Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

On the Michelangelo thread I mentioned above the sound engineers are repeatedly comparing it favorably to the Knif Soma, a legendary EQ, and saying they are reaching for it before Soma. Those who have both. Incredible. 

The following just a really good example of the kind of stuff you’ll read on a sound engineer mastering thread:

”Got my Hendy Michelangelo a few weeks ago... it's beautiful looking in real life, the front panel is electric blue and the dials kinda sparkle like a nice watch face in the right light. Built like a tank but still with a quirky DIY ethos at it's core. I changed the knobs to EMI Stockli ones and it looks perfect to me now!

Sonically... well it's HUGE sounding. Very 3D and MUSCULAR, it will preserve any depth you have in a great mix, instead of compromising front to back like some saturation boxes can do.

The interaction is complex & musical. Bands and voicing switches combine with the aggression control to change the sound of each band so much that you'll have to dive in and explore for a bit.

You can get very large lowend all the way to quite tight & punchy depending upon how you work the lows & mid in tandem. The mids have a surprisingly odd effect that can add weight in the lower mids whilst also adding a spot of forward aggression in the upper mids. It does this whilst sounding quite separate from one another dynamically - all from a one knob control.  Powerful but a teeny bit "dangerous" without perhaps a little notch EQ down or upstream when mastering in the 200-500 region. Mid cuts seem nice, but I prefer the additive properties of this box.

The sound is rich in distortion - it's like a multiband culture vulture or something... and you can vary this hugely with the aggression knob and how hot you feed into the unit. Interestingly, I've seen asymmetrical waveforms in the output on program material when driven hard so it's very rich in even order distortion / fatness. You can of course keep it very linear with lower levels or aggression on minimum. I've been preferring this when mastering, with aggression below 30.

Gain staging is easy with the calibrated inputs and output trim if you find it has too much colour. The trim makes level matched A/B really easy which is great.

The high band is fantastic and currently my fav part of the box. It's slightly gritty in a cool way and the air very extended and sweet. What surprised me so far is that VINTAGE mode sounds so sandpapery/sweet in a U47 kinda way that it may actually be one of the best mic changers for tracking I've heard. It really can make the top dark, but vibey, yet not dead at the same time - like a GREAT vintage U47. Maybe not so useful to you mastering guys, but I do a bit of tracking still and I can't wait to use this after it transformed some recently tracked vocals captured on a brighter modern mic.

I've also used it when mixing on a bus in parallel after a Rockruepel compressor and it's like a Pultec had sex with a Culture Vulture and made a baby that compressed/EQ'd at the same time. Parallel let's you be a bit more creative perhaps and it seems to fit in to my world better there so far as I can be more bold with it. Those two in combo have become a new drum bus (monstrous size/tone).

Mastering wise - still finding my feet as it's powerful but not a "do all" box. The tone is broad and when you dial it in - hard to beat with just another EQ. It seems like the perfect "end of chain" drive tool and the Jensens and tubes sound great together, but you defo need a surgical EQ with it (not that you'd expect otherwise based off the design goal of the Hendy).

I gotta say though, I'm not tracking much, but when I do I'm going to be ALL OVER the Michelangelo. It has "that" sound - that rare thing you find in a great old mic, but you can paint with it. Seems to be good on everything and I'm thankful this thread brought it to my attention! :-)”

HA!  Found in this thread a direct comparison to my Charter Oak:

”Very interested in this. I have a Charter Oak PEQ-1which is similar in process of using (stereo "feel" eq for broad strokes). I'd love to compare the 2. PEQ-1has such a wonderful hi sheen and can really fill in the low mids. Both are same price too, but completely different build with the HendyAmps being tube. Anyone have the chance to compare the 2?”

Response:

”I have used both units but not side by side....
I feel the Michelagelo has a bigger effect on the Audio as far as color..
The Hendy is very wide and 3 d sounding with more wow factor.
The PEQ-1 is actually a great program EQ but more flat in my experience.”

@mirolab , you’ll find the above interesting, as you’ve heard the Charter Oak

I may need to sell a few items out of my rack first, not only for the money, but to make space for a Michelangelo.

The review above is as enticing to an engineer like me, as it is horrifying to the audiophile purists out there, who are thinking, OMG... coloration!!