Comparing your DIY to commercially made units from Urei, UA, Neve, Vintech, etc?

La2a and 1176. Who here have compared them against the originals and the re-issues by Universal Audio, Urei, etc.

How does the DIY compete with other knocks offs, such as the ADL1000, Skribble, etc?

Same goes for all the DIY Neve, SSL, etc here. How are they competing against Vintech, Avedis, Brent Averills, Chandler, etc.

Follow the scheme...use the same parts as the original...then you've an exact clone...
There's no black magic involved here 

> La2a and 1176

Why would you clone that krap?

radiance said:

Follow the scheme...use the same parts as the original...then you've an exact clone...
There's no black magic involved here 

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Yeah, but I do not think people are making a 1:1 copy of the parts used. Most are modern components.

I Have compared my 1176 (mnats J rev - non push button) with a "Blackface" Urei 1176 and they were similar but the original
was a bit "darker" sounding.
The Limiting was very close and they both have a good "character"
The studio owner was suitably impressed I might add

MM.

MartyMart said:

I Have compared my 1176 (mnats J rev - non push button) with a "Blackface" Urei 1176 and they were similar but the original
was a bit "darker" sounding.
The Limiting was very close and they both have a good "character"
The studio owner was suitably impressed I might add

MM.

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Do you think that was due to different components? Would you say that your DIY still sounded on the same pro level as the Urei?
Or did it sound like the Chamelion Labs own versions of well known gear.

I mean would you say the comparison is like a Neve 1073 and a Chandler LTD-1 with your DIY being the Chandler LTD-1 or would it be like an AKG C12 mic and a mid price clone like a Peluso P12.

PRR said:

> La2a and 1176

Why would you clone that krap?

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;D

canidoit said:

Do you think that was due to different components? Would you say that your DIY still sounded on the same pro level as the Urei?
Or did it sound like the Chamelion Labs own versions of well known gear.

I mean would you say the comparison is like a Neve 1073 and a Chandler LTD-1 with your DIY being the Chandler LTD-1 or would it be like an AKG C12 mic and a mid price clone like a Peluso P12.

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They were very, very close and certainly on the same "pro" level indeed ! ( not like a cheap made clone )

You must remember that all this stuff will sound different, plug up 6 various 1176's and you won't find
2 that are the same !!
Variations in components / age / etc etc .... analog gear is not an exact science and only repeatable when
"machine built" with the exact same components  -  YUK !!!

If you are worried about the sound and quality, don't be !
Build it well and use good quality parts, the results are and will be "stunning" 

MM.

But seeing that you're only really concerned about your potential clone being a perfect clone, and not really into building anything in the first place, just get one of the reissues.

Really, just buy directly from uaudio and chandler. It's not significantly more expensive.

Kingston said:

But seeing that you're only really concerned about your potential clone being a perfect clone, and not really into building anything in the first place, just get one of the reissues.

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I've learned a lot from building my G1176 and I can now experiment with different parts to archive a sound. It makes my piece of kit unique and that's the coolest thing about DIY'ing and customizing.

On the other hand, if you want that exact sound, then buy it.

Mark

Is there such a thing as two original LA-2As that sound the same?  ;D

My clones never sound exactly like the originals... they still get plenty of use nonetheless.

Kingston said:

But seeing that you're only really concerned about your potential clone being a perfect clone, and not really into building anything in the first place, just get one of the reissues.

Really, just buy directly from uaudio and chandler. It's not significantly more expensive.

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+1

....if one must split cunt hairs......

Who here have compared them against the originals and the re-issues

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really? have you not done a search on THIS forum? uber complete comparisons have been done. especially those models. Search again. it is ALL there. (the closeness to the original is up to the builder only, some here surpass original specs)

amorris@home said:

Who here have compared them against the originals and the re-issues

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really? have you not done a search on THIS forum? uber complete comparisons have been done. especially those models. Search again. it is ALL there. (the closeness to the original is up to the builder only, some here surpass original specs)

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I undertand that there are peoples opinions here but peoples opinions do change with time. New boards, revision, components etc. of builds or peoples experience and descriptions change. If everyone went by old information then I guess peoples opinion of how the computer commodore 64 is the fastest computers should still hold now, or has it changed? How about those people who claimed tobacco was "good" for you?

canidoit said:

amorris@home said:

Who here have compared them against the originals and the re-issues

Click to expand...

really? have you not done a search on THIS forum? uber complete comparisons have been done. especially those models. Search again. it is ALL there. (the closeness to the original is up to the builder only, some here surpass original specs)

Click to expand...

I undertand that there are peoples opinions here but peoples opinions do change with time. New boards, revision, components etc. of builds or peoples experience and descriptions change. If everyone went by old information then I guess peoples opinion of how the computer commodore 64 is the fastest computers should still hold now, or has it changed? How about those people who claimed tobacco was "good" for you?

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What is it....that you want to hear? I think your question has been answered already....

canidoit said:

opinions

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the funny thing about opinions and this forum is that opinions are often tested and measured, and put their proper place. And then no one dares to wave them around in abandon. This is not gearslutz.

Another great thing is that with any time tested piece of gear, there is measurement data, specs, hints, tricks etc. from the past 20-30 years for anyone to see. The fun part is to find it, and to learn to interpret it. I'm still learning, but sometimes looking at a schematic, and specs of some parts, I can "see" how the thing will probably behave and even get an idea how it will sound like. I aim to get better at this.

Why settle for a mere opinion?

I find Canidoit's thread perfectly valid and can't understand the hostility.  Nowhere in his posts do I read him saying that all he wants is a perfect exact clone of the original. He is simply asking for people to give their opinions or thoughts on their comparisons. I find nothing wrong with that. Wanting a comparison doesn't mean you have no interest in DIY at all and little interest in your own gear. Sometimes its nice just to have a reference point to understand how your build does differ. In fact you may still really like your units, (I know I love the gear I have made and record with these builds everyday), yet you may still like to know what an original sounds like.

There are some people who don't have access to an original 1176, LA2A, Neve desk etc. Thats just a fact of life. Not everyone does.  These people may well wish to understand from somebody that has worked with an original what those perceived differences are.  Yes it is true you can look through loads of data, measured scope readings etc. Yes its is true that much of this data can be found on this board if you do extensive searches, but we all know that data alone doesn't always describe adequately what the ear perceives. One may understand dB's, THD, SPL, etc -  but often hearing terms like "silky", "fat mid range" etc mean more to us in coprehending or perceiving differences in real terms. I do appreciate that the later terms are not always accurate and one should also understand data, and reading a schematic does assist a lot, but asking for comparisons from others is a perfectly reasonble request in my mind.  Why such hostility?

42

I'm with amorris@home on this one, do a search...
Take the gssl for example, SSLtech even took a part of his time to make a video of the gssl/turbo board comparison with the real ssl compressor
I am not hostile, just respecting the work already done by others, else all those efforts are in vain imo...
[edit]
Just to smooth things down, I did some searches, interesting results are like:
La2a:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=22288.0
1176:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=646.msg390793;topicseen#msg390793
gssl/turbo board video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQD8GPhFGYE

emrr said:

42

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thank you for the fish