Two compressors?

[kp174]

I bought aa alesis 3630 compressor from musicians friend, and after hearing some negative stuff about it, I decided that I was going to return it when it arrived. So I went out to the music store near my house and got the Behringer composer pro, and now my other one came and I have two. Before I send it back, I was wondering if I could get more use out of just keeping it, and if it will eventually come in handy sometime. any suggestions?

[Spider]

drums!!!! r u recording drums ?? cos thats where youll use them , even for just mixing down. I use two compressors (each is dual channel , so four) and i still need more for recording drums , there great if they have gates on them ... try it out .. if your not recording something that requires multiple mics and channels then if your only recording 1 inst. at a time then i would probly swap it for something else , something that will give you more use .. but really it comes down to money , if u can afford to have that compressor sitting there doing nothing at times , then hey , why not!!!

[James HE]

My question is which one are you going to keep and which one sounds better to you?

-jhe

[kp174]

well I think I like the behringer better, so i would probably get rid of the alesis. I probably won't be recording more than 2 people at the same time, and I will probably be using a drum machine. I just can't decide what to do. I think I can probablky afford to keep it, but I don't want to if it will just sit there.

[buddyholly]

What's wrong with the Alesis? I got one, and it is great! I use it for mixing drums down to two tracks. It is not funky or anything. It is also a very visual unit, so you can see how much gain you are reducing and what your level looks like going in and out, bypassed, etc. Why is Alesis so maligned? It must not be cool to like them anymore. For the money I think they are great. I think the dBX 266 which is the same price does not sound as good, in fact.

Compression is very useful for mixdown. Even with programmed drums. But, with only two channles of compression you will probably find yourself only wanting more. I like to use it on acoustic guitar, vocals, and harmonies that need to be held at a certain level in the mix (listen to the Beach Boys mixes, they used compression well on Pet Sounds -- even if you don't like the music you should listen to Brian Wilson's technique -- I have found it verry instructive.)

I like natural warm sounds, but I wish I had about 12 compressors. They seem to bring out warmth, texture, and presence when used well.