API price increase may raise JDK sales

Just a theory here, but if you were trying to decide between the legendary API gear, and their more affordable brand JDK, then the recent API price increase may help you make your decision. I'm in the market for a stereo compressor and been strongly considering the JDK R22, and giving the API 2500 a light consideration. Before yesterday these two compressors where separated by $1,500.  Few days ago some API gear got a price increase. The API 2500 has gone up to $2,800. With more distance between these two brands people who were considering API may now try the JDK, Its hard to pay more for something you've been looking at a certain price for so long. People who really want API will buy API, so I don't think the price increase will hurt  their sales. But for those who were struggling between the two brands may find a pleasant surprise in the lesser known JDK audio gear. I still use my JDK R24 every mix I do. Hopefully the JDK stuff doesn't go up to because I will likely be adding more to my rack. 

Sweetwater Gearfest 2012 Wishlist

Sweetwater's Gearfest 2012 is coming up and of course I will be in attendance. Last year picked up the JDK R24 and couldn't be happier with my purchase. Here is whats on my wishlist for this year. Its hard to decide on what to purchase next but I don't feel I really need anything, but also don't want to buy gear that won't see regular use. Depending on deals going on I'll be leaving with an order placed for on the following. 

1. tonelux V4 roadster w/ little devil pre
2. tonelux V4 roadster w/ tonelux mp5a
3. Miktek C7
4. dangerous bax eq

After researching all the 500 series racks on the market I've decided on the tonelux V4, and the little devil pre has been on my wishlist since it was announced. If the little devil is not on sale and the mp5a is then I'll likely go with that. If Tonelux isn't running any specials thenJDK R22 can fill my want for a new stereo compressor, especially one thats good on vocals. Also haven't ruled out the Miktek C7, I have some projects coming up this summer and Miktek makes some of best mics I've heard. Lastly the Bax eq on sale I would consider it. 

Definition of Audio Terms In My Own Words

Listening to engineers describe how gear sounds can sound like  foreign language sometimes. When I describe how a piece of gear sounds I usually stick to six basic terms which all have opposites; vintage, modern, dark, bright, clean, colored. While we hear terms like warm, tubey, smooth, etc. all the time, I’m going to try to help you understand these terms in my own words. Now remember, how a piece of gear sounds is totally your opinion. What is bright to you may be be dark to someone else. For example, I let a studio in town borrow my JDK R24 for a few weeks because they were looking to get a new stereo eq. The studio told me the eq was too dark for them. Too dark?!?! The JDK is one of the brightest eq’s I’ve ever used. Everyone has their own opinion. So lets get into breaking down some of the popular terms, and remember, this is how I interpret these terms in my own opinion, as everything usually falls into the category of my  basic terms. Speaking of those basic terms lets start there.

1. Dark -  this means the signal sounds vintage, to understand what vintage sounds like listen to some old recording and study the tone. Dark sounding also falls under colored, which we’ll get to in a sec. A dark tone to some may sound dull but depending on the material you're working on it could be just what you need. Dark to me works very well with rock music and hip-hop (not rap, yes there is a difference). As an example of dark vocals listen to some Wu-tang. You can make a signal darker by rolling off some of high frequencies. Examples of some dark gear to me are the Universal Audio solo 610, Universal Audio la2a.
2. Bright -  this means the signal has more high frequencies. If you want to make something sound brighter add some high frequency to it. Bright being the opposite of dark can be great on some vocals. Too bright will result in harshness. If you want to hear harshness boost that high end as far it can go. If your ears are crying in pain then you're experiencing harshness. Bright can also improve clarity if done correctly.
3. Clean -  clean means your signal is pure and accurate. This is a modern sound, the opposite of vintage. For example a clean mic pre means it doesn’t change (or color) your sound. So what you put in is what you get back. Solid-state or transformerless is generally clean. Examples of some clean pres to me are the Avalon 737 pre, empirical labs mike-e, and API pres, even though they aren’t solid-state or transformerless.
4. Colored -  this is the opposite of clean. Coloring your sounds means changing the tone from the original signal. Colored can be associated with vintage and sometimes dark. Different gear has different colors. If you listen closely you can hear differences between different pieces of gear. The Neve 1073 is one of the most famous channel strips ever because of the color it adds to a signal. Color generally comes from gear with transformers and tubes. Though some tube gear is clean (like the avalon 737) tubes are mostly associated with color and warmth. Same goes for transformers. Some gear can have transformers in them and still sound clean because the transformer doesn’t produce a lot of noise. For example, my Empirical Labs Mike-e is a clean pre though it has a transformer input, it's a low noise transformer. Anything claiming a British sound should have some color to it.
5. Muddy -  this the second hardest term to explain, but here we go. Mud is a build of low mid frequencies (200-500hz) that makes the signal sound cluttered. Mud is not a positive thing and should never be taken as a compliment. It took me a long time to distinguish what mud was.
6. Sterile -  sterile means ultra clean. This is good for say orchestra where you usually want as little color as possible. Sterile can also come off sometimes as “too clean”, meaning its so clean it's boring. These type of pres are crystal clear though. Examples of sterile pres to me are Millenia and Grace pres.
7. Transparent - this another word for clean and it's mostly associated with compressors and eq’s. A transparent piece of gear means its not going to impart any color on the original signal during its processing. If you're happy with the tone of your signal but need to further process it then you need to reach for something thats transparent. My Chameleon Labs 7720 stereo compressor I use for buss compression is an example of a transparent compressor. Also Daking FET and JDK R22, and the Speck ASC eq are known for being transparent.
8. Smooth - this to me differs in compressors, eq’s, and mics. For compressors smooth means its compressing but you can’t really hear the compression, even at high gain reduction. The Summit Audio TLA 100A is the smoothest compressor I’ve ever used. Any compressor, except maybe aggressive ones (more on that next) can be made smooth with the right settings, but compressors like the TLA 100A does for you on its own. Opto compressors are known for being smooth. Because of their smooth character they are widely used on vocals. Examples of opto compressors are  the la2a, Manley ELOP, and Tubetech CL1B. Plugin examples of smooth compressors include the Softube version of Tubetech CL1B and Summit Audio TLA-100A and the McDSP 6030 ultimate compressor Opto-C, Opto-L, and British C.  Smoothness has to do with the knee of the compressor as well. If your compressor has the option to adjust the knee try using a soft knee for smoother compression. On EQ smooth means you can get away with high boosts without hearing any harshness. My JDK R24 to me is a silky smooth eq. On mics smooth means there is an even frequency response. Some mics will hype (or boost) certain frequencies to help achieve a certain sound. Because of this sometimes a different mic can be a substitute for eq on a source. Be careful you don’t judge a mic off its frequency response because a mics sound has to do with a lot more than just that. Mic pres, though often not shown, have a frequency response to. So a smooth mic pre, like a smooth mic, will have an even frequency response meaning certain frequencies aren’t jumping out at you.
9. Aggressive - in a mic pre this means in your face, very forward sounding. The API 312 and 512 have been described as an aggressive mic pre. In a compressor this means it really clamps down on a signal even with gentle settings. My JoeMeek TwinQ I previously owned had very aggressive compressors. Even with a slow attack, low ratio, and high threshold those needles would almost slam. I could never get a gentle compression action set up with them. Though the JoeMeek is a optical compressor, FET compressors are known for being aggressive and being capable of a very fast attack time.The most famous FET compressor is the 1176. The FET compressor from Softube is an emulation of an 1176. While I’m able to control it better than the JoeMeek TwinQ compressors, it's still an aggressive compressor to me.
10. Warm - this is the one you all have been waiting for. Warmth is the most used word when describing the sound of a piece of gear. Its the hardest one to describe because people who have no idea of what warmth is use the term freely. So what warmth is to  you and how you perceive it will be different from others because the term is used so loosely. Dave Pensado (shot out to the Pensado Students Facebook group) says warmth is another word for dull, and I partially agree. Where bright deals with high frequencies, warmth deals with the low to low mid frequencies. Tubes are associated with warmth because they add harmonic distortion (the good kind of distortion) to the those frequencies. This is what people are referring to when they say tube warmth. Where I partially agree with Pensado’s statement is that a warm signal can sound a little on the dark side, and like I mentioned earlier dark can be associated with dull. So now we have warmth, the word everyone loves to use for a good sound, and dull, a negative adjective in the same sentence describing a signal.

I hope I did a good job explaining these terms in my own words and this helps other understand what these terms mean. The only way to get your own definition of these terms is to listen to the gear and make your own assumption. Companies like Softube do a great job at emulating hardware in software, so demo some of their plugins and study how each sound different. If you're looking at getting some new gear and didn’t know what to go with then use this to help decide on what you need based on the sound you’re after. And you can always email me for my opinion on gear if you need it.

How to use pipeline in studio one

API eq shootout

JDK audio featured me in their Front Line articles

JDK audio featured me in their Front Line section on their site. This is a section dedicated to users of their gear. Check it out! http://jdkaudio.com/ftf_230.html

JDK R24 review

JDK R24 review

Let me start by saying this. I admit I had low expectations for the R24. With the majority of stereo EQ’s costing $2000-$2500 just how good could a $1000 stereo EQ be? So why did I purchase one? Glad you asked. There are only three stereo EQ’s on the market for $1000, Black Lion audio AM/CHA1, TL audio 5013, and the JDK R24. Why more companies haven’t tapped into the $1000 stereo EQ price point is a mystery to me. The AM/CHA1 has some frequencies missing I like to use, and the lack of customer support from tl audio knocked them out of the running. Sure I could contact dealers about the product but I like to know that if I have a question I can talk to the people who made the gear rather then the people who sell the gear. My emails to JDK were returned no later than 24 hours and were very helpful. Its always nice to know you will have good support for a product.

I went to Sweetwater’s Gearfest this year with the JDK R24 on the top of my wish list. When I arrived at JDK’s booth I was greeted by Jordan from API. They had the R20, R22, and R24 on display with a demo song running through them. I immediately grabbed the headphones and began turning knobs. My good friend Darius Lyles, owner of Heat Factory Studios in Memphis, made the trip with me and listened while I turned knobs on a second pair of headphones. In my opinion, the demo song was not doing the gear justice. I remember walking away telling Darius I wasn’t going to get it. He told me to sleep on it and come back day 2 and try it again. So that’s what I did. Day 2 of Gearfest I must of visited the API booth 6 times. In fact, I visited so many times Jordan ended up giving me a JDK T-shirt. He told me a lot about the EQ and the Sweetwater reps were bragging on it as well. The fact that it was on sale plus the background information I received from Jordan ( like pointing out the R24 uses the same transformer output as the API eq’s) I went ahead and purchased it. The ties to API didn’t hurt either. Who has ever said anything bad about an API eq?

I honestly thought I would be sending the R24 back. Being the gadget geek I am I wasn’t thrilled about the old school vintage design. I like shiny things with lights, but the look of the R24 really grew on me. For fun I called up Blackbird studios and rented one of the $2500 EQ’s I’d been hearing a lot about to do a shootout. Now the fun begins! Darius and I did not think the JDK stood a chance. We matched the EQ settings on both units and a/b’d them. The JDK sounded more polished and exciting, the other EQ sounded dark and dull. Round One to JDK. The same thing was repeated for 2 more mixes with the same results. JDK now up 3-0. For the final test we set both eq’s flat just to hear the tone of each unit. Same results, the JDK added a slight punch and presence, the other EQ was dull and dark. We even brought my wife in the studio who knew nothing about these EQ’s or their prices and a/b’d the mix for her.

She also chose the JDK. 4-0 unanimous victory for the R24! I kept the name of the other EQ anonymous because I did not want it to seem like I was tarnishing their brand or trying to down them. The sparkle you get from the high end of the R24 is very pleasing. The 4 bands ranging from 20hz to 20k make this a very versatile EQ. The controls are continuously variable not stepped.

So what don’t you get with the R24? There is no input or output trim, no shelf switch, Q control, and no individual band bypass. Are these deal breakers? For me absolutely not. If I need to trim the input or output, I do it before it hits the R24. As far as shelving I have not missed not having it. The R24 Q is wide, but the more you boost or cut the more narrow the Q becomes. This has not been a problem for me. Individual bypass is nice to have but even most of the $2500 EQ’s don’t have this feature. Not a big deal to me, I just move the knob back to zero if I want to hear that band flat. One feature the R24 has that is mostly found on a lot of high end gear is a hard bypass. This means you can pass audio through it with the unit powered off. To take advantage of the analog circuitry though you will need to power it on. Since purchasing the R24 it has lived on my mix buss and I have been extremely pleased with the results. It really polishes my mixes and gives them a more finished sound. Comparing the R24 to all my plugin eq’s (waves, softube, McDsp) the JDK just sounds better to my ears. Now no mix leaves my studio without running through the R24 first. For the price this EQ is a absolute steal. I emailed my Sweetwater rep the next day after we did the shootout and told him he would not be getting this EQ back. For my first outboard EQ the JDK R24 is excellent and I’m in love with it as you can tell. I look forward to more products from JDK and as well the possibility of the R22 as my next compressor.

For more info please visit www.jdkaudio.com