Having two open spaces in our 500-series rack at Uranus, I knew we had to “fill the gap” and we were also short on analog equalizers. At that point, I had owned and been using the UAD-2 plug-in version (Harrison 32/SE) for about a year and was/am very fond of it’s sound, range and overall ease of operation. It also CERTAINLY didn’t hurt knowing that much of Michael Jackson’s legendary works were recorded and mixed (by Bruce Swedien) using this equalizer’s forefathers.
We had been using our Neve Melbourn Royston console, API 5500 stereo eq, Toft AFC-2 and before that, a ZEDR16 console for all analog equalization. My crew and I could instantly hear and feel a difference in this new 500-series eq. Smooth, clean, “musical”, warm and “liquid” are some descriptions I remember saying and hearing after starting to use the “32”…Oh, did I mention that my favorite number also happens to be 32? Sheer coincidence- now I think not!
I now use this equalizer more than any one other equalizer in the studio(s). I trust it to always get the sound right, without adding anything other than sonic beauty. Every vocal in the last few months had this in-line somewhere, and the high-pass is almost always in. It is perfect to add or subtract “just a bit” when the sound that’s coming through the speakers needs a little love. It also does large boosts and cuts with an elegance I have only heard in a few other analog eqs, namely- the Speck ASC-T, Neve 88RS console EQs and our API 5500 ($1,250/channel!).