manley massive passive

[morning lights]

ok supercreep, you explain to me what terms are acceptable to describe desirable sound.
you're just another of many here who answer genuine, valid q's with negativity and arrogance.
pointless.

thanks to those who had something constructive to say!

i have plenty of tube gear, nl5. the manley eq is tube gear.

but if that nl5 is what i think it is then i can see where you're coming from.
come on over we'll warm the house.

 

[boingoman]

Can please someone explain me how can you get you get +20dB boost from a PASSIVE EQ?
That´s some new massive passive physical theory isn't it?

I understand that it has tube buffers on input and output, but buffers usually don´t give 20dB gain, and passive circuits even less often (actually a few dB peak is possible, but 20 no way).

The tubes are also for make-up gain, the passive section has lots of insertion loss. As far as the boosting, the unit has a fair amount of reduction when the controls are set flat- so it's not boosting, really, it just cuts less when the controls are in the boost range. That's the way lots of old passive units are marked.

 

[Supercreep]

No sweat. Enjoy your purchase.

 

[boingoman]

For some reason, I have never liked Passive EQ's. It's like th EQ section on an old Ampeg G4 guitar amp -
Tim

And every Fender, Marshall, most Mesa Boogies, most boutique tube amps...all passive, cut-only eq sections.....if you have all the eq knobs up to 10, it really means you are just cutting as little as possible...

 

[craigmorris74]

Passive EQs have a built in cut, around 20dBs (give or take some depending on the model). When you select a boost a frequency, the EQ routes that frequency around the resistors doing that 20dB cut, lessening their effect.

Yes, warm is marketing jargon. Transformers, tubes, resistors, capacitors, and transistors effects the signal several ways (boosting/cutting highs, distortion, etc), and the undeniable truth is that these effects are often desirable (sometimes not). Seriously, if you want to spend big money on an eq, try as many as you can, an see which effects you music in the best way. This forum is the last thing you should base your decision on. Who knows, you might like plug-ins better.

 

[Massive Master]

(snip) ...and it seems like a tube eq unit could warm and shape tones in a way that couldn't be emulated, whereas things like compressors and limiters are going to be easier to emulate in plug-in format.

Most would tell you the opposite... EQ is a fairly linear thing... Color aside, it's "cut or boost this frequency by this much all the time." So it does - All the time. No matter what's running through it at what level.

Dynamics on the other hand... Rarely even as simple as it seems - Tempo, timbre, density of the signal, existing dynamics of the signal, frequency vs. A&R time, etc., etc. That's why it seems that all the emulations out there just can't quite hit the mark. It's simple to recreate what a compressor will do spectrally with no GR. But once that threshold is crossed, you'd literally need to program the algorithm to react to an unlimited number of variables.

I've heard dozens of fantastic digital EQ plugs - Very few compressors & limiters... Sure, there are plenty that will knock down a particular signal level by a particular ratio once it crosses a particular threshold... But a fader can do that also.

 

[SonicAlbert]

But there are great differences between hardware and software eq's. They do indeed respond and interact with the music differently. It's not at all like you can just dial in the same settings on a plugin eq that you would on a hardware eq.

I've tried endlessly to fix certain things with software eq, without success. You can fiddle with settings forever and never be fully satisfied. The same fix can be solved easily with a good hardware eq.

I do own a massive passive and I think it is a wonderful box. Don't expect gobs and gobs of "tube" tone color, it's really very clean. But it does have it's own sound, and is fantastic in my opinion.