Buyer's Guide: Manley Labs

Known for handmade studio gear powered by high-voltage vacuum tubes, it's only fitting that Manley Labs' mantra is "Tubes rule!" With a catalog of industry-standard products like the Reference Series microphones, Massive Passive EQs, and Variable Mu compressors, Manley's award-winning designs have been trusted by engineers, producers, and artists worldwide for over 35 years.

In this buyer's guide, you'll learn about all of Manley's microphones and outboard gear. But first, let's take a quick look at the brand's history and evolution.

A Brief History Of Manley Labs

Originally part of Vacuum Tube Logic of America (VTL), where EveAnna Manley worked on the production team, Manley released its first commercial products in 1988. A testament to the brand's longevity, many of those early designs are still popular today, including the Enhanced Pultec EQs and Reference Series microphones. After separating from VTL in 1993, EveAnna took charge of Manley Labs in 1996. Although the company still manufactures everything in the same factory, Manley Labs now offers a wide range of award-winning designs. During the 1990s, Manley Labs released several industry-leading products, including the Variable Mu® Limiter Compressor and Massive Passive Stereo EQ. In the 2000s, Manley introduced a number of innovative new designs focused on streamlining the production process, including the CORE Reference Channel Strip, FORCE preamp, and ELOP+ and Nu Mu Limiter/Compressors.

Manley Labs Microphones

Reference Gold Microphone

Equipped with an American-made CK12-style capsule, the Reference Gold condenser microphone offers cardioid, omni, and figure-8 pickup patterns, making it a versatile studio mic that's suitable for almost any session. Precisely engineered using cutting-edge technology and proprietary techniques, the Reference Gold microphone sets the standard for transparency and captures truly neutral, "reference-grade" recordings.

Reference Silver Microphone

Inspired by the Sony C-37A, the Reference Silver condenser microphone sounds round, warm, and never sibilant, making it ideal for vocals, drum overheads, and strings. Equipped with switchable cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns, the Reference Silver is a versatile ribbon mic alternative. Unlike the other mics in the Reference Series, in order to minimize noise, the Reference Silver first receives signal through a FET before hitting the mic's vacuum tube and signature Manley IRON transformers.

Reference Cardioid Microphone

A go-to vocal mic for modern pop productions, the Reference Cardioid delivers big, polished sound and is characterized by its silky-smooth high-end. Don't let the singer steal the show though, the Reference Cardioid sounds great on a wide range of instruments including guitars, drum overheads, and horns. Commonly compared to the beloved U 47, this mic is present and clean (unlike some of the people in the band).

Manley Labs Equalizers

Massive Passive Stereo Tube EQ

The Massive Passive is a two-channel four-band vacuum tube parametric EQ with all-passive tone sculpting circuitry, hence the name. With unique shelf curves and overlapping frequency choices, the Massive Passive is a versatile studio workhorse, combining the best elements of Pultecs, classic console EQs, and modern parametric designs. Also available in a Mastering Version, the Massive Passive Tube EQ can accommodate every stage of production. The Mastering edition Massive Passive EQ features a filter section aimed at solving edge-band problems, a reduced maximum boost and cut range for fine-tuning your sound, and stepped controls for easy recall. In 2023, to celebrate the Massive Passive's 25th anniversary, Manley released a Cobalt Blue Anniversary Edition, limited to just 100 units worldwide!

Enhanced Pultec ECP-1A

Available in stereo and mono configurations, the Enhanced Pultec EQP-1A is a modern take on the classic Pultec EQ. With the blessing of Pulse Technologies' Eugene Shenk, Manley updated the original design with their favored all-tube make-up gain block, which re-amplifies the signal after the passive EQ. Both units also feature MANLEY IRON® input and output transformers for rich analog tone, as well as alternative transformerless inputs and outputs for more neutral sound. Much like the original Pultec, the EQP-1A sounds great on guitars, kick drums, and bass.

Mid Frequency Tube EQ

Manley's take on the classic MEQ-5 EQ, the Mid Frequency EQ shares the same features and specifications as the brand's EQP-1A with sharper bell curves and more midrange frequencies to choose from. The Mid Frequency EQs are great for instruments like guitars, vocals, and strings. Equally as useful in mixing or mastering, this is an indispensable tool for music production.

Manley Labs Compressors

SLAM! Limiter/Preamp

Both loud and fast, the Manley SLAM!® combines a pair of limiters with two Class A tube mic pres. Equipped with an Electro-Optical circuit (also used in the brand's popular ELOP+ limiter/compressor) and a very fast FET brick wall limiter, SLAM! offers the best of both worlds. Both limiters can be used simultaneously or separately, making SLAM one of the most versatile limiters in any rack.

SLAM! also comes in Mastering Version, which replaces the mic pres with "mode" switches, allowing users to address more sophisticated functions of both the ELOP and FET circuits such as a de-esser, more ratio and mode options, as well as switched step controls for exact repeatability.

Variable Mu Limiter/Compressor

One of Manley’s most successful products is the Variable Mu® Compressor Limiter. Often compared to the Fairchild 670 compressor, the Variable Mu combines lush tube tone with all-tube variable gain, resulting in smooth, subtle compression. The Stereo Variable Mu compressor is also available with an MS Mod for stereo image enhancement, as well as a T-Bar upgrade option, which uses 6BA6 pentodes wired as single triodes to replace each dual triode 5670 (or 6386). The Variable Mu compressor also comes in a Mastering Version, which features stepped controls and extended attack times for fine-tuning your two tracks. The Variable Mu Mastering Version is also available with the T-Bar and MS mod options.

Nu Mu Stereo Limiter Compressor

An updated take on Manley's classic Variable Mu compressor, the Nu Mu is a dual-channel tube/solid-state hybrid compressor that delivers fast, punchy, clean sound. The new HIP function helps with dynamic control and heightens lower-level detail without affecting the transients.

 

ELOP + Stereo Limiter Compressor

Inspired by the classic LA-2A, and Manley's original ELOP® design, the ELOP+ is a stereo electro-optical unit that's easy to use and sounds great on almost any source. The new updated version includes a 3:1 compression ratio, allowing for more versatility to choose between limiting and compression. Manley also modernized the power supply, incorporating MANLEY POWER® into this unit, their universal voltage Switch Mode Power Supply, for lower noise levels and superior sonics.

Manley Labs Channel Strips/Preamps

VOXBOX Tube Channel Strip

VOXBOX® is a versatile all-tube channel strip that combines many of Manley's most popular designs into a single, easy-to-use box. Featuring the brand's acclaimed Class A mono microphone preamp, ELOP compressor, de-esser/limiter, and Pultec-style EQ, VOXBOX has everything you need to record radio-ready vocals.

CORE Reference Tube Channel Strip

CORE® is another channel strip from Manley that combines that brand's Class A tube mic/line preamp with a 3:1 ELOP compressor, Baxandall EQ, and FET brickwall limiter. Equipped with the same mic preamp and ELOP compressor as found in the VOXBOX, the CORE offers huge headroom and high fidelity at about half the price. While VOXBOX shines when recording vocals and bass, CORE keeps with tradition with new twists, offering a smooth Baxandall EQ and handy FET limiter for added control and different flavor.

FORCE 4-Channel Microphone Preamp

A TEC Award winner, the Manley FORCE® combines four high-voltage vacuum tube microphone preamps from the award-winning Manley CORE channel strip into a convenient four-channel rack-mountable unit. Driven by MANLEY POWER® the FORCE is quiet, with fantastic headroom and fidelity. Each channel includes a front-panel Direct Input jack, 7-segmented LED Peak Metering, selectable HI-Lo Gain, 120hz high pass filter switch, phase invert, 48V Phantom power, and a Silent Input level control which functions as a variable input pad.

If you’re interested in purchasing any Manley Labs products, contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.