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Click here to buy Empirical Labs ELQ Lil FrEQ Equalizer by Empirical Labs.
Empirical Labs


Availability: In-Stock and Ready To Ship!
List Price: $1999.00
Discount: 15%
Our Price: $1699.00
At Musiciansfriend.com on December 01, 2010.

Fantastic-sounding EQ, de-esser, and instrument DI in one.

The Lil FrEQ Equalizer is a modern digitally controlled analog EQ offering unprecedented performance, and control over equalization. In a single height unit, Empirical Labs offers seven frequency shaping controls and one dynamic section and every frequency is covered in at least two sections.

HP
The High Pass section is a sharp filter that cuts all content below one of eight pre-selected frequencies. We call this particular filter a "colored" filter since it is very steep and has a special shape that prevents thinning out frequencies just above the "cutoff" frequency. The corner frequency is indicated by LEDs that glow softly when the section is bypassed, and brightly when the section is engaged. As with all the EQ sections in the Lil FrEQ, there is a dedicated bypass switch.



High and Low Shelving
These are very similar to your standard "Tone Controls", but extremely high performance, providing exceptionally smooth boost and cut on the "bass" and "treble" frequencies.



Parametric EQ Sections
The ELQ Equalizer offers four sections of fully parametric EQ... possibly the cleanest parametric EQ section ever produced- operating below .0007% THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) at extremely high audio levels.



Dynamic EQ Section
The DS section combines filters with a compressor-like circuit that can help contain and control excessive high frequency content such as sibilants, especially in the absence of other lower frequency content. There are two modes of operation, with threshold control as well as a frequency select control. The ELQ equalizer has four LEDs that indicate the amount of Gain Reduction: -1.5dB, -8dB, -14dB, -24dB. The DS section provides the highest performance, easiest to use, and most natural De-esser ever built, as well as a one of a kind, soft knee High Frequency Limiter.

About Empirical Labs:
Empirical Labs was started in 1988 and functioned mainly as a recording studio and electronics consulting firm. The founder, Dave Derr, was also employed at the time by Eventide as an audio engineer and was one of the core designers of their legendary H3000. EL's first product, the EL8 Distressor (#501578) immediately took the recording industry by storm and hardly a record has been made without it since. With a mission "to make products that work a little easier, a little better, a lot longer, and are fun to use," Empirical Labs continues to create unique and innovate products that quickly find homes among the top professionals of the audio industry (and anyone else who wants in on the Empirical Labs sound).

Empirical Labs Users:
Aerosmith - Joe Perry (8 Distressors) Al Schmidt Alanis Morrisette Angela Piva - Mary J Blige, Naughty by Nature, Janet Jackson Ashes dIvide Billy Howerdel Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Niacin, David Lee Roth) Bob Clearmountain - Journey, Bryan Adams, Stones, Springstein, etc, etc, etc! Bob Dylan Bob Powers Bon Jovi Brendan O'Brien -Producer Mixdown Engineer Bruce Calder - (Electric Lady Studios, Degeneration) Butch Vig Cher Chimera Chris Lord Alge Chuck Ainlay Clair Brothers Cold Play Craig Melvin (Gloria Estefan) Creed - Eight Distressors on their 2003 tour D & D Studios NYC Daniel Lanois (U2) Dave Hewitt - Remote Recording Services Dave Matthews — David Kahne Death Cab for Cutie Disturbed Dolly Parton Don Was Dust Brothers (John King) Ed Cherney - Ed Kowalcyzk - Live Eddie Kramer (JimiHendrix) Effanel Remote recording - Randy Ezratty, 2003 Grammys Elton John Eminem Eric Schilling - Gloria Estefan, John Secada Finn Halle - Germany Fiona Apple Five Towns College (6 Distressors) Fleetwood Mac Fletcher Full Sail School for the Recording Arts George Massenburg Goo Goo Dolls Greg Calbi - Sterling Sound Gungi Patterson Hole Jason Slater - Snake River Conspiracy Jay Baumgartner - NRG Studios Jay Gordon - Producer, Lead Vocalist of Orgy Jerry Harrison - Live, Verve Pipe, (12 Distressors) Jerry Only - The Misfits Joe Berisi Joe Chicarelli - Hole, Beck, U2, etc! Joe Satriani John Agnello - Producer, Engineer, Mixer John Kurzweg - Creed John McBride at Blackbird Studios - 8 Distressors, 4 Fatsos, 2 Lil FrEQs John Paterno John Patterson — John Sicket Josh Abraham (Orgy, Staind, Korn, Limp Bizkit) Judy Saiya Julien - K Kevin Killen Kip Winger Kooster McAllister - Record Plant Remote Linkin Park Marc Costanzo, Len Mark Anthony Mark Plati - David Bowie Maroon 5 Matt Wallace Megadeth Metallica Michael Bienhorn Michael Wilton (Queensrych) Micheal Brauer - Sony Studios NYC Mick Gazauski — (Mariah Carey, Boyz 2 Men, Toni Braxton, etc.) Mick Hughes - Metallica FOH Engineer Mike Keating (Sting, Bush, Springstein live) Mike Shipley Millbrook Sound Mitch Goldfarb Mutt Lange N SYNC Natalie Merchant Nate Kunkel Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) Nine Inch Nails Outsmarting Simon Paul Tennebekk (Norway's Midwest Audio) Peter Denenberg Phil (the Buther) Nicolo (The Stones, Amy Grant, Sting, Aerosmith, Judy Saiya) Phil Ramone/John Patterson Rammstein Real World Studios - (Peter Gabriel's facility in England) Ricky Martin Roey Shamir - Information Society, Al B Sure Ross Hogarth - (Jewel, Coal Chamber, Grade 8) Ryan Hewitt - Engineer Extraordinare Scott Anthony - Dessau recording, Beastie Boys Seal - on tour Sean Beresford (3rd Eye Blind) Shania Twain Sheryl Crow Sound Kitchen Staind Sting Stone Temple Pilots Sue Shoemaker - Blues Traveler Tchad Blake - Sheryl Crow, Richard Thompson, Crowded House, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt The Academy Is The Police The Voyager Remote Truck in Paris The Who Tom Lord Alge Tony Levin Wheatus Whitney Houston Woodland Studios - Robert Solomon

Empirical Labs ELQ Lil FrEQ Equalizer Features:

  • Eight sections of processing
  • Two shelving Equalizers, Special 3rd order HP (Low Cut) section with 8 selectable Frequencies, 4 Fully Parametric bands, and one Dynamic Equalizer section.
  • Dynamic Section that can be used for De-essing and high frequency softening.
  • Movable Dynamic Section. For instance, De-essing can be before or after EQ.
  • Highest audio performance of any Parametric EQ ever available. The total harmonic distortion is typically below .0006% with all EQ bands Engaged! (See specs). Empirical Labs had to buy a new analyzer to even measure the distortion.
  • Performance exceeds any digital EQ in terms of Distortion and Noise. There is no Analog to Digital Converter that can currently produce such low distortion and noise.
  • Built in Instrument Preamp/Direct box — Just plug a guitar or bass etc into the front panel and engage the instrument Switch, and you have the highest performance direct box currently available. Distortion is below .0007% on the Instrument Preamp, 114dB dynamic range.
  • Three Outputs, including a Class A transformer output to give you an isolated output with the wonderful soft saturation and beefy low end that you get from your favorite vintage gear.
  • Traditional and digitally controlled analog combined in new topology.
  • Huge "DISTRESSOR" knobs with high resolution numbering - For easy readability and repeatable settings. They also go to 10 1/2 .
  • A "BAD!" Hard Clip Indicator lights — A "Bad" Clip LED that lets user know he is within 1dB of hard clipping. It monitors every section of the EQ for internal clipping.
  • Locked, calibrated, output level - Allows speed in setting tape and live mix levels.
  • Foolproof operation - it's almost impossible to clip or get a bad sound.
  • Single height and light weight — More EQ processing than any other single height analog EQ.
  • Discrete and integrated combination -The best of speed/linearity with repeatability. Hand tested & selected components. All metal film and Roederstein resistors in the audio path - top quality components, most being high temperature military spec parts.
  • Switchable 115/230 volt operation - Extra fuse provided inside unit.
  • True EQ bypass - Know what it's really doing.
  • XLR and 1/4" phone ins and outs - XLR fully balanced design, pin 2 hot. Changeable by user to pin 3 hot!
  • No internal connectors, high reliability parts and military grade switches and relays. All contacts doubled up for maximum reliability.
  • Three year unlimited warranty.
  • Interface and features found nowhere else.
  • Hand wired, calibrated in USA. Shipping weight 14 Lbs.

With everything you could expect in a hi-end EQ and then some, at a price that won't break the bank!

Empirical Labs ELQ Lil FrEQ Equalizer Specifications:

  • Freq. Response:
  • 5 Hz to 140 kHz on transformerless inputs and outputs.
  • Transformer Output response is 10Hz to 110kHz .
  • Dynamic Range:
  • 120 dB from maximum output (.1% clipping) to minimum output. Greater than 110 dB signal to noise.
  • Distortion Ranges: between .00056% and .005% depending on mode and settings. DS section has THD < .005%.
  • DC coupled Input and Outputs and one transformer coupled Output
  • High quality audio caps used internally.
  • Dynamic Time Constants:
  • Attack is approximately .5mS. Release .04 sec, fixed internally.

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