Portfolio

The MCAudioLab SHD2ch is a high-performance Class-A tube enhancer. It is designed to introduce smooth and natural even-order harmonics without altering the integrity of your original sound. So, Whether you’re looking to fatten up your tracks, add a touch of gentle compression to your busses, or push it into gritty, no-frills distortion for creative sound design, the SHD2ch delivers exceptional results. While it shines on clean tones, its versatility also makes it an excellent tool for heavier drive applications.

With intuitive controls, fine-tuning the SHD2ch is effortless, giving you full control over your sound. This device only adds what you dial in on the front panel, ensuring precise and transparent audio. True to our philosophy, the SHD2ch maintains an exceptionally low noise floor and impressive headroom, meeting the highest performance standards for both clarity and dynamic range.

Ideal for both digital and hybrid studios, the SHD2ch is perfect for adding warmth and character to thin or lifeless tracks. Its rich tone and impressive flexibility make it a must-have for professionals looking to elevate their sonic palette. Whether you’re enhancing vocals, drums, or instruments, the SHD2ch delivers a sweet, natural enhancement.

For composers and sound designers, the SHD2ch is an invaluable tool to breathe life into soft synths. It excels at creating vibrant, expressive leads and textures that cut through the mix, adding depth and presence to any production.

When designing the SHD2ch, our goal was to create a device that adds smooth, natural second-order harmonics through a Class-A tube stage, without compromising your tone or altering the integrity of the original source. Unless, of course, that’s your intention.

Unlike typical tube drives, the SHD2ch operates differently, which is why we call it an “enhancer.” It processes only one half of the waveform, leaving the other half untouched. This unique design makes the SHD2ch far less invasive than traditional tube processors, allowing you to retain the purity of your sound while enhancing its warmth and character.

In contrast to our vintage-style preamps and EQs, the SHD2ch doesn’t offer “instant magic” or coloration. There are no transformers in the input or output stages, so the device adds nothing more than the harmonics you dial in. This design choice ensures that you achieve organic second-order harmonic enhancement while maintaining a pristine, uncolored sound.

The SHD2ch features three controls and a bypass switch per channel, making it incredibly easy to operate. The front panel is designed for simplicity, so you can focus on shaping your sound with ease.

Start by adjusting the Input level until the orange “MAX” LED on the vertical input meter lights up. This ensures the tube stage operates within its optimal dynamic range, avoiding any unwanted clipping. Next, use the SHD-Level control to dial in the perfect amount of harmonic enhancement. Finally, adjust the Output to set the desired final level of your processed signal.

The SHD2ch is excellent for adding analog warmth and and creating a rich, thick tone. You can track straight through it or use it to add some flavour in mixdown. If you need a cleaner sound, turn down the input to find the sweet spot where the tube stage just starts doing its job. It’s also an excellent substitute for gentle compression when you want to add body and life while still taking good care of your source material.

The SHD2ch is extremely responsive to the original tone and dynamics: instead of processing single tracks, feel free to try it on buss groups or as a master insert, you’ll come up with very interesting results by using it as a parallel insert too.

The SHD2ch is perfect for adding rich analog warmth and creating a thick, full-bodied tone. Whether you’re tracking directly through it or using it during mixdown to enhance your sound, the SHD2ch brings a unique character to your music. For a cleaner sound, simply lower the input to find the sweet spot where the tube stage begins to add warmth without distortion. This flexibility allows you to shape the sound exactly as you want, making it an essential tool for a wide range of applications.

The SHD2ch is also an excellent alternative to gentle compression, offering a way to add body and life to your tracks while preserving the integrity of the original material. It’s highly responsive to the dynamics and tonal qualities of your source, making it ideal not just for individual tracks, but for bus groups and even as a master insert. Experimenting with the SHD2ch as a parallel insert can produce compelling and creative results, allowing you to shape your sound in unique ways. This versatility makes it a valuable addition to any professional studio setup.

The SHD2ch offers a wide range of tones when used creatively. By turning up the Input level until the OVR LED lights up, you can push the tube stage into overdrive. Sometimes, nothing beats the power of good old distortion, and the SHD2ch delivers just that. Whether you’re looking for a bit of grit or full-on overdrive, this tube enhancer has you covered.

For a more traditional saturation effect, try chaining the channels. Take the output from Channel 1, flip the phase, and send it back into Channel 2. This clever routing technique allows Channel 2 to process the lower part of the waveform that Channel 1 left untouched. If you’re after symmetrical clipping overdrive, simply match the settings on both channels. Alternatively, feel free to experiment and set Channel 2 controls to taste for a more unique, creative result.

There’s plenty of room for sonic exploration in sound design applications. At full drive settings, the SHD2ch produces a rich, creamy tone that’s perfect for fattening up synth leads or bass lines. Whether you’re shaping smooth, warm tones or pushing the unit into more aggressive territory, the SHD2ch can easily transform your sound to fit your vision.