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moosers
Published on 07/03/10 at 22:16
TL Audio's Original Classic Series C-1 is a dual channel preamplifier and compressor. The C-1 is valve tube based and it has 1/4" direct inputs in the front for each of the two channels, as well as XLR inputs and outputs in the back of it. It also has auxiliary connections. The components are all analog, and the C-1 is rack mountable, taking up two spaces in a traditional rack casing.
UTILIZATION
You've definitely got a lot of flexibility with the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1 in terms of the parameters that there are to work with. Each of the two channels has the same make up, with preamp parameters for choosing either mic/line/aux, and for setting your line input gain. The compressor has setting controls for threshold, ratio, attack, release, and gain make up. There is also a button for a high pass filter at 90 Hz. Lastly, there's a gain control knob for your auxiliary input, and a button for using the two channels as a stereo pair. I haven't seen the manual for the C-1, so I can't speak to it's make up.
SOUND QUALITY
The tone quality of the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1 is pretty incredible. The preamps are great sounding tube preamps, great for recording pretty much anything. It has a whole lot of bottom end response, which gives it a lot of body. The compressor sounds equally as impressive, with the same sort of body. You can really hit your signal hard with the compressor as well, as the ratio parameter goes up to 30:1! The unit as a whole is versatile enough where you can use it for any application where you'd want to add or have some nice tube edge.
OVERALL OPINION
I'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't like the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1. It's simply a great sounding tube channel strip, with more flexibility than most out there. This version hasn't been made for a while, so it's probably going to be hard to find this exact model. Having said this, if you can't find a C-1, TL Audio has an incredible line of gear across the board that's work checking out. I think most users will have a hard time finding a tube channel strip that sounds better than this...
UTILIZATION
You've definitely got a lot of flexibility with the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1 in terms of the parameters that there are to work with. Each of the two channels has the same make up, with preamp parameters for choosing either mic/line/aux, and for setting your line input gain. The compressor has setting controls for threshold, ratio, attack, release, and gain make up. There is also a button for a high pass filter at 90 Hz. Lastly, there's a gain control knob for your auxiliary input, and a button for using the two channels as a stereo pair. I haven't seen the manual for the C-1, so I can't speak to it's make up.
SOUND QUALITY
The tone quality of the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1 is pretty incredible. The preamps are great sounding tube preamps, great for recording pretty much anything. It has a whole lot of bottom end response, which gives it a lot of body. The compressor sounds equally as impressive, with the same sort of body. You can really hit your signal hard with the compressor as well, as the ratio parameter goes up to 30:1! The unit as a whole is versatile enough where you can use it for any application where you'd want to add or have some nice tube edge.
OVERALL OPINION
I'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't like the TL Audio Original Classic Series C-1. It's simply a great sounding tube channel strip, with more flexibility than most out there. This version hasn't been made for a while, so it's probably going to be hard to find this exact model. Having said this, if you can't find a C-1, TL Audio has an incredible line of gear across the board that's work checking out. I think most users will have a hard time finding a tube channel strip that sounds better than this...