The Gates Solid Statesman FM Limiter was the worst sounding excuse for an FM limiter that ever existed. Unless you averaged 30-40% modulation, the sibilance distortion was beyond gross. IIRC, it was all done by clipping...as long as you set it to not clip anything below 8khz on the pre-emphasis curve (so that all of the clipping harmonics were beyond hearing range), it sounded fine...and modulated below 50% on average. Two words...aural abortion. Huge step backward from any version of the FM Volumax. That's one blast from the past that you DO NOT want to find for nostalgia purposes...unless you're into nightmares.satech said:
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Audimax or DAP?
- Thread starter jefflaurence
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Yeah, the clipper on the FM Solid Statesman was very harsh. I had one and modified it to run the pre-emphasis through the wideband limiter first. That way I could achieve a reasonable compromise between HF ducking and clipping -- and I mean "reasonable" as in "no money in the budget for an Optimod". 
Thank you...I've seen exactly one set of those clunkers--and at least a part of me was wondering if it was just me? Sadly the station had just purchased them 3 months before my arrival, so I was stuck with them until 3 years later when a brand spanking new 8000A arrived. Was I ever a happy boy! I was happy with the AM Solid Statesman but that FM unit....quite another story! The AM station sounded far better than the FM station on the air monitor.satech said:Yeah, the clipper on the FM Solid Statesman was very harsh. I had one and modified it to run the pre-emphasis through the wideband limiter first. That way I could achieve a reasonable compromise between HF ducking and clipping -- and I mean "reasonable" as in "no money in the budget for an Optimod".
The AM Solid Statesman had its problems too. It's the only audio processor I've seen with a relay in the audio control path, to flip the phase of the audio so that asymmetrical waveforms would be directed towards positive modulation, and thus contribute to +125% modulation rather than be limited to -100%. A nice idea, but it didn't work so well in practice, as anyone with a Kahn Symmetra-Peak could prove.
It also did not employ any clipping, because instead of making it sound more musical and be less prone to "pumping" by using a slower attack time on the limiter, Gates decided to make it "the world's fastest peak limiter" and thus eliminate the need for a clipper -- regardless of how awful that sounded on the air once you pushed it beyond a few dB of gain reduction.
The Solid Statesman AGC wasn't so bad, however -- it did a good job of riding the gain without sounding too obtrusive.
It also did not employ any clipping, because instead of making it sound more musical and be less prone to "pumping" by using a slower attack time on the limiter, Gates decided to make it "the world's fastest peak limiter"
and thus eliminate the need for a clipper -- regardless of how awful that sounded on the air once you pushed it beyond a few dB of gain reduction.The Solid Statesman AGC wasn't so bad, however -- it did a good job of riding the gain without sounding too obtrusive.
Put Breakaway in our system over the weekend. Wow! Breakaway's "pipeline" shows up literally as a sound card when configured properly! Works quite well. It is a fine product. I'm still a hardware nut..but Breakaway is a winner fer sure! A good choice for LPFM or community stations. bravo! And the price point at under 200 USD is amazing. Still "jonesin" for a Volumax..Thanks Chuck!
I was pretty fond of the AM model, but sped up the release time (seems I put a pot in place of the switch and ran the pot at zero resistance most of the time) and ran it barefoot at about 17db of almost instant release limiting...sounded mighty fine on an AM top 40 station in the mid 70's. Only reason I didn't run it beyond 17db is because the PD's headphones fed back! Granted, the relay wasn't the smoothest move but it didn't harm the overall air product back in the day.satech said:The AM Solid Statesman had its problems too. It's the only audio processor I've seen with a relay in the audio control path, to flip the phase of the audio so that asymmetrical waveforms would be directed towards positive modulation, and thus contribute to +125% modulation rather than be limited to -100%. A nice idea, but it didn't work so well in practice, as anyone with a Kahn Symmetra-Peak could prove.
It also did not employ any clipping, because instead of making it sound more musical and be less prone to "pumping" by using a slower attack time on the limiter, Gates decided to make it "the world's fastest peak limiter"
The Solid Statesman AGC wasn't so bad, however -- it did a good job of riding the gain without sounding too obtrusive.
Welcome to the Breakaway family of believers...it's amazing that something in this price class can compete with the Omnia 6's and Optimod 8600's out there. You made an excellent choice...enjoy!Jeff Laurence said:
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