Category: Reviews

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Brian Dane Hansen’s in-depth deep review of our 500PRE 500 series tube compressor, complete with sound files examples

Based on the Sta-Level, which is an incredibly vibey compressor with a ton of tone and compression abilities (hopefully I can do a review (and own) one of those bad boys some day!) the 500PRE has a deep, rich sound with the ability to add warmth to your source, saturate and even distort your signal if you desire (and I do). With up 75db of gain on board the 500PRE is a great match for ribbons, dynamics or condenser mics. With this pre if you want warm and clean, you got it.
If you want some more saturation/color/harmonics/tube squish with the high gain toggle engaged, you’ve got it.

The output knob is your friend on this unit, think of it like a..
COMPLETE REVIEW ON HIS BLOG


I think you’ll hear that the first one track has some dynamics and sounds the most open and clean and then as you move into the second and the third clip, the dynamics decrease and the sound thickens. This is the tubes giving you some sweet compression! The differences between Low Gain and High Gain 1 are subtle but I think thats the great thing about this pre amp! You can dial in exactly what you need. If the low gain file was just a little two clean and dynamic you could set it to something like the high gain 1 file and get a little warmth, thickness and transient control. Check out the screenshot below.
BDH Screenshot
You can even see how with each pass the transients gets more and more leveled out as the input gain continues to get turned up. This happened on every source that I recorded.

The high gain passes were….
COMPLETE REVIEW ON HIS BLOG
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MIX Online Review: Retro Instruments Revolver

Dual-Channel Tube Compressor Recalls the Vintage Audio Gear of Yesteryear

Barry Rudolph
Jun 11, 2018

The original Altec 436C was a three-tube circuit. Revolver uses a solid-state sidechain circuit to replace the 6AL5 tube detector used in the Altec, though it retains the same 6BC8 input and 6CG7 output tubes. There are many dual triode tubes that can be substituted, as Retro has a vast NOS supply of American-made tubes (primarily because they were popular television tubes).

The rear panel of Revolver mimics the Altec with horizontally mounted tubes and transformers for proper cooling. The four tubes (two for each channel) are located between and protected by two taller custom output transformers located inside of steel box shields. The output transformers’ laminated cores are oriented 90-degrees from the core of the custom AC power transformer. Part of Revolver’s sonic “secret sauce” revealed to me is that…

Read more at Mix Online

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First Listen: A Review of the Retro Instruments Revolver

VINTAGE KING REVIEW

With the release of their latest creation, the Revolver, Retro Instruments has done it once again by reviving a beloved studio staple and updating it for the modern workflow. Just like other Retro Instrument releases in the past, the vintage vibe extends far beyond the Revolver’s classic looking exterior.

Based on the legendary modded Altec 436, the Revolver is a dual-channel, all tube compressor that has been hand-built in the USA with that classic British tone. It’s also loaded with expanded features, making it a compressor that works in any stage from tracking to mastering.

More at Vintage Kings website

 

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Retro Instruments Owner Phil Moore Talks Reviving History And

Since 2006, Phil Moore’s Retro Instruments has been bringing back icons of the bygone era of the recording studio and updating them for modern engineers. From reimagined pieces like the Sta-Level, 176, OP-6 and Revolver to new 500 Series innovations like the Doublewide, these tools have the look and feel of the classic gear that they are inspired by.

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Phil Moore and
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REVIEW – Retro Instruments: Revolver Dual-Channel Compressor

Reviewed by Larry Crane at Tape Op magazine


I’ll begin this review with a confession; in over two decades of mixing albums I’ve rarely mixed through a bus compressor. Why? The more I kept hearing that I “had to” in order to get good results, the more I balked at using one. I’d tried out the stereo compressors that I owned and was never quite enthused enough – plus I was getting decent mixes without a mix bus compressor, so why did I have to change my style of working? But when Phil Moore at Retro Instruments sent me his new Revolver two-channel tube compressor to try out, I realized…
Read more at Tape Op magazine

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Sound on Sound – NAMM 2018: Retro Instruments Retro Revolver

Sound on Sound Review
Dual-channel tube compressor based on EMI-modified Altec model

The EMI-modified Altec 436 compressor (known as the RS124) has earned its place in recording history, in no small part due to its connection with The Beatles’ recordings at Abbey Road. Read more