In this week’s Gear That Made Us, we bring you the EMI presence boxes.
The importance of these subtle units is not to be underestimated. Based on an earlier Abbey Road design from 1955, the original RS127 was created in 1962 to be used with REDD mixing consoles, adding midrange and high frequencies to sounds.
Presence boxes were used frequently on drum tracks, though also excellent for modifying vocals and guitars. Not only were they used on individual components, but sometimes even on the final cut of master discs, offering 10dB of cut or boost at 2.7kHz, 3.5kHz and 10kHz.
Engineer Ken Scott in the cutting room
Note the presence box at the top left
The original grey unit (left) had to be plugged into a purpose-made rack of equipment placed behind the recording console. Since it was purely passive, it required a remote amplifier.
As demand grew, the RS127 was rebuilt into a more compact green box with Siemens sockets and gold lettering engraved on the front reading “Brilliance Control” (middle).
Its final evolution (right) is best explained by technical engineer/microphone expert Lester Smith:
“John Lennon liked it particularly at the 10kHz mark but wished it was more 8kHz than 10kHz. So, without a second to waste, our senior engineer Len Page got hold of another Abbey Road innovation - the RS135, a box to reduce sibilance, and rearranged its components to turn it into an 8kHz booster box. This is why it is stuck together with black gaffer tape.”
#GearThatMadeUs #AbbeyRoad90 #PresenceBox
All three units have been expertly translated to plugin form by Softube Studios, bringing the brilliance direct to your home studio. Learn more.
