Zed Marty (LoudBox) Reviews the Creme (Video)

• 01.08.2017
• Tobias Schacht
• Review
• Creme

Video from June 2017 (23:40 min).

Zed Marty of LoudBox Music has once again looked at the Creme, an outboard bus compressor and equalizer by Tegeler Audio Manufaktur. Why Martys thumbs finally both go up, you will see in this video.

Here comes the complete video:

What Happens in the Video

Marty starts with the build: stepped controls, micro-steps on the output – "very easy to recall" –, a clearly readable compression meter, and the unit arrived in a wooden box, which he had never seen with any piece of equipment in his studio. He then goes through the features (EQ ranges 20–200 Hz and 10–24 kHz, side-chain low cut, EQ before or after the compressor, attack 0.1–30 ms, release up to 1.2 s or auto "kind of like you have on SSL consoles", ratio 1.5 to 10:1) and tests the Creme on four examples: a drum bus, a psychedelic rock song of his own, an EDM track and a singer-songwriter recording with guitar, vocals and accordion. Each time he first exaggerates the settings on purpose and then returns to the values he would actually use – on the rock song 60 Hz and 12 kHz on the EQ, 2–3 dB of gain reduction at 2:1 with auto release and the side-chain low cut so that kick and bass don't drive the compressor.

What Zed Marty Says About the Creme

"Overall the unit is very well built. The knobs have a very good feeling to them when you turn them. They're all stepped [...] so it's very easy to recall." – Zed Marty, video, June 2017

"Tightens it really up, the whole material. Really like that sound." – Zed Marty (on the drum bus), video, June 2017

"It doesn't feel too compressed [...] and I would say that other compressors have quite a bit more pumping in there. But as it is designed for the mix bus, it does a great job with such a high amount of compression." – Zed Marty (on the EDM track, at up to 8 dB of gain reduction), video, June 2017

"Really freshens up the mix bus. And it doesn't sound harsh in any way. And two thumbs up from me." – Zed Marty, video, June 2017

His verdict is unambiguous: designed for the mix bus and for mastering, "really sturdy build, high quality, made in Germany" – and it sounds, in his opinion, "really great".

What the Creme Is – and Why It Sits on the Mix Bus

The Creme is our bus compressor and mastering equalizer: a passive Pultec-style EQ and an SSL-style VCA bus compressor in one 2U unit. The order is switchable – EQ before the compressor or compressor before the EQ. On the mix bus the compressor pulls the separate parts into one whole, almost inaudibly at a 1.5:1 ratio, with a rhythmic signature of its own at higher ratios and faster timing; a side-chain filter keeps frequencies below 60 or 120 Hz out of the control circuit. The EQ offers a bass boost between 20 and 200 Hz and a high boost between 10 and 24 kHz, each 0–5 dB, every value on a rotary switch – which is why every setting is exactly reproducible. If you want plug-in recall, the Creme RC with motorized pots has it: Amazona.de reviews our Creme RC.

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Related: Zed Marty Reviews the Schwerkraftmaschine (Video) · Bonedo.de Reviews the Creme · Greg Wurth: The Creme on the Stereo Bus