32 EQ
well i have spent a great deal of time with these and i think we are talking true love: )~
after having received a load of email and some PMs from different sites asking as to my thoughts on the "vintage" feedback design, verses the non-feedback option, i decided i had to spend some time bouncing between.
after spending some time listening, here are some thoughts that will be in the coming review.
i have gone back and forth between feedback in and out, the difference are oh so subtle, in my humble estimations i would not have offered it as a option. just me.
with the feedback out, the Harrison 32EQ sounds a very slight bit rounder, and i would even go so far as to say for the most part, a bit more to my liking, if i had to choose.
with the feedback in, the Harrison 32EQ sounds a hair bit more present, or maybe better described as maybe a bit more forward sounding in the upper register, just a tad of edge?
i did feel this was a very very very bit, nice for some, vocals.
the two settings, are again, oh so very subtile in there differences.
those with really nice monitors will hear the slight differences, as well, i would suspect a great many will not notice much of, if any difference.
if any one wants to try and see the difference, here is a link to Dan site and a link to he diagrams offering the feedback option in and out.
http://www.greatriverelectronics.com/product.cfm?ID=31&type=0#
http://www.greatriverelectronics.com/PDF/32EQ%20feedback%20jumper%20sheet.pdf
32EQ feedback in or out?
i understand the originals were feedback in to make up for possible short comings of the training. that just does not seem to be the case with the Great River addition of the Harrison 32EQ, so, why make it a option on the Great River addition?
i have gone back and forth between feedback in and out, the difference are oh so subtle, in my humble estimations i would not have offered it as a option. just me.
with the feedback out the Harrison 32EQ sounds a very slight bit rounder, and i would even go so far as to say for the most part a bit more to my liking if i had to choose.
with the feedback in the Harrison 32EQ sounds a hair bit more present maybe a bit more forward sounding in the upper register?
i did feel this was a very very bit nice for some, vocals.
the two settings are again, offer very subtile differences.
those with really nice monitor will hear the slight differences, as well, i would suspect many will not notice much if any difference.
Hi Pan,
Glad to hear you like the EQs!
Here are my thoughts about the design of the EQs, and our partnership
with Great River. I hope you can use some of it.
As you know, Harrison makes large-format consoles and not rackmount
gear. We often discussed the possibility of making "standalone"
products based on our designs. But our manufacturing, engineering,
support, and sales/marketing expertise is in large consoles. We watched
as some other console manufacturers struggled when trying to make
smaller products that met user's expectations. So we went looking for a
partner to take our designs and re-implement them in a smaller
form-factor. We called a couple of purveyors of high-end recording gear
and told them what we wanted to do. Each store gave us a short list of
manufacturers that made very high quality products and would maintain
our reputation. Dan was on everyone's list, so we figured we'd try him
first. It turned out to be a really good match.
The design of the GR 32EQ requires some fairly unusual/expensive parts
so that it can have a really wide range on the filters and EQ bands.
We've had lots of comments over the years that our EQs have very usable
ranges that were clearly designed by someone with practical experience.
The band ranges and the amount of overlap between them were chosen by
Dave Harrison after his own experience (Dave engineered some James Brown
recordings, among others). Dave designed most of the early MCI
consoles. So while the 32Series was the first "Harrison" branded
console, he already had quite a few consoles under his belt when it was
developed.
The GR 32EQs are the same circuit as the original consoles, except that
some higher-quality modern parts are used. We had a short discussion
about whether we should try to exactly recreate the sound of the
original 32, but our chief analog designer (who designed the EQ of the
32 Series and subsequent consoles) would have none of it. The parts
available now are what he "would have used" if they were available. For
that matter, nearly every old Harrison console still in service has had
these parts replaced long ago, so we feel we are being true to the sound
people are currently hearing/seeking in a Harrison console. The circuit
is unchanged but some of the parts have been upgraded.
We made one slight addition to the circuit: the GR 32EQ incorporates a
transformer in the output which was not strictly part of the console EQ
section, but there was a transformer on the output(s) of the console
strip so we felt it was important to include the transformer and
maintain the sound of the original console. One more subtlety: the
original design had a feedback circuit around the transformer which made
it more linear. We weren't sure if this would be needed with the new
parts. Dan designed it in as a jumper-selectable option, and it turned
out that it was not needed. I think the jumper pins are still there for
those who are interested in trying it out. (Dan?)
In the very end, when we got the final prototypes, we tested them using
the same test gear and methods we used in the original consoles. They
matched our expectations perfectly. Our only suggestion was to change
the in/out switches to a model with properties more similar to the original.
Regarding the 500-format: the resellers that we called suggested this
format. I think it's very popular right now, and it helps us to keep
the price low. Our goal at the moment is to introduce as many people as
possible to the Harrison sound. We've focused on the "film" industry
for so long that we found many music engineers were no longer familiar
with our name or sound. So we're trying to change that.
Personally I've worked at the company "only" about 10 years. I started
off as the GUI developer for our IKIS console software, and have
gradually moved into general product development, including our Mixbus
workstation and the licensed products by Great River and Universal
Audio. I don't have any "analog" chops myself, but we have guys here
who have been designing these circuits. Our chief analog designer jokes
that he has auditioned thousands of eq circuits. Actually, he may not
be joking, seeing how he's done design work for about 40 consoles during
his tenure.
Regarding the Harrison company, our history is at:
http://www.harrisonconsoles.com (click on History)
I'm available pretty much all day, every day if you'd like to call and
talk sometime.
Best,
Ben Loftis
Harrison Consoles
615-641-7200
