what's a good outboard vocal compressor?

M

mofat

New member
Probably a good used one for less than 300? Is expander/gate important? I noticed some multi channel compressors dont have this feature.
 
What are your plans, live or recording? What other gear is it going to be used with?

The good old dbx 166 is one way to get it done, but there are many other ways to do it. Something like an RNC can be nice. I also like the ART Pro VLA. Compressors are like mics to some degree, though more adjustable: it's good to find one that works with your voice and application.
 
Expanders and gates are mostly to solve noise problems, but those are better solved by not having the noise. That said, I like expanders more than gates for vocals. Gates cut the signal by a fixed amount when the signal goes under the threshold, though you can control how fast they open and close. Expanders lower the signal by a ratio of the amount under the threshold, and they're usually very fast but smooth.
 
Thx for the fast response. It'll be used for live karaoke. It'd be inserted in a zed12fx board and a wireless Mic. At a livingroom setting so probably not the best optimal room acoutic. For vocal do u recommend hard-knee or over-easy.
 
For the money, I've really enjoyed my ART Pro VLA II. I don't have direct experience with the FMR RNC, but it was a neck-and-neck race between the two for my first compressor. My deciding point was that I wanted 2 channels that could be used independently or linked as stereo, so I went with the Pro VLA. But considering the price, a pair of RNCs would do a bang-up job as 2 mono or stereo channels. I have a feeling that neither would disappoint you.

I haven't been in the market for a while now...has anybody else released a must-have compressor in the sub-$300 market recently?
 
Tadpui said:
I haven't been in the market for a while now...has anybody else released a must-have compressor in the sub-$300 market recently?
Click to expand...

Don't know about new, but the previously mentioned DBX 166 can be had for 100 to 150 bucks for an American made unit. 2 channels linkable to stereo with hard and soft knee settings. It slso has a gate, but I find that pretty useless for most things.
I highly recommend the earlier US made over Asian stuff.

I'll second the Art for being a decent affordable comp.
 
Pretty much any compressor will be better than nothing in that situation. The VLA is nice but I'd go for something more utilitarian like an older 166.
 
I have an FMR RNC I use for recording, but have not tried it in a live situation. I do use live a couple of TC Helicon devices that have compression available in what they call "Adaptive Tone" and it works pretty well. Maybe something to consider as an alternative to a dedicated compressor(?)

TC-Helicon Mic Mechanic | Sweetwater.com
1. Easy Control of Reverb, Echo, Pitch Correction - with Dry-Wet Control for the Perfect Mix.
2. Tap Effects On-Off & Time Your Delays.
3. Adaptive Tone for Perfect EQ, Compression, De-Essing and Gating.
4. The Connections You Need Plus Updates & New Presets from VoiceSupport.
 
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