Toft Audio ATC-2 vs. Joe Meek TwinQ

  • Thread starter Thread starter scarboro78
  • Start date Start date

Joe Meek TwinQ ($700) vs. Toft ATC-2 ($800)

  • Joe Meek TwinQ ($700)

    Votes: 8 19.5%

  • Toft ATC-2 ($800)

    Votes: 23 56.1%

  • Other Strip In the Same Price Range?

    Votes: 10 24.4%
  • Total voters
    41
scarboro78

scarboro78

NYC HIP-HOP AMBASSADOR
OK, I've been lurking around for month's now looking for a good Channel Strip to add to my modest little home studio and just when I thought I knew what I wanted.. BANG! I read something new about something else.. ::sigh:: Life sucks sometimes.. but anyways, I've been reading extremely good things about both the Joe Meek TwinQ & Toft ATC-2 Channel Strips. Both sound equally enticing however I was hoping some of you guys with experience using these pieces of equipment can give me your opinions as to why one would work best for me.

I'm working primarily on male vocals for hip-hop & r&b applications using a BLUE Dragonfly mic for tracking. All your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Guys!
 
what I've read on many forums is that the safesound P1 has been recommended by many poeple. of course the safesound doesn't look as cool, but I heard it sounds pristine.

also, its hard to beat an FMR RNP and RNC combo in a Funk Logic rack.
 
stevem554 said:
what I've read on many forums is that the safesound P1 has been recommended by many poeple. of course the safesound doesn't look as cool, but I heard it sounds pristine.

also, its hard to beat an FMR RNP and RNC combo in a Funk Logic rack.
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I was looking into both of those, but neither offer any EQ section that I know of and both are for a single channel. I agree though, both seem to be great little units. It's amazing how such small pieces of equipment can be so much better than some of the larger rack mounted units out there.
 
Dot said:
I've got both the Toft Audio ATC-2 and Joe Meek TwinQ sitting here in the studio. Have just started testing them. Will have some info I can post by next week.
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Oh that's great, your input would be much appreciated. thanks!
 
Go Dot! BTW- I just checked Musician's Friend and 8th Street, and both are showing the twinQ at about $800 and the ATC-2 at about $1000. Where'd you find those prices?-Richie
 
ATC-2 compressor noise

I've got my ATC-2, and been playing with it for a few days now. Still early to give any indepth reviews. Basically I'm really liking the pre, and the EQ is awesome, but takes some time to get used to.
However the Compressor section seems to add a bit more noise than I was expecting. It seems that adding anything more than unity gain on the make-up gain stage adds a distubing amount of hiss. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm not sure if this is because of the lack of a threshold control allowing the noisefloor to be amplified, or the fact that a corrective EQ is placed after the compressor.

Does anyone with either the TwinQ or ATC-2 have this problem? What is an acceptable noise-level with compressor make-up gain?
 
Dot said:
I've got both the Toft Audio ATC-2 and Joe Meek TwinQ sitting here in the studio. Have just started testing them. Will have some info I can post by next week.
Click to expand...

Hi Dot,

Looking forward to your reviews!

Terry
 
I just got my Toft this week. I'm using it for the first time tonight. I'm using it on kick and snare for drum tracks toinght. I got my levels yesterday and was quite happy with the eq and compression. I'm looking foward to using it on vocals later next week. I'll post the drums tracks as soon as I can mix them.
 
BTW, Richie. I got the ATC-2 for $800 from an ebay dealer. BBproaudio is the dealer. I even called PMI to make sure if this guy is legit. I had no problems. PMI said if the guy wants to cut everyone on this price that it's a free enterprise country.
 
heya freaks....


I have my Toft...and love it. I don't have any noise or hiss when using compression. The EQ is great, and the Pre-amp sounds great. I just need a better A/D converter.....

I only choose the Toft over the JoeMeek becuz the Toft does not add any color. But that is my personal choice.....
 
The Toft is a FET compressor, and FET's have a bit more noise than other types like VCA and Optical, but still they should be well below any audible threshold in use, unless you are not properly gain staged. The other issue is the Toft is made to be in a balanced enviorment. If you use it unbalanced, there is a 6dB difference and that will attribute to some more noise as you push up the levels.

FET's also have to be biased correctly. Due to some mishandling by UPS, FedEx and some others who view packages as footballs, they can get out of bias and that can add a bit more noise. SO it is important to be balanced in and out, properly gain staged, and proper operation to get the most out of the Toft.

cycosuicide is correct that the Meek is more colored than the ATC-2. By the way, I did read that review posted on this thread. They did a good job and I would like to address two of his comments. Serial Numbers...Yes, we know. That has been taken care of. It was a mistake at the factory. They simply forgot to put them on. The meters, well I love the meters. They work great and are very accurate.

In the end, both the ATC-2 and the Meek are real values. If you think about it, both are about $1,750.00 for four channels and two completely different flavors. That is less than the price for one channel of Avalon 737...

Anyway, thanks for the kind words on our products.... :)
 
If you happen to be crushing a track with any compressor, and then compensating with a bunch of make-up gain, the noise may actually be the track, and not the compressor itself.
 
touchstone001 said:
I've got my ATC-2, and been playing with it for a few days now. Still early to give any indepth reviews. Basically I'm really liking the pre, and the EQ is awesome, but takes some time to get used to.
However the Compressor section seems to add a bit more noise than I was expecting. It seems that adding anything more than unity gain on the make-up gain stage adds a distubing amount of hiss. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm not sure if this is because of the lack of a threshold control allowing the noisefloor to be amplified, or the fact that a corrective EQ is placed after the compressor.

Does anyone with either the TwinQ or ATC-2 have this problem? What is an acceptable noise-level with compressor make-up gain?
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Touch,

You might want to take a look at this thread http://www.pmiaudio.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=30

In it, Malcolm addresses his reasons for not adding a threshold control and the proper manner to use the compresser on the ATC-2. Don't take me wrong, I'm sure you know what you're doing - but it never hurts to hear from the man who designed the gear!

Cheers,
 
alanhyatt said:
cycosuicide is correct that the Meek is more colored than the ATC-2.
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Do you mean the pres alone? I'm assuming that you're refering only to the compression and eq in these units, cause I was under the impression that they both used the same pre.
 
Clit Torres said:
Do you mean the pres alone? I'm assuming that you're refering only to the compression and eq in these units, cause I was under the impression that they both used the same pre.
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The mic pre is the same, with the exception of an added switched transformer coupled device you can either use or not use on the Joemeek. When you use it, it does add color to the mic pre just like the very early VC1's that had the transformer.

Both the Toft and Joemeek get their color or sound from the EQ and Compressor, and they are very different from each other.
 
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