 - 45
Recording - September 2016 - 46
Recording - September 2016 - 47
Recording - September 2016 - 48
Recording - September 2016 - 49
Recording - September 2016 - 50
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Recording - September 2016 - 58
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Recording - September 2016 - 60
Recording - September 2016 - 61
Recording - September 2016 - 62
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Recording - September 2016 - 71
Recording - September 2016 - 72
Recording - September 2016 - Cover3
Recording - September 2016 - Cover4
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