Ok, it bugs me how a LOT of hardware is single channel when it comes to pres, compressors, EQs and such. I mean, surely wiring in a second audio input into the signal would cost them virtually nothing. And yes, I know some will want single channel units for separate right and left channels, but you could still do that even if they all had two inputs obviously.

It just baffles me. I’m in the market for some cheap, budget, but decent hardware and was looking at things like the Klark Teknik 1176, LA2A and Pultec EQ clones, but as their single channel when you factor in buying two of everything, budget options become very expensive very quickly!

Any recommendation for decent cheap/budget hardware units? Mainly looking for dynamics type stuff, so channel strips, pres, compressors, EQs, saturators etc.

 

https://warmaudio.com/products/
https://capi-gear.com/catalog/
http://www.neko-neko.co.uk/ssl-compressor-clone/
https://www.hairballaudio.com/
https://www.fmraudio.com/
These are affordable compared to the originals. There is a line were "cheap" = cheap sound so beware. There is only so much that a manufacturer can shave off before the sound quality suffers noticeably.

 

Last edited: Oct 14, 2019

Hmmmm well yeah.
There is a guy called AirWindows
He is an DSP Programmer and has some cool free stuff.
Here is his website
http://www.airwindows.com/

And here is his YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/airwindows/videos

You can mail him to make plugins for you.
He will create them.

Also he wants to create Hardware Units, so maby you want to cantact him to brainstorm about hardware units.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 14, 2019

https://www.audio-scape.com/products/buss-compressor

uses OG g comp components

 

I though this was about hardware, not software. Moreover, being a good DSP programmer has little to do with making a cloned hardware

 

Really? Name me some hardware stores then that can deliver.
I made my own FM AM etc. receivers.
Did my prints, draw them.
Show me one store that even delivers the pencil.
BLY88C?
I bet you don't know what that is.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2019

Home Depot
Lowe's
Ace Hardware

 

In what area?
See
Keeps getting smaller isnt it...

 

For Europe add Thomann to the list.

 

I know what i'm talking about.
The Hardware Stores in Europe and also in America are declining.
They don't want you to learn.
They want to keep you stupid.
We had fun years ago with condensators and stuff.
Nowdays when you want 1 condensator, you need to use your ID. LOL
What a pitty.

 

Wait till Thomann will be added to the list.
They will say :
All hardware is considerate terrorist.

 

In the future our Audio Hardware is considered Terrorist Equipment.
Mark my words.

 

Err, no, at least not these ('Audio Hardware is considered Terrorist Equipment').

 

retail(the small single pupil economy) is getting wiped....centralization giants like thomann or the better music store will grow

... what do i miss the smell of real retailers stores...

 

Ok, it bugs me how a LOT of hardware is single channel when it comes to pres, compressors, EQs and such. I mean, surely wiring in a second audio input into the signal would cost them virtually nothing.

You are thinking about this all wrong. It cost almost double to maintain stereo through the hardware.

Inside that stereo hardware you would have 2 separate channels of electronic components attached to only 1 set of controls. In fact for comps you might want additional circuits for triggering the comps with combined input {mono} . Also, 2 sets of electronic components takes up more space and would increase the price.

You can't just add an input jack, It doesn't work that way.

 

Last edited: Oct 15, 2019

Because a lot of that audio hardware that you name-checked (and their cheaper clones intended to replicate their usability on a budget) are designed for insert use, not bus use. There are plenty of stereo-only bus processors, and plenty of gear designed to work either as an insert or a bus processor that have mono and stereo options. LA-2As, Pultec EQs, etc. are gear that have been around fifty or sixty years, if not longer, and aside from the exorbitant price tags (as consumers or home studio enthusiasts were most definitely not buying this stuff when it first came out on the market), they were originally designed for very specific tasks and use with very specific hardware, like old-school recording consoles. Some of them were even around before stereo was commonplace. Also, part of the Pultec or Urei sound centers around their mono inputs and outputs. Making them stereo would make them different pieces of gear (which is definitely not what people are paying all that money for!) and possibly even sound different.

I'm also not sure what your point was about the price. For example, two brand-new Pultec EQP-1's are still significantly more expensive (by about six times as much) than two Warm Audio EQP-1 clones. You can also just buy a different EQ that offers stereo ins and outs, functions in the same manner and may probably save you even more money. They won't sound like Pultecs, or even the Warm Audio version of a Pultec, but they'll function the way you need them to and get roughly the same results.

 

OMG, they already are!





Sent: Sunday, October 6, 2019, 06:44:35 AM EDT

 

i always liked orange emu's the most of the amp emu's i tried...

 

There's this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/2-1176--universal-audio-2-1176
Which is no longer available.
I had been wondering about this myself. The thing that really kills me with hardware is mix recall. Since I've started using Acustica stuff, I generally don't worry about this anymore.
Tube it on the way in with a hardware preamp, mix with some Acustica tools (Neve, Pultech EQ, 1176, etc.), tube it on the way out (summing) = plenty of analog vibe.
People complain about the CPU usage of the Acustica stuff. I just freeze and bounce to work through the mix. You've got to figure out how to use the tools you can afford sometimes. And when they mention latency, I'm trying to figure out why would you need analog mojo in order to track something? Just track it as plain as you can, and add the mojo afterwards.
Sorry, fell off topic there for a bit.

 

a PC is hardware too, don't forget.