Tegeler Audio Manufaktur Crème RC Analogue Channel Strip + Remote Control

A quick glance at the Crème RC’s front panel reveals little that has changed. It offers the same analogue signal path and most of the controls look and feel the same too. The only visual and tactile differences of note are that the metal toggle switches (for In/Bypass, the side‑chain high‑pass filters and the processor order) have been replaced with large orange‑backlit buttons. On the rear, though, alongside the balanced XLR audio sockets and IEC mains power inlet are USB and RJ45 sockets — the RC in the name stands for ‘Remote Control’. The Crème RC communicates via Ethernet with a DAW plug‑in that resembles the Crème RC’s front panel. (The USB connection is for firmware updates). Communication is bidirectional, with adjustments made using the plug‑in reflected by the hardware controls and vice versa.Plug‑in remote control of hardware isn’t novel per se. Indeed, I’ve used such products by several different manufacturers over the years, but Tegeler’s implementation of it is different. Most who go down this road populate their hardware with controls that scream ‘digital’, with endless rotary encoders or buttons to adjust parameters, a small display or LEDs to indicate the current settings, and sometimes menus or alternative control functions. Tegeler’s stealthier approach leaves the hardware looking and feeling much like any other analogue processor: with the large chicken‑head knobs, chunky toggle switch for power, the moving‑coil gain reduction meter and generously sized buttons, it all looks and feels very ‘human’.