Chandler Limited TG12345 Curve Bender Mastering Equalizer Reviews
The Chandler Limited EMI TG12345 Curve Bender EQ is the definitive TG equalizer, released in celebration of Abbey Road Studios' 75th birthday. The brainchild of Chandler Limited designer Wade Goeke and Abbey Road senior engineer Peter Cobbin, the Curve Bender is based on the vintage EMI TG12345 console used on Beatles and Pink Floyd recordings. This latest EMI equalizer carries on the tradition of EMI EQs that began in 1951 with the RS56 (cheekily dubbed "the Curve Bender" by EMI designers), and continued with the 1968's TG12345 and TG12412 in '74. A classic design - the gorgeous-sounding TG12345 - juiced with it with modern features. That's the Chandler Limited EMI TG12345 Curve Bender.
Earn $325 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $271/month with 24 month financing*
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Highest Rated Reviews
The Elite Magic and then some
I've only had it 2 weeks but already I can say confidently that this piece is everything you could hope for and 10x more.
First off it has that magic "can't do wrong" thing that only the best gear imparts, but once you get over that, the flexibility of this EQ is amazing.
Totally independent dual mono channels but with all settings stepped. Each band has bypass plus the choice between each gain step being .5 db (wide bandwidth) or .75 (narrower).
All of that's great, but the real deal with this unit is how hard you hit it going in / out. The output gains can easily change the whole sound depending on how they are used / pushed.
I'm guessing there will eventually be a project where I will want to go sparingly with this EQ, but…using it with gusto = a gigantic, expensive sound with clarity and punch and depth…. Tight bass, and a midrange that's like it's coated in sugar. Every instrument in a mix sounds like it was loved. It's every benefit anyone ever wanted from analog tape, without the tape.
The only thing worth noting, and it's not that much of a drawback, is I have found it doesn't necessarily do well in front of certain other equipment. It can be finicky about making a good impedance match. The company recommends always putting it last in a chain.
An interesting qualifier to that is that you may find you don't need a lot of the processing you used to think you needed once you have this.
The Real Deal!
Been using this primarily on the mix buss for two months and it is simply incredible! It's also fantastic on mono and stereo guitars/drums during tracking. I used the UA plugin for several years with good results, but the hardware version is on another level. It adds a warmth, punchy bottom end and pleasant highs (no brittle digital) that the plugin can't replicate. The build quality is stellar as well. Even the knobs click with confidence and style! Big thanks to Sweetwater for always being fantastic to deal with.
Simply INCREDIBLE!
For the longest I had wondered why there were no reviews of the Curve Bender. Now I know why....No one that own's one really want's to tell many people just how incredible this EQ unit is. Since I got my Curve Bender it has given my final mixes and master work that final polish and sheen I was looking for.
I have literally cranked up the gain on various freq's and tried to "break" a mix and nope, it just won't do it. Even at high gain and high Q, the Curve Bender won't make anything sound bad at all. It's the most musical EQ unit I've personally have used to date. The filters are very solid, although I am just a tad bit more partial to my BAX's filters, and there are a ton of frequency points to give you plenty of options to shape a track or a mix the way you want to. There's this...thickness, weight, and warmth that this EQ imparts onto the sound that I love too. I run the Curve Bender into either my Neve Master Bus or Shadow Hills Mastering Comp, depending on the material, and am having excellent results. Soon after purchasing and posting a pic to the studio Instagram and tagging Chandler, the folks DM'd me and gave me a bunch of tips/tricks. I thought that was great for them to do without asking! Really gives me confidence in buying into the Chandler family of products, which this is my first product that they make.
That all said, it is not cheap by any means! Save your penny's and make the investment...you won't regret it!
