Cranborne Audio is a boutique British audio company known for trying new things. Its Carnaby 500 HarmonicEQ, a unique equalizer module for the 500-series rack system, utilizes a truly inventive method of boosting and cutting frequency content using genuine analog harmonic saturation. Now, Cranborne presents the Carnaby HE2 HarmonicEQ in the more widely used 19" rack standard for professional studio and stage applications.
Sporting two channels for true stereo processing in a 2 RU chassis, the new 19" Carnaby HE2 still includes all the excellent functions of the original, including optional dual-mono operation and an extremely useful mid/side processing mode for mixing and mastering. This provides users with a flexible platform for enhancing sources, stems, and mixes with harmonic saturation while maintaining the feel, familiarity, and control of a multiband EQ.
Each of the three primary EQ bands can be bypassed per channel. Each band has 10 dB of boost and cut with its own sweepable and overlapping frequency controls. As with the Carnaby 500, each of the Carnaby HE2’s bands has a unique blend of harmonic content suited to its frequency band to achieve maximum musicality. Along with the three primary bands, you also get two extended high- and low-frequency shelving controls, each fully capable of being bypassed as well, for additional sound shaping options.
The Hi band has a frequency range from 5 all the way to 25 kHz and uses smooth saturation to extend high frequencies naturally beyond the audio band for air and breath on vocals and acoustic instruments. The Lo band has a frequency range of 420 down to 20 Hz and uses hard-clipping saturation to extend the sub-harmonic content into the audible low end.
Finally, the Mid band is a peaking filter with a fixed Q and a wide, sweepable frequency range from 200 Hz to 6.2 kHz. It uses saturation to add harmonic emphasis to the source anywhere in the frequency range.
Unlike other EQs, the Carnaby HE2 has a dynamic response and increases in total boost or cut harmonics as the circuits are driven harder. An Input and Output level control on each band allows for 20 dB of boost or cut adjustment, enabling you to drive the HE2 harder for more saturation and distortion effects, or back it off for a cleaner EQ when needed.
But Cranborne didn’t stop there. The brand also threw in full digital controls, allowing you to handle all the buttons and knobs of the unit remotely via USB or Ethernet. Cranborne’s control plug-in integrates seamlessly with the Carnaby HE2 hardware via the networking ports for convenient real-time control and recall from within your DAW. This also facilitates the independent saving and loading of presets.
For more information about the new EQ unit, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page for the Cranborne Audio HE2 HarmonicEQ. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to reply to your comments and questions.
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