The Manley Massive Passive Stereo Tube EQ provides colossal, timbre-twisting passive equalisation using metal-film resistors, film capacitors, and hand-wound inductors to organically sculpt the tone from subtle to vivid. Manley’s tube stages handle huge HF boosts without sibilance and unbelievable fatness without mud. “It’s like a Pultec on steroids.” And it is another modern-day classic from Manley.
The Manley Massive Passive is a two channel, four band equaliser, with additional high pass and low pass filters. “Passive” refers to the tone shaping part of this clever new EQ design not using any active circuitry. Only metal film resistors, film capacitors and hand-wound inductors sculpt the sound, kind of like a Pultec EQ on hyper-steroids. Super-beefy, hugely-high-headroom Manley all-tube make-up gain amplifiers deliver your tunes into the next realm. “Massive”…. it’s a fitting word for this beast. You’ll need to experience this.
Creating natural, organic, acoustic tone can only be done with an equaliser that treats the signal with natural methods. The Manley Massive Passive uses simple passive components and exploits their natural qualities rather than forcing a complex circuit to meet an arbitrary clinical or scientific goal. Manley knows that recording and mastering equalisers are used by artists for artistic goals and we balanced this design with a little more art than science.
The Manley Massive Passive is intended both for the most radical EQ sometimes needed for tracking as well as the most subtle shadings for vocals and mastering. It is designed to be a fundamentally different EQ but incorporates the best strengths of Pultecs, choice console EQs, Parametrics and graphics. The difference is that the Massive allows twice as much EQ with half the coloration. It allows huge HF boosts without sibilance problems and unbelievable fatness without mud. This is unique. Being different also gives it some quirks and idiosyncrasies that will spark your creativity and sense of audio adventure.
We could attempt to use dozens of superlatives to describe the sounds, but really, you have to experience it yourself. Words cannot do it justice. The astute reader will notice a lack of “buzz words” and that the Manley Massive Passive is not built around gimmicks, plagiarisms, or conventional techniques. However, it is built to complement Manley’s Variable Mu® Limiter Compressor for instance. This combo could just be the ultimate processing chain. It’s already a Mastering fave. To this end we finally have a new dedicated Mastering Version Massive Passive Stereo EQ available too.
