I just want to say hats off and a big thanks to David B for his Soundbytes article on the Pultec EQP-1A and its frequent companion, the Pultec MEQ-5 from March of last year. I bookmarked it when I saw it and just now got to it.
 
http://soundbytesmag.net/theplutecmystique/ 
 
I finally got a mix together which doesn't need a whole lot, but I wanted to try my Nomad on it. Problem was, I really didn't know where or what to do. Your article cleared it all up. We should be out of our annual GHD blizzard tomorrow and once the wife and I are all shoveled out (700' driveway), I can confidently sit down and finish up my mix and now I'm going to have fun with it, instead of filled with trepidation, like what am I going to screw up now :)
 
This is the kind of articles which are really informative and useful and I, for one am so appreciative. You wizards demystify it all for people like me who are just trying to make our best run at it. So once again David, thanks so much!
 
 

robbyk
You wizards demystify it all for people like me who are just trying to make our best run at it. So once again David, thanks so much!
 

 
Thanks for the kind words ... but I'm no wizard - not even close.  I'm just a curious fellow who wondered what all the hoopla was about and chose to investigate. 

I guess the only Pultec style EQ's I have are the Native Instruments "Enhanced EQ" (which seems to be a sort of simplified Pultec EQ) and Nomad's Blue Tubes PEQ2B. Have you compared the PEQ2B (which came packaged with Sonar) against the Pulse-Tec? If so, how do you think they compare? 

sharke
I guess the only Pultec style EQ's I have are the Native Instruments "Enhanced EQ" (which seems to be a sort of simplified Pultec EQ) and Nomad's Blue Tubes PEQ2B. Have you compared the PEQ2B (which came packaged with Sonar) against the Pulse-Tec? If so, how do you think they compare? 

Sharke, I have not compared them, I have Sonar X3 but am using 8.5 for familiarity sake so I don't have the Blue Tubes version (I do have X2 but not X3 installed). I have been given a little time to record my own CD and it has been many years since I have had that opportunity. Once the album is complete, I'll either get a new pc and update to wherever Sonar is at or stick with what I have and at least move up to X3. Either option will be a goldmine of new wonderful treasures! But for now I am going for the vintage sound of my 60s and 70s era hence the Nomad Pulse Tec:)

"So, am I saying there’s no such thing as vintage fairy dust?  Absolutely not.  But as to whether or not we find this in the Pultec emulations, I’m less certain.  However, I’m not asserting that it’s not there.  If you believe it’s there, that’s just fine.  If you don’t believe but want to, then maybe you could just clap your hands and it will be."
 
An excellent summation!!  It makes me wonder how much of the magic gear we own is really placebo?

A great Pultec emulation is the full thing eg here:
 
http://nomadfactory.com/products/pulsetec/index.html
 
In my opinion this is the fulll model with all the bands etc and there is no mystique about it either.  Nor is there any placebo effect.  It is very real.  Even when this is set to a flat response it will make things sound different.
 
When you start using it proper it is capable of amazing results.  It is excellent on tracks and mastering.  It just seems to arrive at a certain sound much easier and faster than most eq's do.  It is not so much a surgical thing though.  It has broader appeal.

I like this post. Go DMBaer. It was a great article. I hadn't read it before today.
 
Curious, I re-did his loudness test and got pretty much the same result...
 
With the clipper switch on I get -3.5 calibrated for -14 so... really -17.5.
 
Clipper switch off I get -5.1 so really -19.1
 
With the pre-amp off I get -5.4 so really -19.4
 
This is a loudness boost of only 0.3 dB when the clipper switch is off.
 
Also, I did notice a 2-3 dB cut between 18.7 and 20K, but it wasn't as severe as the article suggested. Perhaps I didn't test the same way.
 
As an aside, check out the slope on the Cakewalk Spectral Analyzer. What's up with that? It's pink noise generated by Audacity. Everything showed it fairly flat except the flyout EQ in Cakewalk.
 


 

 

I've used two virtual Pultec's.  For me the best was the UAD, it really did add a bump in the low mids that was gold.  Now that I don't use a DSP card, because they really are obsolete now, I use the Waves version, which I paid 30 dollars Oz, always watch for the specials.  The Waves version doesn't seem to have the same bump...not that I can hear, and I've got Paganini ears ;), but it's still a wonderful EQ.  I love it for busses and esp effects busses.  I looked at the Nomad one, and I think I placed it over the top of a few tracks and was not impressed.
 
Remember it's a passive EQ too, which requires some reading to understand Passive vs Active.  I want to try out the Waves RS56 at some point for mastering.  It's what they used at Abbey Road.
 
Ben 

@jeff evans:
You piqued my curiosity.  Don't Crack has these for a meager $49, and there's even a demo.  I'm taking it for a spin . . .

I don't use the clipper switch at all.  I dont like what it does.  It can break up the signal sometimes.  I prefer to leave it off.  Do not attempt to use this as a limiter.  It is not a limiter.
 
Also with the Nomad version when it is all set for no boost or cut etc I think you still get a 3 dB boost in level so watch that.  You have to tweak it down a couple of dB to match up rms levels perfectly in and out.
 
I think the Nomad one still gives the lower/mid bump too because it seems to sound that way.
 
The interesting thing is you can use the cut in a certain area eg low end but also boost very close to the same area for some interesting low end eq shapes.
 
A good thing to do is to feed pink noise into it and view the output on a spectrum analyser.  You will really see then what it does.  I highly recommend this because until you do, you wont really know what it is doing.  There is no visual feedback just your good ol ears.  Which will tell you a lot of course but the spectrum analysis is quite revealing.
 
It also rolls off up the very high end all the time. You have no control over that. eg above a certian high frequency it just rolls off steeply.  Good thing in my opinion.
 
It also gets rid of the 200-300Hz clug in one swoop too and it sounds killer doing it.  Fantastic for putting over a mix that has some build up in that very area.