Top theatre sound engineer Udo Terlisten puts the icing on his three rack full of MICPRE ONE and EQ ONE with a MID-SIDE ONE.

“Getting an MS module in 500 series format kept me dreaming for about two years.

But always the question: How could it work in a two modules width when you need 8 (eight!) I/Os when generally a 500 series rack has only has two XLRs per slot......

The solution is a TAC rack. Apart from the usual main XLRs it provides three (!!!) additional quarter inch jacks -per slot - which can be separately switched for various functions. I have the balancing card fitted on the first two slots. It takes care of all you need, such as turning the rack to a comfortable split box at line level and fully balanced.
Or handle this fantastic MS matrix called "MID SIDE ONE".
And a lot more......
For the matrix the jacks provide the insert sends (on outputs #3) and returns (on inputs #2), as said fully balanced at line level.
And as if this isn´t enough the outputs #2 can carry a signal of your choice, whether from the module’s inputs or the matrix outputs. Done by jumpers on the main board.
Plus the insert sends always carry the signals you chose on the frontpanel for input mode.
Now, isn’t that awesome?

The modules' functionality & look:

What can I say....outstanding it is!
It has really all functionality I can think of.
Main I/Os can be switched to L-R or MS processing....in any combination.
Inserts are switchable for easy comparison.
Both M and S have a mute switch.
Meters can be switched to read In or Outputs and have a +10dB switch to increase their sensitivity.
System in bypasses the unit.
It is dead-quiet.
And there are two further "weapons" on board.
A width control balances the mid and side signals, while the filter is a high pass in the side signal making it easy to clean up all the mud and smear one might have in the bass range.Often known as "monomaker" in plug-ins, but here you have it and you can touch it....it´s analogue, the real deal!
My favourite tool on the module. Both switchable of course. And both the width and filter are there all the time without having to insert any external gear. They are permanently located between encoder and decoder, meaning you can even choose L-R mode for both Input and Output!
Fantastic!
The module is super-intuitive to handle, everything sits where it belongs. Take it for any needs, whether to treat signals, recordings in ms mode or mastering.
Don´t want to talk much about sound and start boring discussions "digital vs. analogue "again, I have the well-known plug-ins too but this beast is analogue, fast,deep sounding at a wide frequency range.

The MID-SIDE ONE has become one of my most important tools instantly, my dreams came true.”

Udo has been working in the theatre since 1988 as a German "Tonmeister" with live sound work covers anything and everything from musicals to ballet, and onto TV shows, which included names such as Elkie Brooks, Charly Antolini, Spencer Davis, Jon Lord, Steve Gadd, Michel Petrucciani, Anthony Jackson, Chick Corea, Bireli Lagrene, Prof. Hannes Beckmann.......the list is endless.

He also uses EQ ONE and MICPRE ONE.

He explains "...several years ago I started hating digital sound and wanted to get back some of the analog stuff I loved so much. So I was seriously infected with the DIY virus.......that´s it so far,hahaha..... "

Udo has a rack full of EQ ONE. This was his reaction after building his first pair;

Cemal! What have you and Mr Langley done to me?

Listened to both units and first I must say is they are Amek! Wow, it felt like a Déjà vu, we had the early Angela, BCII back in the mid 80s early 90s.

And these guys have balls.

The high and low pass filters are great even to form a telephone sound.

The low mids are bombastic, and the low end is .......hmmmmm..... I must go doiwn to the cellar to see where that ends.

Band overlapping wide, punchy sounding, fast response. Must stop and listen, overwhelmed. All the best to you and please let Mr Langley know.

Udo. 

And also some day later, we have got an email from him. Here it is...

Hi Cemal,

Excuse me replying so late,way too much work atm.

But yesterday we had an exciting experience:After days of troubleshooting and heavy eq'ing with our two dry-hire DiGiCo SD9 consoles it still seemed to be impossible to get out useful signals (headworn mics,DPA,omni) from them.The main goal was to have good EQs on their outputs to handle the first 2-3 room modes for our vocal stuff,so not system EQs.

No chance at all,even by trying different sorts of onboard tools plus(!) heavy input-eq'ing.

The P.A. System is excellent and nicely tuned/delayed btw.

So I decided to hook up my EQ ONES to the output stages of my console.

And guess what:Knockout within seconds!!!

My friend,this EQ is outstanding at this signal position! We even flattened out all console eqs to see what might happen,the result was mindblowing!Lots of headroom accompanied by a stunning mic sound that I have never achieved before on a sound reinforcement system.

I'm really excited now since I haven't set up any channel eqs or dynamics so far nor did I hook up my preamps and compressors as front ends for the eight lead vocals.

What a day.....

Oh,I was asked to sent you a warm hello from my new partner and head of sound here.When she touched the EQ ONE for the very first time it simply blew her away.....hahaha!

Today I wear a t-shirt saying "Analog ist besser".

Strike.

All the best to you my friend,

Udo