Tag: Retro Instruments

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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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Vintage King And Retro Instruments Team Up

Vintage King wanted to create something special to celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, so they teamed up with us at Retro Instruments to release a reproduction of the 175-B compressor. There will only be 100 of these limited edition 175-B recreations available worldwide and they will be sold exclusively through Vintage King.

Why bring back the 175-B? Simple. It’s a classic compressor that has been a staple since its release. Designed by Bill Putnam, the product was created to make up for the lack of compressors created specifically for recording studios. It’s huge and clear sounding tube circuitry and aggressive nature has made it a favorite of many engineers on drums, guitars and vocals.

READ MORE…..

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Retro Instruments DOUBLEWIDE II

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
San Francisco, CA. November 8, 2018 – Retro Instruments, Inc. has just released the DOUBLEWIDE II, the long-awaited update to the original 500-Series DOUBLEWIDE tube compressor.

Retro is known for building authentic tube-based recording equipment for over 12 years. Phil Moore, Retro Instrument’s president and chief designer says: “we listened to our customers ideas and advice and developed our next-generation 500 series compressor, the Retro Instruments DOUBLEWIDE II!”


The DOUBLEWIDE II is a single-channel compressor that installs into two slots of a standard 500 series rack yet it requires only 130-milliamps of current—just like the original Retro DOUBLEWIDE compressor. Also retained from the original are the gray painted front panel, high-quality US-made Simpson gain- reduction meter, and hand wiring throughout (no troublesome ribbon cables). DOUBLEWIDE II’s excellent build-quality is apparent starting with the American-made PC board and extends to the durable and attractive stainless steel case and, don’t forget, we only use Cinemag’s highest-quality input and output transformers for authentic tone and weight plus the complete freedom from external interference and noise.

During initial user testing and comparison, the DOUBLEWIDE II immediately exceeded all expectations with increased flexibility and control that many original DOUBLEWIDE users have demanded. With both faster attack and release (recovery) times now possible, the DOUBLEWIDE II excels at energizing vocal tracks as well as controlling bass, guitars and drum tracks in an elegant and transparent way or go extreme and radical—or dial in anywhere in between!

Our beta testers/recording engineers found the new DOUBLEWIDE II nearly magical for processing all percussive sounds easily; it’s capable of tight, sonic consistency all the way to explosive, full-bodied impact on snares, kicks and tom-toms. With the addition of the new stereo linking feature (in a 500 racks that support linking), two DOUBLEWIDE IIs are just amazing for drum overheads, pianos, stereo pads, backing vocals; the list grows daily with new uses coming in from our customers.

Media Contact: Len Estrada Media Relations T 209-810-3344 info@retroinstruments.com

We hope you join this list of happy and satisfied Retro Instruments customers who depend on the awesome sound and processing power of the new DOUBLEWIDE II 500-Series Tube Compressor!

 

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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
..READ MORE

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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