Sound On Sound: VTRC Review (Valve Channel Strip)
- 04.01.2016
- Michael Krusch
- Review
- VTRC
Find the complete test here: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/tegeler-audio-manufaktur-vtrc
What Sound On Sound Writes About the VTRC
Hannes Bieger reviewed the VTRC for the January 2016 issue of Sound On Sound – as a "Valve Channel Strip" with tube preamp, passive Pultec-style EQ and two compressors:
"The overall preamp character, then, is one that I’d describe as detailed and open." – Hannes Bieger, Sound On Sound, January 2016
"I found it great to have both circuit options: the smooth, elegant opto compressor and the slightly more aggressive variable–mu type." – Hannes Bieger, Sound On Sound, January 2016
"The Vari Tube Recording Channel sounds great and boasts ample tone–shaping facilities. In short, it’s a high–quality and fully featured recording front end, and available for a very fair price." – Hannes Bieger, Sound On Sound, January 2016
Among the pros, the review lists the mostly valve-based signal path with flexible gain staging, the passive Pultec-inspired three-band EQ, the separate opto and vari-mu compressors that can be used concurrently, the flexible internal signal routing and the sound quality.
What the Vari Tube Recording Channel Is
The Vari Tube Recording Channel (VTRC) is our tube channel strip: microphone preamp, passive equalizer and compressor in one 3U unit. The preamp – with input transformer, true 48 V phantom power and a high-impedance instrument input – can be shifted in character from clean and direct to fat and vintage via the gain control. The passive Pultec-style EQ offers a low-cut (80/160 Hz), a low-mid boost, a mid cut and a high boost up to 24 kHz. The two compressors – an opto compressor with a light-sensitive resistor and a vari-tube compressor built on the vari-mu principle – can be used individually or together; the order of EQ and compressor is switchable, the EQ can be placed in the compressor's side chain, and a line input with its own transformer lets you process already recorded tracks after the fact. Two VTRCs can be linked for stereo. More reviews: Amazona.de (V2, 2015), Amazona.de (V1, 2012).
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Related: Delamar.de Reviews the VTRC: 5 out of 5 · MusicRadar Reviews the VTRC: "Fat and Warm" · Amazona.de on the VTRC V2: Channel Strip Superhero
