Manley Labs Variable MU 30th Anniversary Edition

Celebrating 30 Years of the Variable Mu The Manley Variable Mu Limiter Compressor is the glue that holds your mix together while crystallizing it into a professional, final product. It takes your track from song, to record. An all-tube, all transformer, all-American legend. And now, it's time to celebrate its 30th year on the planet with a limited edition T-Bar XXX version that offers ten critically tested tubes and four custom wound transformers"everything you love about the Variable Mu, with the expanded superpower of extreme limiting. This mod makes the Variable Mu even smoother when pushed past 6dB of compression. Using two matched 6BA6 pentodes strapped as triodes makes this choice better than an unobtainable and unsortable 6386. Only 50 units are available, handcrafted from the engineers at Manley"to you.

BENEFITS OF THE T-BAR MOD:

The T-Bar Mod offers significant enhancements to the Manley Variable Mu units, originally designed with the 6386 dual triode for variable gain control, a component used in the Fairchild 670 since the 1950s. After the 6386 was discontinued and became difficult to procure, Manley transitioned to the 5670 dual triode in 1996. While both tubes produce similar sound quality up to about 6dB of limiting, the 5670 can sound more "squashed" at higher compression levels. Some users prefer the 5670 for its characteristics, while others favor the original 6386 for its ability to handle more gain before introducing harmonic distortion.

To accommodate diverse preferences, Manley developed the T-Bar Mod, which incorporates a converter board and additional modifications allowing the use of two 6BA6 single pentode tubes. These tubes, when wired in triode mode, replicate the smooth limiting curves of the original 6386. The installation is straightforward, as the board plugs into the same socket as the earlier tubes, though it requires some extra modifications. The T-Bar Mod achieves three primary objectives:

• Optimal Matching: For new Variable Mu purchases, this modification ensures precise matching of each channel's phase-half sections and stereo sets.

• Availability of Tubes: The selected tubes are readily available, enabling Manley to test and pair them for low noise and microphonic properties.

• Enhanced Performance: Users receive an optimized version of the Variable Mu that retains the natural limiting qualities of the original 6386 tube.

For existing owners of Variable Mu units with either the 5670 or 6386 tubes who wish to upgrade, Manley offers installation at their service center or as a kit for qualified technicians to install themselves.

TYPE:

Vacuum Tube Limiter/Compressor with T-Bar Mod

NUMBER OF CHANNELS:

2

CONTROLS:

Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Recovery

RATIO:

Compress Mode: 1.5:1, Limit Mode: 4:1 to 20:1

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:

20Hz-25kHz

I

NPUTS:

2 x XLR

OUTPUTS:

2 x XLR

SIDE CHAIN INSERTS:

Sidechain Highpass Filter

TUBES:

4 x 6BA6, 2 x 5751/12AX7, 2 x 12BH7, 2 x 12AL5

RACK SPACES:

2U

POWER SOURCE:

Standard IEC AC cable

HEIGHT:

3.5"

DEPTH:

10"

WIDTH:

19"

MANUFACTURER PART NUMBER:

MP-AUD-0307-B