A U D I O M E D I A D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 3
subjective and does not in any way detract from the unit
as I still feel it’s one of the best I’ve come across.
The equaliser section on the lower half is of a four-
band design and features a 50Hz filter switch on the far
left followed by a ±15dB rotary control for the low gain
and a 60Hz or 120Hz selector to the right of that.
The low mid has a range between 100Hz and 1.5kHz
with markers up to 1kHz in 200Hz steps, and a ±15dB
gain control to the right of it, while the high mid ranges
between 1kHz to 15kHz with markers up to 10kHz
in 2kHz steps and again a ±15dB gain control to the
right of it.
The high frequency is switchable between 8kHz and
12kHz and again features a ±15dB gain control. Finally to
the right we have an ‘equaliser in’ switch, that again has
to be switched up to be on, at which point a red LED will
illuminate.
The bottom right of the channel features a 1/4-inch jack
instrument input, while the stereo couple switch is the last
item on Channel 1 and the black power rocker switch is
the last item on Channel 2.
The stereo couple function needs a little explanation
here as it’s not the same as other units where the right
channel effectively becomes the slave of the other. In this
instance the stereo couple switch links the control voltages
of both sections so that when the compression settings are
the same on both channels, the channel with the greatest
compression will automatically attenuate the other channel
as well to avoid image shift problems. When you think of
it, particularly with the wide and varied material we deal
with on a daily basis, that makes a lot more sense than
letting one channel blindly control the other.
I n U s e
This must be one of the greatest jobs in the world for
people in our profession, as I get to play with some
21
wonderful equipment, and this was no exception. A variety
of microphones plugged into the unit produced consistent
results in quality, in particular with vocals, as A/B tests of
recorded tracks (six in all from both condenser and
dynamic mics) made it harder than I would have imagined
to spot the difference. Drums sound great through it,
and drum overheads really gave me the live sound I love
with a bit of experimentation.
It certainly warmed up a digitally bounced mix that I
passed through it, controlled the dynamics of my keyboard
sounds without squashing them to death, and made my
guitar sound more expensive!
C o n c l u s i o n
It’s always easy to say ‘why do we need yet another Mic
Pre/Compressor/Equalizer?’ as I’ve heard many times, but
it’s an issue of quality not quantity. There are several
names that stand out in this field, and each have their own
colour, feel, and personality, which they add to a
recording, and without a doubt, once people try the ATC-
2 they will quickly realise the quality it will add to their
productions, and will no doubt be able to immediately
identify specific areas of their work where it will shine
while sitting alongside its competitors. Make no mistake
about it, this is a unit of true quality that will find a lot of
enthusiastic users.
❏
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I N F O R M A T I O N
❍
£
Toft ATC-2 £799 incl. VAT.
❍
A
PMI Audio UK, PO Box 358, Torquay,
TQ2 5XS, UK.
❍
T
+44 (0)1803 215 111.
❍
w
www.pmiaudio.com
❍
w
www.toftaudiodesigns.com
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