I bought one of the first Joe Meek Twin Q units when they hit the market -- geez, that must be coming up on nearly 15 years by now. Anyways, it's been nothing but stellar in all this time and, most importantly, it sounds good. I did send it back to the factory within the first couple of months because they offered me a free mod/upgrade. Other than that one trip it's been permanently installed in my studio rack.
The original unit, as seen above, is pretty much the same as the newer Twin Q2 other than some slight tweaks.
I use the s/pdif output to connect to an Apollo interface and never record at sampling rates at higher than 48kHz so I have no need to upgrade to something that goes to 192. If you're one of those that see no need to record at higher than 96kHz then you can pick one of these up used for a lot less or simply use the analog outs to your interface.
While the unit is overall very good I do think they are very overpriced for a piece of electronics manufactured in China. The markup on the TQ must be pretty high.
The Q is good for any recording situation from voice, drums, acoustic guitars, etc., but where it shines the best is electric guitar. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you're an electric guitarist this could be your secret weapon. Here's why: the mid EQ is really sweet sounding and musical -- if that amp and stomp box isn't cutting it just crank up the mids on the Twin Q and cop a nice TS808 Tube Screamer mid-boosted vibe.
And the compressor is just perfect for giving control and sustain to single note lead lines. It's so good that I and a few others asked for a stomp box version of this compressor and JM came through with the Floor Q. Guitarists are accustomed to OTA style compressors but the optical circuit in the JMTQ is a nice alternative with it's own thing going on -- a little slower on the attack and smoother sounding. Combining the EQ and the compressor provides a meaty, focused, and rich sound with 'wheels.'
Anyway, I can recommend the Twin Q from Joe Meek but, honestly, I think you're better off going used. It's just not a $1500 piece of kit.
The original unit, as seen above, is pretty much the same as the newer Twin Q2 other than some slight tweaks.
I use the s/pdif output to connect to an Apollo interface and never record at sampling rates at higher than 48kHz so I have no need to upgrade to something that goes to 192. If you're one of those that see no need to record at higher than 96kHz then you can pick one of these up used for a lot less or simply use the analog outs to your interface.
While the unit is overall very good I do think they are very overpriced for a piece of electronics manufactured in China. The markup on the TQ must be pretty high.
The Q is good for any recording situation from voice, drums, acoustic guitars, etc., but where it shines the best is electric guitar. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you're an electric guitarist this could be your secret weapon. Here's why: the mid EQ is really sweet sounding and musical -- if that amp and stomp box isn't cutting it just crank up the mids on the Twin Q and cop a nice TS808 Tube Screamer mid-boosted vibe.
And the compressor is just perfect for giving control and sustain to single note lead lines. It's so good that I and a few others asked for a stomp box version of this compressor and JM came through with the Floor Q. Guitarists are accustomed to OTA style compressors but the optical circuit in the JMTQ is a nice alternative with it's own thing going on -- a little slower on the attack and smoother sounding. Combining the EQ and the compressor provides a meaty, focused, and rich sound with 'wheels.'
Anyway, I can recommend the Twin Q from Joe Meek but, honestly, I think you're better off going used. It's just not a $1500 piece of kit.