Pultec

The Pultec EQP-1 Program Equalizer is an audio equalizer produced by Pulse Techniques (Pultec) beginning in 1956 with variants produced until 1981, and put back into production in 2000.

The EQP-1 and its variants were widely used in professional recording studios and established as a studio standard. It was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in 2005.

History

Electronic engineers and former RCA Institute classmates Eugene Shenk and Ollie Summerlin founded Pulse Techniques, Incorporated (Pultec) on February 1, 1953. The company, based in Teaneck, New Jersey, initially manufactured specialized equipment for professional audio engineers, such as adjustable power supplies for tube equipment and audio oscillators used for testing.

Clair D. Krepps, who had previously worked with Summerlin, both in the Navy, and at Capitol Records, building the labels' first New York mastering studio, had since become the chief engineer at MGM Studios in New York and was renting bench space in Pultec's shop. Krepps told Summerlin and Shenk that an equalizer designed for recording studio applications, unlike the lossy, noisy equalizers designed for the film industry available at the time, was needed. Krepps provided $250 seed money and an MGM purchase order to Pultec to design and build such an EQ. The resulting product, the Pultec EQP-1 Program Equalizer, was introduced in 1956.

Pulse Techniques produced the EQP-1 and numerous variants for over 20 years. In 1981 Shenk wanted to retire but was unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the company, so he shut down the factory. After closing, he was contacted by the Power Station recording studio owner Tony Bongiovi, who wanted 24 EQP-1A3, which were produced in a final production run by Gene Shenk.

In 2000, Steve Jackson sought to build a completely accurate recreation of the original EQP-1, and contacted Shenk for guidance. After 10 years of development, Jackson established Pulse Techniques, LLC and resumed the manufacturing of the EQP-1A3 and other classic Pultec models.

Design

The EQP-1 is a passive equalizer with a tube amplifier stage that restores the gain lost from the passive EQ, making it practical for use in broadcast and recording.

Its low frequency section is a shelving EQ with three selectable frequency bands at 30, 60, and 100 Hz which can be simultaneously boosted or attennuated. Its high frequency section offers boosting at 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12 kHz, with a separate bandwidth control for altering the Q of the EQ curve from sharp to broad. In addition, it has a separate variable-attenuation 10 kHz low-pass filter.

The amplifier stage is fully-balanced and operates in a classic push‑pull arrangement. Its input section is built around a 12AX7/ECC83, while the output transformer is driven by a 12AU7/ECC82. Transformer distortion and some output loading effects are automatically compensated via negative feedback achieved by an extra secondary winding on the output transformer.

Models

EQP-1 (1956) - Pultec's original program equalizer, housed in a 3U rackmount chassis.

EQH-2 (1956) - Compact (2U) two-band (low shelf and high peak) version with different tube amp design and different EQ curves, which were later incorporated into the EQP-1A.

EQP-1A (1961) - The EQP-1 was replaced by the updated EQP-1A, which had added frequency selections. The new 1A model had added a 20 Hz boost and attenuation, a 16 kHz boost, and a 5, 10, and 20 kHz attenuation.

EQP-1S - like EQP-1, but with modified low-frequency boost/attenuation response curves, two additional peak boost frequencies, and two additional high-frequency shelf boost curves.

EQP-1A3 (1971) - Smaller (2U) version of EQP-1A with identical features and circuitry.

EQP-1A3SS - Solid-state version with discrete transistor-based electronics instead of vacuum tubes.

In use

The design of the EQP-1 makes it possible for a user to simultaneously boost and attenuate low end frequencies. While the owner's manual advises against doing this, in practice doing so has been discovered to be quite effective for tightening and defining the low end to sit nicely within a mix. This practice is often referred to as the "Pultec low-end trick" or the "Pultec trick."

The EQP-1 and its variants were widely adopted by professional recording studios, including Universal Recording Corporation, Capitol, RCA Victor, Abbey Road, Decca, Olympic, and others.

Legacy

Once out of production, original Pultecs became harder to find, with mint examples selling for $6,000 or more. Recognizing the market's need for an EQ with the Pultec's features, manufacturers introduced recreations and new versions. In 1985, Danish company Lydkraft launched the Tube-Tech brand with the PE 1A, a near-direct copy of the EQP-1A. In 1990, Manley Laboratories contacted Shenk to ask his permission to produce its own version of Pultec's EQ, resulting in the Manley Enhanced 'Pultec' Equalizer, whose compact 1U design features additional frequency bands, an upgraded Manley-designed power supply, Manley line amps, and other enhancements. In 2010, Cartec introduced the EQP1A, its own recreation of the Pultec classic with modern components and utilizing transformers and inductors of the company's own design. Pultec-inspired EQs have been released by Warm Audio, Klark Teknik, WesAudio, Retro Instruments, and others.

Pultec's EQ has also been emulated by various software plug-ins, including the Apogee FX Rack, Avid's Pultec Bundle, iZotope's Ozone 8 Vintage EQ, Universal Audio's Pultec Passive EQ Collection, and Waves PuigTec EQs, named after engineer/producer Jack Joseph Puig's own original Pultec units.

References

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Tone, EQ and filter
Effects units