New Music Gear Monday: Harrison 32cs Channel Strip

Many people feel that one of the best sounding consoles ever was the Harrison 32C series. It's the signature sound of Michael Jackson's biggest hits as well as records by Queen, Sade and ABBA, among many others. Now you can have that sound at your fingertips with the new Harrison 32CS channel strip.

The 32cs features that good old transformer coupled mic preamp along with switchable high and low pass filters. What's interesting there is that the high pass filter has what Harrison calls a "Bump" switch that provides a boost right above the selected cutoff frequency - perfect for kick or bass.

The channel strip also features a 4 band semi-parametric EQ with switchable shelving and bell modes, a switchable insert point either pre or post filters,  and a host of input/output connects including a front panel combo jack, front panel headphone jack, and rear panel XLR input, output and insert jacks.

The 32cs also has a feature that's unique for a channel strip - a monitor/mix section with a 2 mix buss that allows zero-latency monitoring through the headphone jack or reach channel outputs. The Blend control on the front panel allows you to mix the output between the 32cs and a stereo source fed into the 2 mix input jacks on the rear of the unit.

As you can see, the Harrison 32cs isn't just another channel strip. The price is still to be determined. Here's a preview video from Rob Tavaglione where you see the unit first hand.

---

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

New Music Gear Monday: Harrison Lineage Preamp

So many huge hits of the 70s were cut on Harrison consoles that we're all familiar with the sound even though we may not know it - AC/DC's Back In Black, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, and Michael Jackson's Thriller just to name a few.

While Harrison no longer makes its iconic 32C series desks that those albums were cut on, it has re-released the preamps from that console, as well as those from other Harrison consoles as well with the new Lineage Preamp.

The Harrison Lineage is actually an 8 channel preamp that has a pair of preamps from each of the various eras of Harrison consoles. You get:

• 2 channels of Harrison's latest Trion preamps
• 2 channels of the famous 32C console preamps from the 70s/80s
• 2 channels of preamps from its Series 10 consoles of the 80s/90s
• 2 channels of preamps from its Series 12 consoles of the 90s/00s

While many customers would have gladly settled for 8 channels of 32C preamps, the Lineage is a unique take on preamp packaging, giving you 4 different sounds in the same 1U rack space.

The price of the Harrison Lineage 8 channel preamp is $2,995. You can find out more on the Harrison website or on the video below.

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

My Top 10 Equalizers

Much to my surprise, it seems that people actually care about my favorite gear, since the response to both my favorite compressors and mic pres was so great. As a result, I thought it was time for another "My Favorite" post, this time about my top 10 equalizers. These are hardware or plugin EQs that I find myself reaching for during the course of most mixes.

Remember, gear choices are very personal, so what I like might not work for you, or in web gear parlance, YMMV (your mileage may vary). Even though the following are numbered, the order will change for me all the time. Here we go:

API 560

1. API 560: This is the most musical graphic equalizer ever built, in my opinion. If you can't make something sound good with another choice, this one always seems to work for me. It just has a sound. I love it on bass especially, but it works great on snare as well.

2. Maag EQ4: It you need sparkle and/or girth on a track or even the entire mix, the Maag is the way to go. Even in the midrange, it can help define a mix element in a way that you might not expect. This is the one I go to if the bottom end needs some help.

3. Manley Massive Passive: This is my go-to plugin for vocals. It can add sparkle and heft to a vocal done even on an SM58 in a way that few others can. It's perfect for carving out space in the mix for a track.

Digirack EQ 3

4. Pro Tools Digirack EQ 3: If I can't get the sound with any other EQ, I know that I can always come back to the Digirack and make it work. Plus, if your computer starts to run out of horsepower and you can't add any other plugins, there's always room for a few more EQ 3's. I find that I use this one on guitars and things that live in the mid-range because it's perfect for carving out space where multiple tracks have to live together. I also use this all the time on effects to make them sit in the track better, and for the filters, which I use on almost every track.

5. Harrison 32C: I was never a big fan of the console, but I sure do like the plugin. Once again, I find that I use this on instruments with a lot of mid-range or top end information. The only drawback is that it works a little too much like the real thing in that the control increments aren't detented.

PSP McQ Channel Strip

6. PSP McQ: I love PSP plugins in general, but this one really works for me when juggling frequencies in the mix. If two instruments are clashing, chances are that the McQ can keep them out of each other's way. You don't need to add or subtract much for it to work.

7. Pro Tools Digirack EQ 3 single band: I use filters a lot, and I mean on almost every track. If a track is working in the mix without any EQ, the first thing I'll reach for is this handy filter to get rid of any unneeded low or high frequencies that just clog up the mix.

8. API 550A: A number of companies make this plugin and they all have basically the same flavor. I grew up with API consoles so I'm partial after using it for so long, but this equalizer is definitely unique and can be surprisingly precise. I love it on the drums, especially toms.

Trident A Range

9. Trident A Range: I worked on an A Range on a number of projects so I know what it's supposed to sound like, and while the feel of the UA model is a little different, I do like the sound of it. Once again, this is something that has a definite sound that won't work on all types of music (at least for me), but there's an aggression that I love, especially on drums again, and bass.

10. Little Labs VOG: The VOG is meant to either add girth or help define the bottom end of instruments that live in that frequency area like kick and bass. It's not something I use all the time, but it's really helpful when you need it.

There's a number of others worthy of the list, but I'll stop here for now. Let me say that I haven't tried everything out there, as I don't collect plugins nor try new ones as long as I have ones that work well for me, so I probably have overlooked many fine units/plugins. But if you want to know what I use, this is the list. Tell me what you use!

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.