Any current/EX GML 9500 users?
I would like to hear some expert opinions and comparisons with say Sontec 430 series and Maselec MEA-2?
George lent me his set for about 6 months give or take
I really really wanted to like the 9500 and was quite prepared to hate the 2030 ( limiter)
I kept at the 9500 - its not for me i could barely hear it working or i couldnt work it either way
it is nothing like a sontec i used for 10 years - i just couldnt get "go to sounds " out of it
more often then not it just didn't make it onto the tracks
but it is so damn uncoloured its hard to say a bad world about it it a classy classy box
but i didnt gel with it - I dont gel with lots of things
it sounds more like the weiss eq then an analog eq
i think george took that as a compliment :)
but the 2030 was the dark horse I really liked what that does - which is most unlike every other limiter
I still might buy one of those if only to really learn to use it ( might take a few years )
the only reason i would buy a 9500 is to keep the 2030 company while i figured it out it :)
I tried the maselec eq a long time ago I thought it sounded better in bypass
I tried the maselec eq a long time ago I thought it sounded better in bypass
-turtlerock
Off Ben's topic but I have an mea2 coming in a week or so. maybe it will slow down my sontec 400 search for a bit....
Further off topic, an MEA2 just arrived this week for evaluation. Dietrich, would you be interested in trading impressions after you've spent some time with yours?
@Alan:yes of course. Curious in my room how will compare the UAD Precision EQ. I parted with my first massive passive because the UAD version to me was very very close. The MEA2 being able to get a bit surgical in the analog world does appeal to me greatly.
@Ben. sorry we got off the 9500...
Back to the 9500...
Ben it may not help you a lot as i haven't been able to compare it to a Sontec or MEA2, but i had one for a bit more than a year, it replaced an Ibis mv.
- ergonomicaly, it was great, lay out was clear, control feeling was solid, built to very high standart.
very easy to work with,
- sonicaly the unit was dead silent, didn't remember exactly how measured the background noise, but it was far, far away ... i never had it go into saturation even driving the loop at high level (at that time we had an ada8 so it was easy to control the callibration of the loop ).
the stereo image was extremly stable, no move (unlike the ibis).
its sound ? mmhh i'd say no sound, it's extremly transparent adding a very subtle sheen when a band is engaged, but almost un-noticiable .
so very "weissy" in a way ...
i ended up trading it with a Knif Etip, wich is less sterile but still a very neutral eq. at that time i already had Jonte Knif's Vari mu II and loved it, it was a bit of a blind trade but i've been very happy till now with the Etip.
just lacked a few Q settings sometimes that's why i've just ordered a Soma always from Knif...
my 2c, if you work a lot on sources played from tapes and want to preserve as much as possible the original sound of the song, a 9500 can be great, because in the analog domain i don't think an other eq can be such invisible.
if you work mainly from digital i think there're some digital tools that can do the same work (weiss / algorithmix ).
Off Ben's topic but I have an mea2 coming in a week or so. maybe it will slow down my sontec 400 search for a bit....
-dietrich
no it wont
no it wont
-jdg
Amen to that. I've come to the conclusion that nothing sounds like a Sontec 432. The magic must be in those Op amps.
Looks like the 9500 is not on the top of peoples list.
I really, really want to like the MEA-2, but for me it's just too soft on the transients and does not sound part of the music like a Sontec.
Don't forget to add the Buzz REQ-2.2 into the mix.. it's very musical with a touch more flavour/impact than the Sontec. Got to admit that the Knif Soma does look tantalising though. hmmm.. thinking.. sell REQ-2.2 to buy Soma?
So if the 9500 is so clean/transparent - digital dressed up as analog, how does the 8200 sound by comparison? are they similar or worlds apart sonically?
I think Andrew at Serif had a 9500 and sold it about a year or so ago. At some point I wouldn't mind getting a 9500 and Req 2.2 side by side to check out.
I've read from a couple sources that the are very similar in sound.So if the 9500 is so clean/transparent - digital dressed up as analog, how does the 8200 sound by comparison? are they similar or worlds apart sonically?
-matt_g
Don't forget to add the Buzz REQ-2.2 into the mix.. it's very musical with a touch more flavour/impact than the Sontec. Got to admit that the Knif Soma does look tantalising though. hmmm.. thinking.. sell REQ-2.2 to buy Soma?
-matt_g
I just ordered my Soma last night - along with with Fred I was another of the four people Jonte sent the first pre-production unit to and I think we were all knocked out and we're all likely to buy. A direct comparison with the Buzz 2.2 was made by another of the group, to the advantage of the Soma, but I don't have details to hand.
Cheers,
Eric
I had the Soma on hand to try for a few weeks and it is a very impressive EQ.
Dave
I had the Soma on hand to try for a few weeks and it is a very impressive EQ.
Dave
-mcsnare
Phil Demetro put me onto the Soma.
I've not tried one but it looks like it could be pretty good.
Do you think you're gonna put one in your room?
Phil Demetro put me onto the Soma.
I've not tried one but it looks like it could be pretty good.Do you think you're gonna put one in your room?
-adetableoftone
Credit where it's due - Frederic told me about it quite a while ago when we were discussing some Focusrite stuff. Fred is way ahead of the curve on the Knif stuff.
Then McNair called me to say he had one and then proceeded to rub it in bigtime. Dave is terrible that way.
I always thought the 9500 represented the final and working vision of George Massenburg's Parametric design? Sontec/ITI being the earlier vision?
Credit where it's due - Frederic told me about it quite a while ago when we were discussing some Focusrite stuff. Fred is way ahead of the curve on the Knif stuff.
Then McNair called me to say he had one and then proceeded to rub it in bigtime. Dave is terrible that way.-phildemetro
So what's the verdict Phil & Dave will the Soma be gracing your suites any time soon? Comparitively speaking could you liken the Soma to anything else you've heard?
So what's the verdict Phil & Dave will the Soma be gracing your suites any time soon? Comparatively speaking could you liken the Soma to anything else you've heard?
-matt_g
Well, I enjoyed hearing about it. But nope.. not for me.
As unbelievable as the Soma probably is...
I'm officially the most boring engineer alive now.
Gear hiatus until something breaks.
I would use a 9500 - no problem.
Anyone have 6 channel ZSys EQ they might sell? (sorry Ben)
Phil, you know you NEED that Soma......
Dave
