Article Preview - A-Designs Hammer

There's no arguing that the world of digital plug-ins has a lot to offer, but an emulation of a well-designed piece of analogue gear is never going to be quite as good as the real thing, especially where the device in question is based on tube circuitry — because, even at its best, modelling only captures an approximation of what makes tubes sound so special.

California-based A-Designs build high-end analogue outboard equipment, and their HM2 Hammer equaliser that's reviewed here is a solid-state/tube hybrid, two-channel EQ. It comes in a 2U rackmount case and offers three bands of cut/boost EQ on each channel. Rather than going down the full parametric route, this device is based around switchable-frequency filters, each of which has up to 12dB of boost or cut available (with six frequency settings per filter). The filter bandwidth can't be adjusted but uses what the designers call a floating-Q system, which suggests that the Q varies depending on how much cut or boost is applied. Additionally there are switchable high- and low-cut filters and individual channel bypass, both of which are controlled via miniature toggle switches.

Because the circuitry is based on tubes, the manufacturers recommend a warm-up time of at least 20 minutes to get the best sound quality, and when mounted in a rack, space should...