Jeff Juliano on the Inward Connections Vac Rac TSL-3 { posted July 23, 2007 }

"The VacRac TSL-3 is hands down the most amazing piece of gear that I have ever purchased. In my experience there is great gear and there is "shocking" gear. This is "SHOCKING" gear.

Mike at Vintage King sent me a demo and with one listen I found myself digging for my Amex and a phone.

I always found myself cutting frequencies around 160 and 340hz due to muddiness in the low midrange but the Vacrac just turns all of that into a thick stick of butter which gives the final mix a thick punch that I was always missing.

The attack and release times are PERFECT for lead vocals and bass. It's also amazing on my acoustic guitar buss, piano, hell anything you can run through it. I find myself doing less and less lead vocal rides since I bought this thing. Literally cutting a few hours off any mix that I am working on with better results! When it comes to recalls there are 2 knobs..... It's a no brainer.

Lately I have been reprinting my final mixes through it before sending them off to mastering. It smoothes off all harshness in the high frequencies similar to printing back to an analog 2 track
machine. This box is a mixing must have. Steve Firlotte is not only a genius in my book but a hero."- Jeff Juliano

As you may know, Russell owns an AL.SO Dynax and it sounds like he's really happy with it :

i love the dynax! n my opinion, it's one of the most original designs to come out in a long while. it's a little hard to describe unless you've used one. it's like how the company describes it; a sound shaper...

actually Olivier Bolling, the man who designed this axe, and i are acquainted. we met at "plus xxx" studios in paris when i was mixing keziah's black orpheus. at that time he was the chief tech there and also designed their studios. i shipped some of my gear over for the mixing and olivier recognized some of the pieces i had. he is a big fan of vintage and boutique gear. so we had that connection straight away. he told me he was in the process of designing his own gear and wanted to keep in touch.

he contacted me about a year ago and asked if i was interested in demo'ing a new opto compressor he designed. and he also said that i'm probably going to dig it. so of course i said, "ship it out straight away!". he sent me a prototype and well, i've been using it all the time since i got it. it's one of the most versatile compressors i've ever used. you can use it on just about anything. i get great results on vocals, bass, drums, guitars, you name it. it takes a minute to get used to what it does. in fact i'm still learning little nuances about it.

you can go very subtle or very aggressive with four compression settings. the last setting which he calls "antidyna" is very fun to use indeed. it gives you some extreme limiting where you can achieve reverse cymbal effects very easily, for example. this really rounds out my collection quite nicely. and i really couldn't compare it with any one compressor. this is my latest favorite toy and i tell everyone about. i'm waiting for some of the new things he's designing. he's just finishing up his final tweaks on his mic pre design which should be ready in the next few months. he's got some other things cooking which he just hinted at but didn't go into details. if they're anything like the dynax, then i'm sure they'll have a unique way of processing your sound as well....

Bravo Olivier for designing an outstanding and unique compressor!

Gearslutz actually hosts Russell Elevado.

The Police, prior to embarking on their 30th Anniversary world tour, chose Apogee converters and clocking to capture the long-awaited, historic performances. The Police’s touring rig, spec’d by their Live Engineer Donal Hodgson, features Big Bens, X-Video Cards, Rosetta 200s, 3 AD-16Xs with 4 X-HD cards, all running Pro Tools HD.

Hodgson, who is also Sting’s Sound Engineer, was confident that Apogee was the gear he could rely on for such a demanding tour. He explains, “I am extremely happy with the Apogee gear, the Pro Tools recordings sound so much better, it’s not even comparable to the old system, a totally different league of sonic excellence. As the rig is primarily setup for live show recording, multiple outputs weren’t necessary and I love the fact Apogee have been clever enough to realize that everyone works in a different way with I/O configuration and I simply didn’t want to fill the rack with a bunch of D/As that we won’t use on the road. With the video board upgrade on the Big Ben I can provide or sync to black & burst with the video world, and being sample accurate with concert footage is a must. The system feels really solid, the stereo imaging is really true and wide. I’m just thoroughly impressed and confident we have a system that will make fantastic recordings out on the road time and time again. A big thank you to you all at Apogee.”

Following the tour launch in Vancouver, the gear has stood up to the expectations of quality that is needed on the road. He comments, “I’m back from Canada and really very pleased with the quality of the recordings we’re now making on the tour.” In addition to the gear on tour currently, The Police also have a Big Ben and Rosetta 800 with X-HD card in their UK-based Rig.

Vintage King Making Kingsize Sales - Pro Sound News, May 2007 { posted July 5, 2007 }

by Janice Brown
LOS ANGELES, CA—Over the past few years,producer/engineer Dave Trumfio (Built ToSpill, Wilco, Patrick Park) has transformed his Los Angeles recording facility from privatestudio to multi-room complex with equipment and consulting from Vintage King.

Trumfio originally set up KingsizeSoundlabs in Chicago in the early ‘90s, and over several years became a sought after producer/engineer and musician. David and his brother, Harry Trumfio, recorded as The Pulsars to some critical success, and David engineered on Billy Bragg and Wilco’s Mermaid Avenue and Wilco’s Summerteeth at Kingsize Chicago, among many other albums, before relocating to L.A. in 2000. Through a seriesof expansions, Kingsize Soundlabs has now truly grown into its name and asof this month, can provide full-service album production all under one roof.

Vintage King Los Angeles rep, Jeff Ehrenberg, has been Trumfio’s point man on three different rounds of equipment upgrades and acquisitions since 2004. “I’m going on my fifth studio revamp since the early ‘90s, all of which have included an equal amount of vintage and new gear purchases,” Trumfio informs. “All had been purchased through various dealers over the years, but since meeting Jeff at Vintage King I’ve more or less felt I’ve found the ‘one stop shop.’ As brokers, they always get me what I’m looking for—vintage or new—at very good prices. I’m pretty busy dealing with sessions and can’t spend the time nickel-and-diming deals.” ...more