A few years ago, me and my partner Igor Kapelevich which is an amazing audio electronic designer who has just designed the new mastering transfer chain for Bob Katz (!) have started working on some gear designs together, about a year after, we have decided to build a full format, audiophile grade mixing desk for TanTan Studios.. ( אולפ×*×™ טן טן - ציוד - TanTan Studios ) we really went all the way there ! it's a 32ch console + 6 Fx returns with 24 GML/Sontec EQ's onboard (GML bells and Sontec shelves), a class A discrete transistor line preamps, fader boosters and summing amps of two kinds, one is our own design and the other is a modified Fred Forssell opamp, there are 6x 1176's on board but with some very serious changes.. it features an 1176 compression circuit combined with a Neve BA183 make up gain, we have also added a dual release time feature (controllable automatic release) and an extra 2:1 ratio designed for soft compression, for the monitoring section we have built a 100% passive monitoring device based on micro controller controlled passive relay trim attenuators, except for all the AUX's, Groups and mix B listening points, there are also 4 stereo line in, mastering transfer chain with four inserts, 4 speakers out with offset trimming option for all inputs and outputs ! this way you can work with 4 pairs of speakers, switching between them and stay on the same level all the time.. there is also a Mono button, Stereo button (to hear only what panned hard L/R), L/R swap button, "L" button, "R" button, Dim button and a built in talkback, all have offset trimming as well ! once you have dialed in your offset values the device remembers it and you can store up to 5 presets for different engineers working at the same room ! ah.. it also have light sensor for the display light brightness to vary according to the light atmosphere in the control room.. (we have really tried to think about everything here) all the internal wires are Mogami, silver tefoln plated cables and Kimber Kable, all the PCB's are gold plated four ply PCB's.. Jensen and Marineir input transformers and custom made output transformers.

It took us 7 years to build this beast and after so many years of R&D and much money spent on the designs, we have decided to start selling some of our designs and modifications, most of them are parts of the La-V console. here is a brief explanation of what we build, we are working on some other stuff too but these are the designs we are concentrating on for mastering:

1 - The ultimate mastering transfer chain designed by Igor Kapelevich and Bob Katz which is a digitally controlled 1U rack space unit with four inserts and a matrix allowing you to route 4 inserts, 2 of the inserts can be assigned to utility feeds to allow user MS mode and parallel processing (EQ, compression etc.) with a level trim before and after the insert. Bob has said he will write a manual for it at some point..

2 - The CRM which is a 100% passive monitoring device based on micro controller controlled passive relay trim attenuators, 4 line in, 3 speakers out with offset trimming option for all inputs and outputs ! this way you can work with 3 pairs of speakers, switching between them and stay on the same level all the time.. there is also a Mono button, Stereo button (to hear only what panned hard L/R, great for monitoring reverb tails in the mix etc.), Dim button and a talkback input, all have offset trimming as well ! once you have dialed in your offset values the CRM remembers it and there is also a preset store.. the four stereo inputs can also be assigned to a separated stereo record out, this is a 2U connectors device and a remote control with up to 10 meters remote cable length using a standard VGA cable.


3 - Neve 33609 / 2254 combo.. it's basically a Neve 33609 compression and time constants with a 2254 audio stage, it also features a side chain filters with five low cut frequency options and attack control which makes it a very versatile compressor.. it can do anything from vocals to mixbus or parallel mixbus, drums group, piano etc. all pots are stepped, there is also a stereo link and a true bypass mode. this is a 2U dual mono unit.

4 - The UN1176 features an 1176 compression circuit combined with a Neve BA183 make up gain, it's a dual mono 2U unit with a stereo link, true bypass, stepped attack and release control for stereo matching, dual release time feature (controllable automatic release), an extra 2:1 ratio designed for soft compression and of course.. British mode !



I'm going to be in NY and Boston next month for a few recording sessions and going to take the units with me.. if anyone is interested in checking any of the units in person just PM me and we can set up a demonstration in NY and Boston area,

Samples are also optional

Thank you

I bought the Tan Tan UN-76 a month ago, and all i can say is that this thing is a truly wonderful compressor. i had or worked extensively with the UA6176, purple audio MC77, and a classic 1176LN and to my ears the UN76 is far more musical than the UA6176 and holds it's own very well against the Purple and the classic 1176LN (well treated unit that plugins were modeled from), although i prefer the UN76 sound to this two others, i know it's more of a taste thing than a problem with the other unit's.
the UN76 is a unique compressor because it has all the punch and smack you want to get from an 1176, but without that grungy smudgy artifact sound 1176 are notorious for, when driven very hard.
this one stays on the musical and smooth side of thing. so musical that i could get away with slapping it on a very gentle folk vocalist, and have him remark that maybe we should open the other mixes and give him that voice spank. of course it excels on rock & hip hop vocals and does drums fantastic good.
one of it's best features is the ability to apply the "all buttons compression mode" but with smaller compression ratios which gives it a very unique and useful sound. that makes the UN76 a "Tamed Beast" say if your looking to add some spank to more natural and clean stuff, it's almost like having another compressor on the same place, as i was saying you can unleashed whenever you want to go wild but still it can be a very tamed and ordered beast.

Peace

Do you have an idea of pricing? I'm interested in the neve comp.
also, can you post pix of the console? it sounds cool.
thanks!

Hi David, thank you for your kind words, I'm so glad you like it
Sure Kurt, the 33609/2254 combo is 3100$ plus shipping costs to your location
There you go !

Igor is a nutjob, period thumbsup

Said with all the love and affection in the world heh His designs and implementation are world-class and he is diabolically crazy, there is a reason he has been nicknamed 'Uncle Fester'.

I'm in the process of completing a build out of 5 of the 2254C compressors that TanTan is talking about, and they are great!

TanTan and Igor I wish you both well in this new venture! You most certainly have the skills and talents to pull it off

Cheers

Matt

What's the price on the insert switching unit?

+19746543
Igor is top-shelf quality for all recordings everywhere.

i'm in a suburb about 30 min north of boston and in the studio all next month with a band from norway. think you can bring one of the comps by for me to check out?

+1 (x1000) in the best possible way
Thank you Matt and good luck with your 2254's ! enjoy them !
- K-1 Mastering transfer chain: 3500$
Here is a picture of the K-1 inside:

Thank you ! I'm glad you like our designs thumbsup
Sure i can ! I'm going to stay in Newton for a few days and I'm mobile so I'll PM you and come over with the UN1176 and the 2254/33609

Hi Tan,

What kind of side chain is he using in this and what kind of transformers?

Basically is he using 283/284 cards with filters in the side chain and original Marinair transformers?

Duplicate thread, so may as well duplicate my other reply

good luck

Hi Thrill,

The unit is a hybrid 33609 / 2254

The side chain is a 33609 side chain with high pass filters,
The 2254 audio stage contains 283/284 cards

There are two transformers options for input and interstage: Belclere and Carnhill,
The output transformers are our own custom made,

Marinairs are very hard to find in the quantity we need.. however we have built a few units using Marinairs for both the UN1176 and the 33609/2254 combo, if you have Marinair transformers you can send it over and we can install them in our compressors instead of the stock Belclere, Carnhill or our custom made ones and subtract their cost from the unit's price, Dan Alexander have them but it will make the comps way more expansive because of the costs of the rare Marinairs..


Thank you James you are very welcome to contact me anytime !
Thank you Guy ! your KM54's are doing great here BTW.. drop me a line the next time you are planing to visit Israel :-)

that finally looks like a real tempting take on the good ol 1176 to me!!
especially as it´s dual mono heh

nice stuff guys!!!

Please list all gear plus prices plus shipping cost !

Thanks

- K-1 Mastering transfer chain: 3500$
- 2254/33609 compressor : 3100$
- UN1176 compressor- 2600$
- CRM control room module: 2200$

Shipping cost depends on location, PM me with your location and I'll send you an exact shipping cost

CRM control room module, inside the box.. 100% passive electronics, the most transparent monitoring device in existance heh

tan tan and i have been friends for over the last couple years through the board here and i have to say, i am so impressed by what these two have accomplished; wow. i love how something starts with an idea, add a great amount of knowledge, passion and curiousity and perseverence and this is the result. so inspiring guys.
cant wait to meet in person and hang and also cant wait to hear this stuff in action.
thanks so much for the heads up on the post aran!!!

best
norm.

Looks like great products!

Where can I buy them? Is there a website in english?

Igor is a fantastic guy and amazingly knowledgeable, I have a modified ssl I bought of him, superb top class work !

Thank you Norm I hope to visit LA in a few months, I'll call you and bring the units over, it will be great to hang out !
Hello Magnus, our website is not up yet, we are only selling the units factory direct for now and we ship it worldwide, i would love to provide you any further information regarding any unit you are interested in through email or PM, samples are also optional, my email is [email protected]

Yep, Igor is a great designer! Nasty nasty products.

Thank you heh

Hi all

I'm coming to Boston on Thursday and going to stay there until February 22nd, if you want to demo our 2254/33609 or the K-1 mastering transfer chain you are welcome to PM me

If someone is intersted in technical details, feel free to ask.
My English is far from being perfect, but understand-able.

Cheers,
IJ.

heh

Here are some pictures and short description of K-1:

K-1 Mastering Transfer Console

Nice, looks really useful and easy to use, not only for mastering but also on a mixbus channel. thumbsup

I was making up some configurations in my head and I can't make up from the router if it's possible to have ins 1 directly followed by ins 2 ,then followed by feed A and then by feed B. Same for A-B-1-2... or do you simply have to press 2 buttons in the same rectangle to do that?

The 2254C is Un #$%^&* believable!!!!!

Its hard to explain in words just how good it really is, but put it this way. Generally, the Audio has a clarity, fullness, dimension, depth, and its possibly the "clearest" hybrid I have heard. There is NO SLUDGE in this box. No slow transient shaving, [in the audio path] no hindered tonality for what is passing through it. It definitely sounds "good" as one can define that meaning emotionally, and musically, but in general I think its response is mighty impressive for all sorts of reasons. The Gain reduction Action of the compressor has a lot of useful variance, and definitely does what you might expect that it would, perhaps, but it's really well suited for higher fidelity mastering, mixing and tracking, so far as I can tell. I feel this box has a very open response compared to the others I have used.

I for one am VERY excited about USING these AMAZING products WAY more here @ the Meth Lab! Job WELL DONE Tan Tan and Igor! You guys rule.

I did not get you about 2 buttons at same rectangle...maybe please explain in other words.
When the router at initial (zero) condition, just press the button to light it up,
press it again - it goes down, i.e. it works like "flip-flop", or, if ins1 at second position, pressing ins1 at first position will just move it.
Pressing ins1 at 1st position again will turn it off, again-on....etc.
The routing is very simple, WYSIWYG.

To change the state from comp->eq->comp to eq->comp->comp
(for example) it is as simple as just store and recall...choose program and press button.

@Adam: Cool. Thanx for posting your impressions.
We doing the output trunny's in-the-house not by reason they comes out
cheaper than commercially available (actually, Hi-B C-core iron from local
Eilor magnetic materials is not cheap, the cost of materials in small runs (50-100 transformers) is same as Carnhills), BUT I just love the sound of Hi-B C-cores. For some guys maybe it is chinese, I'll just explain in short.
Hi-B grade is best quality iron possible.
There's M11(normally used in most crappy power transformers),
M6 (used in medum-good quality power transformers and gaped Neve 1066 trafo's), M4 - used in military power transformers, and Hi-B, used _RARE_ in military power applications, mostly 400Hz (aircraft).
Distortion-wise, Hi-B closer to nickel, but can handle lot of DC as well
(this is what we need in gaped trunny).
C-core costs bit more than common EI's,
but has more advantages in gaped transformer's design.

This is the part of good sound you heard

I can post here more "abouts"...if people like the tech parts, why not.