VC-1Q

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 10:23 am

Quote:

I saw your post on PSX-100 and if that's were you're going, a JoeMeek VC1Q is not gonna do your PSX-100 justice. It's a noisy (needs a lot of gain) unit with it's own character.

yes i'd agree
most of my dealings have just about been the same
you have to be careful with input levels and calibration

:p:

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2004 6:08 pm

Thanks everyone!

On the subject...I just recieved an email from Avalon distributers in Australia, they have come down a fair bit in retail so its more within reach for me now. (but we still get ripped off over here!just not as much now! who said living on a island is fun!

cheers,

sammyg

Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2004 6:49 pm

Fletcher once said the Toft preamps sounded a little like the Grace. But he also said the eq alone was "worth the price of admission".

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2004 2:14 pm

johnnyrock,

Can only compare the Toft ATC-2 pre's to the VC1Q, TL Audio EQ1 (pre) and the TL Audio 2 Ivory Series (5001) quad tube pre, as that's what I use...something about the Toft just "lifts" the vocals, makes them clearer, stand out more..I've also used it with keys (direct) and it's okay, but as a vocal mic pre it shines compared to everything else I currently have...wouldn't necessarily use it for dirty percussion, but I did use it for toms, and if clarity and punch is what you're after, it's there...I kind of prefer the TLA 5001 in that app, can dial in a little dirt (or overdrive, if you prefer)...anyway, I still use my VC1Q and wouldn't sell it, but the fact I'm buying another ATC-2 should say something (hold the smart comments!)...still going to go for a Drawmer 1969 to round things out, don't know about the pre's, but not really buying it for those (end of year) although I'm convinced they'll be as good or better, and likely very different (which is always good) from what I currently have.

Best luck with your choices,

BW

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 7:44 am

bwindsor, have you tried the ATC on overhead mics? That's an application I'm looking at it for.

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2004 1:28 pm

Steve,

I racked my brain this afternoon and honestly can't remember using it on OH's....pretty sure I haven't, but I will over the next couple of days and get back to you...if you don't hear from me next week, stick a friendly reminder here...I can be absent-minded...I normally use a pair of Rode NT5's up top, so that'll probably be the case here...gut feeling is it "should" be great, as the comp is pretty subtle unless you try and drive it hard, and no kidding, the EQ is "all that"...I'd say sweet, but I'm not into "buzz" words Smile

Anyway, this is all speculation on my part at this point, I'll check it out and let you know...

BW

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:40 am

Quote:

Originally posted by sammyg:
Hey all,

Just after an opinion on the Joe Meek VC-1Q,

Cheers

Sammyg

pretty much all said already, I own a VC1Q. I find the preamp pretty good, the DI pretty good as well. Noticably better on solo tracks than your slew of 100$ pres and mackie/roland board pres. The preamp is a motorola low noise opamp pretty much. The EQ I found unusable unless I want to adjust the low frequency shelf a little. The EQ is a standard looking active filter with TL084's I believe, but it's been a while. The Deesser/enhancer I also found unusable.

The compressor I found pretty cool, but not for everything. Note that they don't use conventional control names for their controls and the manual urges the user to tweak things and that all the controls interact with each other. (make up for sloppy design?) It's supposed to be and optocompressor, and I noted the optical element inside the unit. the character of compression is notably different from comparable VCA compressors I have used.

Another note: i think it has like 22dBu of headroom, which is comparable to most cheap mixers. Also note that this bad boy distorts in a horrible way when it runs out of headroom. The VU is nice, but sometimes it's hard to track things with this unit because for things with a lot of dynamic range and fast transients (bass guitar) it might be hard to detect if the thing is peaking or not.

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2004 6:38 pm

Quote:

Also note that this bad boy distorts in a horrible way when it runs out of headroom.

Amen to that.

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