Pete's Place Audio

Pete's Place Audio BAC-500 is a 500 series compressor module that is only suitable for lunchbox style rack casings. This is an analog piece of equipment, with an interesting make up and overall vibe to it. It doesn't have any connections built in, as you get them from the 500 series casing you put them in and it's only rack mountable within one of these casings. The compressor was designed by Brad Avenson, which is what the BAC stands for. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Pete's Place Audio BAC-500 should seem pretty familiar if you've used compressors before, as it's got a pretty standard make up in general. The parameters that are available for fiddling with on the BAC-500 include knobs for input, attack, release, ratio, and output. It also has a three way EQ switch that has a few different set EQ patterns. Lastly, it has buttons for bypass and distortion. I haven't seen the manual for the BAC-500, so I can't speak to it's usefulness. SOUND QUALITY The tone quality of the Pete's Place Audio BAC-500 is outstanding all the way around. It's definitely one of the best sounding 500 series compressors that I've used, as it has a lot of flexibility and in general has an awesome tone. I've used it only on drums - snare drum and kick drum mostly. It's really the perfect drum compressor as it tightens it up very nicely. The distortion feature is definitely something that's nice to have, but using it on drums I didn't really get a chance to hear it in full force. The BAC-500 is a versatile enough compressor that it can most likely adapt to any situation... OVERALL OPINION While you most likely won't see the Pete's Place Audio BAC-500 in too many studios out there, those that do have it certainly know what's up! If I were to choose a single compressor for my 500 series rack regardless of price, the BAC-500 would definitely be up there on the list for me to choose from. The price is about the same as most other 500 series compressors, so most likely price won't play a huge factor if you're looking at the big boys. Whether you come across this in the studio or are looking to add to your 500 series rack, Pete's Place Audio BAC-500 is a little known compressor that's more than worth knowing about.

Yes. It is that remarkable. Pete's Place Audio has created a magical item that can't really be called a pop filter, that, after messing around in a friend's studio, makes my nylon filter look like a rotten tomato. Before I get into anything else, as a singer, I have to say something absolutely shallow, but shared by all vocalists: the Blast Pad Filter doesn't intimidate me. This is extremely important. By itself, it has the sex appeal of a Blue microphone, and I think more importantly, is translucent (partially transparent). This means that you can see through it to the microphone you're singing into. With traditional nylon pop filters, I tend to feel a bit boxed out from the recording, so this is by itself, a time saver, if you own a studio. You'd not have to do as many takes. Secondly, it works as one of the best pop filters around. I had a blind test done between this and a traditional pop filter, and believe it or not, I could tell a subtle difference between the two samples. And by difference, I meant that one sample actually had a superiority over the other. Lo and behold, the Blast Pad won. This is understandable; pop filters are a tool that no one likes for the psychological effect AND the fact that some of them do obscure the sound a bit. OVERALL OPINION Finally, I had a ribbon placed in front of it, and was told to blow as hard as I can. Then, the ribbon was put in front of a VERY loud guitar cabinet. All of a sudden, a Coles had captured the sound of a guitar cabinet. So. Yes. Even if you have to pay a relatively nutty amount of money for it, this seems to make your microphones pretty invincible toward SPL, so if you're a) bored and too rich, b) interested in different sonic possibilities, or c) an owner of a studio that sees a lot of business, you want a Blast Pad. Now.