Question about compressors and phantom powered mics

[cordura21]

I want to buy a hardware compressor, basically to use it more like a limiter, so I don't get digital clip going into my Digi 001 when I am recording my condenser microphones.

I really like the RNC, but from what I saw it doesn't have phantom power. So from what I guess, I'll have to use it thru a mixer as an insert and then to the Digi 001.

My questions are:

1) are there any budget compressors that can deal directly with phantom powered devices?
2) am I caring too much, as a mixer in between won't affect the signal a lot?
3) Can the RNC deal with microphones directly (even non phantom powered), or it need to deal with preamps?
4) They offered me a Behringer Autocom Pro @ U$ 130. What do
you think?
5) What's the difference between the Comporser Pro and the Autocom Pro? i couldn't understand it from the page.

Thanks in advance. Cheers, Andrés

[Track Rat]

With pretty much any compressor, you'll have to go thru a mic preamp first to get the mic signal up to line level (either -10 or +4). If you were using the pre's in the 001 you've got no insert or a way to cascade into the compressor. A stand alone mic pre many times will have an insert built into it just for this purpose.

[Shailat]

Originally posted by Track Rat
If you were using the pre's in the 001 you've got no insert or a way to cascade into the compressor.

Actully you can divert it to the compressor on the 001. Look at your manual section - using outboard gear.

The only problem you might run into is latency.

[cordura21]

you're right, but the main application -for me- is to use it to avoid digital clip. And if you're routing it inside the Digi 001 then it's already digitized (sp?). That's why I wanted something previous to the converter.

[Track Rat]

Originally posted by cordura21
you're right, but the main application -for me- is to use it to avoid digital clip. And if you're routing it inside the Digi 001 then it's already digitized (sp?). That's why I wanted something previous to the converter.

Exactly

[chessrock]

No way around it. You gotta' use an ouboard pre or mixer before the comp.

If a limiter (to avoid digital clipping) is all you need, then I'm afraid the RNC might not be up to the task. The behringer does have a limiter built-in, and it's a good one for the money.

[cordura21]

Originally posted by chessrock
If a limiter (to avoid digital clipping) is all you need, then I'm afraid the RNC might not be up to the task. The behringer does have a limiter built-in, and it's a good one for the money.

Don't you think 25:1 is enough emulating a limiter, or is it because other specs?

[Shailat]

DOH !

I was concertrating on the "no insert" issue and didnt pay attention to your question.

[sjjohnston]

A few notes:

- I'll go along with the post above: compressors (like most all processors, with the except of a mic pre) take line-level signals, not mic-level signals. You need a mic pre in between the mic and the compressor anyway, whether phantom power is an issue or not. There are, of course, numerous products ("voice channels" or whatever marketing word you want to call them), that have a mic pre in the same box with an EQ, a compressor or what have you. The Joe Meek VC3 is an example.

- The issue of whether your mic pre has an insert seems like a red herring to me. There's no good reason not to hook it up like this: mic -> pre -> compressor -> converter (or other recording device). The reason some equipment has an insert is so that you can get the signal out from between two different stages in the box, do something, then put it back in. Your basic mic pre doesn't have or need an insert, because there's nothing to insert between.

Example of where an insert makes sense -- a channel strip in a mixer:
..............................Insert
..............................^ V
input jack -> mic pre -| |-> EQ -> Aux sends -> master fader, etc.

Similarly, an insert makes sense in something like a Joe Meek VC3, where I think it comes between the mic pre and the compressor. But I fail to see what purpose an insert would serve in a plain, standalone mic pre.

- You can use the RNC as a limiter. When the ratio is set at 25:1, it is a limiter.

[chessrock]

Good stuff, SJ.

It might have just been the particular model that I was using at the time . . . or it may have been my setup . . . not sure, but the RNC didn't work as a peak limiter for me, no matter how high the ratio. On voice and guitar it was fine, but really fast transients like pops and slaps on bass guitar would totally crap it out. Probably because I don't think it was quite fast enough to catch some of them.

I had a lot more success with the Behringer's built-in limiter.

Again, it may have just been me, but I would beware and test the unit out before your 30-day return policy runs out to make sure you're happy it doesn't let through fast peaks. Maybe try it out on drums first as a test.

[cordura21]

Originally posted by chessrock
Again, it may have just been me, but I would beware and test the unit out before your 30-day return policy runs out to make sure you're happy it doesn't let through fast peaks. Maybe try it out on drums first as a test.

30 day-return policy, in Argentina?

That's a good one!!! Now tell me some blonde jokes!



But maybe you're right, maybe the RNC is not fast enough for transients. Anybody else tested it with drums and other similar sources as a limiter?