Best studio rack mount effects: Analog isn’t dead yet

Hybrid studios are all the rage these days. By combining both worlds you get the convenience of digital with the distinct sound of analog. You won’t have to do any tape splicing, but with a curated selection of studio rack mount effects you can get the most out of your workflow.

Best rack mount effect overall: Solid State Logic Fusion 

We went with the SSL Fusion because of the range of processing it offers. It features a suite of five high-fidelity analog tools that give your tracks character, dimension, and depth. Perfect for hybrid studios, it strips away the sterility inherent in digital recording.

The Vintage Drive circuit adds non-linear harmonic enhancement and imparts a musical saturation to the signal. Violet EQ is a two-band shelving filter with selectable frequencies with up to 9dB of boost or cut on each band.

HF Compressor works transparently with high frequencies to strip away harshness and make that part of the frequency spectrum smoother, with a tape-like high end rolloff. For M/S processing there is Stereo Image. Transformer adds light saturation to the lows and some phase shift in the high add that adds fullness.

All of these tools together, or separately, add the perfect final touches to your stereo bus.

Best 4-channel rack mount microphone preamp: Warm Audio WA-412

We’ve covered preamps and 500 series preamps before. So for this piece we’re picking our favorite rackmount preamp with multiple channels.

The fully discrete circuit takes a cue from American-style preamps with punch in the lows and a smooth sheen in the high end. Custom-wound Altran USA transformers on the input and output keep the signal pure. 

Each input has 65dB of gain over the travel of the input pot, output trim, a 20dB pad, tone button that changes the impedance from 600 ohms to 150 ohms, phantom power, Hi-Z for sending instruments direct, and a polarity reverse. Every channel has LED metering to keep an eye on your levels.

If you’re looking to get different preamp sounds, like for recording a drum kit, but there is a lot of value packed into this four channel, 1U preamp.

Best rack mount vocal processor: TASCAM TA-1VP

No matter what style of music you make, if there are vocals, they’re the most important element. If you’re looking for vocal processing outside of plugins, this unit answers the call. 

Everything you need to create professional-level vocals is on deck. Antares Auto-Tune Evo, compression, EQ, expander, de-esser, doubletracking, and effects. Antares Microphone Modeling technology simulates all kinds of high-end studio microphones. It even simulates the physics like proximity effect!

As for I/O, it has dynamic MIDI control for integration with other outboard gear, XLR input with phantom power, balanced line input and output, S/PDIF output, and even a ¼” footswitch input for hands-free control. 

It’s a different, hands-on way to process vocals that provides you all the tools to experiment with the most critical element of your mix.

Best rack mount compressor: Empirical Labs EL8X Distressor

Most of the most famous compressors were designed over half a century ago. The Distressor is one of the newer models in the game, but it quickly made quite the reputation as a do-it-all signal squish machine.

It can do almost any style of compression you want. From subtle slap to the aggressive “all buttons in” of the 1176. Everything is dialed in by the ratio button and four knobs – Input, Attack, Release, and Output.

The Detector button lets you choose a high-pass filter or bell curve, and the Ratio button lets you select between eight different ratios from a smooth, British 1:1 all the way up to 20:1 and the appropriately titled Nuke. 

Other than its versatility, what sets the Distressor apart from other compressors is the ability to add 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion to the signal. This emulates the tape saturation and classic tube compression sounds of units from the 60’s and 70’s. 

There’s also an advanced sidechain EQ with eight unique frequency curves and the proprietary Binary Stepped Interface that provides hundreds of settings options with just a few controls.

And if you want to throw it on stereo tracks, it’s available as the Distressor Stereo Pari with British Mod and Image Link.

Best rack mount parametric EQ: Drawmer 1971 

EQ plugins are amazing, and there are so many different types and styles available. But there is definitely something to be said for old-school hardware equalizers. So why not go with a unit that calls back to the glory days of analog recording? 

The 1971 is a 2-channel, 4-band parametric EQ that works just as well on a mix buss as it does on individual tracks. By infusing digital tracks with analog character it’s a perfect supplement to a hybrid recording setup. 

It’s a parametric EQ in the truest definition of the term. Four overlapping bands per channel provide 12dB of cut or boost. The magic is in the dual sweepable mid-bands that let you zero in on the most important part of the frequency spectrum – the midrange. 

The low and high bands have switchable slopes so you can focus on the frequencies that matter, and variable high (10Hz to 225Hz) and low-pass (4kHz to 32kHz)  filters let you cut out unnecessary frequencies at either extreme of the spectrum.

But Crush is the secret sauce. It’s a selectable feature on each band that widens bandwidth and factors in automatic makeup gain compression with a fixed time constant. In short, it adds girth and weight to low frequencies, adds presence to the midrange, and attack and presence in the high end. 

It works progressively, so the more you boost the band, the more the effect becomes obvious. By disengaging the Crush button you can quickly A/B so you know if it’s getting your signal where you want it to be. 

Since it covers two channels, it does take up two rack unit spaces, but as far as outboard parametric EQs go, there are none better.

FAQ

What are outboard studio rack mount effects, and why use them?

Outboard studio rack mount effects are external hardware units that usually go into a rack. They handle specific audio processing tasks like compression, equalization, reverb, and more. Compared to plugins they are low latency, provide tactile control, and have an altogether different quality of tone.

Are studio rack mount effects better than plugins?

Not always better, just different. Analog gear introduces harmonics, natural compression curves, and sonic coloration that’s hard to fully replicate digitally. Plugins offer recallability, affordability, and convenience. Many modern producers choose a hybrid-style setup that uses analog gear on certain elements and plugins on others.

Are vintage units better than modern reissues or clones?

Vintage gear can have a unique sound due to aging components, but it’s often expensive and requires maintenance. High-quality modern reissues deliver most of the sound at a fraction of the cost with better reliability.