Listen to high-quality audio files in an AB player here www.audioanimals.co.uk/news/hardware-reviews/fairchild-model-670-shootout-unfairchild-herchild-grandchild-video
Amazing video! They all sound very cool but this is the first time I have ever heard a real Fairchild and wow, I understand why its so crazy expensive now
UTA > Grandchild > Fairchild > Herchild (worst) . UTA is really giving this detail and HI-FI lush and separaton to the instruments, but i am amazed how close to the same audio signature Grandchild is.. what times we are living in
I think on more electronic genre it falls short compared to the punch of the grandchild or the overall control/dynamics of the unfair child. Herchild is..... what it is.
@1loveMusic2003 it really does sound good. I was very surprised. I'll be honest when I first saw it I thought there's no way it'll sound anywhere close when you consider the size of it in comparison. Heritage audio did a great job on that build.
I actually liked the sound of the UnFair better than the original, even though I'm trying not to. I cannot believe how amazing the Grand is for that size and price.
Did you match the Time Constants to be the same as the others on the Grandchild? I noticed the VU meter on the Grandchild was reacting a little quicker on most of the examples. Time Constant 1 on the Grandchild is a custom "Ardent Mod" setting that's a little quicker, so all the Time Constant settings on the Grandchild end up being off by one compared to the other Fairchilds (Time Constant 2 on the Grandchild becomes the normal Fairchild Time Constant 1 and so on...). I felt like the Grandchild was reacting a little quicker than the others on most of the examples, but other than that I totally agree. The Grandchild is hard to beat for the money. Because it's fairly neutral socially, I've been picking my own color stages before going into the Grandchild on mixes. I also thought it was funny that you settled in pretty much the exact same spot for the DC Threshold on the Grandchild that I did. I keep it around that spot most of the time, but I appreciate it's on there. Really helps fine tune things occasionally.
How was the bias on your UnFairchild calibrated? Supposedly if you lower the bias (gain trim pot on the front), the tone gets darker and more saturated. If you raise the bias, it gets cleaner and more hi-fi. It would be interesting to see how it changes the character of that compressor in this demo.
@OwensDrumming ours is calibrated to be quite dark and saturated. Plenty of compressors in studio A that provide a cleaner compression. We tried various different calibration types and weren't a fan of the more clean calibration. Didn't have as much of a unique sound to it.
The Fairchild is undoubtably the best at the Fairchild “thing” - wonderful sound. I’m not sure those how flexible it would be with the 6 presets and the roll off in the extremes. I’m with you; UnFairchild is best value and use-ability. I equally may be biased as mine is arriving any day now. Not sure I can agree with gear investments for bringing in clients though. Who can justify a £38k tube limiter as a lead magnet? A high-end studio focussed on facility hire… maybe… but no one’s getting a gig for having a particular tube limiter though. Great video - thanks for sharing 👍
I own the grandchild and it’s nice. I don’t compare to its big brothers but sorta use it as a saturation box with light compression. The character it imparts is waaaaay better than any plug-in. If you want the absolute best compression you gotta get the DW Fearn VT-7 . You wont believe it. It’s sorcery .
Hi Paul, why don't you test the Analoguetube? Or have you already tested it? I think it's a very, very good clone. Thank you very much for the shootout! Really, very interesting and informative!
The Fairchild's top end is just way more pleasing as you could listen to tracks for hours through it, still not tiring your ears and be hearing clearly to make more accurate decisions, where as the others the top end will make your ears tired of hearing that over time. The Fairchild still keeps the details there while having that smooth top end.
THAT WAS AN AMAZING VID AND SHOOTOUT... For me, the Unfairchild by far, the better varimu, control , width, depth, . If I had 36 grand spare I would by two and save 8 grand, leaving the Faichild in the store AMAZINGLY..The Grandchild was very close to the Fairchild and in my opinion I preferred it to the Herchild, and at the price, its killer. Thanks Paul , great vid.
@christopheroconnor8842 this is why I keep saying I'm impressed with the Grandchild. Because it's in such a small format to squeeze that much sound out of it. That really impresses me. For sound alone I would prefer 2 unfairchilds and a £8k holiday. But the fairchild does have that pull you want from a business perspective.
@AudioAnimalsStudio business decisions like that, I am happy to leave to you. I would love to hear a Granchild in an end of chain following a standard varimu, doing some of the heavy lifting, to see how close to a Fairchild sound/behaviour you could get 😀
Excellent comparison. I definitely think the Fairchild has the best sound, but it's extremely expensive. Hopefully, the jobs you'd get would recover that cost...?
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Original sounds the best and most versatile to me.. Unfairchild and Herchild added too much brightness, though I much preferred Unfairchild than Herchild. Grandchild felt a bit smaller in image but tonal-wise it was closest to the original. I also wanted to hear how Unfairchild official plugin sounds like compared to them. Please consider making a video of it.
The amazing thing with the original Fairchild and its very high end electronic circuitry, is how Natural it sounds. I don't hear "compression", I hear a natural flow of music. Period. And in that sense yes that Grandchild is really impressive aswell. Very good. The unfairchild for a more modern take, and with all it's control can get you to amazing places. The Herchild also a nice piece, the release may sound a bit more relaxed than the Unfairchild. But to my ears, yes the original Fairchild all the way ♥
first of all, awesome video. When it comes to ultra high end compressors, there just is a diminishing return for the capital. Very fine differences and all are worthy kit. you have to really care about the last 1% at those price levels and have access to stupid amounts of money. here’s my observations: Fairchild reissue, noteworthy that this is also a copy/replica by Toni Fishman(Telefunken) - just with the original rights to the name. Noticably warmer(rolled off high end), mid forward. Sounded the best on acoustic recorded audio sources or bright mixes needing a bit of balancing. Unfairchild, wider and more grabby - modern hifi sounding if only slightly brittle. Really sounds good on darker mixes based on transients (for example, the disco track) Herchild, I picked up some slight phasing with this. This could be considered “mojo” or considered smeared depending on ones taste. Slightly brittle to me as well. Sounded very pleasing with very digital electronic instrumentation to me, perhaps because the “mojo” made it sound more organic. Grandchild, sounded too brittle to me and didn’t glue as much as the others. Price is great for how close it is, but the goal should be to be worth getting hardware over a plugin and to me, it isn’t that much better than the plugins which are 10x cheaper. Strikes me more as a situational purchase rather than something to save up for. I recommend getting a nice plugin and save the money until you can buy a compressor you can keep for the rest of your life. Compressors that I personally think outperform all these on the 2-bus would be: Fearn VT-7, Inner Tube Audio Atomic Squeezebox or if you wanna break the bank, the Vacuvox u23m. You’re not wrong however when saying clients will come running just for the name of Fairchild alone - probably why they can charge that much extra for the reissue just for the name even though it’s a replica all the same.
@Interkomkomind yeah this is the only reason I'm considering it. The price is steep and for sound alone id prefer to have 2 unfairchilds. But there's a certain appeal and pull to a business the fairchild has.
Theyre all great the grandchild seems to have a tight midrange and less stereo spread… which this was on my iphone so can say for sure how much less.. but for the price seems like it would be great for individual components less an entire mix.. maybe down to the way they set up the stereo components to fit into a double wide 500 series… not at all a complaint for the price.. absolutely seems to have the compression down.. the UTA has a great midrange tone on the funk track.. interesting how you can basically have the “same compressor” and still have 4 flavors.. if would be interesting to see how much different even a pair of original Fairchild’s sound from eachother..
What a great shootout. Thanks Paul. Who wins depends for me a bit on the material you put through it. For all counts that the original sounds the best. It is mentioned by someone else but the stereo panning on the Grandchild is off to the left and the other 2 a bit to the right. Only the original remains dead center. Here is my preference based on the music you use: Track 1: Unfair, Her, Grand. Track 2: Unfair, Her, Grand. Track 3: Her, Grand, unfair. Track 4: Unfair, Her, Grand. Track 5: Her, unfair, Grand. I have the feeling that the Herchild its SC filter (does it have any?) is responding to much on the low end and that's why in all recordings the low end disappears a little bit. Regarding the highs, only the original keeps the highs in a way that you can listen to it for days. All other 3 will make me tired after some time.
It really is amazing that Grandchild in a 500 series rack. I am seriously debating on buying that. I just hope my Wes Audio Supercarrier can handle it with power verses all my other gear in that rack and added heat. I wonder how easy it is to find and replace the tubes in the Grandchild?
@braxal6983 I'd imagine very easy to replace tubes. Heritage Audio will be able to provide more info on this. For the money you are getting a lot closer than you would expect to the fairchild. What impresses me is that they fit that sound into 500 series.
the features added by the Unfairchild - especially with the UNF-1a box - feedback / feedforward blend and High Pass Filter mean I chose that, and would choose it again every time - I have mixed whole electronic records with that on the two-buss - I couldn't do that with the 'original' Fairchild
@pupkid8613 you can go so much further with the unfairchild. When comparing these I had to really only use 30% of what the unfairchild was capable of to make it fair on the fairchild.
wow !! After hearing this i know for sure i would never bother use anything other than the original ! Unless the clones could beat other bus comps types in a comparison, like say an SSL or Chandler. The spectrum analyser settings actually visually represented what the Fairchild does very well. It has a spectrum like tape, makes everything thick round and slow, takes out anything offensive in the top end, makes everything smooth, gives a neat sense of dimension. Every sound across the spectrum had it's shape thickened and rounded on the analyser. The low end looks like a rounded mountain. The others didn't have that low end, some sounded fizzy in comparison, and the analyser shows it ! The Fairchild is like the ultimate FM radio hit sound. It's like it takes it one step above the SSL mixbus. Amazing what it can do for a record. This was like comparing hardware to plugins lol. That's how much dimension the Fairchild adds. I wouldn't wanna hear the plugin next to them xD Have you ever taken an IR capture of the Fairchild ? I would love to see if i can get anywhere near emulating what it does. Thanks for yet another amazing video ! Cheers
Nice Video. IMO it’s the Fairchild. I had the Unfairchild at one point but returned it for the Alpha. I’m waiting on my stam child. We’ll see how it goes. It’s like Fairchild King of Tube Compressors then Alpha King of all the compressors imo 😄
To my ear original Fairchild is darker and a lot meatier sounding than the rest. The rest sounds also great of course but they're brighter and lighter/less dense in the low mids. Maybe it's because they're new?
would you consider doing a comparison , talk , about the Unfairchild VST ? I have been using it this week and its great , never got on with a fairchild before , i bought the acustica one which is pretty crap to be staight . The unfairchilld is great in my opinion.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio oh super cool , like your videos as you hold a lot of cred having the real stuff , and if you put the right clothes on you can handle some street cred too !!! I now know the appeal of the fairchild sound , the waves one and the acustica didnt do it for me. This is really pumpy on the drums and good on the bass ( i am no expert ) - look forward to when you do it !! great content.
The original has cleaner midrange. Unfairchild has scooped mids. The herchild and the 500 series both sound like they haven't been burned in. And the 500 series has a slightly collapsed image. How many hours of play do the two new ones have?
@1loveMusic2003 I was waiting for a Stamchild to come over to include in this. Waited 2 months and delayed the release of this video. But hasn't arrived so could delay any longer. Will do a seperate video when it comes in.
@@AudioAnimalsStudioawesome! Will you edit it so there will be a side by side comparison with the other models aswell so use the same songs, same settings ? That would be incredible. Awesome video! For me it’s the best one on the channel so far, not only because of the obviously exciting topic, but the level matching was painstakingly perfect, real world settings, great examples and variety all around and then of course your expert opinion was very valuable also. Looking forward to the Stam!
If you make amazing money, and want a FC, have fun paying 25,000, or more for the name. They really milked this one. I mean, if nice cars aren't your thing why not. Id still get an UFC all day, price aside. Eric killed it. Variable attack, an release, FF, FB modes. Insane. Sounded better anyway IMO.
Weirdly I prefer the Grandchild over the Herchild... and I agree the UTA is close enough... but, the original does have a little bit more of finished song sound to it. Things sit like they are set... but then something you'll not notice really unless you put them up against each other. That little difference is only worth it if money is funny... then you might as well. Me personally... very into getting the Grandchild. Have you used the Gainlabs stereo compressor?... these are in the same price range as each other and it had a bit more flexibility.
The rest have a bit too much of a mid high push... but, then again, what if you tried to match then with one or two processor before it... this is what most interests me, this little difference, is it achieved with a little extra processing?
@TheSakuraGumiLTD I too preferred the Grandchild over the herchild. I liked the simplicity of it also. You instantly get the sound you are after. The only downside when comparing the two from a business perspective is there's no real client pull from the Grandchild whereas there would be from a herchild. I agree there's a finishing touch you get with the original that is very pleasing to the ear. I haven't got a great deal of experience with Gainlabs. Only use when at demo shows and it's hard to tell how you feel about them in these situations.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio Is a bit of a thing the crowd drawing for certain units. You could just be rich and rubbish 😂 The reason is of course the clients did not learn along side with you, so they do not know these factors... although, a real one or even the bigger boys does show success as you say and it's something you have to just accept doing this as a business. No one wants a Coke(TM) clone. I have heard many examples of the Gainlab and the Grandchild and keep preferring the Grandchild. When I've asked others they say Gainlab's but it's always "Gainlab's they have more control" not that it sounds better. For now, for start up... I can get there for less until it becomes a must for business.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio This is often what I think, and confidently, but can't really state it without means to properly test this. We can all do our business well a draw more later when we do our jobs well enough to get there in the mean time... a real one is not worth it to anyone that this work isn't suited for.
The real thing was definitely the best of all, but I noticed the Unfair was leaning to the right, not sure what it was; probably a bad tube I am hoping. - Fair> Her>Grand are my favorite, thanks for the video 🤙🏼
Fairchild the most neutral Grandchild adds a lot of rich harmonic content Unfairchild has the most aggresive character Herchild boost the top end naturally but fatigue my ears
Dude save up a bit more and get yourself a bmw z4 or a porshe boxster. More fun guarenteed. I see no need for a fairchild in 2024 based on your review. Funny thing UTA Unfairchild just released their plugin, it's very heavy cpu demanding, but who cares, sounds as good as these units. It's in the league of the toneprojects michelangelo plugin.
Thanks for sharing way overdue it's crazy on the last example how the GrandChild keep the Snare and ambience much closer to the Fairchild where as both Herchild and UTA really uplifted the drums ambience and tone of the Snare 😮😬🤔. However I concur with your Comments on the UTA, u can model a vintage pieces of gear but I 💯 believe in adding modern day features. 😀
I think the Fairchild is the fattest. The grandchild sounds sick. It’s not as round or fat but I like it second best. Then the unfairchild. And her child last. Strange that I thought the grandchild rose above its bigger sibling.
@ I feel like the unfairchild or the real Fairchild would be perfect for master bus because it’s so fat and round and pumps so much life into the audio. The grandchild would be perfect for drum bus because it has less tubes so it doesn’t round the transients as much. I think they nailed the circuit on that grandchild. Been watching you for a while. Love the channel btw.
Listen to high-quality audio files in an AB player here www.audioanimals.co.uk/news/hardware-reviews/fairchild-model-670-shootout-unfairchild-herchild-grandchild-video
Amazing video! They all sound very cool but this is the first time I have ever heard a real Fairchild and wow, I understand why its so crazy expensive now
UTA > Grandchild > Fairchild > Herchild (worst) . UTA is really giving this detail and HI-FI lush and separaton to the instruments, but i am amazed how close to the same audio signature Grandchild is.. what times we are living in
The Fairchild sounds amazing every time...then in my opinion, the Unfair, Herchild and Grandchild, in that order
I think on more electronic genre it falls short compared to the punch of the grandchild or the overall control/dynamics of the unfair child. Herchild is..... what it is.
Totally agree. The midrange on Fairchild OG sounds soooo good.
Surprising how similar herchild and grandchild sound.
I'm buying the Grandchild! Can't justify spending more than that when it sounds that good.
@1loveMusic2003 it really does sound good. I was very surprised. I'll be honest when I first saw it I thought there's no way it'll sound anywhere close when you consider the size of it in comparison. Heritage audio did a great job on that build.
It sounds awesome.
I actually liked the sound of the UnFair better than the original, even though I'm trying not to. I cannot believe how amazing the Grand is for that size and price.
Did you match the Time Constants to be the same as the others on the Grandchild? I noticed the VU meter on the Grandchild was reacting a little quicker on most of the examples. Time Constant 1 on the Grandchild is a custom "Ardent Mod" setting that's a little quicker, so all the Time Constant settings on the Grandchild end up being off by one compared to the other Fairchilds (Time Constant 2 on the Grandchild becomes the normal Fairchild Time Constant 1 and so on...). I felt like the Grandchild was reacting a little quicker than the others on most of the examples, but other than that I totally agree. The Grandchild is hard to beat for the money. Because it's fairly neutral socially, I've been picking my own color stages before going into the Grandchild on mixes.
I also thought it was funny that you settled in pretty much the exact same spot for the DC Threshold on the Grandchild that I did. I keep it around that spot most of the time, but I appreciate it's on there. Really helps fine tune things occasionally.
How was the bias on your UnFairchild calibrated? Supposedly if you lower the bias (gain trim pot on the front), the tone gets darker and more saturated. If you raise the bias, it gets cleaner and more hi-fi. It would be interesting to see how it changes the character of that compressor in this demo.
@OwensDrumming ours is calibrated to be quite dark and saturated. Plenty of compressors in studio A that provide a cleaner compression. We tried various different calibration types and weren't a fan of the more clean calibration. Didn't have as much of a unique sound to it.
The Fairchild is undoubtably the best at the Fairchild “thing” - wonderful sound. I’m not sure those how flexible it would be with the 6 presets and the roll off in the extremes.
I’m with you; UnFairchild is best value and use-ability. I equally may be biased as mine is arriving any day now.
Not sure I can agree with gear investments for bringing in clients though. Who can justify a £38k tube limiter as a lead magnet? A high-end studio focussed on facility hire… maybe… but no one’s getting a gig for having a particular tube limiter though.
Great video - thanks for sharing 👍
@@fazsound you sound like my business partner. He said the same thing about it being a lead generator.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio he sounds like a smart guy 😉
Herchild and UTA my favorite, (clarity, bright and more stereo field?) Fairchild darker and focused
Watching this now. Awesome!
The UnFairchild is by far the best (plugin) purchase I have ever made.
I own the grandchild and it’s nice. I don’t compare to its big brothers but sorta use it as a saturation box with light compression. The character it imparts is waaaaay better than any plug-in.
If you want the absolute best compression you gotta get the DW Fearn VT-7 . You wont believe it. It’s sorcery .
oh, just bought a Hazelrigg
I wonder would the fesrn vt7 pair better than my manley vari mu mid side non stepped with my elysia alpha compressor
Hi Paul,
why don't you test the Analoguetube? Or have you already tested it?
I think it's a very, very good clone.
Thank you very much for the shootout! Really, very interesting and informative!
The Fairchild's top end is just way more pleasing as you could listen to tracks for hours through it, still not tiring your ears and be hearing clearly to make more accurate decisions, where as the others the top end will make your ears tired of hearing that over time. The Fairchild still keeps the details there while having that smooth top end.
Wondering how much that just comes down to component age
THAT WAS AN AMAZING VID AND SHOOTOUT... For me, the Unfairchild by far, the better varimu, control , width, depth, . If I had 36 grand spare I would by two and save 8 grand, leaving the Faichild in the store
AMAZINGLY..The Grandchild was very close to the Fairchild and in my opinion I preferred it to the Herchild, and at the price, its killer. Thanks Paul , great vid.
@christopheroconnor8842 this is why I keep saying I'm impressed with the Grandchild. Because it's in such a small format to squeeze that much sound out of it. That really impresses me. For sound alone I would prefer 2 unfairchilds and a £8k holiday. But the fairchild does have that pull you want from a business perspective.
@AudioAnimalsStudio business decisions like that, I am happy to leave to you.
I would love to hear a Granchild in an end of chain following a standard varimu, doing some of the heavy lifting, to see how close to a Fairchild sound/behaviour you could get 😀
Excellent comparison. I definitely think the Fairchild has the best sound, but it's extremely expensive. Hopefully, the jobs you'd get would recover that cost...?
Original sounds the best and most versatile to me.. Unfairchild and Herchild added too much brightness, though I much preferred Unfairchild than Herchild. Grandchild felt a bit smaller in image but tonal-wise it was closest to the original. I also wanted to hear how Unfairchild official plugin sounds like compared to them. Please consider making a video of it.
The amazing thing with the original Fairchild and its very high end electronic circuitry, is how Natural it sounds. I don't hear "compression", I hear a natural flow of music. Period.
And in that sense yes that Grandchild is really impressive aswell. Very good. The unfairchild for a more modern take, and with all it's control can get you to amazing places.
The Herchild also a nice piece, the release may sound a bit more relaxed than the Unfairchild. But to my ears, yes the original Fairchild all the way ♥
The attack on the original Fairchild sounded smother slower with a lower compression ratio than the un & her
first of all, awesome video.
When it comes to ultra high end compressors, there just is a diminishing return for the capital. Very fine differences and all are worthy kit. you have to really care about the last 1% at those price levels and have access to stupid amounts of money.
here’s my observations:
Fairchild reissue, noteworthy that this is also a copy/replica by Toni Fishman(Telefunken) - just with the original rights to the name.
Noticably warmer(rolled off high end), mid forward. Sounded the best on acoustic recorded audio sources or bright mixes needing a bit of balancing.
Unfairchild, wider and more grabby - modern hifi sounding if only slightly brittle.
Really sounds good on darker mixes based on transients (for example, the disco track)
Herchild, I picked up some slight phasing with this. This could be considered “mojo” or considered smeared depending on ones taste. Slightly brittle to me as well.
Sounded very pleasing with very digital electronic instrumentation to me, perhaps because the “mojo” made it sound more organic.
Grandchild, sounded too brittle to me and didn’t glue as much as the others.
Price is great for how close it is, but the goal should be to be worth getting hardware over a plugin and to me, it isn’t that much better than the plugins which are 10x cheaper. Strikes me more as a situational purchase rather than something to save up for.
I recommend getting a nice plugin and save the money until you can buy a compressor you can keep for the rest of your life.
Compressors that I personally think outperform all these on the 2-bus would be: Fearn VT-7, Inner Tube Audio Atomic Squeezebox or if you wanna break the bank, the Vacuvox u23m.
You’re not wrong however when saying clients will come running just for the name of Fairchild alone - probably why they can charge that much extra for the reissue just for the name even though it’s a replica all the same.
@Interkomkomind yeah this is the only reason I'm considering it. The price is steep and for sound alone id prefer to have 2 unfairchilds. But there's a certain appeal and pull to a business the fairchild has.
Theyre all great the grandchild seems to have a tight midrange and less stereo spread… which this was on my iphone so can say for sure how much less.. but for the price seems like it would be great for individual components less an entire mix.. maybe down to the way they set up the stereo components to fit into a double wide 500 series… not at all a complaint for the price.. absolutely seems to have the compression down.. the UTA has a great midrange tone on the funk track.. interesting how you can basically have the “same compressor” and still have 4 flavors.. if would be interesting to see how much different even a pair of original Fairchild’s sound from eachother..
What a great shootout. Thanks Paul. Who wins depends for me a bit on the material you put through it. For all counts that the original sounds the best. It is mentioned by someone else but the stereo panning on the Grandchild is off to the left and the other 2 a bit to the right. Only the original remains dead center.
Here is my preference based on the music you use:
Track 1: Unfair, Her, Grand.
Track 2: Unfair, Her, Grand.
Track 3: Her, Grand, unfair.
Track 4: Unfair, Her, Grand.
Track 5: Her, unfair, Grand.
I have the feeling that the Herchild its SC filter (does it have any?) is responding to much on the low end and that's why in all recordings the low end disappears a little bit.
Regarding the highs, only the original keeps the highs in a way that you can listen to it for days. All other 3 will make me tired after some time.
It really is amazing that Grandchild in a 500 series rack. I am seriously debating on buying that. I just hope my Wes Audio Supercarrier can handle it with power verses all my other gear in that rack and added heat. I wonder how easy it is to find and replace the tubes in the Grandchild?
@braxal6983 I'd imagine very easy to replace tubes. Heritage Audio will be able to provide more info on this. For the money you are getting a lot closer than you would expect to the fairchild. What impresses me is that they fit that sound into 500 series.
the features added by the Unfairchild - especially with the UNF-1a box - feedback / feedforward blend and High Pass Filter mean I chose that, and would choose it again every time - I have mixed whole electronic records with that on the two-buss - I couldn't do that with the 'original' Fairchild
@pupkid8613 you can go so much further with the unfairchild. When comparing these I had to really only use 30% of what the unfairchild was capable of to make it fair on the fairchild.
wow !! After hearing this i know for sure i would never bother use anything other than the original ! Unless the clones could beat other bus comps types in a comparison, like say an SSL or Chandler.
The spectrum analyser settings actually visually represented what the Fairchild does very well. It has a spectrum like tape, makes everything thick round and slow, takes out anything offensive in the top end, makes everything smooth, gives a neat sense of dimension.
Every sound across the spectrum had it's shape thickened and rounded on the analyser. The low end looks like a rounded mountain.
The others didn't have that low end, some sounded fizzy in comparison, and the analyser shows it !
The Fairchild is like the ultimate FM radio hit sound. It's like it takes it one step above the SSL mixbus.
Amazing what it can do for a record.
This was like comparing hardware to plugins lol. That's how much dimension the Fairchild adds.
I wouldn't wanna hear the plugin next to them xD
Have you ever taken an IR capture of the Fairchild ? I would love to see if i can get anywhere near emulating what it does.
Thanks for yet another amazing video ! Cheers
Nice Video. IMO it’s the Fairchild. I had the Unfairchild at one point but returned it for the Alpha. I’m waiting on my stam child. We’ll see how it goes. It’s like Fairchild King of Tube Compressors then Alpha King of all the compressors imo 😄
@@OfficialAlexZitto that's why we got both. I'm waiting for a digitally recallable Alpha.
To my ear original Fairchild is darker and a lot meatier sounding than the rest. The rest sounds also great of course but they're brighter and lighter/less dense in the low mids. Maybe it's because they're new?
@huberttorzewski the fairchild is brand new
Tnx❤
would you consider doing a comparison , talk , about the Unfairchild VST ? I have been using it this week and its great , never got on with a fairchild before , i bought the acustica one which is pretty crap to be staight . The unfairchilld is great in my opinion.
@justinb9387 Yes, I plan to do this video this week comparing hardware to software. I downloaded it today and certainly felt like the unfairchild.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio oh super cool , like your videos as you hold a lot of cred having the real stuff , and if you put the right clothes on you can handle some street cred too !!! I now know the appeal of the fairchild sound , the waves one and the acustica didnt do it for me. This is really pumpy on the drums and good on the bass ( i am no expert ) - look forward to when you do it !! great content.
The original has cleaner midrange. Unfairchild has scooped mids. The herchild and the 500 series both sound like they haven't been burned in. And the 500 series has a slightly collapsed image.
How many hours of play do the two new ones have?
Have you tried the Stamchild? I've heard good things.
@1loveMusic2003 I was waiting for a Stamchild to come over to include in this. Waited 2 months and delayed the release of this video. But hasn't arrived so could delay any longer. Will do a seperate video when it comes in.
@@AudioAnimalsStudioawesome! Will you edit it so there will be a side by side comparison with the other models aswell so use the same songs, same settings ? That would be incredible. Awesome video!
For me it’s the best one on the channel so far, not only because of the obviously exciting topic, but the level matching was painstakingly perfect, real world settings, great examples and variety all around and then of course your expert opinion was very valuable also. Looking forward to the Stam!
@MrAkkaTinka yes I have this session saved so I will add it to the same comparison in an updated video.
@@AudioAnimalsStudiodid the Stamchild come in ?
@TheThinker43 not yet. Fingers crossed it'll come by in the new year.
now I must have the Fairchild :(
Herchild
If you make amazing money, and want a FC, have fun paying 25,000, or more for the name. They really milked this one. I mean, if nice cars aren't your thing why not. Id still get an UFC all day, price aside. Eric killed it. Variable attack, an release, FF, FB modes. Insane. Sounded better anyway IMO.
@jamescassidy4045 this was my take away too. I would literally be buying it for what it is and what it represents.
🔥
Weirdly I prefer the Grandchild over the Herchild... and I agree the UTA is close enough... but, the original does have a little bit more of finished song sound to it.
Things sit like they are set... but then something you'll not notice really unless you put them up against each other.
That little difference is only worth it if money is funny... then you might as well.
Me personally... very into getting the Grandchild.
Have you used the Gainlabs stereo compressor?... these are in the same price range as each other and it had a bit more flexibility.
The rest have a bit too much of a mid high push... but, then again, what if you tried to match then with one or two processor before it... this is what most interests me, this little difference, is it achieved with a little extra processing?
@TheSakuraGumiLTD I too preferred the Grandchild over the herchild. I liked the simplicity of it also. You instantly get the sound you are after. The only downside when comparing the two from a business perspective is there's no real client pull from the Grandchild whereas there would be from a herchild.
I agree there's a finishing touch you get with the original that is very pleasing to the ear.
I haven't got a great deal of experience with Gainlabs. Only use when at demo shows and it's hard to tell how you feel about them in these situations.
@TheSakuraGumiLTD if you really wanted, you could probably match the sound almost identical with additional processing.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio Is a bit of a thing the crowd drawing for certain units.
You could just be rich and rubbish 😂
The reason is of course the clients did not learn along side with you, so they do not know these factors... although, a real one or even the bigger boys does show success as you say and it's something you have to just accept doing this as a business.
No one wants a Coke(TM) clone.
I have heard many examples of the Gainlab and the Grandchild and keep preferring the Grandchild.
When I've asked others they say Gainlab's but it's always "Gainlab's they have more control" not that it sounds better.
For now, for start up... I can get there for less until it becomes a must for business.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio This is often what I think, and confidently, but can't really state it without means to properly test this.
We can all do our business well a draw more later when we do our jobs well enough to get there in the mean time... a real one is not worth it to anyone that this work isn't suited for.
The real thing was definitely the best of all, but I noticed the Unfair was leaning to the right, not sure what it was; probably a bad tube I am hoping. - Fair> Her>Grand are my favorite, thanks for the video 🤙🏼
None of the units in the video are the real thing
UTA > Herchild > Fairchild > Grandchild
@@dextercon that's interesting.
UTA £14000
Herchild £8000
Fairchild £36000
Grandchild £1600
@@AudioAnimalsStudio
I really liked the Grandchild when you tested it alone, but here with the others, it looks like a plugin 😅
Fairchild the most neutral
Grandchild adds a lot of rich harmonic content
Unfairchild has the most aggresive character
Herchild boost the top end naturally but fatigue my ears
Dude save up a bit more and get yourself a bmw z4 or a porshe boxster. More fun guarenteed. I see no need for a fairchild in 2024 based on your review. Funny thing UTA Unfairchild just released their plugin, it's very heavy cpu demanding, but who cares, sounds as good as these units. It's in the league of the toneprojects michelangelo plugin.
Grandchild leans left by quite a bit, stereo balance is a mess.
Unfairchild leans right, also not calibrated left/right.
agree
Unfairchild/herchild sound like they are exaggerating the top end. Grandchild is more consistent. Fairchild wins all round.
Thanks for sharing way overdue it's crazy on the last example how the GrandChild keep the Snare and ambience much closer to the Fairchild where as both Herchild and UTA really uplifted the drums ambience and tone of the Snare 😮😬🤔. However I concur with your Comments on the UTA, u can model a vintage pieces of gear but I 💯 believe in adding modern day features. 😀
@lmpcrew was waiting for the Stamchild to arrive to add into the comparison but hasn't arrived so couldn't delay any longer.
@@AudioAnimalsStudio yeah you can always do a part B adding the stamChild to the same tracks will be great to hear it 👌🏾
I think the Fairchild is the fattest. The grandchild sounds sick. It’s not as round or fat but I like it second best. Then the unfairchild. And her child last. Strange that I thought the grandchild rose above its bigger sibling.
@henryhuynh2099 I was equally impressed with the Grandchild. Mostly impressed they got that soubd out of a 500 series unit at a brilliant price point.
@ I feel like the unfairchild or the real Fairchild would be perfect for master bus because it’s so fat and round and pumps so much life into the audio.
The grandchild would be perfect for drum bus because it has less tubes so it doesn’t round the transients as much.
I think they nailed the circuit on that grandchild.
Been watching you for a while. Love the channel btw.
@@henryhuynh2099 thank you. Appreciated
Not sure whats wrong with unfairchild but is sounds completly off, need to download the files to analyze..
Unfairchild is too brignt. It tires ears.
I have one, and if anything it's a bit dark on top compared to the source. Definitely not bright.