evilcat
Well-known member
Hi all !
Here are lot of samples I’ve done during the building process of my 2 Mnats’1176 rev A.
While I was reading the Rev A thread and schematics on JBL site, I noticed few differences that I wanted to test :
- caps : on the original Urei schematic C23 is tantalum, and some people choose C3 as tantalum too, instead of electrolytics.
- resistors : on the original R64=1.2k and R62=560R, then after few revisions R64=2.2k and R62=470R. There’s also a mod to avoid « pops » in All Buttons Mode where R78=link and R19=130k become R78=47k and R19=68k.
- last thing I wanted to try : using 3708 or 5088 as transistors.
Having 2 units makes it easy to do. I’ve done 4 versions of 1176 revA :
V1 : 3708 trans – C3 and C23 electrolytics – modified resistors
V2 : 3708 trans – C3 and C23 tantalums – original resistors
V3 : 5088 trans – C3 and C23 electrolytics – modified resistors
V4 : 5088 trans – C3 and C23 tantalums – original resistors
With all these units, I played some samples : drums (kick+snare+overhead), vocal, electric gtr and acoustic gtr, and recorded them for all ratios : 4, 8, 12, 20 and All Buttons.
For drums and vocal I set the units to 6dB of compression, Attack@12 o’clock and Release@fast.
For electric and acoustic gtr I set the units to 3dB of compression, Attack@12 o’clock and Release@fast.
Things I have noticed :
- V2 and V4 : seems to be much more transparent, you can here less compression.
- Original resistors values are less « stable », at 20:1 it compress more without touching the settings.
- Modified resistors values work great to canceled the « pop » issue in All Buttons mod and give the same gain reduction for all ratios without touching the settings.
- 5088 trans are brighter and seem to have a slower attack time and a faster release time.
I prefer V1 and V3 because they have more character. I don’t want my 1176s to be transparent compressors, I want some « attitude » and that’s what V1 and V3 give me.
Then between V1 and V3, I choosed V3. Except for electric gtr, I prefer the brighter thing. It makes drums and ac gtr more precise and gives the vocal more presence. For electric gtr, V1 gives a fatter sound, but we can’t have everything !!!
To help me choosing between V1 and V3, I played all the V1 tracks, make a quick balance, matched V3 levels, and then flip one by one to V3. It created a more precise mix, and that’s what led me to choose V3.
So, here are the links to download the 24bits/44.1kHz files. One link for one instrument. For each instrument you have the 5 different ratios for each 1176 version plus the original sound, uncompressed :
Acoustc gtr : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q33BBVQL
Drums : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=05MVGOWP
Electric gtr : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NQAB73KO
Vocal : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2VKUW69A
Each file is about 140 Mo. It’s big and take a long time to download but I think it worth it to everyone who wants to build this unit.
I hope that you’ll find this interesting and don’t forget that it’s all a matter of taste !
Ben A.
Here are lot of samples I’ve done during the building process of my 2 Mnats’1176 rev A.
While I was reading the Rev A thread and schematics on JBL site, I noticed few differences that I wanted to test :
- caps : on the original Urei schematic C23 is tantalum, and some people choose C3 as tantalum too, instead of electrolytics.
- resistors : on the original R64=1.2k and R62=560R, then after few revisions R64=2.2k and R62=470R. There’s also a mod to avoid « pops » in All Buttons Mode where R78=link and R19=130k become R78=47k and R19=68k.
- last thing I wanted to try : using 3708 or 5088 as transistors.
Having 2 units makes it easy to do. I’ve done 4 versions of 1176 revA :
V1 : 3708 trans – C3 and C23 electrolytics – modified resistors
V2 : 3708 trans – C3 and C23 tantalums – original resistors
V3 : 5088 trans – C3 and C23 electrolytics – modified resistors
V4 : 5088 trans – C3 and C23 tantalums – original resistors
With all these units, I played some samples : drums (kick+snare+overhead), vocal, electric gtr and acoustic gtr, and recorded them for all ratios : 4, 8, 12, 20 and All Buttons.
For drums and vocal I set the units to 6dB of compression, Attack@12 o’clock and Release@fast.
For electric and acoustic gtr I set the units to 3dB of compression, Attack@12 o’clock and Release@fast.
Things I have noticed :
- V2 and V4 : seems to be much more transparent, you can here less compression.
- Original resistors values are less « stable », at 20:1 it compress more without touching the settings.
- Modified resistors values work great to canceled the « pop » issue in All Buttons mod and give the same gain reduction for all ratios without touching the settings.
- 5088 trans are brighter and seem to have a slower attack time and a faster release time.
I prefer V1 and V3 because they have more character. I don’t want my 1176s to be transparent compressors, I want some « attitude » and that’s what V1 and V3 give me.
Then between V1 and V3, I choosed V3. Except for electric gtr, I prefer the brighter thing. It makes drums and ac gtr more precise and gives the vocal more presence. For electric gtr, V1 gives a fatter sound, but we can’t have everything !!!
To help me choosing between V1 and V3, I played all the V1 tracks, make a quick balance, matched V3 levels, and then flip one by one to V3. It created a more precise mix, and that’s what led me to choose V3.
So, here are the links to download the 24bits/44.1kHz files. One link for one instrument. For each instrument you have the 5 different ratios for each 1176 version plus the original sound, uncompressed :
Acoustc gtr : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q33BBVQL
Drums : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=05MVGOWP
Electric gtr : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NQAB73KO
Vocal : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2VKUW69A
Each file is about 140 Mo. It’s big and take a long time to download but I think it worth it to everyone who wants to build this unit.
I hope that you’ll find this interesting and don’t forget that it’s all a matter of taste !
Ben A.