Singular Audio have announced the release of the Tubedrve Mastering, a new version of their 500-series valve-based saturation processor. The unit features the same circuitry as the original Tubedrve, but with the addition of stepped controls allowing for easier recall and stereo matching of channels, and a new gain setting providing an additional 10dB of headroom.
As with the standard version, the Tubedrve Mastering employs a pair of valves per channel, an EF86 and a 6AS6. The 6AS6 can be switched between pentode and triode operation, with the former option providing a smoother overdrive made up of mainly even harmonics, and the latter offering a more aggressive tone laden with odd harmonics.
Input gain level can be set using a three-way swtich and fine-tuned with a Drive knob, which is followed by a control that defines the valves’ bias current, which will introduce asymmetrical waveform clipping and result in aggressive sounds at extreme settings. A final output dial allows levels to be kept under control when driving the circuitry hard, and a mix control provides built-in parallel processing. Both channels have their own independant set of controls, so the unit can also be used to process two separate mono signals if required.
Pricing & Availability
The Tubedrve Mastering is available to order now, priced at €709.
