Manley
Manley Stereo Variable Mu Mastering Version “The Works” - includes MS Mod & T-Bar Mod
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Manley Stereo Variable Mu Mastering Version "The Works" is the fullest configuration of this compressor: stepped Grayhill controls, the MS modification in the signal path and the T-Bar modification in the gain control stage.
Everything this unit can be ordered with
Each of the three elements answers a different limitation of the base version. Stepped switches give recall and exact channel matching, without which mastering an album turns into guesswork. The MS modification lets you process centre and sides separately, so you press on the middle without narrowing the image. T-Bar swaps two 5670 triodes for four 6BA6 pentodes and holds the smooth curve when you go deeper than six decibels of reduction. Together they make a unit that handles both gentle glue on a master and heavy processing on a mix bus.
The valve itself as the gain control
A variable mu circuit has neither a VCA nor an optical cell. Gain changes through the bias voltage of remote cutoff valves, so the reduction is not applied to the signal, it is how the amplifying stage behaves. That produces the characteristic response: the harder you push it, the gentler the curve looks, instead of a hard knee at the threshold. The mode switch gives 1.5:1 in Compress and 4:1 to 20:1 in Limit, attack is continuously variable from 25 to 70 ms, and recovery has five settings: 0.2 s, 0.4 s, 0.6 s, 4 s and 8 s. A high pass filter in the sidechain at -3 dB @ 100 Hz keeps the low end out of the detector so the kick does not drive the whole mix.
KEY FEATURES
- Mastering version with stepped Grayhill switches
- MS modification with mid-side encoding and decoding
- T-Bar modification: four 6BA6 pentodes in the gain stage
- Two channel compressor and limiter with an all-valve path
- Compress mode at 1.5:1 and Limit mode from 4:1 to 20:1
- Attack continuously variable from 25 to 70 ms
- Recovery in five steps: 0.2 s, 0.4 s, 0.6 s, 4 s and 8 s
- High pass filter in the sidechain at -3 dB @ 100 Hz
- Manley IRON transformers with nickel laminations
- Channel linking for stereo operation
- Hardwire bypass for comparison against the unprocessed signal
- Illuminated Sifam gain reduction meters
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Variable gain valves: 6BA6 x4 in the T-Bar modification
- Amplifying valves: 5751 or 12AX7 x2
- Output valves: 12BH7 x2
- Sidechain rectifier: 12AL5 x2
- Frequency response: 20 Hz to 25 kHz (±0.1 dB)
- Maximum gain: 35 dB
- Maximum output: +30 dBu with 26 dB of headroom
- THD: below 0.1% at 1 kHz
- Noise floor: -85 dB typical
- Balanced inputs and outputs, 600 Ohm
- Controls: stepped Grayhill switches with 1% metal film resistors
- Dimensions: 19 x 3.5 x 10 inches, 2U; power consumption 80 W
