SPL

I chose the Spl Crimson due to its ease-of-use and the number of inputs, it allows me to plug in a mic, guitar, synths, and a drum machine. The most essential functions are accessible without the need to touch the mouse, which is really comfortable, in my view. I would've preferred having all inputs on the rear, but you can't always have everything you want. The Spl is connected via Usb to my Asus laptop with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4Gb RAM and running windows 7 64bits. It's a pity it doesn't have a Totalmix-like routing software. This means everything is done from within the DAW. USE After several days of use, the drivers have proven stable and I've had no issues. I don't use my computer exclusively for music, right now I use it for Cubase 5 and Internet without any problems. When I unplug the Crimson, the pc automatically switches back to the internal soundcard. I only record track by track, so I haven't tried out more.... I compared a piano recording done with the Crimson and one of the same tune I had done with an RME 96/32. My ears couldn't tell any difference. I get an output latency of 256 samples / 5 ms and an input latency of 185 samples / 4 ms. OPERATION You first need to download the drivers from Spl.info. The manual is a single page with connection diagrams and all functions explained. A bit "light," I'd say... For example, I can't find a solution to how I can have two mics connected to inputs 1 and 2 and use my synth on stereo inputs 1-2, I'm forced to always unplug one to use the other! I hope I can find a solution, otherwise it means it has only 4 simultaneous analog inputs, not 8. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for less than a week and it's my fourth soundcard after the Line 6 ux1, Edirol fa-101 and RME 96/32. The RME, which I sold a month ago, was a real leap in terms of the quality of the converters. I can't make any direct comparisons, but I still have the same room, the same speakers (fostex pm-1) and ─ I hope ─ the same ears, I don't have the sensation of having gone backwards. It's hard to objectify an improvement, my first impression was that of having a bigger stereo image and a sound definition that only exposed my amateur mixes. For the most part, the sound coming out of this sturdy metal box isn't flattering to my recordings, which I think is interesting. I have also listened to my favorite bands and the definition is even more impressive. To wrap it up, I'm entirely satisfied with it (hoping to solve the issue with the simultaneous inputs).

SPL's Transient Designer 2 is a unique dynamic processor, made up of analog parts and very simple in make up. I don't know what types of connections the unit has it the back since the one I've used was already in the rack mount in the studio that I used it at. It is two separate channels that will only take up a single space in a traditional rack casing. UTILIZATION The way that the SPL Transient Designer 2 is configured makes it extremely easy to use. Each of the two channels have the same very simple make up. There are just parameters for attack and sustain, with a button between the two channels to link them as a stereo pair if you so choose. That is honestly all that you need to know about the Transient Designer, although it will take you a minute or two to see exactly how these parameters will affect your sound, since this isn't your typical processor. I haven't seen the manual for the SPL Transient Designer 2, so I can't say how well put together it is or not. SOUND QUALITY What the SPL Transient Designer 2 does to your sound is unlike any other dynamic processor that I have heard. It is perfect for touching up your signal and smoothing over the attack, or getting that brilliant sustain on your signal that can be so elusive. A lot engineers swear by the Transient Designer, and is one that is pretty underrated. It is hard to describe in words how the Transient Designer 2 will affect your sound until you've actually had a listen to it for yourself, so if you're interested in it I would highly recommend seeking one out to try. OVERALL OPINION Surprisingly, the SPL Transient Designer 2 does not cost nearly as much as you would expect it to. Not only is this a unique dynamic processor that is unlike any other that I've used, but it is made extremely well and is very easy to use. This is certainly a professionals piece of gear, as it isn't like the Transient Designer will be the first piece of gear that you look at if you're putting together a home studio, but the price definitely makes it accessible to studio owners of any type.

I purchased this second-hand as an upgrade to my monitoring chain from my Mackie Big Knob. Buying it used, along with the money I got from the salie of the big knob, made this a fantastic purchase. One thing that I truly loved and became accustomed to on the Big Knob was the 'dim knob' feature. With it, my workflow drastically improved. After long hours, I can help avoid fatigue by monitoring with my PMCs while using the dim knob feature in order to hear bass perfectly, even at low volumes. This key feature of the big knob was a must-have for me, and drastically narrowed my options for a higher end monitoring controller. SPL was one of the few controllers that made the cut and, ultimately, sold me. Another feature I was aware of yet had little experience with until making this purchase was the Latency Free Cue Mix feature for tracking musicians. It's an extremely easy-to-use future that blends the musicians' track and the track mix with one knob, making it easy to accentuate the ideal blend for your tastes. The build quality is truly top, with a robust and druable feel to the knobs. They truly addressed every possible feature. Everything is labled upside-down on the back so you can easily read it while peering over the top :). It comes complete with talk back, talkback remote switch, slave output, and headphone out. One potential negative (or positive, depending on how you look at it), is the fact that the MTC doesn't use speaker trims. This is a negative because you have to use the trims on your monitors in order to properly set levels (which can get tricky). The positive spin to having to do this is that it helps the SPL dispense with additional circuitry in order to keep everything to a minimal sound path, maintaining a higher sound quality. Once it's all set up, the sound quality is fantastic. The only other negative I could complain about is perhaps some scratchiness to a few of the switches and one knob. As mine came used, I don't know if this is a typical issue or unique to my specific unit. Regardless, I'm very impressed with the overall quality and ergonomics of the MTC. While I enjoyed the Big Knob, this was an upgrade that truly left me with no regrets. Highly recommend.

SPL's DynaMaxx is a dual channel compressor, limiter, and gate. It's definitely a unique piece of gear, which has actually become pretty standard for SPL. They think outside of the box with all of their gear, which besides the top notch sound quality is probably the main reason I love using their gear. The main unique feature found on the DynaMaxx is the 'de-compression' mode, which actually will do exactly what you'd think it would judging from the name. Basically if you've got something that's already got compression on it, you can reverse this action. While I haven't used this feature very often, it's definitely something that I can see being very useful for mixing engineers who get projects from all over the place. As far as it's connections go, it's got both XLR and 1/4" inputs and output, as well as 1/4" connections for a sidechain as well. It is rack mountable and will take up a single space. UTILIZATION The configuration of the SPL DynaMaxx is pretty easy to understand, although it certainly isn't your typical compressor/limiter. The parameters that each of the two channels have are knobs for compression level, gain level, and noise gate. It then has a series of buttons for unique features like de-compression that I mentioned earlier. It also has a soft limit mode, an effect compression mode, which fixes the release time to 60ms, as well as an active switch for each channel and a stereo couple button in the middle of the two channels. I guess that a manual could be helpful for learning these unique features, but I haven't seen it so I can't speak about it's make up. SOUND QUALITY Let me start off this section by saying that the SPL DynaMaxx is an extremely versatile piece of equipment. It can give you both a very clean compression sound as well as a variety of other unique sounds. It can really wear a number of different hats, as it's great as both a traditional compressor/limiter and otherwise. I've used it for a variety of instruments, including drums, vocals, and both acoustic and electric guitar. I haven't used the de-compression mode all that much, but this is definitely a feature that will draw mixing engineers to the DynaMaxx. You can color your sound in all sorts of different sounds with the DynaMaxx. I feel that I've really only scrapped the surface with it and I'm hoping to get a bit more experimental with it the next time I get to use it. OVERALL OPINION I really don't have a bad thing to say about DynaMaxx. It's incredibly versatile and can be used in all sorts of different ways. For the price and considering that you're getting two channels here, the DynaMaxx is really one of the best deals out there in terms of a unique compressor. I'd recommend it for anyone, but especially for those professional engineers looking to think outside the box a bit with their compression.

The SPL Transient Designer 4 is four channels of a unique dynamic processor that works by affecting just the transients rather than the entire signal. It's an analog piece of gear consisting of XLR connections for both your input and output for each of the four channels. It is a rack mountable piece of gear and will just take up a single space in your traditional rack casing. UTILIZATION The make up of the SPL Transient Designer 4 couldn't be any easier than it currently is. Each channel just has two parameters to affect your sound - one for attack, and one for sustain. That's literally all that it has to work with, which is a beautiful thing when it doesn't what it can do as is the case here. No manual should be necessary here... SOUND QUALITY The SPL Transient Designer 4 affects your sound unlike any other dynamic processor out there. It's almost like a magic box, as most things you put through it end up sounding good on the other end - especially drums. It's awesome for cleaning up a signal a bit and getting a tighter overall sound. That's way is so great on tom tom drums and other applications like it. The studio that I work at has one of these, although I've yet to use them or see them used too much for any other application other than drums. This is a great mixing tool that can save you when you need something to cut through a mix... OVERALL OPINION Every professional studio should have an SPL Transient Designer 4, or one of the other Transient Designers, as this is simply a wonderful tool to have around. It seems like those who know about this swear by it, but a lot of people out there have never heard of it. While this four channel Transient Designer might not be necessary for all, I'd highly encourage all to check out the Transient Designer series processors in general...

SPL's Charisma 2 is a dual channel tube limiter that will be found and is designed for use in the recording studio. It's the perfect compliment to your digital recording studio, as it adds clarity and a realistic factor to your sound whether you decide to track with it or mix with it. This is an analog piece of gear consisting of XLR and 1/4" connections for both inputs and outputs on each of the two channels. It also has a ground switch on it and is indeed rack mountable. It will only take up a single space in a traditional rack casing. UTILIZATION Using the SPL Charisma 2 is pretty simple if you understand the parameters generally associated with limiters and compressors. Each of the two channels have the same exact make up, each with parameters for drive, 'charisma,' and output level. The drive level allows you to set the level of the tubes, while the charisma parameter is kind of like a hard knee parameter, which can add a good amount of punch and clarity to your sound depending on the same you set it. A manual isn't necessary, but I haven't seen it so I can't speak to it's make up. SOUND QUALITY The sound of the SPL Charisma 2 tube limiter is really impressive, as it's the kind of unit that sounds good right off the bat and is easy to get a good sound from. It's great for mixing all sorts of different instruments, as it can really help things cut through the mix well and/or add warmth and fullness to your sound if that's what you're after. SPL products tend to have a similar type of sound, and the Charisma 2 definitely follows this type of mold. I've got nothing bad to say about the Charisma 2 as it's a great mixing tool. OVERALL OPINION In general, the SPL Charisma 2 can really save you during mixing! It's almost fool proof to use and it's really easy to dial in a great tone with this. The price isn't nearly as much as you might think considering you're getting two high quality tube based limiters here. While this is undoubtedly a professional's piece of gear, the price makes it accessible to just about anyone interested in this versatile and unique tube limiter...

The SPL Transient Designer plug-in is a piece of software that emulates SPL's most popular piece of outboard gear, which of course is the Transient Designer. The plug-in comes in a variety of formats, and will be available in all major systems. I wasn't involved with installing the plug-in since I don't own it myself, but it shouldn't be any harder than installing any other plug-in out there. The user friendliness of the plug-in is great, as it's a really simple one to operate regardless of if you've used a hardware Transient Designer before or not. The parameters that it has are for attack, sustain, and output gain, and that's all there is to the plug-in. It's so simple to use that a manual surely shouldn't be necessary here. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE The studio that I work at is running the SPL Transient Designer plug-in on a few different systems, but all of them are TDM version of the plug-in on Pro Tools HD systems. The main room has a Mac Pro desk top consisting of dual 2.6 Intel Xeon processor and 10 GB of RAM, so if there were any doubt of it running in Pro Tools HD, which there weren't, it would surely run on the computer power alone. If you're running an LE system, as long as you're currently able to run plug-ins comfortably, I believe you'll be fine with this one. OVERALL OPINION Basically, the SPL Transient Designer gives you this unique dynamic processor right in your DAW. It's not the exact same as the hardware Transient Designer, but it sounds pretty great nonetheless and is definitely an adequate substitute. If you're not familiar with the Transient Designer, it's one of the coolest processors out there and it's great for cleaning up a sound and helping it cut through a mix - especially for drums. It is kind of pricey however, which is really it's only downfall as it's almost worth it to pick up the hardware version at the price they're asking for the software. Regardless, this is a great plug-in to have around, especially for mixing engineers...

SPL's Free Ranger is a free graphic equalization plug-in. SPL basically gives this plug-in away to show off their processing skills, which I must say are very high in general. It only took me a few minutes to download the plug-in from their website and install it on my computer. I had the plug-in up and running within Pro Tools right after and was messing around with it within a session. As long as you have a compatible system, which most should, you shouldn't have any issues installing the software. The interface is simple to understand, consisting of a series of sliders as you'd see on any graphic EQ. This one has nine sliders in total, but it's only a four band EQ since four of the bands are blacked out and can't be used and one of them is an overall output slider. The four bands are at fixed frequencies, which make the plug-in pretty limited, but the frequencies that they're at include 40 Hz, 150 Hz, 1.8 Khz, and 16 kHz. They basically have chosen these frequencies to demonstrate the ability of their plug-ins at these crucial frequencies, but it definitely makes the plug-in's worth limited. I haven't seen a manual for this, and one really shouldn't be necessary. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm currently running the SPL Free Ranger in Pro Tools LE 8 on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools LE with a Digi 002R audio interface and monitor everything through a set of Adam A7 monitors. This plug-in is designed to take up only a small amount of processing power since it's a freebee and their aim is to have everyone try it for themselves regardless of the type of system they have. There's no hurt in trying it if you think your system is on the fence. OVERALL OPINION While very limited as a real equalization plug-in, the SPL Free Ranger definitely shows off the advanced processing power that SPL has to offer. Slight moves in the frequencies given can add some life to your sound if used right. I've tried the plug-in out on electric guitar and vocals, but I've yet to print this at all. I'd definitely recommend giving this plug-in a try, but it's only going to take you so far. It's definitely a bit of a tease, but it will certainly get you interested in SPL, as they make both great analog and software processors. You might as well give this one a try since it's free!

The SPL TwinTube is a tube emulation plug-in that is one of the best of it's kind. I wasn't involved with the installation of the plug-in, as I don't own it and it was already installed and set to go at the studio that I've used it at. I don't believe that there were any compatibility issues or anything like that, as this plug-in is fully compatible with Pro Tools in both TDM and RTAS versions. It also can be used as a VST or a Audio Unit plug-in as well. The interface of the software is generally easy to understand, as it has the look of a piece of rack gear and isn't too hard to decipher. The two main parameters are for harmonics and saturation. Most of what you can do with the plug-in is in these parameters, as you can drastically change your tone depending on how you set these two main guys. The interface also has buttons for switching on both the harmonics and saturation parameters - you can use them separately or at the same time. It also has buttons for setting the frequency range in terms of the harmonics. I don't believe that manual is necessary unless you're having some sort of technical issues. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I've run the TDM version of SPL's TwinTube in a Pro Tools HD setting, with a Digidesign 192 I/O interface and an Apple Quad Core desk top computer. The studio where I used it has the newest version of Pro Tools, version 8, as well as Apogee converters and a whole slew of other high end gear. The outboard gear doesn't really matter in terms of judging the performance of the TwinTube, but either way I can't say that I've had a problem running it within this configuration as of yet. It isn't your traditional type of plug-in, so it's not like I've been using it on every track, but I have been able to run a good amount of them (like four or five) at a time within a single session without having any problems. I can't really say how well this would run on an LE system, but as far as the TDM version goes I've had no problems whatsoever. OVERALL OPINION I'm usually very very skeptical of tube emulation plug-ins, and I should start off this section by saying that I don't think that this, or any other plug-in will ever be able to truly emulate the sound that real hard tubes will give you. Having said this, the SPL TwinTube is probably the best one that I've used to date. You can easily warm up your sound with the TwinTube in a variety of different ways, as the harmonics and saturation settings both provide you with contrasting options. It can be used for pretty much any application where you might want some extra fullness or warmth, and I've used it on everything from vocals to kick drum. The price isn't out of the ordinary and is about right for what you're getting here. All in all I'd highly recommend the SPL TwinTube plug for anyone interested in a high quality tube emulator plug-in.