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Author Topic: Thermionic Culture 'Culture Vulture Mastering Anniversary Edition': Why did I buy this?  (Read 12932 times)

breathe

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Anyone who thinks this thing could be used in mastering probably only listens to "industrial" music and/or Masonna-type stuff.  This device has no application where nuance is desired.  So far I've had good luck with it on bass guitar DI'd from a Great River Neve, but I only use it at the tamest settings, and I'm thinking I should have just bought a Thermionic Culture Rooster.  To Fletcher and anyone else who told me this device would add some "wool" to my mixes as a 2-bus processor, please defend your position.

Nicholas


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seedyunderbelly.com

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I think your sweeping slag on Thermionic is unfair,  Perhaps you did not realize you were buying a distortion???

The Culture Vulture is super rad...   Here it is smashing the Deaf
 http://www.myspace.com/thedeaf/music/songs/You-Know-27736214

but Really man..  it would be nice if you kept ur "passion" to art as these are people trying to make something and  when people like you write things like this it discourages sales for them they are cool and make good stuff....

j

mixwell

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How long have you had it?

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breathe

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All I'm saying is this thing has NO application in a mastering or 2-bus processing environment, so it is totally misleading of TC to put "Mastering" in the product name.  To be fair, I can already tell this thing is AWESOME at totally fucking sounds up, and serves a real need for that, but for "warming up/gluing-together" mixes?  Not a chance.  I feel had.  I'm going to try to return mine for a Rooster.  Maybe I could even make a killing on eBay since I think I got the last remaining new one of this (discontinued) model in the U.S.

Nicholas




seedyunderbelly.com wrote on Tue, 14 December 2010 12:36

but Really man..  it would be nice if you kept ur "passion" to art as these are people trying to make something and  when people like you write things like this it discourages sales for them they are cool and make good stuff....

j

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Ryan Slowey

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Maybe it's not appropriate for the material you are attempting to use it on, but that doesn't mean that for some people, and in some situations, it's not the completely sick for 2-buss processing. Seedy's link sounds great, and appropriately distorted.

One thing you can (and probably should) try, is to fig. out a way to adjust the gain BEFORE the signal hits the CV. That way, you'll have more control over how hard you are hitting it to begin with, and it will allow you to be more subtle, and/or use it's features more efficiently. I do this when running vocals thru guitar pedals, or pushing mixes through a stereo tube preamp if it's too saturated off the bat.

Spend some time with the thing. One thing I gather from your posts, is that you tend to write shit off almost immediately.

breathe wrote on Tue, 14 December 2010 20:25

All I'm saying is this thing has NO application in a mastering or 2-bus processing environment, so it is totally misleading of TC to put "Mastering" in the product name.  To be fair, I can already tell this thing is AWESOME at totally fucking sounds up, and serves a real need for that, but for "warming up/gluing-together" mixes?  Not a chance.  I feel had.  I'm going to try to return mine for a Rooster.  Maybe I could even make a killing on eBay since I think I got the last remaining new one of this (discontinued) model in the U.S.

Nicholas




seedyunderbelly.com wrote on Tue, 14 December 2010 12:36

but Really man..  it would be nice if you kept ur "passion" to art as these are people trying to make something and  when people like you write things like this it discourages sales for them they are cool and make good stuff....

j



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Ryan Slowey
Albany, NY

My music: http://maggotbrainny.bandcamp.com

Jim Williams

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Rent

Listen

Decide

Buy



Not the other way around.
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Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

compasspnt

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Please do not confuse this issue by making sense.
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ssltech

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-When people can't make sense, you can make lotsa dollars.
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

J.J. Blair

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I dunno Jim. I think it's best to always buy gear based on the hype.  Marketing and interweb forums are always reliable sources on which ti base your opinion.
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studio info

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Wireline

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J.J. Blair wrote on Wed, 15 December 2010 13:33

I dunno Jim. I think it's best to always buy gear based on the hype.  Marketing and interweb forums are always reliable sources on which ti base your opinion.


Don't forget the importance of mp3 samples to compare the impact of what effect a device will have when shopping.  I always listen for the critical differences.
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Ken Morgan
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marcel

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Pretty much anything that allows you to make an uninformed, snap decision will have to be considered.
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Best, Marcel

Fletcher

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OK - we've had our shot at the little purple website -- is there anyone who has used the CV in a "mastering application" that might want to share a positive experience?  I don't do mastering, and while I have used the CV extensively it has always been in a mix application and not a mastering application.

Perhaps the "Mastering Demystified" forum would have been a better place to ask this question - but for the moment it's here... so... if you have something to share other than comments on "MP-3"s / internet hype / etc. -- please do.

Thanx!!
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CN Fletcher

mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid


"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch.  
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and  they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too.  It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
Malcolm Chisholm

wwittman

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title of the thread is : "Why did I buy this?"

so it seems to ME, anyway, that Jim, Terry, JJ, et al answered that quite correctly





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William Wittman
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Edward Vinatea

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This unit has 10 positions to select the type of distortion one wants. Two of them are triode and pentode which should be for normal use. So what gives? Is the OP now implying that this company created a product to deceive mastering engineers? Or, is it most likely that he knows not how to use one in the first place? Make your own conclusions.

As for using the MySpace player to hear the sonic qualities of a mastered mix, well, that just made my day Smile

Fletcher, this should belong to the mastering forum as only ME's will most likely own one and can give a more educated opinion.

Regards,

Happy holiday season.

Edward

seedyunderbelly.com

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I think most the people who own these are distorion enthusiasts,  While you can master through it __ You can certainly treat individual instruments and 2 Bus..

Not a big mystery  It is a tube distortion...  Sounds nice.   Subtle or dramatic__

And Edward,  Fwiw The reason I put up the myspace thing is that it is frying the mix__  not that it is a great example of recording or fidelity  though the point is some may wish to ruin their music with the CV  as we liked it on the deaf__  We made a more clean recording and they did not sound like themselves  I ruined it with the CV  and they were very happy__  It is easy to hear the character of the device in dramatic for me anyway.. Glad to make you day regardless___   It is kind of the point though You could master through a big Muff too..


Bottom line if you are looking for more distortions in the studio this is one and there are not many options__  If you are not   well then...

Edward Vinatea

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seedyunderbelly.com wrote on Tue, 28 December 2010 10:45


And Edward,  Fwiw The reason I put up the myspace thing is that it is frying the mix__  not that it is a great example of recording or fidelity  though the point is some may wish to ruin their music with the CV  as we liked it on the deaf__ .....


I am in no disagreement of you or your motives for posting that link to MS. I know you are trying to illustrate. But FWIW, you can't expect people to hear what a processing unit is doing after mastering without the 'before'.

And, as an ME, I can tell you that the type of conversion the MS player does to any mix is ludicrous. It may even emphasize certain groups of frequency bands {especially in the mids} that may sound harsh to the ear, giving the CV an 'edge' that in reality doesn't have.

FWIW,

Edward

 

red cross

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What level are you sending into this thing? If you are pumping full mixes that peak at near 0dBFS of course it is going to go nuclear even at the tamest settings.
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Best,
Justin

ssltech

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Jim Williams wrote on Wed, 15 December 2010 11:00

Rent

Listen

Decide

Buy



Not the other way around.


No no no... this is NICHOLAS we're talking about here...  -It's:

Decide

Buy

Listen

Rant.

-but you were VERY close.

Laughing
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MDM (maxdimario) wrote on Fri, 16 November 2007 21:36

I have the feeling that I have more experience in my little finger than you do in your whole body about audio electronics..

Nick Sevilla

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ssltech wrote on Tue, 28 December 2010 15:28

Jim Williams wrote on Wed, 15 December 2010 11:00

Rent

Listen

Decide

Buy



Not the other way around.


No no no... this is NICHOLAS we're talking about here...  -It's:

Decide

Buy

Listen

Rant.

-but you were VERY close.

Laughing


Almost...

It really is :


Buy.


Rant.



And I am still waiting to listen to ANYTHING he has done.

ANYTHING. Even if it is a fart. Or better yet, a burp. Yet still, nothing.

I think he really is a drunkard who entertains himself by coming here to wank around, and see all of us poor sods try to make something out of his nonsensical babbling.

Cheers
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Tim Halligan

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ssltech wrote on Wed, 29 December 2010 07:28

Jim Williams wrote on Wed, 15 December 2010 11:00

Rent

Listen

Decide

Buy



Not the other way around.


No no no... this is NICHOLAS we're talking about here...  -It's:

Decide

Buy

Listen

Rant.

-but you were VERY close.

Laughing



Dude...


If this was Facebook I'd be liking the shit out of this!

Very Happy

Cheers,
Tim
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bleen

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Nick Sevilla wrote on Tue, 28 December 2010 21:03


And I am still waiting to listen to ANYTHING he has done.

ANYTHING. Even if it is a fart. Or better yet, a burp. Yet still, nothing.


You gotta dig back a little bit, Nick. Buckle up...

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/32443/989/
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Nick Sevilla

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bleen wrote on Tue, 28 December 2010 22:13

Nick Sevilla wrote on Tue, 28 December 2010 21:03


And I am still waiting to listen to ANYTHING he has done.

ANYTHING. Even if it is a fart. Or better yet, a burp. Yet still, nothing.


You gotta dig back a little bit, Nick. Buckle up...

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/32443/989/


Hi bleen,

If you read that post, I have an answer there.

"I have only one comment:
15 seconds into the song my 4 year old screams for me to turn it off.
Is that enough critique?"

I myself was out of the room when it happened. Those darn self loading audio clips.

At least my son made a full recovery. And I trust him enough not to want to listen to it.

Cheers
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It is quite possible, captain, that they find us grotesque and ugly and many people fear beings different from themselves.

www.nicksevilla.com

Hallams

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[Quote Saint Nicholas]
Thermionic Culture 'Culture Vulture Mastering Anniversary Edition': Why did I buy this?[End Quote]


So you could wrap it up and post it to me for Christmas/New Year.......a bit late, but better late than never!



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Chris Hallam.
Melbourne, Australia.
 
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