Review of the 52270B Pre/EQ in MIX magazine, Jan 1, 2004

In the early 1990s, when Geoffrey Daking heard that many engineers were growing increasingly dissatisfied with newer audio gear, he decided to find out why. Most new equipment, he deduced, missed some of the basic ingredients that gave “vintage” gear its character, and with this in mind, Daking went to work on a line of products aimed at the high-end market. The theme behind his brainchildren became “Good design will not be overruled by bookkeeping,” and in the years since, there's been no looking back. I reviewed the newest member of the product family, the MicPreEQ.

INSIDE AND OUT
The MicPreEQ packs a lot of good, clean signal path into a single-rackspace unit. Inside, the box is all-discrete and Class-A, utilizing top-quality transformers, precision capacitors and low-distortion inductors. All switches and pots are PC board-mounted and have a tight, solid feel; Daking uses hefty anodized, engraved aluminum knobs of his own design. The board uses through-hole construction rather than surface-mount, and is housed in a stainless-steel chassis, providing maximum shielding from external nasties. True to form, no audio runs through the mute, phase, pad or bypass switches; those functions are performed through relays using gold contacts.

Frequency response is an impressive ±1 dB from 10 Hz to 42 kHz and is down -3 dB at 56 kHz. Both mic and line inputs are transformer-balanced, with the mic side's impedance set at 1,200 ohms, while the line side runs above 15k ohms. Even the faceplate screams quality: There's a 10mm polycarbonate layer between the printing and the operator's fingers, ensuring long-lasting labels.

A continuously variable output attenuator is located on the front-left, right next to a 10-position mic/line gain switch incremented in 5dB steps. I much prefer this layout rather than having the attenuator to the far right. Mic gain is from -15 to -60 dB, while line gain is from +1 to -35 dB. The EQ section has four adjustable bands, each providing ±15 dB of boost/cut. High-shelving EQ is notched at 8k, 10k, 12k, 15k and 20k with a switchable lowpass filter fixed at 20k (6 dB per octave). The choices for the high-mid section are 1.5k, 3k, 5k, 7k and 9k, while the low-mids can be set to 125, 250, 500, 1k and 2k Hz. At the very bottom, the lows can be set to 30, 50, 80, 100 or 150 Hz with a switchable highpass filter set at 25 Hz and a -12dB/octave slope. Each EQ band can be individually bypassed, or the whole section can be bypassed using the lighted switch to the unit's far right. Above that, a lighted Mute switch quiets everything.

THE PROOF IS IN THE TEST
I had two units for my test and used them extensively during a recording project. I used the preamp by itself with a variety of mics and it was remarkable. The MicPreEQ especially shined when used with an AEA R84 ribbon mic, delivering all of the clean gain I needed, even on the quietest instruments. I used the unit on two different acoustic guitars and found that the highpass filter and low EQ section deftly pulled out any boom, leaving a nice, clean top that didn't need extra help. Upright bass was beautiful, percussion was perfect (especially with a touch of top from the EQ section) and vocals were vibrant. Time and time again, the Daking delivered.

What I liked most was that the preamp side was so clean, I didn't feel the need to use EQ as a fix. Mic placement solved a lot of problems, which is as it should be. When I did use the EQ, I noticed that a little goes a long way. I was surprised at how even a small adjustment made a large addition to any frequency I boosted or cut. I found myself backing it off a little and adding bits and touches, which in my book is a good thing. Finally, I used the box as a back-end analog sweetener for my mixes. I found myself adding just a touch of top and bottom for the last audio glance before I burned my mixes to an Alesis MasterLink. This application sold me on the idea that Dakings should always travel in pairs. Although it's not a true mastering EQ, it's a great way to give your mixes a final finish.

THE FINISH LINE
It's amazing that a product of this quality can come in at $1,995, and although Daking has found a new fan in me, I do have a few beefs about the MicPreEQ. There is no power “On” light on the unit. When troubleshooting, I had to reach over to pop on the lighted mute or bypass switch to eliminate the possibility that the unit wasn't powered. It's a minor issue, but a confidence LED designating power would make things easier for the user. The other item I missed was a direct instrument input on the front of the box. I would have loved to use the Daking as a quick bass DI/preamp box when tracking, but in the heat of the session, I found myself going with other more convenient options rather than climbing behind the unit to connect a freestanding DI.

All that aside, the MicPreEQ is a fine audio tool. The preamp sounded good everywhere I put it, offering lots of clean gain. Equally as nice was the absolutely sweet EQ section, which delivered tons of transparent top, bushels of big bottom and everything in between. I found that a pair of these on the front and/or back end of a DAW is to audio as Beluga is to caviar — truly first class.

 

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FILM SCORE MIXER STEVE KEMPSTER FINDS THE NEW DAKING FET COMPRESSOR II MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR!
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The long list of films in scoring mixer Steve Kempster's filmography is only surpassed by its wide diversity of genres and directorial styles. Recently, the ever-flexible Kempster has been a big part of new movies like Disney's "Brother Bear and The Haunted Mansion" and then previously, "Bad Boys II." Past movies Kempster has worked on include "Austin Powers Goldmember"

"Remember The Titans" "Maid In Manhattan" "Armageddon" and "Training Day." Residing in Los Angeles, Steven Kempster is a "first call" recording engineer/mixer for both major theatrical releases and record projects. Kempster, over the years, has collected a huge amount of expensive outboard gear - all the topflight tools necessary to meet the engineering demands of both film score music mixing/recording and master record production. Kempster explains: "The Daking FET Compressor II first caught my attention when I was loaned a pair for evaluation by Brad Lunde at Transamerica Audio. I already have loads of some of the best compressors made spread out amongst the five full racks of outboard gear I own. I thought I'd just use these on drums, percussion overdubs or other things where I may not want to exercise or commit a more expensive compressor I would hold in higher regard. What I noticed was that the FET II was an incredible and useful management tool but sonically kept itself pretty much out of the way - which a lot of compressors don't." The FET Compressor II, an updated version of the renowned Daking FET Compressor, features a new internal switch for use either in console applications (make up gain active) or in line level rig application (make up gain bypassed). The unit embodies all discrete transistor circuitry, transformer-balanced inputs/outputs and Class-A amplifiers. Attack times can be set from 250 to 63 milliseconds while the unit's customized release time settings are faithful to the vintage Neve 33609 Auto, Audio Designs' Compex Auto, and the Fairchild 670 #5 and #6 release settings. "Initially when I first began using the Daking when recording and/or mixing drums, percussion and miscellaneous items I saw that it was so fast in attack time that I could dial in good control and manage very transient material without leaving a big sonic footprint," continues Kempster. Excellent attack time behavior is only the beginning of great compressor/limiter design and the single rack space FET II features resetable threshold (-10dB to +10dB in 2dB steps) attack times, ratio (1.5:1 2:1, 3:1, 5:1, 10:1 and 20:1), make-up gain and release time with seven different settings. After discovering the fast attack times possible Kempster goes on to say: "I found the FET II very flexible in release time and the different characteristics of the release times with the seven different time constants available. Pretty soon I was up for trying the unit on more crucial jobs like lead vocal processing. During the mixing of "Brother Bear" we had a lead vocal by Tina Turner and I found the Daking FET II managed it in a very good way without sounding 'compressed.'" After that good experience, Kempster also began using the Daking FET II for mixing and recording other lead vocals because of its flexibility. The FET II also found its way as a master stereo percussion stem compressor on "Lion King 1 1/2" a Disney animation for DVD. Kempster explains: "I used it on the percussion stem left/right. And you're talking about huge tympani hits and all kinds of percussive information that on the dubbing stage needs to be controlled, but not heard as 'controlled,' so the Daking was very helpful on that stereo pair. So what started out as a curio purchase - a Swiss Army knife processor - has evolved into something that has become very significant to me because the FET II continually surprises me with its very clean and extremely flexible operation.

Hal Winer, owner of BiCoastal Music in Westchester, New York, chose Daking mic pres to maintain a pristine signal path. DAKING GOES BICOASTAL OSSINING, NEW YORK:

BiCoastal Music in tony Westchester County, north of Manhattan, has just completed an architectural and acoustical remodel by the renowned Russ Berger Design Group that catapults the recording studio from a high-quality project room to the top tier of world-class facilities. With BiCoastal now featuring the very latest digital mixing console and 5.1 surround speaker control technologies plus RBDG custom monitoring, owner Hal Winer needed to seek out signal processing to maintain that high-end signal path, and found that Geoffrey Daking & Co. offered the ideal solution. "I have four of his Mic-Pre/EQs - two of them are the B model - and I have two of his FET Compressors," Winer reports. The Daking gear is by no means a recent discovery, he notes. "I had the original two Daking Mic Pres in the old studio. They're my favorite pieces of gear." Explaining his choice of Daking equipment, he says, "The build quality was the major thing that got me right up front. They're built like tanks. There are very few other pieces of gear in my studio that just feel as sturdy as these pieces felt. The build quality, the component quality, the care and attention to detail - there are very few things you can compare them to." Winer reports that he was also drawn by the ergonomics of the units. "The way things are labeled, and the placement of the labels on each of the individual knobs, makes it very easy to see exactly what I'm doing. When I go to other pieces of gear, I really have to concentrate on the labels. They're underneath the knob so you can't see them, they're clustered together and the font is too small. I don't have to think about using Geoff's units - it's intuitive. I go to them, I know exactly what they do and how they work, and if I need to look at a value it's right there in front of me." And let's not forget the all-important audio quality. "They're completely transparent when you want them to be, and they add interesting colors when you need them to," says Winer. "It's just awesome stuff. I can't say enough about it." The Geoffrey Daking Mic-Pre/EQ and FET Compressor both feature all-discrete transistor circuitry, transformer-balanced inputs and outputs, and Class "A" amplifiers for optimum performance with any microphone. Stainless steel construction, sturdy aluminum knobs, and features such as gold bi-furcated relay switch contacts ensure durability, noise immunity, and trouble-free operation. Winer reports that he has reinvented BiCoastal Music to attract a specific clientele. "This is not a commercial studio," he explains, "it's a boutique studio and it's really by invitation only. It's a high-end studio for high-end engineers who are used to working in New York City and commuting from Westchester." He continues, "I've provided a location here that's comparable to those available in New York City, but local to them. So I really had a responsibility to provide equipment that was going to rival what you would find in Manhattan, and I had to make some careful choices. There's a lot available to me, and I had no qualms about offering Daking gear up, because you just can't beat it."

DAKING HITS THE ANALOG SPOT FOR PRODUCER/SINGER/SONGWRITER RICHARD MARX CHICAGO, ILLINOIS:



Haven't heard much about Richard Marx in the last several years? It's not because the singer/songwriter/producer, who blasted his way into the charts in the late '80s with a string of hits that included the number one single "Hold On to the Nights," hasn't been busy. In fact Marx, who continued to write and produce throughout the 1990s for a list of major artists that includes Luther Vandross, Kenny Rogers, Bryan White, NSYNC and Barbra Streisand, is currently enjoying one of the most fertile periods of his career. "I'm as excited about the record I just finished producing for the country band Emerson Drive as anything I've ever had my hands on," says Marx. We spoke two days after the band had reeled in an American Country Music award for Best New Group. "I came in at the tail end of their first album, producing the single "Fall Into Me," which became a top three country single for them. We got along very well, and so I was asked to produce their entire second album. I also wrote three of the songs on that album." All of the vocals, guitars and keyboards for the new Emerson Drive album (which will be released later this year) were tracked at Renegade Studios, a 5,000-foot facility that Marx built several years ago on his 5.5-acre lakeside property. Marx ditched his analog console in favor of a Mackie HUI, which he uses as a front end to his Pro Tools HD system. As his move to an all-digital studio has progressed Marx has been extremely careful to choose analog equipment, particularly mic-pres, that faithfully captures live performances. "I'm fortunate enough to be able to at least try out everything that's on the market. In 1996 Bruce Gaitsch, the first guy I ever wrote a song with back in Chicago when I was about sixteen, turned me onto Daking mic-pres. Bruce knew that I loved Neve mic-pres and thought I'd like the Daking units. He was right! I bought a pair. And to tell you the truth I can't remember the model number, but then they've never needed servicing of any kind. Over the last five years, every track I've recorded as a singer has gone through the Daking gear. I didn't see a need to look at any others. Obviously, there are other excellent mic-pres on the market, but I'd advise anyone who's looking for that classic analog sound at a reasonable price to check out the Daking gear." Danik Dupelle plays guitar and sings high harmonies for Emerson Drive. Tracking his vocals at Renegade Studios was a bit of a challenge for Marx and Davide Cole, the engineer Richard taps for all of his final recordings. "Danik, like all of the guys in the band, is a phenomenal musician," says Marx. "He's also a very good singer, but he's got a very bright voice which tends to sound a little brittle. We've got to be very careful with the signal path when we track his parts. We experimented with Avalon and Manley before deciding to bring him into Pro Tools with the Daking mic-pre. I'm not sure I can give you a precise explanation as to why, but the Daking just gave us a warmer sound than the others we played around with. As a producer, you're using your ears to answer questions most of the time. Why choose that amp head, or one plug-in reverb instead of another? At a given moment in time you go with what sounds best. That way of working often leads me to choosing Daking even when others are available." Although he's in demand as a producer, Richard Marx has not lost the itch to perform, or to release his own work. He is, in fact, about 80 percent through a new solo album. "I'm really excited about this project, for several reasons. For one thing, it reunites me with Bruce Lundvall, who signed me to my first deal. Bruce is the president of EMI and Blue Note, and the new record will be released on EMI. I'd describe the style as being somewhere between Coldplay and Avril Lavigne. It's edgier than my last several albums. I tend to write in a style that reflects whatever's on my CD player at that time. I love Coldplay, and the sounds on Avril's record are fantastic. Of course, all of the melodies are mine, and hopefully, there's a constant in what I bring to my performances that my fans will want to share."

 

 

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