Pultec EQP1A3 Demo & Review

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

pultec or no pultec, that bass sound was so creative i appreciated it

[@alecbrits]

Thank you _mondegreen_ !! :D

[@Theophanes68]

Alec, another great review, you deserve so many more subscribers! Your description of the Pultecs as gear heroes is really apt, the sound on the bass guitar (which was already beefy) was insane! Everything sounded great, the drums and vocals really stood out to me as well. Honestly, until a couple of years ago, I had no idea how a Pultec style EQ worked and your description using the FabFilter ProQ3 was perfect. I think for a lot of us with home studios, there are certain pieces of gear that are cost prohibitive that we won't just shy away from but may ignore completely. However, ignoring cost and understanding how to use Pultec style EQ on various parts of a mix is really an eyeopening experience as you've shown, it isn't just adding boom and sizzle, it's doing something great in the mids and low mids which can be a difficult areas of the mix for an engineer. And for those of us who don't have $8K in the budget for a pair of EQs, there are obviously a ton of Pultec style plugins and also many hardware clones out there with good reviews. I do believe, though, with this particular piece of gear, a lot of magic is in the analog circuit including the tubes, a plugin will only simulate that to a certain degree. Looking forward to the next review!

[@alecbrits]

Thank you so much for such a great response to the video. I totally agree, the Pultec style EQ’s are just special. They are not for everything, but when it’s right, it’s SO right. The UAD plugin version of it is really not bad, but like you say, the real thing is just another level. Thanks again for the awesome comment. :)

[@chilligreen21]

You deserve 3.6 million subs, in my opinion!

[@andrewwhitehouse1878]

Wow man! You’re getting some serious kit through for review! You do a good job so it’s well deserved, hope some of these pieces are staying in your racks, cheers!

[@alecbrits]

Thanks man! Ya, I cannot wait for some things to be able to stay.

[@jnnybeats]

My favorite piece of gear of all time. Even the UAD version brought my mixes to another level... Cant wait to build one myself. Value for the money is unbeatable in DIY audio. Already built a pair of gyraf G9 tube pre's (which are really really good), can't wait to build the gyraf adaptation of the Pultec! Great video as always. :)

[@alecbrits]

Love the UAD version as well! Live tracking with them on all the channels without eq’ng. Add such a stunning depth. Big fan of the DIY stuff, I can’t wait to start building more pieces of kit in the future. :)

[@GillesAndrea]

you are have the chance to work on very cool projects, these units sounds amazing

[@alecbrits]

Thanks Gilles! :)

[@hughesdrive]

DUDE! Where can we listen to all the music you create for these videos? ITS FANTASTIC.

[@alecbrits]

Thanks so much Shawn! :) working on finishing a few of the tunes and putting them out next year.

[@michaelmayr5084]

well, thats what I call a review...amazing job you did there...please keep on making videos!

[@alecbrits]

Thank you so much Michael! :)

[@davidmaraisthecampfireguit2596]

Awesome - would love to know more about your journey/backstory into your recording career, and your process of growing such a beautiful studio and wealth of incredible mixing skills.

[@alecbrits]

Thanks David, I’ll do a studio tour where I cover all the kit and the journey into production. :)

[@timball8429]

Great review Alec. Thanks as always!

[@alecbrits]

Thanks Tim! :)

[@DerekSamuelReese]

I bought a pair of the mastering version EQM-1S3 that has extended Freq's and it is amazing on everything, great video I really dig your music !!

[@alecbrits]

Oh wow! That is a dream purchase. Congratulations. 👌🏽👌🏽 thank you so much.

[@DerekSamuelReese]

@@alecbrits i also have pair of the meqm-5's coming, can't wait to utilize the mid band :-)

[@questionableidentity1]

do you track with them?

[@DerekSamuelReese]

@@questionableidentity1 I track everything without eq or comp and on mix down is when i decide what to put where

[@quietpersona]

I just bought a pair of those as well! Can't wait to get them when they ship in a few months!

[@premiermusicgroup3245]

Awesome review, Alec! Please review the EQP-500X and compare it with the tube version. There's another review of the 500 on KZbin and the 12khz on that thing is pretty as well.

[@alecbrits]

Thanks so much! :) I’ll see if that’s possible in the future, it’ll most likely only be the 500 series unit by itself though.

[@MixMeMcGee]

Great demo good sir. Looking forward to you keeping this up! Subbed for sure.

[@alecbrits]

Thank you so much! :)

[@LosFicosMusic]

Keep up the Amazing work!!

[@alecbrits]

Thank you so much! :D

[@keomo]

@Alec Brits looks like there's going to be another alternative on the market very soon that I think you'd enjoy trying out and doing a review: the Heritage Audio Motorcity EQ :)

[@alecbrits]

Yeees!! I cannot wait to get my hands on one of them!!

[@keomo]

@@alecbrits Sweeeeet!!! Can't wait to hear your feedback (and maybe a new track) using it!! :)

[@IntrepidFox94]

wow that 12KHz on the vocals is working magic

[@alecbrits]

It’s quite surreal really!

[@vicneve1169]

Great video. It helped me decide to go for it. 🙂

[@alecbrits]

Thanks Vic! :) enjoy the unit!

[@julienchizat8057]

Hi Alec, thanks for you amazing work ! Could you please share you're recording process for the vocals ? Its insanely HUGE, vintage sound and amazing ! i never heard something like that. I thought the beatles were in my headphones, really awesome.

[@alecbrits]

Hey Julian! :) thank you so much! If you check out my AEA review video it lists out all the parts on the chain. In that video the stems are raw, so you can here how it was captured.

[@julienchizat8057]

@@alecbrits Thanks a lot ! So that's just the ribbon magic, it's awesome ;)

[@julienchizat8057]

When you note Audient Mic Pre, you talk about your console pre amp isn't it ?

[@alecbrits]

@@julienchizat8057 yeah! Just the Audient.

[@julienchizat8057]

@@alecbrits Thank you & thanks a lot for your work on youtube ! last question, i love some of your songs, especially that one!! can we find it on spotify or other ?

[@dmitrijurovski]

Thank you!

[@alecbrits]

Thank you Dmitri! :)

[@yakshrajsingh8121]

These are best suited for mastering.

[@alecbrits]

Think they would be incredible for mixing too. :)

[@questionableidentity1]

People track with these too

[@Rafael-xy9qk]

This reminds me of Gene Clark! Very good music.

[@alecbrits]

Thanks so much!! :)

[@darrylweller6143]

Please review the 500 series I have been wanting a pair

[@alecbrits]

Will do! :) can’t wait to try them myself.

[@Alejandro-we2yv]

@@alecbrits Just subscribed! Can’t wait to hear the 500 series review as I’m interested in buying. Just not enough sound samples out there right now

[@SamIntharaphithakOFFICIAL]

I have one and I need one more immediately! 😂

[@alecbrits]

Can’t blame you there, I would love a pair!

[@ss4717]

that is a great track

[@alecbrits]

Thank you so much!

[@eancurtis9333]

Nice

[@alecbrits]

Thanks! :)

[@markskraus]

How was it using the non-stepped versions on stereo sources? I read that these were built to extremely close tolerances, so I wonder how necessary the stepped versions are outside of a mastering context. Also, if you were to buy 1 now and another unit down the road, i.e. non-sequential pair, do you see any issues for mix buss?

[@alecbrits]

I did not really have any issues with using them on stereo sources. If I were to have them parked on the stereo buss of my console, I would consider the stepped version. I would recommend reaching out to kilted and asking them about getting two that are made at different times. :) just in case any components change internally.

[@jamescassidy4045]

So these were the SS versions? Or?

[@alecbrits]

These are the valve versions. :)

[@AllenMichael]

Have you compared these to the 500 series ?

[@alecbrits]

Not yet. :)

[@sailorsaturn_]

could you review the pultec 500 series?

[@alecbrits]

Sure thing!

[@musahenderson]

How do you feel about tracking through them?

[@alecbrits]

Absolutely love it! A little goes a long way of course.

[@channeldayo]

what is the song name at 3:30??

[@alecbrits]

It’s an original called “I need your love”. :) if you check out my AEA Neuvo video you can hear a bit more of it.

[@channeldayo]

@@alecbrits you are talented! very nice song!

[@dfreadde_dresd]

it's tube or solid state version?

[@alecbrits]

This is the tube version. :)

[@dfreadde_dresd]

@@alecbrits thank you!

[@bhromAustrol]

do you hace a schematic :D ?

[@alecbrits]

I don’t! This is the Pultec from pulse themselves. I’m sure there are a few different schematics online. :)

[@EandVEntertainment]

I hate this review, because it has made me long for a pair of these even more... he he.

[@alecbrits]

Ahh!! I know, I’m still feeling sad about them being gone!

[@EandVEntertainment]

@@alecbrits , I’ve been eying a pair of Audio Scape EQP1s and Tegeler’s dual channel EQP1 which are both far closer to my price range. I just haven’t heard too much about how close they are to the real deal. Tegeler’s is a nice 2U dual channel unit, which makes it really convenient. Audio Scape has opted for the full 3U a piece scale. Lol. I have their V Comp and Opto which are really classy, so despite having to find room in my rack for them, I’m very tempted to go that way.

[@alecbrits]

Always worth trying before buying if you have the option to do so! :)