Chandler Chandler Curve Bender Review
The Curve Bender is a classic stereo EQ based on an original EMI design. John Pickford finds out how it shapes up.
Price: £4,980.00
Manufacturer: Chandler
Website: http://www.chandlerlimited.com
Originally conceived to mark the 75th anniversary of the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, the Curve Bender is an expanded re-creation of the EQ section from EMI’s legendary TG12345 mixing console, as used to record The Beatles and Pink Floyd (see the Studio Icons feature on page 114). Chandler designer Wade Goeke teamed up with Peter Cobbin, a senior engineer at Abbey Road who wanted a faithful TG12345 EQ to use when remixing/remastering Beatles recordings. The result is the Curve Bender, a 3U stereo unit featuring four bands of EQ as well as high- and low-pass filters for each channel. The original TG consoles featured nine EQ points between 150Hz and 10kHz, but the new, expanded Curve Bender has 51 points, reaching down to 35Hz and going all the way up to 20kHz.
Visually, the Curve Bender is authentically vintage-looking; the front panel is finished in battleship grey with yellow markings, although the nine EQ points of the original equaliser are highlighted in white, making it simple to select one of the ‘classic’ settings. The chicken-head-style pots add to the retro look and the build quality is superb, as you might expect from any piece of kit bearing the EMI logo.
At the heart of the Curve Bender is a solid-state amplifier employing germanium transistors, identical to those found in the original TG desks. The four EQ bands are labelled (from left to right) Bass, Presence 2, Presence 1 and Treble. Many of the EQ points overlap, so, for example, 3.6kHz, 4.2kHz, 6.5kHz and 8.1kHz feature in both the Presence 1 and Treble sections.
The equalizer is a parametric-style device, although the controls are stepped, with boost/cut available in half-dB steps (true parametric EQs utilise continuously variable controls). The Bass and Treble sections can be selected as either shelving or peaking EQ and a switch below each EQ band gives the option of either 10 or 15dB of boost/cut. The Q of the (peaking) bell curves sharpen when the 15dB option is employed and this switch also enables its particular EQ band to be bypassed. Two buttons in the middle of the unit serve as a complete EQ bypass, but the germanium line driver remains in-circuit, adding its own character to signals passing through it. Below these are gain pots for each channel, with 10dB of boost or cut available in 1dB steps.
Sound matters
We used the Curve Bender to process a variety of material ranging from instruments and voices to final mixes. The first thing that struck us was how clean and clear it sounded right across the audio spectrum. The Bass section is full and weighty and we found we could dial in a good degree of punch into busy rock mixes without any unwanted boom or low-end congestion.The two Presence sections offer a useful number of EQ points – some of which overlap – and we were able to create distinctive tones on guitars, keyboards and drums. Selecting the 15dB boost/cut option, with a sharper bell-peaking Q, enabled us to forensically remove offending frequencies from toms and a glockenspiel, which had been sending our VU meters into the red without getting audible value for money. Many of the midrange EQ points helped vocalists to be heard clearly in the context of a mix when applying a few dB of boost at the gentler Q setting.
The Treble section is a joy to use and lovely to hear. Using the shelf setting, a subtle degree of top boost really opened out previously mixed tracks, while acoustic guitars benefited from the unit’s smooth and glossy (although not particularly sweet) nature.
The Curve Bender is a flexible, professional equalizer. It does its job inconspicuously, without stamping too much of its own sonic character on your signals. It excels as a mix-buss EQ and is capable of fine-tuning individual sounds while preserving the integrity of the original signal. If you have funds for a top-flight stereo EQ, the Curve Bender is well worth an audition. MTM
9/10 Verdict - The Curve Bender is a fully featured re-creation of a classic EQ that is equally at home dealing with individual signals or full mixes. The available frequencies are all very useful, sounding smooth and natural without imparting an over-obvious sonic character.
WHY BUY
+ Smooth, clean sound+ Period-correct vintage looks
+ First-rate build quality
WALK ON BY
- Power supply is extraScore: 9/10
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This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 101
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