Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
RhPf Electronics delivers a killer Ultra Precise Studio Grade Single Parametric Mastering EQ - The Regista Midfield Maestro
You may not be aware that RhPf’s Thomas is also a Sound and Studio Engineer, and had a very close relationship with the last great Rupert Neve Mixing Console / Channel Strips - the Mozart MZ15-RN which were designed for AMEK. Thomas got to work with a 56 Channel Unit - those AMEK mixing desks typically run from 40 to 56 Channels.
The AMEK Mozart MZ15-RN was originally released in 1993 - right during the Music Industry’s transition period from Analog to Digital, meaning it did not alas garner as much love as the earlier Neve-designed 1073 and 1081 units.
The AMEK Mozart MZ15-RN was used on a number of notable mid-90’s albums - including :
- Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)
- Marilyn Manson - Portrait of an American Family (1994)
- Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
Buena Vista Social Club obviously garnered a number of awards at that time - including a Grammy in 1998!
The AMEK Mozart MZ15-RN famously had a fantastic EQ Sections which included 2 x Parametric Mids EQ’s - labelled MF1 and MF2, where the specifics from the manual were as follows :
- MF1 : Frequency sweep 350Hz-15kHz with a Q variable from 0.5 lo 10, or switchable between 0.75 and 2 using the HIGH-Q switch. Cut and boost is ±14dB.
- MF2 : Frequency sweep 40Hz-2.5kHz with a Q switchable between 0.75 and 2 using the HIGH-Q switch, or variable between 0.5 and 10 using the Q control. Cut and boost is ±14dB.
NOTE that those above figures are somewhat inflated and should be taken with a pinch of salt! - where precise measurements of said Channel Strips reveal lower ranges / resolutions than listed. Overall the RhPf Regista outperforms the MF1 and MF2 by most salient metrics - particularly for guitar. You should always double-check source manuals - as the claims are frequently somewhat exaggerated. While Thomas’s own fastidious nature means that he always validates all claims against his own exacting measurements - as you can see on his highly detailed Nerd Lab utitlies - including the Tone Maps and IV Bench - that I’ve featured on this site! In fact you can reference Thomas’s very own Tone Map for the Regista!
Part of the reason the Mozart MZ15-RN didn’t take off as well as previous Neve designs was in part down to some odd component / capacitor selections - which resulted in the need for significant maintenance for those Channel Strips - where a number of those components turned out to be somewhat fragile and fallible and needed to be swapped out a little too regularly. There was no questioning the fidelity of their output though!
Thomas thought he should pay homage to the AMEK Mozart by combining the MF1 & MF2 controls from those Channel Strips into a Single Parametric Mastering EQ - taking into account key Guitar Frequencies and Dynamics also - in order to deliver the ultimate in Guitar Mastering EQ with ultra precise action and super high headroom. It's configured in such a way that the Frequencies won't saturate - even with Drive and Level @ Max. You can pinpoint accentuate / boost or cut precise frequencies. If you need a little more cut-through or sparkle, or if you wish to entirely cut out an annoying frequency / cluster from the output.
So the inspiration for this Parametric Mids EQ is two-fold actually - the Neve-designed AMEK Mozart MZ15-RN Channel Strips, and Italy's celebrated 'Ultimate Regista' - Midfield Maestro Andrea Pirlo - Where 'Regista', 'Shape' and 'Zone' all come from the Football dictionary!
To earn the Rupert Neve and Andrea Pirlo associations, Thomas leant into the very best quality of components here - including wholly custom blue-topped knobs - which mirror the ones on the Mozart Control Strips, and those green-base Potentiometers which are custom too - in order to deliver the ultimate in precision tapers. The Drive and Level controls are centre-detented also!
Controls - Drive ±18db (Frequency Level Cut/Boost), Level / Output ±18dB, Shape : Q-Bandwidth, Zone : Frequency 100Hz > 10kHz.
How to Use the Regista
Think Surgical and Laser precision here - where you can pin-point an exact frequency or wider cluster to boost / enhance or cut.
With all the knobs in the centre, the output is at unity / utterly transparent. You then start by setting the Zone / Centre Frequency, which ranges from 100Hz to around 10kHz - where Noon is around 1kHz, so 100Hz to 1000Hz in the left hemisphere, and then 1000Hz to 10,000Hz near enough in the right hemisphere.
You then tune in the Q 'Shape' which is Narrow / Precise CCW and Wide / Broad / Cluster to the Right - as to whether you're targeting a very specific Frequency (Narrow) or a broader Cluster (Wide).
Next you set the Drive to the Degree of Cut or Boost you want to effect (±18db), and then mostly use the level as a sort of Gain Recovery (also ±18dB near enough!) - to augment the output for instance - when you are cutting certain frequencies somewhat aggressively - which might otherwise result in an output / volume drop.
I would quite like to see an Expression port on the V2 of this pedal - so you can kind of use it as a Wah Pedal if you wish - or control the Zone / Frequency with an Expression Pedal on-the-fly! (It will also save your knees!).
You can use this pedal as a Solo Boost / Accentuator / Reconfigurator / and Balancing EQ - it has a myriad of different usage scenarios and applications.
Positionally the Regista should go at the end of your chain - or then end of your Mono Section in my case. Perhaps Thomas can double down on a Regista DLX Stereo Unit at some stage - that would be cool for sure. For now - like the Channel Strips it is based on - it is a Mono action only - but super transparent and ultra precise.
It doesn't really replace my ParaEQ MKII Deluxe Balancing EQ - as that carries a number of tasks simultaneously, while the Regista is a singular High Precision action. For my ParaEQ I'm deploying shelving filters to regulate the peaks and troughs of the signal-chain's output - Frequency Peak and Base Limiters essentially, and I'm also simultaneously restoring some of the Highs which have likely been filtered out by my Noise Gate!
I truly don't believe there is a more precise or more perfectly honed Single Parametric EQ than this Regista out there currently! I've used it for a broad variety of tasks - giving my White Whale Jr Tremolo more sparkle and air, accentuating some of my overdrives - fine-tuning their Mids frequencies, and also shaping the output of some of my fuzzes - for a more cutting tone. This EQ is a great clean-up and signal-fixer device - in getting rid of Muddiness or Low-End Flubbiness, or just somewhat annoying buzzy frequencies that make the mix sound uneven! The Regista works great on the Mids as intended, and adds Magic and Sparkle to the top-end of your output signal too.
And all throughout its operation - it is whisper quite / whole uncontaminated in its impact - it precisely sculpts those frequencies - but does not impact on the core character or timbre of those effects. Some EQ's can have a very slight noise floor with boost levels applied - but the Regista remains utterly pristine throughout all and any deployments. It's like a stealthy special forces of an EQ! You're never truly aware that it was even there in the Mix! You just hear its impact!
Getting your hands on your own Regista!
The Regista Midfield Maestro goes for : CHF 249 | $339 USD | €289 | £249 | $459 CAD | $479 AUD - on the RhPf Electronics Webstore. I expect these to be in high-demand. The fidelity on these is truly incredible - all the Swiss national characteristics of precision engineering seem very apt here. This is very much a Studio Grade, extremely detail-oriented device!
FEATURES & SPECS
- Brand : RhPf Electronics
- Model : Regista Single Parametric Mastering EQ
- Frequency Range : 100Hz > 10kHz
- Q Range : 0.4503 to 8.4292 (cv AMEK Mozart @ 0.648 to 5.27) - actual Sound Lab measurements
- Frequency Drive / Gain : ±18db
- Output Level / Recovery Gain : ±18dB
- Enclosure : 125B Pearl Gray
- Knob Types : Neve 33609 Aluminum Silver Body Blue Cap Knob 12.5 x 15mm Shaft 6.4mm
- Potentiometers : Alpha 25k with a 3B taper, somewhere between W and Linear taper
- Audio IC's : OPA4992 and OPA2197
- Power IC : LTC1144
- LED colour : Orange
- Power Draw : <60mA, 100mA supply recommended!
- Power Supply : Regular 2.1mm centre-negative 9V–18V DC >100mA
- Switching : True Bypass
- Made in Bottmingen, Switzerland (near Basel)
- MAP / RRP : CHF 249 | $339 USD | €289 | £249 | $459 CAD | $479 AUD
Demos
