Ashly

The Ashly SC-66A is a stereo parametric equalizer that I've used in the recording studio. I don't own it and have only used it in a professional recording studio setting, where we made the connections with the patch bay rather than in the back of this, so I didn't have a chance or a need to see what types of connections it has. This is a rack mountable piece of gear and will take up four spaces in a traditional casing. UTILIZATION The make up of the Ashly SC-66A is pretty straight forward and isn't too difficult to figure out on the spot, granted that you know a thing or two about parametric equalizers. Each of the two channels has four bands, and each band has parameters for gain, frequency, and bandwidth. Each also has a in/out button and an overall gain knob with a button for putting it in or out as well. As experienced users of parametric equalizers can see, this is a pretty standard configuration, so a manual is probably only necessary for beginners, if for anyone. SOUND QUALITY In terms of sound, the Ashly SC-66A does exactly as advertised, as it is easy to cut or boast specific frequencies or sweep across a band of frequencies. For the most part this unit allows you all the control you need, and having two bands is great for using this on stereo pairs or two tracks that are similar. The tone quality is very clean as doesn't color your sound in any negative way for sure, in fact it really just does the job at hand without adding it's own coloration. I used the SC-66A for mostly acoustic and electric guitar, but I'm confident that this will be useful for many applications across the board. OVERALL OPINION I haven't seen all that much of these around studios, as the one that I used was the only one I've ever seen. Upon first look at it I knew it was something that I wanted to try out, as it really has a cool look and style to it. If you ever come across an Ashly SC-66A to try or buy, it's definitely an equalizer that I'd recommend checking into.

The Ashly SC-33 is a dual channel noise gate. I don't know what types of connections it has as the one that I have used was already racked up and I had no need to see what type of connections it has. This is indeed a rack mountable piece of gear and it will take up only a single rack space. UTILIZATION Using the Ashly SC-33 isn't tough at all as it is very user friendly. Each channel has parameters for threshold, attack, hold, fade, and floor. Each also has a button for bypass and key/normal. That is pretty much all that there is to the SC-33, so even those without much experience with noise gates should be able to figure out how to use this one without a manual. Although I haven't seen the manual for this, I can confidently say that one isn't necessary unless you are a beginner or are having technical difficulties. SOUND QUALITY The Ashly SC-33 is useful in all sorts of situations, although it isn't a necessary piece of gear to have in your studio. I often find that it comes in handy when I am trying to minimize noise with electric guitar, but works well whenever I need to get rid of noise. It also works great for using this as a high pass filter if I simply want to cut out some low end. However, the reason that I say this isn't necessary is because similar things can be done inside the box with a plug-in. This being said, if you are looking to expand your outboard gear and have a great working and sounding noise gate, this will definitely get the job done better than a plug-in could. OVERALL OPINION Overall, I would definitely recommend the Ashly SC-33 to professional studio owners looking for a great sounding noise gate in the form of outboard gear. For home studio owners however, I don't believe that this is necessary as you can get similar results cheaper with a plug-in. Having said that, the price of this is reasonable and therefore is accessible for anyone who feels a great need to pick this up. If you are having problems with too much noise, you can definitely clean that up with the Ashly SC-33.