I first heard new about The Schwerkraft Maschine way back in December 2015. In fact, we posted a short story sharing this news that a new and exciting outboard compressor was on the horizon by Tegeler Audio. Tegeler Audio Manufaktur announced they were developing a new type of analog outboard vari-mu compressor that was going to feature 11 different compressor types along with a hybrid DAW control workflow via a plug-in that wasn't going to require me remortgaging my house if I wanted one... this immediately caught my attention.
I contacted the Tegeler Audio Team to enquire but they were very tight-lipped about it. The Schwerkraft Machine wasn't going to be ready anytime soon. In the meantime, and to whet my appetite Tegeler forwarded me a Creme for testing. The Creme is a bus compressor with built-in Pultec style EQ.
Regular visitors of Pro Tools Expert may recall I reviewed the Creme, fell in love with it, paid the invoice and incorporated it into my mixing workflow... and that was that, I all but forgot about the Schwerkraft Maschine up until I got a very brief phone call in mid 2017 from Tegeler saying "It's ready, we'll send you a unit this week"
I was setting my expectations pretty high while I was waiting to take delivery of The Schwerkraft Maschine. In fact, I remember thinking if it could be better than the Creme? If that turned out to be then The Schwerkraft Maschine would be something very special indeed.
As it turned out, The Schwerkraft Maschine exceeded all my expectations... and then some. This is why I awarded it my first ever Pro Tools Expert Editor's Choice Award for hardware and why it is also my product of the year (2017).
Like the Creme, The Schwerkraft Maschine is slowly changing my stubborn mindedness about using plug-ins exclusively in audio production. The Creme got me interested in the idea of working occasionally out of the box but The Schwerkraft Maschine has got me taking this workflow much more seriously. I have mixed every song through this since I took delivery. I don't think this device would have got me into this kind of workflow based on outstanding audio performance alone, no, the hybrid workflow and recall/control via DAW plug-in is the gem in what I consider to be a beautifully handcrafted crown - The workflow sold this device to me, the sound is the bonus.
Watch and read our full review of The Schwerkraft Maschine by Tegeler Audio Manufaktur.