Fita Live

Where equalisers are concerned, quality is more important than quantity, but does this Swiss‑made equaliser justify its hefty price tag? Paul White finds out.

Parametric equalisers are still the most flexible of all hardware equaliser types, but unless you have a seriously up‑market mixer, the probability is that you'll have to use an outboard unit. Some mixers offer a single band of parametric EQ, but you really need two or three if you're going to get stuck into any serious sound shaping.

No Mean Fita?

The Fita equaliser under review here doesn't exactly come supplied with a surfeit of documentation. There's no circuit diagram to tell you what's in the box, just a features list and a spec sheet. The unit is evidently intended for live applications as well as for studio use — each of the three parametric EQ sections can be bypassed via front panel buttons as usual, but in addition, a footswitching system enables the bypass switches to be activated remotely to provide a master bypass function. No audio passes through the switches so I must assume some form of VCA or FET switching is used. There are also two gain potentiometers linked to the footswitch, so that you can match the EQ'd and bypass signal levels.

The Fita EQ is a single‑channel, half‑rack processor and comprises three identical EQ sections, each of which has a range of 17Hz to 20kHz divided into three switchable ranges. Concentric pots/switches are used to save panel space and the maximum cut/boost range is 15dB with a Q variable from 0.5 to 15. Each section has its own bypass switch and status LED, with further LEDs being used to indicate the footswitch status and signal overload. Power comes from a 2‑pin mains adaptor that requires a shaver‑type adaptor before you can plug it in, and unusually for a pro audio device such as this, the input and output are on unbalanced jacks. A further jack provides connection for a conventional footswitch.

Although few circuit details are provided, a glance inside the box reveals an all solid‑state, inductorless filter topography based around standard op‑amps with the addition of a few logic circuits to handle the switching. The bypass switches on this unit have a momentary action, rather like the transport buttons on a modern cassette deck, and a battery back‑up system is used to ensure that the system 'remembers' the switch settings that were being used when it was last switched off. Everything is mounted on a single glass fibre circuit board, and the overall standard of construction is good.

I have to admit to finding the styling of this equaliser a little bland, but everything is clearly labelled with adequate room between the controls. Rack adaptors are available for those wishing to mount two units side by side.

In Use

Tested with a variety of instrumental and vocal material, the Fita EQ proved to be both flexible and tonally precise. It seemed to have plenty of headroom to accommodate more extreme levels of boost, but if pushed, I'd say it was an accurate, workmanlike EQ rather than something you'd buy to add its own character to a sound. While I couldn't fault the unit for its performance, I don't see why it is so expensive — other than the fact the Swiss earn a lot more money than we do! The circuit design may be good, but the components look pretty standard with the possible exception of the controls, and as far as pro users are concerned, the lack of balanced connections plus the dreaded wall‑wart power supply is bound to be offputting. On a per channel basis, the Fita parametric EQ costs around the same, or even more, than you'd pay for a serious valve model, and given that you can buy perfectly competent 2‑channel, solid‑state parametric units for significantly less money than this, I really don't see many takers in the UK. I must reiterate that this is actually a very good equaliser, but other than the footswitch option, it doesn't have a unique selling point, and in this price range, I feel it desperately needs one.