Nanocompressor - does this suck or can I continue using it?

[junplugged]

Am I wasting my time with this thing? I'm not sure what to do with it or if I should bother trying to figure it out. I'm running a mic to pre to nano comp to digital DAW.

[Blue Bear Sound]

I'd have to say you're most likely better off without it..........!

[Dethska]

I've used it with moderate success on bass drum and bass guitar. I actually really liked the sound I got from it on the bass guitar. It's not an RNC, but since I have it, I use it occasionally.

I say, if you already have it, play around with it. You might find something useful for it to do.

[junplugged]

Ok, I mostly use it for recording and keep the settings all in the middle and will be adjusting and taking some notes on it this week, but I guess I'll go take a look at the RNC.

[TimOBrien]

A Nano was my first compressor.

It put more noise than anything else in my sound.

Makes a great doorstop or bookend, tho....

[junplugged]

Is it that bad? I did notice noise. Having a nice signal from mic and pream and having a noiseless DAW at 44.1khz, etc., I hate to stick some noise in there. So what's better and affordable?

[eh91311]

Nanocomps are what they are. They are not quiet, they are not transparent. If you like how it sounds, keep using it. A RNC is the best inexpensive choice.

[Beck]

The Chinese made NanoCompressor is inferior to the older USA made MicroLimiter, which is actually a very decent sounding comp/limiter. The NanoComp is a toy in comparison. The MicoLimiter has very few adjustments to get you into trouble -- perfect if you're not familiar with all the ins and outs of a full-blown comp.

I have an RNC, but still have two MicroLimiters in my studio from the old days.

In the beginning Alesis was a great company that made some very respectable products in the USA. Like many companies they merged and outsourced until, as for their budget line, about the only thing they have now that they had then is the name.

[vbass]

I have lots of compressors including an ADL and an RNC. I use my two NanoComps all the time. I like to bus some of my drum mix to one and this works really well. I often bus back up vocals to one as well. I think the nano is more fexible than the RNC, although, the RNC is much better for lead vocals. Now that I think about it, I almost never use the RNC. My NanoComps are not noisy at all.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally Posted by vbass

I think the nano is more fexible than the RNC, although, the RNC is much better for lead vocals. Now that I think about it, I almost never use the RNC.

This is a joke, right?????

If it isn't, I'm guessing you're not being critical enough with the sound of your recordings!

[vbass]

Thanks Big Air Sound, that was the best laugh I've had all week! Really.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally Posted by vbass

Thanks Big Air Sound, that was the best laugh I've had all week! Really.

That's fair... because your previous post cracked me up.......!

Comparing a nanocomp to the RNC is like comparing a K-Mart keyboard to a Triton....... I suppose you prefer an Alesis MEQ230 to a Manley Massive Passive as well???

[tjohnston]

Originally Posted by Beck

In the beginning Alesis was a great company that made some very respectable products in the USA. Like many companies they merged and outsourced until, as for their budget line, about the only thing they have now that they had then is the name.

Yea I always wondered how they went bankrupt?

[jtdb30]

The nanobass is decent BUT the nanocompressor sucks!

[robin watson]

I use this old Ashley unit on the main outs and I really like the way that it slightly 'thickens' the sound, as well as compresses, and smoothly at that. A friend of mine uses (should I say over uses) a Nanocomp, and it's almost always audible in his final mixes, and not in a good way - quite thin sounding IMO.

Another really nice thing about the old Ashley compressors are the way they are built: modular PCBs (daisy chained with socketed ribbon cables, socketed chips in a simple design. Makes for easy maintenance in the event of a recap or chip failure = lifetime guarantee. They also have awesome after sales service: sent me an archived copy of the manual for the old unit I use for free (USA to Japan). How cool is that?

I'll probably take some flak putting this suggestion forward, but what the hell, some of us are on tight budgets, and ultimate reliability isn't always something that's in the design specs of budget priced equipment.

[junplugged]

I just tested it out in a mix on the vocal only. At first it sounded good, but then there was some essing, and a bit of hiss on the track where there was space. It also did seem to thin my voice a bit, like it seemed to change the eq a little on it, I have to solo the track now to check that out.

Then I did a mix and rode the fader a lot and it was hard to do, but seemed a little better. I have to take a LOT of notes on the lyric sheet to mark off the spots that need limiting, the trouble with that is that I can't boost much so I guess I would like to see if there is a compressor that is better.

[PowRGnome]

I picked up a Nanocompressor last week to mix my 8 track reel to reel onto the computer. I threw it on the stereo drum tracks as an insert on a Tascam M-208 8x4 mixer and it sounds good. I only have it hitting reduction on snare and kick hits, and it's just enough to make it punchy and let me turn up the highs to get more of the cymbals. I paid $40 for it and I think it was a pretty good investment.

Jon Mullen