The vacuum tube technology is deceivingly simple, but the engineers of that time made miracles with just a couple of tubes and a sliding rule. Wonderful!
@@SupeBeatz mil-spec build, not an ounce of juice escapes. that's the problem with all of the mass produced new synths, thin build. surface mount chips, tiny traces, sound terrible. made for profit, not for greatness.
This circuit is one of the few pieces of kit to fully live up to its hype; truly worthy of every superlative used to describe it for the six decades it's been around, providing those smooth curves
Not true. The EQP-1A a no-loss passive equalizer. The signal level remains the same regardless of whether EQ is switched in or out. Engineers have found that audio can be enhanced simply by passing the signal through the Pultec, with the EQ switched out.
@@vaiman7777 just use your ears. the signal is increased by the gain level adjusted by each band. Empira music is right. A correct comparison would use the same signal level.
@@funkality it really is, it’s amazing. The tone is so subtle and sweet. Side by side with the DW Fearn VT5, it sounds a bit more natural... but lacking the additional frequencies and the mid cut. I love both of them, but the Pulse is my favourite.
I would just like to say that you absolutely rabbit holed me. I think a year or two ago I was learning to appreciate people playing old real analog Wurlitzers, stumbled on you playing some bits, and now I'm learning all about (drooling over) industry-standard and legendary analog hardware so that I can understand my recent UAD purchases better. YOU DID THIS.
Lol. I just wrote virtually the same comment, before I'd read any other people's comments. You beat me to it. It's just got such a rich sonic colouration.
You must not have tried a Neve 1073.. I used to use a Pultec all the time until I put a Neve on it and heard a DRASTIC difference. Fuller, silky and more in your face.
@@Geedygeedy this video is about the Pultec EQ, you are on the other hand are saying you should use the Neve 1073 instead of this Pultec unit even though the Neve 1073 is a microphone pre amp not a EQ! Sir what are you on about...trying to be smart when your comment is flawed. Go bother someone else
@@ExeDist Ctfu!! Your not serious right? You think a neve 1073 isn't an eq? You must not know that the 1073 and 1081 ARE eqs with different frequency points. Just like the Pultec EQP-1 and MEQ-5 are pultec with different eq points. Please do you research before trying to make points that make no sense. 😂😂😂
I put up with enough of the video!!!! I watched most of it!!!! I'm now gonna find the schematics! I am gonnna build my own!!!!!!!!! KILLER! Its the best EQ I have ever used, in a plugin format!!!!
One of the most important enhancements that the pultec EQs make to audio is the gentle analog saturation imparted by the tubes and the transformers. Running audio through a pultec with the controls set to zero is/was done in mastering just for the saturation. It imparts warmth (as everyone knows) but it also acts like very gentle and musical compression. That's partly what makes their sound so desirable. For a pretty good free emulation, get the analog obsession RARE plugin.
One of my favorite EQs, I used it with an original LA-1 Teletronix. This was used on most classic recordings (classical, pop etc) in the 1950s and 1960s.
I've got plugins of this EQ that are nice, but this original hardware item is just a whole other level. This is exactly WHY this unit is legendary. It makes everything better quickly and easily with zero fuss. I love how you can set the EQ with no boost or cut, and you still get a subtle bump at the frequency you've set the low and highs to.
wooooa! a real dinauzore, but these device had a velvety sound. I am from that time, we used on AM radio. I understand your emotion. The real sound of the analog. Thank you doc.
It was primary made for radio broadcast, but having this as a steem enhancer or a bus mastering device reveal all the best frequencie of a mix, it add presence and smoothness to the mid EQ and soft all harshness from an excess of High frequencie EQ.
The middle boost knob correlates to 7 step hi frequency selector at the bottom while the right ATTEN correlates to the 3 step hi freq selector on the right. It seems like the right boost and atten knobs work together but they work seperately.
@@UnknownHumanoid yes! This EQ is mostly for mastering. I mean its sometimes used for boosting either Bass or high only on kicks basses and highs in synths Keys and guitars. But the curve bender is used for cutting frequencies too and all.
@@UnknownHumanoid If you feed it digital crap like the example of dr mix you get the same crap from the Chandler. My XL3 eq does and sounds the same. I guess you never really heard an EQ like this where it should be ... on a hot analog (tape) source. Then the Pultec and Chandler shine. I only use a very old plugin versions of the putlec on my pre master test chain so i get a post mastering idea. Also it depends very much on what type of sound you put them on. 90% of the music i produce, the pultec plug just sounds like my XL3 eq.
The problem is that louder always appears to sound better, so it only makes sense to compare before-after at euqal levels. You could create a box that simply makes the signal a bit louder and sell it for a lot of money as sound improver ;-) But yeah, the EQP-1A indeed sounds great
Great demo, thanks for posting & congrats on getting a hold of such a rad vintage EQ. Hard to believe that in the late 80’s & in the 90’s when digital was new & all the rage studios were literally using Pultec EQ’s as door stops, which literally just sounds crazy based on how we revere these things now. I wish I could go back in time & pick up 10 of them along with a few LA2A’s, 1176’s, LA3A’s & some Neve channels because I will never be able to justify the prices these things go for now without winning the lottery.
I love the high mids circuit, i never was unable to image that high mids could sound so good, the lower frecuency are nice at 100 Hz, saturation is killer very great, a dream for Bassist hahaha in the rack
When A-B-ing like that, you should really compensate for volume differences. Whenever your turn the EQ on, it sounds louder more than anything else. For a true comparison of what is happening with tone, you need to bring the volume when you turn the equaliser on, down.
carlier74 hi Carlier! I understand what you’re saying. However no professional sound engineer needs to A/B compare with level matching. That’s why these units are not built with that functionality. After using any piece of gear on mixing every day for even just a few weeks, you know how that machine sounds and how it sound translates in the mix. Then testing becomes superfluous, including level matched A/B testing. If somebody can’t distinguish the change in tone by the change in level then maybe he or she needs level matching... and ear training. Hope this explains :-)
Hi Dr Mix - I'm not sure about your first point. I think it's quite common practice to match the level before and after an insert effect. Anyway, my point here is that your video is not aimed at the pro-audio community. A lot of people watching this will be wowed by the volume increase more than anything.
carlier74 you cant gain match with the bypassed source when your constantly changing the eq settings like he is in this video, i would think. You could always try n do it yourself
Yo you do realize EQ’ing is a tool of volume changing in response to a frequency selected right? If you boost at 100 hz you’re boosting that frequency’s volume so to level match an eq is to take the point of an eq out of the video silly ass. It would mean if u boost the low u would have to lower the overall volume which would lower the highs, which would sound like the original 100hz but with lower highs when u lower the volume. Make sense? Eq is directly related to percieved loudness in a signal. Cmon and you’re talking for pro audio? Silly ass
Have the Pultec EQP-500A, it sounds really good but those gigantic transformers on that beast bring a bit more to the party. Thanks for sharing, would love to get a full size.
Jj Jones I’m considering getting the eqp 500x do you really feel good about your decision to get the 500a or would you have gotten the x or do you feel like none of them are worth it ?
I own a Pultec EQP-500S and got it shipped directly from Steve @ pulse technologies. Steve admits it is the same EQ as the EQP-1A version just reduced in Scale for 500 format. He doesn't say or claim false narrative. Without any doubt when using the EQP 500A you are using EQP-1A . These are audio tools that when purchased they stay with you the rest of your Life. Even if you don't use them, you NEVER sell them. Let your children inherit them and discover how passionate YOU are/were about sound quality.
best thing is how it can make something pop in a mix. i run a return with an1176 and pultec. send anything i want to rock down the center of the mix. never fails.
I come from this era and yes, this is the REAL deal. Now to design a plugin that captures the tube sound (many engineers ran 'em 'in' with the EQ flat), the transformer phase shift, etc.
So many comments about volume matching A/B the raw source to the EQ level but honestly I didnt hear it so much as a volume increase and heard more the fullness and richness of the sound. Especially with the bass guitar how it pulled out the twang and slap of the strings and left a rich warm Valve amp type feeling to the sound. I love how excited you get about the equipment to. Great videos. Love watching your content
I started looking into the EQP 1a just a few days ago. I think this thing is great for people like me who do not have well-trained ears. It's simple and super effective. I'm looking for a kit to build one for myself.
2:23 - My brotha! That look and that applause says it all! Not a lot of people can get that excited about a blue box... you made my day. Thank you for taking the time to demo the wonder and influence that little magic box has made throughout music history. That’s just incredible... (By the way, I had the SAME look on my face at 2:23... applause and all!)
God damn, so it's true. The real thing really is better than all the plugins. Even UAD and Acustica. Not that those aren't great, but this thing is insane. it sounds absolutely huge
good video!! they sound so musical even when over doing it, it's important to remember that just running through the circuitry with no eq sounds great too. I wish I had a better handle on boosting and attenuating simultaneously though...
