My favorite gear manufacturers . . .

but it isnt so much the NEW symetrix stuff that is a good deal, its the USED stuff.

very undervalued on the used market. and very sold stuff, so it is a good investment.

check out the symetrix compressers on ebay. you can walk away with one for $50 including shipping, that will be a decent workhorse till you can afford better.

of course the 202 preamp is good as well.
 
Precicely what Eeldip says.

The compressor to look out for is the Symetrix 501. Before the RNP came out, it was the favorite budget compressor used by a lot of pretty big names, actually as a bass guitar comp. Still used a lot for that purpose today, actually.

Here's a tip for you, by the way: Be on the lookout for the ones with the toggle switch. The toggle switch is one of the first models they made, and it utilized a VCA that's no longer in production (Valley People, I believe). Anyway, it was a very well-liked VCA a while back, and many will swear by the early 501's as being great sounding little units at any price. And you can include myself in that group.

Note the picture on this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2538795992&category=23793

See the toggle switch to the far right? This is one of the good ones, and you should snatch it up if you're in the market. $70 is a steal. Kicks ass on bass. It's better than the Behringer Composer (and most of the plugin comps you might have for that matter), and will probably last longer, even though it's a good deal older.

Now look at this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2539417345&category=23793

See? No toggle switch -- it has a rectangular power switch instead. Not as good as the eariler model. Keep looking for the toggle switch models.


The Symetrix 528 is another beast altogether. It's basically a channel strip in a box. Has mic pre, EQ, de-ess, and compression all in one. Don't even get me started on this one. It's just a step above any of the other budget channel strips out there, without a doubt. And that includes the Focusrite platinum thingies, dbx silver, and Joemeek whatever. Probably 90% of the voiceovers you've heard on TV and radio spots over the years have been run through this guy, by the way.

And it's very upgradeable. Some well-published mods are out there that can make your old, budget 528 in to professional-caliber piece of gear. www.audioupgrades.com being one of those routes.
 
Tech 21 is the shit, I wish they made more products though.

I guess you have used your C1 a few times, it earned honerable mention with the only flaw being that the owner doesnt stay on top of the compititions specs and prices. I still give them an A but Im waiting for the reviews on the toft pre and Steven Pauls mic. (If all goes well with the Metabolife Suit, Ill get the mic maybe even the pre.
 
I know I'm speaking for MISTERQCUE as well as myself, but our favorite company is
Behringer

...especially their mixers, eh MISTERQCUE?:D
 
Chessrock...I have very often found your grating condescending and rude comments to be so offensive as they made me want to kick your ass in no uncertain terms.......However, your take on the Symetrix stuff is so right on the mark that I've decided you're not half bad and possibly a fair judge of decent gear. I have owned or now own a plethora of Symetrix sound gear and have touted its quality of build and sonic abilities for years.This does not include the 'new' stuff but simply the elderly pieces as were mentioned ie.501 528 201 525(my fav) etc.

For those of you who are just getting your feet wet in this arena, there are few bargains in the market that can compete with overall usefullness at its price break than the Symetrix stuff.I suggest you read Chessrocks comments closely and save yourself the heartbreak of learning sound on some Behringer junk and immediately move your sound up a notch.

IMHO, the main reason the Symetrix gear has remained so low in resale is the fact that it is rather utillitarian in looks.Perhaps someone could release a mod that would include a window with a glowy-tube thingy...they would fly off the shelves!!!
 
Cavedog,

Normally, I find your insights to be about as valuable and utilitarian as an empty ketchup bottle or a full condom.

But your take on the Symetrix stuff is, as you put it, pretty much spot-on. :D On the subject of the sexiness (or lack thereof) factor of symetrix gear, I am of the opinion that their choice of color scheme has as much to do with it as anything. Black is sleek . . . white is pristine . . . green is interesting . . . but grey is just plain dull. Although it looks much better in person than it does in photographs.

Because you were so kind in your compliments to my used gear acumen, I feel like sharing a few more ideas to those who might actually be interested:

* Ashly compressors
* Orban EQ (and/or dbx Project I EQ)

Many more where those came from, which I'm sure could be a topic for another thread.
 
I am interested in parametric EQ's right now, and had heard that Symetrix made some decent ones. Are the old/used ones better there as well?
If you have more info (product-wise) on this subject, Chessrock, I'd listen.
 
Yea, they make a bunch of 'em.

The SX201 is their single-channel. They also made the 522E, which is the dual mono version, and I forget the other models. They're pretty decent and well-built.

Honestly, though, if I were scouring the market for a good, used parametric EQ, I would be looking at the DBX Project 1 242. This one's actually a Bob Orban design, and it was in production for like a year before dbx scrapped it. It's one of those rare gems that not a lot of people know about, but it gets a lot of recommendations -- including our own Harvey Gerst. I get the feeling that people purposely try to stay hushed about it because if word gets out, then the ebay value inevitably jumps. If you find one going cheap, then just grab it and don't think about it.

After that, the other ones I would look at would be some of Orban's earlier models like the 622B. Those can be had very inexpensively if you scour ebay enough. It's kind of an earlier version of the dbx 242, actually . . . but it has the added benefit of looking very "vintage" sitting there on your rack. If that's important to you. :D

The other sleepers that don't get nearly the hype they deserve are from Rane -- another company very similar to Symetrix in that they stress superior design over marketing hooplah. The RANE SP-15. Also the PE15 and GE-27 are all very respectable models, fashioned after the massenbergs.

The beauty with these guys is that, again, you're looking at another very "upgradeable" box. I keep mentioning Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades, but I believe these Rane units are also something he can improve on for a couple hundred bucks should you ever decide you want to make it sound like a million. Honestly, anything on his list is probably good, because he won't work with something that isn't already a solid design.
 
Chessrock,

Thanks for info. That's just the info I've been looking for. I'll go research the companies you mentioned.
 
dbx 242 user here.

yep. them the shit. but dont get one, cause i want another some day, and i want to pay around the same price... (under $100)

there are a few little things about the design which are annoying. you cant switch out a channel from the signal path for example. it has a wall wart.

but man it does some serious work. you can reduce the gain down to infinity and totally notch out a frequency. the shelves are nice. the q gets nice and tight to really big.

i have used it to get filter sweep effects with a synth. you can make a decent resonant filter out of it. it does it all. plus it sounds pretty ok.

with the channel gains set to 0 it is actually one of the cleaner amps in my rack. i use it for make up gain sometimes when i use noisier pieces of gear. [like my ashly sc50 set to limiter, ill just let the signal come out really low, send it to the dbx for a few dbs of gain and some little eqing while i am messing with the signal anyway]
 
Occasionally a person may run across an early early Furman Sound EQ....these are the ones with the lovely patina of red background ,silver lettering, and some unknown hue of green knobs.Dont be swayed by its likely price of $50usd...These things have a great big range and there are mods for them also..very Orban-ish sounding to my ear...Just the very first year or 3 BTW.

And Chessrock, thanks for your esteemed vote of confidence.I would feel I've betrayed myself if after 30 years of recording I hadn't learned anything.Your illustrative intro was particularly satisfying.
 
Chessrock--

I'm getting your article up in the next few days. But, I'm going to post this as well unless you say no.

--Steve
 
another vote for TECH21 ! for distortion,
two years ago i heard a little tech21 XXL distortion stomp box and i was blown away, incredibly amazed, of course u gotto like that sharp, harsh but yet kinda cleanish sound (wow, european style of describing sounds...)

bought me a sansamp psa1 and will NOT sell it,
don't use it too often, but its so much better than most other pods or stomp boxes, pedals, multi fx simulator stuff i heard....

just one hateful thing, when u tweak the buttons, even one tiny click to left or right u hear
tweak-"PRRT"
tweak- "PPRT"
tweak- "PRRRT"

that means u gotto OR create your sound and save your presets BEFORE u record or live with the fact that u got weird sounds in your mix...
i think that if u use the unit live trhough a BIG PA set it might even sound very annoying.....
imagin 4000 watts of "PPRRRTT" :D
 
Good lists. I like:

1) Mics:

Microtech Gefell - carrying on the real thing. A bit old fashioned in marketing and distributorship. Great products, great service, even for 50 year old mics.

ADK. Fresh and challenging. The product line is a bit confusing, but the products are all better than great at their price points.

2) Pres:

Pendulum Audio. Stunning gear. Greg is the man.

John Hardy. Stunning gear. John is the man too.

3) Plugins:

Audio Ease. Makers of Altiverb, the finest convolution reverb around. Great updates, the best spaces.

McDSP. Digidesign spinoff. Great plugins. No charge upgrades.
 
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