Summit

Simple not much to it but a must have for vocalist that have no technique. I have used this piece for over 7 years and it never disappoints me. It is a must have on the front end of singers that have little or zero mic technique. In 2005 I had a rock singer that came to the studio www.chrislieckstudios.com and he was all over the place as for levels. I looked around for pre amp that soften the hard notes but did not sound to compressed. After a long search I gave up and almost used my SSL to control the sound by over compressing. So it was suggested to me by a friend to buy this unit with the Summit Levelor as well (a must have as well) and I live on both of them. I took that singer and placed him in the booth and turned on the unit and the Levelor and there it was. The controls are simple and self explanatory. The Levelor has two knobs, but back to the Pre Amp, it can take great deal of level and input aside from the TUBE control. The Tube control is a bit sensitive. You have to use the pad when turning the tube up. I love this unit for vocals. We use it daily and no matter what other units I have I go back to it all the time. It is a bit sensitive on the input surprisingly and I don't like that but I normally pad the signal down if it is a vocalist. The tube control knob is very easy, turn it one way and you have more tube, the other less. It has a roll off for the lows and the highs. It has a line input on the front. I love it. UTILIZATION Simple as can be. Plug in mic, turn up the tube and enjoy. Not complicated at all. I have a few settings I use but not much to the unit. The input has a pad like most and there is one knob that allows more of the tube saturation and the tube is quite dirty on some mics and a bit cleaner on others. I use it with an AKG and it can be a bit dirty at times. The less tube the better in that you don't need a great deal of tube on must instrumentation such as acoustic guitars and other acoustic instruments. There is a roll off for the lows and a sweeping set frequency roll off for the top or high end. I don't use either of those much at all as I will use a plug in first or a one band digi EQ to roll off any low end noise that I get from the unit's tube that I do get at times. SOUND QUALITY It is a clean transparent pre amp with little color and very high quality. I put it up there with and against any other pre-amp in the world. I have been so satisfied from this purchase and it has saved my vocal sessions for years. Like I said it is a bit sensitive not like an API but still really great sounding and solid. The construction is really good. OVERALL OPINION A must have if you want that tube sound and old school sound. I have it in my rack and use it every day. I would buy it again today. I tell guys all the time that this pre is really great and if I had one pre amp that I had to have it would be this unit. I do love the Levelor along with it. I recommend that piece to go along with this pre amp. I paid about 1000.00 for both of the units and I would not trade them for anything or any pre amp out there in the market.

The Summit TLA-50 is a single channel compressor that is semi-modeled after the classic LA-2A. It has XLR and 1/4 inch connections for input and output as well as a 1/4 inch output for a side chain. It is an analog piece of gear and is also rackable as it will take up two rack spaces. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Summit TLA-50 isn't hard to follow at all as this is just about as basic as a compressor as you can get. It has knobs for gain and gain reduction and it has switches for attack, release, and for setting the meter. This is all that there is to the TLA-50 and even those without any experience with compressors shouldn't have too much trouble understanding how to use this as long as you understand what a compressor does. A manual definitely isn't necessary as this is easy enough to use on its own. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the Summit TLA-50 is quite good but of course isn't as great sounding as a LA-2A, but at the same time it will only cost you a fraction of the price. I've had success using this with all sorts of instruments and voices, but vocals are probably the main thing that I run through this. It has a wide sound that for whatever reason seems to work best with vocals. Having the same amount of parameters that it does makes it easy enough to dial in a great sounding tone within a few minutes every time... OVERALL OPINION Overall, the Summit Audio TLA-50 is When comparing this to the LA-2A this obviously isn't going to sound as good, but when comparing it with other compressors in this price range, this is a great deal that is definitely worth trying out. The price is quite reasonable for a great sounding compressor like this, but at the same time if I have access to an LA-2A I am always going to use that over this. Whether you are a professional or a home studio owner, the Summit TLA-50 is a compressor that is a great deal for your dollar.

The Summit FEQ-50 is a single channel passive equalizer made up of analog components. It has XLR connections as well as 1/4", including options for output routing through either the tube or solid state portion of it. It isn't rack mountable, but is about half the size of a single rack space, so if you had two of them I'm sure you could rack them together. UTILIZATION The make up of the Summit FEQ-50 is fairly simple, especially if you're familiar with the simple configuration of parametric equalization. It has four bands, each of which have gain knobs and frequencies knobs, which have set frequencies to choose from (about six different ones for each). They each also have bandwidth switches that have two different settings to choose from for if you want either a wide or narrow Q. That's pretty much all that you need to know about it's configuration, so I don't think that a manual is necessary. SOUND QUALITY The tone of the Summit FEQ-50 is incredibly clean sounding overall. I've used it on instruments of all types, as it is versatile and has the tools to be used for applications of all types. It doesn't color your tone beyond the cutting or boosting that you apply, but the FEQ-50 certainly has its own type of sound that is hard to describe or to compare to any other piece of gear that I can think of. I love having the bandwidth switches, as they really come in handy when trying to zero in on a specific frequency. While I generally like having complete control over the frequencies I choose, Summit has done a great job here by determining which frequencies are most often used. OVERALL OPINION For a high end equalizer, the Summit FEQ-50 is actually priced nicely. While it is probably still too expensive for most home studio owners out there, this is a great deal for professionals looking for top tier tone regardless of price, as you'll certainly save a bit of change when you compare this to some of the other equalizers out there. The FEQ-50 is a seriously compact piece of gear as well, as it will take two of them to fit them in a rack. I'm a big fan of most of the gear that Summit Audio has to offer, and wholeheartedly recommend the FEQ-50 as a nicely priced option for a single channel equalizer.

The Summit DCL-200 is a dual channel compressor/limiter in the form of an analog piece of outboard gear. The unit has XLR connections for inputs and outputs, and also has 1/4 inch connections for linking and side chain. Each of the two channel has the exact same make up. The DCL-200 is indeed a rackable piece of gear and it will take up two spaces in a traditional rack space. UTILIZATION If you know how to use a compressor and are aware of the standard parameters that come along with the, the Summit DCL-200 won't present any problems for you. Each of the channels has parameters for gain, threshold, slope, attack, and release, so if you've seen a compressor before you know that these are pretty ubiquitous parameters as far as compressors go. Each channel also has a bypass switch and a switch to choose what type of VU metering you will be witnessing. Since there isn't anything out of the ordinary here, unless you are unfamiliar with the make up of compressors, I don't think that you need to have a manual around. SOUND QUALITY It's hard to describe the sound of the Summit DCL-200, as it is really something that needs to be heard for yourself. Summit is known for their top notch outboard gear, and the DCL-200 maybe their most impressive piece of gear. It sounds great on just about anything that you would want to try compression on, as I've had success with it on vocals, drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, and electric piano (Rhodes). I can't say that I've ever set a signal to it that I didn't end up liking on the other end. The vast amount of parameters this has to offer makes it easy for it to adapt to just about any situation... OVERALL OPINION Although expensive, the Summit DCL-200 is one of the best modern day made compressors that I've used. You really can't go wrong with a piece of Summit Audio gear, as every piece of equipment that I've used made by them has helped me out immensely. The price will undoubtedly make this inaccessible for most home studio owners, but for those that can afford it and for those that are looking for a high quality stereo compressor regardless of price...

The Summit TD-100 is top tier tube based direct input box. I haven't seen too many models like this that are tube based and are only an instrument and not mic pre amp. The unit is an analog one that simply has a 1/4 inch input and 1/4 inch direct output on the front of it. It isn't in a rack mountable form as it spans about half the size of a traditional single space rack mountable piece of outboard gear. UTILIZATION Using the Summit TD-100 is just about as easy as it gets for a DI box as it only has a small amount of parameters to work with. The unit has knobs for output gain and loading and has switches for polarity and grounding. These are the only settings that you have to play with here, which isn't a bad thing as it makes the unit incredibly easy to use and understand. I haven't had a need for the manual and since this is so easy to use I don't believe that one is necessary anyway. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the Summit TD-100 is as good as it gets for a direct input box. It is rare that you see a tube based DI box like this, but the sound of this is comparable to tube based mic pres that have options for using it as a direct input. It is perfect for recording anything direct including keyboards and bass guitar which are the two main things that I have used this for. I find that I can get an extremely full bodied direct input tone with this unit, but I usually choose to get an amp sound in addition. This being said, you can definitely get some great tones with the TD-100 even if you are solely using it on its own. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for a tube based DI box, the Summit TD-100 is probably the best that I have used and is one that I would wholeheartedly recommend checking out. While I don't know how big of a market there is for tube DI boxes that cannot be used used as a mic pre, if you are looking for one the TD-100 needs to be at the top of your list. The price isn't exactly cheap for a DI box, so if you are looking for a tube based pre I would probably recommend spending a few extra bucks to get something that has microphone capabilities. However, if you are looking for a top tier DI box that runs on tubes, the Summit TD-100 is the item you have been looking for.

The Summit MPE-200 is a high end microphone dual channel preamplifier and equalizer. It was designed by Rupert Neve in tandem with Summit Audio. It's got analog circuity, but works with LED screens and a digital interface. I don't know all of the connections that it has, as the one that I have used was already hooked into the patch bay and there wasn't a need for me to do anything with the connections. It is rack mountable and will take up two spaces. UTILIZATION Using the Summit MPE-200 definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but if you're familiar with preamps and general equalization, it shouldn't be too hard for your to figure this out. The main thing is adjusting to the LED screens. However, on the EQ you've got your standard parameters for gain and frequency, as well as bandwidth shape. There's an input gain knob for the preamp and also a master output volume. I haven't looked at the manual, but it might be helpful if you're buying one and want to learn everything there is to know about it. SOUND QUALITY The Summit MPE-200 is an all around amazing sounding channel strip. The preamps on this are some of the best of their kind, as everything comes in with a great amount of detail and fullness, depending on the microphone of course. It always seems to paint a very accurate and realistic sound of whatever you're capturing. The EQ is also outstanding and there is an almost endless amount of control as you can get super fine with it. Basically, if you're looking to boost or cut in small amount at specific frequencies, this is possible with the MPE-200. You won't be able to say that about most channel strips, and when paired with the killer preamps, it's hard to beat the MPE-200. OVERALL OPINION Summit Audio has an outstanding line of gear to offer, with the MPE-200 being one of their finest products. Of course it's going to cost you an arm and a leg to get one, and to be honest I'm not really sure that it's worth the price. Having said this, I use one at the studio where I work, so I don't have to pay at all for it. It's basically the front end in one of our smaller rooms, and it certainly sees a lot of action. If you're interested in dropping a ton of money on a dual channel preamp/EQ combo for your front end, whether it be in a professional or home studio, the Summit MPE-200 should definitely be in the discussion.

The Summit ECS 410 channel strip in my opinion is the best channel strip you can get for your buck. Both the pre-amp section and the compressor section are extremely useful. Most of the time I will record using the compression straight to Pro Tools, but many times I'll go back and use the compressor on previously recorded things. It has XLR inputs and outputs. UTILIZATION In terms of ease of use, it doesn't get much easier. The pre-amp has a bunch of equalization options as well as gain and a leveler. The compressor is only two knobs, like the LA-2a which it is based off of. I haven't had a need to use the manual, it is easy enough to use if you have any sort of experience with recording and compressors. SOUND QUALITY I couldn't be happier with overall sound this thing produces. It sounds great on vocals (I'm using a Neumann TLM103) as well as on guitars and drums. For bass I just plug directly in...I have no need for my direct boxes anymore when recording keys or bass, I just use this. The pre-amp is pretty transparent if you run it with no EQ, but I love having the options of boosting or cutting using the pre's EQ. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the LA610 for about 6 months. The thing I like most about it is that it is a compact channel strip that I can use over and over again for my overdubs. I haven't had any complaints, although I wish there were some 1/4'' connections in addition to the XLRs. I've used all sorts of other Summit products (LA-2a, 1176, LA-3a, etc) and this definitely can hold it's own. If I lost it or broke it I would definitely buy a new one. Being that I work out of my project studio mostly and I am on a limited budget, I couldn't have asked for anything more.

The Summit MPC-100A is a tube based channel strip that contains both a microphone preamplifier and a compressor/limiter. The unit has XLR connections in the back as well as a 1/4 inch input in the front for using the unit as a DI box if you want. The Summit MPC-100A is all analog and is indeed a rack mountable piece of gear that will take up two rack spaces. UTILIZATION The make up of the Summit MPC-100A isn't too hard to follow as it only took me a few minutes to get used to everything going on here. In the preamp section you've got parameters for gain, mic/line/phantom power, a phase switch, and a -20 db pad. The compressor has knobs for gain, threshold, slope, and output, and has switches for both attack and release. The unit also has programmable meter and a compression bypass switch. If you have experience with standard mic pres and compressors, this unit is easily deciphered as it has pretty standard parameters that are found on most channel strips like this. I haven't seen the manual for this so I can't say if it would be helpful or not, but judging by the configuration, I don't think that one is necessary. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the Summit MPC-100A is absolutely top notch. Both the pre and the compressor are warm and thick sounding. I've used this channel strip on a variety of applications including lead vocals, acoustic guitar, snare drum, and bass guitar and have found that pretty much everything that I use it with ends up sounding pretty good. Often I only use the pre and bypass the compressor, but I love having the compressor there as an option and a lot of times I find that it comes in quite handy. The Summit MPC-100A has a perfect mix of clarity and thick tube warmth, which is the type of sound that I usually go for. OVERALL OPINION I've only been using the Summit MPC-100A for a couple of months but I've been using gear made by Summit Audio for years and really love the sound of their outboard gear. The MPC-100A is no exception as it has an outstanding sound across the board. I can't say enough about how user friendly this is and how awesome of a channel strip it is. The price is reasonable considering that you are getting both a top notch tube pre and compressor all in one. If you are looking for a top end tube pre and compressor, the Summit MPC-100A should definitely be taken into consideration.

The Summit TPA200B is a dual channel microphone preamp that is tube based and is made of all analog parts. It has XLR connections in the back and also has 1/4 inch Hi-Z inputs for plugging your instrument directly into this. This is indeed a rack mountable piece of gear and will take up two rack spaces. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Summit TPA200B is pretty basic as far as mic pres go as it has pretty much all standard parameters. Each channel has knobs for input and output gain, and then has switches for either line or mic input, a pad that can be switched to either -15 db or -25 db and a phase switch. There is also a switch for phantom power that will engage phantom power on both of the channels. This is a pretty basic set up and I don't think that anyone who has experience with mic pres needs a manual or will have any trouble at all using this. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the mic pres on the Summit TPA200B are pretty incredible. The clarity and depth that can be achieved with this is outstanding as this is one of the better mic pres that I have used outside of a console. It is great two have two channels of such a high end pre in the same unit as it allows me to do some great stereo recordings within a single unit. The pre accurately portrays the signal that you send to it and won't color it other than the natural sound that you give it. This is definitely an overall top notch sounding microphone preamp that is as good as just about any that I have used before in its own way. OVERALL OPINION While the price of the Summit TPA200B is quite high, if you are looking for great tone without having to consider price, this is an excellent choice. I believe that it is a great unit for just about anybody looking for a dual channel high end mic pre and understand that this is the price that you will pay for a great pre like this one. If you are a home studio looking for a single unit that will help out your recording quality a great deal, the Summit TPA200B is a great investment and is something that should absolutely be tried out.

The Summit 2BA-221 is a single channel microphone preamp that has variable impedance and vacuum tube outputs. It it made up of solely analog components and has both XLR and 1/4" connections for inputs and outputs as well as other 1/4" connections for insert and on the front panel for your instrument. It also has in and out connections for stacking this with other modules if you want to. It isn't large enough to be rack mounted on it's own, but I think that two of these would fit in a single size rack space. UTILIZATION Using the Summit 2BA-221 isn't too difficult, but there are a lot of different parameters and features that a user should be aware of. The 2BA-221 has parameters for line in gain, tube output, solid state mic gain, impedance, and a high pass filter. It also has switches for phantom power, a -20 db pad, and polarity. Experienced studio rats will be able to catch on quickly here without needing a manual. SOUND QUALITY The tone quality of the Summit 2BA-221 is pretty outstanding, as I've found it to be useful across the board. It sounds awesome for recording vocals, at least for my voice, as well as for recording acoustic piano and guitar. The studio that I used this at actually had a stereo pair, which made them perfect to use for the piano, but if you only have a single unit to work with, it's probably not best for piano since most engineers will want to be consistent. Either way, the Summit 2BA-221 is the perfect blend of modern clarity with the option to add tube warmth when you so desire. What else can you really ask for in a mic pre? OVERALL OPINION For the price, the Summit 2BA-221 is one of the best deals out there for a single channel mic pre. It has a lot of versatility and can be used to record just about anything. It is the type of mic pre that is on par for professionals and is still acessible to home studio owners because of the price. If you're looking to get a go to mic pre for your home studio or just add to the collection in your professional one, the Summit 2BA-221 will always feel right in place.

The Summit EQF-100 is a parametric EQ in the form of a piece of rackmountable outboard gear. It will take up two rack space units and has XLR connections in the back. UTILIZATION The general configuration of the EQF-100 is really straightforward and easy to follow. If you have used a parametric EQ before, you will have no problem figuring this unit out. Each EQ band has a knob to set the fixed frequency, a knob to set bandwidth and another knob for gain. It then has a couple of extra filters on the left, as well as switches to put each EQ band in out or. I don't have a manual for this, but it is easy enough to use that you shouldn't need one. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the Summit EQF-100 is top notch. Not only is it easy to zero in on the sound that you are after, but it does so with pristine clarity. Each band has smart fixed frequency slots and covers the whole spectrum of sound. I have used the EQF-100 with virtually every instrument that I usually record - drums, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, and lead and back up vocals. I always get great results and I have always been pleased with the sound quality I get with the Summit EQF-100. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Summit EQF-100 parametric EQ for about a year and it has become one of my favorite outboard EQs. While it is more convenient to EQ inside of the box in Pro Tools, this gives me a cleaner signal in my opinion. The EQF-100 isn't cheap by any means and is aimed toward professional studio and engineers, but it is a piece of gear that should last a lifetime and is one of the most reliable outboard EQs out there. I highly recommend the EQF-100 to professionals and amateurs alike.