I know; it's not fair. But it is very usefull in understanding what the helios does. Cambridge, in my opinion, is a very flexible eq and thus good for immitating other eqs.
setup: identical soundfile, running through helios on 1 track and phase inversed through cambridge on a paralel track. I'm going for the maximum of canceling I can achieve (achieved cancelations where around -40db).
matching passive setting: first thing - turn on high cut (6db, 20khz)and rasing a very broad bell in the mids, only about 0.2 db, gives the biggest cancelation. Tip: if you don't like the high end of cambridge just turn on the high cut. Gives a much more pleasing result when boosting highs. All your vintage eqs do this!
matching bass: turning on the bass without boosting anything needs a low shelf raise from 500hz about 5 db on cambridge to cancel. The curve needs extra adjusting and something happens to the mid. As soon as I start boosting the bass another thing is needed: low-cut on it's lowest settings. Actually cutting the low end with a bell eq cancels better. Low mid responce changes all the time when boosting bass.
Matching mid - the curves are hard to follow with the cambridge and I needed two nodes to get the maximum cancelation. Also; the mid eq changes the high end responce. Center freqs are mostly 1khz higher cambridge.
matching high end: with high cut on a high shelf is needed to match in combintation with a high mid eq to match the curve.
With these settings in mind I matched a couple of helios settings with cambridge, and the result is actually very good. I think Cambridge is a pretty cool eq.... but ofcourse, there is one thing I could not copy: the way helios responds to transients. No matter how close my settings on cambridge were, the helios always sounds a bit more focussed and clear, even though I sometimes got a better eq with the cambridge.
Conclusion: though the eq curves can be matched by cambridge, the helios has one quality that can't be matched: transient response. This response is very noticable in the mids where the ears sensitivity is at its peak and which is crucial for stereo focus, and that's where analog still rules over digital. Helios is the most analog sounding plug I have ever heard and makes me believe that the depth and focus of analog equipment can be matched by plugins.
Now; will I buy it? Hmmm, hard one. I have some nice helios presets for my cambridge now, and next to lack of good analog equipment there's another thing lacking in my setup: beautiful sounding recording space. EMT plate could come in handy... now what is more crucial?
regards
budy
setup: identical soundfile, running through helios on 1 track and phase inversed through cambridge on a paralel track. I'm going for the maximum of canceling I can achieve (achieved cancelations where around -40db).
matching passive setting: first thing - turn on high cut (6db, 20khz)and rasing a very broad bell in the mids, only about 0.2 db, gives the biggest cancelation. Tip: if you don't like the high end of cambridge just turn on the high cut. Gives a much more pleasing result when boosting highs. All your vintage eqs do this!
matching bass: turning on the bass without boosting anything needs a low shelf raise from 500hz about 5 db on cambridge to cancel. The curve needs extra adjusting and something happens to the mid. As soon as I start boosting the bass another thing is needed: low-cut on it's lowest settings. Actually cutting the low end with a bell eq cancels better. Low mid responce changes all the time when boosting bass.
Matching mid - the curves are hard to follow with the cambridge and I needed two nodes to get the maximum cancelation. Also; the mid eq changes the high end responce. Center freqs are mostly 1khz higher cambridge.
matching high end: with high cut on a high shelf is needed to match in combintation with a high mid eq to match the curve.
With these settings in mind I matched a couple of helios settings with cambridge, and the result is actually very good. I think Cambridge is a pretty cool eq.... but ofcourse, there is one thing I could not copy: the way helios responds to transients. No matter how close my settings on cambridge were, the helios always sounds a bit more focussed and clear, even though I sometimes got a better eq with the cambridge.
Conclusion: though the eq curves can be matched by cambridge, the helios has one quality that can't be matched: transient response. This response is very noticable in the mids where the ears sensitivity is at its peak and which is crucial for stereo focus, and that's where analog still rules over digital. Helios is the most analog sounding plug I have ever heard and makes me believe that the depth and focus of analog equipment can be matched by plugins.
Now; will I buy it? Hmmm, hard one. I have some nice helios presets for my cambridge now, and next to lack of good analog equipment there's another thing lacking in my setup: beautiful sounding recording space. EMT plate could come in handy... now what is more crucial?
regards
budy
Had to make a decision because I'm out playing all weekend... no way to tell if I made the right choice untill it's too late and the helios is full price again :roll: