The new Joemeek twinQ

[Richard Monroe]

Well, I've really never attempted to review a piece of serious audio gear. It's not like a mic. However, I think I'm one of the first people in the real world to have this thing in my hands, so I will say only the things I'm confidant are true. Why do I have a little anxiety about it? I'm not a big time pro engineer, and I don't have golden ears. I can only look at this box empirically. What will it do for me in the real world of home recording?
What I am- a 50 y/o nurse who's an old psychedelic folkie/songwriter. I record stuff, much of it my own. Over the last year or so, my studio, Bardwire, has grown from a pretty respectable project studio to sort of the bottom level of sort-of Pro. So who the hell am I? I've got the box. It will have to wait for real engineers to examine its components, and for better ears to compare it to their Grace, Martech, whatever components. I can only contrast it with the pres with which I am intimately familiar- Avalon AD2022, M-Audio DMP-3, Digi002 (pres by Focusrite), and the old Joemeek twinQcs, which I like, and have used extensively.
This should come in 2 or 3 parts. Right now, I haven't heard enough of this thing to come to conclusions about the sound. That will come, most likely, in a couple of weeks. It will be tried on acoustic guitar in stereo and DI, bass DI and mic'd, as drum overhead channels, bright male tenor (? Neil Young like), and female voiceovers. Why, because that's what I have to record in the next 3 or 4 weeks. Lastly, I am not a shill, spammer, employee, or anything else, of PMI audio or its subsidiaries, and I take full responsibility for the content of this review. Be assured, if I thought it sucked, I would tell you that. My initial impressions are that it does not suck. I don't know what it is, yet, but I know what it is not. It is not useless.
The twinQ arrived on the specified date by Fedex 3 day, on time in spite of Christmas. It comes with a power cord and the user guide. The manual is kind of warm and fuzzy. but contains many more practical tips than the old manual, which was barely more than a spec sheet.
The new green is darker than the old garish Joemeek green. My first feeling? That's a lot of dials and buttons. It has quite a few more functions than the old twinQ, and the front panel is busy. The old gain stage format remains, with separate input and output gain controls. I have always found that useful to a beginner. It's easy to dial up a hot signal without clipping. My initial impression was that the new twinQ has a little less balls (technical term for total gain) than the old one. (Nominal is +60db). However, the new compressor has makeup gain, unlike the old one. If you really need a hell of a lot of gain, you may have to crank it a bit, if you're not using the compressor.
What can you do? What I often did with the old twinQ. Set the threshold way high, and the ratio way low, but leave the compressor on, essentially using it as a filter.
The box is heavier, somewhat, than the old one, which was feather light. This would be the effect of transformers. This is part of what gives my Avalon it's edgey but accurate sound. And this box has a cool button I've never seen before- "Iron", which inserts the transformers, or removes them from the signal chain. I have been waiting for a couple of years to find out whether that is a revolutionary design feature, or a cheesy gimmick. We'll see. I have to say, though, I *had* to turn the thing on, and it initially reminded me of my Avalon, which can't be a bad thing.
Another change, there is a button to link the compressor settings, controlling both from the Channel 1 panel, for stereo recording. A-D conversion is now on board, with S/PDIF out in 44.1/48k, AES/EBU, optical out, an RCA in for external word clock. Both channels have 1/4" balanced outs, switchable for +4dBu/-10dBv, and XLR line outs, +4 dBu only. Each channel has XLR mic in, 1/4" line in, and a 1/4" insert point.
The front panel has phantom power, "Iron", phase reversal, a -10db pad,
and a switch to engage line input. There is a peak LED that blinks red at 6dB below clip, and a separate peak FSD (full scale digital). This lights 6db before the A-D section clips. Cool! There's a high-pass filter/bass cut, in addittion to 3-band sweepable EQ. Each band provides a nominal 15db of gain or attenuation. LF sweeps a nominal 40hz-650hz, MF 300Hz to 5kHz, HF offers only the choice of 6kHz or 12kHz, and is not fully sweepable. It also has an indicator light showing it is connected to an external word clock
The meters show output signal level (VU), or output gain reduction (GR), and there is a momentary (hold down) switch that shows input signal strength (PRE). The VU meters are a little smaller than the old unit, but are better lit, and respond more rapidly to signal strength changes. They are basically OK, and that was one of my concerns, 'cause I happen to like big analog VU meters.
That's enough for now. Soon, I'll have something to say about how it sounds. It's got a lot of buttons and knobs.-Richie

[DJL]

Hey Richard thanks for the info/review... I'm looking forward to reading/hearing what you have to say about the sound (and with multi-tracks, etc). Keep up the good work and thanks again.

[tkingen]

Richard,

A big thanks from me, also. I'm eagerly anticipating your thoughts after spending a few more hours with it!

Terry

[tdukex]

Great beginning for a review, Richie. Thanks for taking the time. I think you should submit this to Steve (Ozraves) when the full review is completed.

[jeff5xo]

Thanks Richie. I can't wait to hear how it sounds, let us know A.S.A.P.!