willovercome said:
which pres and which compresors do you recomend? i'm not looking for anything in particular, just more choices and flavors. maybe something for vocals and a good compressor for taming the wild bass.
For vocals,
the Symetrix 528 is a dynamite channel strip. Has a quality mic pre, compression, EQ and de-esser all in one box and they're extremely cheap on Ebay.
It's advisable to go with the earlier versions -- the 528 as opposed to the 528E, and/or
the SX202 (2-channel mic pre) as opposed to the 302. The earlier versions were based around a superior amplifier -- the discontinued SSM2015.
As for bass guitar, this one's easy -- the 501. I have one of these guys in my rack, and it gets used all the freakin' time on a ton of different stuff, particularly bass guitar.
Like the 528, the earlier 501 compressors used a superior component that was discontinued in the later models, and most who have experience with both will tell you the earlier models were preferable. In the case of the 501, this would involve the VCA -- the latter models used a dbx VCA, I believe, while the earlier ones used a much-coveted Valley People VCA.
The way you can tell is by the power switch. The earliest models had a toggle switch. Look at the photos carefully and be on the lookout for the models with the little silver toggle on the far right side of the strip.
I've got two 528's (one of which is currently being moded) and a 501, and I totally dig 'em. I feel like I shouldn't be giving away my secrets, here,
but seriously, you could assemble a pretty respectable utilitarian rack with a bunch of these guys, a dmp3, an RNC or two, and a couple of dbx Project I 242 EQs.
