Amazona.de Reviews the Creme RC: Verdict and Facts
- 14.09.2021
- Julian Moreth
- Creme RC
- Review
Timm Brockmann from Amazona.de extensively tested the Creme RC, our remote-controlled bus compressor and mastering equalizer, and came to the following results:
- "Push your sound to the next stage and make it pop!" – The Tegeler Audio Manufaktur Creme RC keeps its promises and comes with a modern, punchy sound that almost always fits and cuts through.
- The newly developed, faster-reacting Cream mode is interesting for modern music genres.
- The symbiosis of analog sound and digital control is implemented very successfully and lifts the Creme RC above the large number of analog signal processors.
- The equalizer sounds wonderfully musical and manages to sound good in almost every setting. The almost stepless frequency adjustment is a real improvement on the original Creme.
- The compressor also delivers wonderful results, with a tight bass range and airy spatial precision. The combination of compressor and equalizer is wonderfully workflow-orientated in the studio, which is still underlined by the clear design of the Creme RC.
- The Creme RC provides a modern, unmistakable analogue sound and thus is a real purchase recommendation.
What the Creme RC Is: Bus Compressor and Mastering EQ with Remote Control
The Creme RC combines a passive Pultec-style equalizer and an SSL-style VCA bus compressor in one unit, with switchable order. What sets it apart from the Creme: every control sits on a servo motor. The signal path stays fully analog, but the plug-in (AU, AAX, VST) turns every knob back to where you left it when you open a project, and accepts automation like any plug-in. You operate the Creme RC from the front panel, via the built-in web server in any browser, or through the DAW plug-in; it connects over Ethernet, wirelessly via your router if you prefer. That is exactly what Amazona.de means by the "symbiosis of analog sound and digital control".
Cream Mode, Side-Chain Filter, Ratio: The Creme RC's Values
The compressor offers attack from 0.1 to 30 ms, release from 100 ms to 1.2 s plus Auto and the Cream mode mentioned in the review, ratios of 1.5 / 2 / 4 / 10, and a side-chain low-cut filter at 60, 120 or 200 Hz. All controls are motorized potentiometers, set electrically and nearly stepless. The EQ boosts the bass at 20, 30, 60, 100, 140 or 200 Hz and the highs at 10, 12, 16, 18, 20 or 24 kHz, each from 0 to 5 dB. The Creme without RC offers the same EQ and compressor combination, but without motorized pots and remote control – two different products that shouldn't be confused.
You can find the complete test in German here.
Want to test the Creme RC in your own studio for 14 days without any commitment?Related: Euge Valovirta (Cyhra) Interview: Mixing Metal · Mixing and Mastering with a Little Creme · Why Ethernet? Remote-Controlled Hardware Explained
