rnc unbalanced question...

R

Rassoodocks

New member
ok, so i've been reading a few things about the unbalanced, balanced issue with the rnc... i'm keen on buying it, it seems a perfect compressor for my application.. however.. is using the compressor unbalanced going to fuck with my head ?

the main applications i'll be using it for is to compress bass guitar and electric guitar....

the bass guitar signal chain would be something like...

sansamp bass di,
rnc,
aardvark.

guitar would be
sansamp tri ac
rnc
aardvark...


now, from what i've been reading, the rnc is UNBALANCED, full stop... however, it does say in the faq section on www.fmraudio.com
that you can run it into a balanced mixer.... This is where i start to get annoyed.. what's the point of trying to balance an unbalanced signal other than connectivity ? The aardvark can take both trs and xlr connections... so would a trs to trs going from the rnc into the aardvark be ok and give me +4 level ?

if anyone aardvark users that have the rnc could set me straight as to how you connect it all and so forth, i'd be much obliged...

Thanks in advance,
Rory.
 
I dont see you having any problems running an unbalanced 1/4" TS cable from the RNC outputs to the directpro's 1/4 line inputs.

The RNC's output can be varied enough to give you whatever level you need (-10, +4 etc).

ps RNC on sale at www.musiclab.net.au for $389
 
looking at the rnc more and more, i think it's going to be a real dick head to connect everything up....

i'd have to use the sidechain insert to run the sansamp through the comp and then both outs into individual channels of the aardvark...

the sansamp only has one effected output... so it'd have to run as side chain...*thinks*

am i right ? am i wrong? disadvantages/advantages....
 
I dont own a sansamp but wont you just run the outputs of the sansamp into the inputs of the rnc, then run the outputs of the rnc into the inputs of your soundcard...
 
indeed!!! and you're an aussie ?

i've bought all my recording gear from musiclab.net.au.. dean is a good guy..

ok... this stereo compression business has freaked me out.. so... i could run just one output to the rnc and use it in 'mono' ...

the left 'in' which is mono.. that'd work... although, the only doosey i have is... what does the 'tip in, ring out' describe just underneath the ins on both the left and right channel... this, i can't get my head around.
 
If you use a trs cable with the rnc, the input goes in via the tip and the output goes out on the ring (rather than having to use a separate cable with the output socket). This is handy for connecting the rnc to the insert of a micpre or mixer, saves you having to use two cables or buying those 'Y' insert cables.

The other option is to use a ts cable from your source to the rnc input and then another ts cable from the rnc output to your soundcard. That would work fine for you.
 
There isn't really going to be a problem using the thing 'unbalanced' into your 'balanced' mixer... as long as the cable runs are reasonably short... if you happen to have an RNP or Great River ME-1NV... then you can can use either as a 'balance box' for the RNC without a struggle.

However, I haven't found the RNC to be all that genius on bass. It works great in a whole slew of applications... but most of the bass sounds on which I've tried the thing... it just hasn't been a serious contender.

That said... you can get like 10 of them for the price of a single Purple Audio MC-77 [currently my favorite bass compressor]... so you kinda have to take the good with the bad.

Best of luck with your search.
 
i've found the rnc to be quite decent on bass(but of course i have never demoed it against things that cost 1000+) compared to plug-ins. put the attack around 6 ms, release at like .5(both positions happen to be 12' O clock) on super nice mode and set the ratio, threshold to taste..i usually don't use a ratio above 6.
 
ah... 6 is good.. because i was reading that the attack on the rnc is a lot faster than most compressors...

Another thing that i've found out in the course of this thread is that rnc has two mono channels... just like the behringer auto com xl... or the dbx 266xl... they're only two mono channels as well... which is SUPER... because i rarely record in stereo... i'm a big fan of mono.. especially for di'd guitars... Thanks again guys : )

Rory.
 
The RNC does not have 2 mono channels. It can either be used as a single mono channel or as a stereo pair. It is not like the behringer autocom which has dual mono capabilities.
 
ahhh... hrm, that's a bit funny... although... using two channels wasn't absolutely necessary... actually, i found a rnc on sale for 250 australian dollars... beats 380... picking it up tomorrow... was a pure FLUKE!


i'll let you all know how it sounds.
 
rnc test run.

ok... tested the rnc for recording and live tonight...

recording wise, it's quiet.. really quiet... i had to boost the gain a lot to get the same levels that i was getting with the dbx266xl.. and yes, i did test them side by side.. so... overall... the rnc is completley transparent.. you can only hear it working at extreme settings.. which is, good and bad... for bass guitar, i wanted a really 'compressed' sound.. so.. the problem we had with recording the bass was we had to turn the aardvark pre up and when we did, the low end totally shat itself...then, we tried the dbx and it was a lot louder with all balanced cables and the low end fart went away, somewhat.. still not enough to make me happy.... this led me to think that maybe i need a preamp OTHER than the aardvark....any ideas ?


as for live... the rnc was crystal clear... quite noisy however... when we tried the dbx, it was quieter but it added a noticeable tone to the bass.. which is good and bad...

So, i'm thinking i might resell the rnc... spend the money on a behringer autocom pro and a behringer preamp of some sort...



unless, there are any ideas from you bright individuals...

*cue bright idea*

thanks in advance....Rory.
 
Re: rnc test run.

Rassoodocks said:
ok... tested the rnc for recording and live tonight...

So, i'm thinking i might resell the rnc... spend the money on a behringer autocom pro and a behringer preamp of some sort...



unless, there are any ideas from you bright individuals...

*cue bright idea*

thanks in advance....Rory.
Click to expand...

*gack....granted i've never heard the behringer stuff but tradein the rnc for it?

have you tried the RNC in supernice mode? thats why (i think) the RNC has the rep of competing against compressor 10X's the price...i'd say play with it some more. super nice mode is a BEAUTIFUL thing...
 
i used supernice most of the time...


it just didn't give me the levels i wanted... but i'm not ready to give up on it yet...i'll give it some more goes... although... i'm beginning to think the aardvark pre's are just SHIT for bass guitar...

have to wait and see i guess...
 
*laughs*


yeah yeah, i know it's the only reasonable compressor that you can obtain without promising your soul to the 7th level of hell and so forth.. but, it just didn't do it for me... it didn't work with my gear... i mean... with the dbx the volume was there and i didn't need to crank the aardvark pre... but with the rnc, i need to crank both the output gain and the aardvark pre... that equals..*noise*

maybe it's just me, or the cables i'm using... i plan to look into it some more...


however, i don't think mister bass player will let me sell it... he wants to buy the behringer as well...

*shrug*

i just think that a moderate compressor and a moderate preamp A DIFFERENT ONE TO THE AARDVARK, is going to give me a better bass sound than using a great compressor and the aardvark preamp...

*shrug*
 
i am confused ... why are you using the aarvark pre at all? Isnt your signal chain from bass -> sansamp -> rnc -> aardvark line input.
 
the aardvark pre and line inputs are the same inputs essentially.. you just change the input type in the manager.. so, i guess i'm using the aardvark 'line input' ... strictly speaking.
 
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