Yorkshire-based outboard manufacturers Safe Sound Audio have released a unique new processor for API’s Lunchbox modular rack systems. Dubbed the Stereo Toolbox, this new module is a double-width width device that offers both dynamic-range control and stereo-width manipulation.
The Width control makes use of a mid/side matrix to either widen or narrow the input signal’s stereo image. The compressor, meanwhile, can be set such that it processes either the left and right signals identically (this is how most bus compressors work), both signals independently (for dual-mono compression, or just a slightly different compression effect that can add more excitement at the cost of image wandering), or it can compress the Mid and Side signals.
These first two settings are nothing out of the ordinary: they are akin to what you could achieve with a two-channel compressor that offers either linked or unlinked compression. But the ability to process the sum and difference of two channels is somewhat unusual. On a drum bus, for example, it would allow you to compress the kick and snare drum independently of hard-panned signals (such as cymbals), while on a full mix, you’d be able to compress hard-panned instruments (keyboards or double-tracked guitars, say) without affecting a centrally-panned lead vocal.
The compact nature of even a double-width 500-series module necessitates some front-panel compromises. The compressors’ release times cannot be adjusted, for example, and there are but two attack times available (‘fast’ and ‘slow’). Happily, however, both the ratio and threshold parameters are fully adjustable.
Most of the remaining controls pertain to the Stereo Toolbox’s high-pass filter. The turnover frequency for this can be set anywhere between 17Hz and 2kHz, and a three-way toggle switch lets you either bypass it, apply it only to the Side signal (which would useful for vinyl mastering), or switch it into the side-chain path, to avoid pumping.
The Safe Sound Audio Stereo Toolbox is available now, and carries a price of £958 including VAT.
