These things are GGGGGGGGGGGGREAT!!!

VESSEL2020

VESSEL2020

Somewhere in Space
I had the chance to sit in on my friend's high end studio recording process for their soon to be released LP and also had the chance to chat with the engineer who has many indie releases under his belt.

It is always good to run across someone willing to share their "secrets" on a great sounding mix. As I am always learning.

Though, knowing that the musicians themselves, and how well they play are key to a great mix as well as factoring in microphones/placement, preamps, etc...there are some things you come across in the studio that just add that "special sauce" or "magical sound".

I was introduced to what is called the DISTRESSOR. (A digitally controlled analogue compressor)
Many of you may have heard of or maybe even used this piece of gear before...
But I figured I'd post a thread here about it anyway for those who haven't.

This thing is worth every penny it costs.
I had the chance to hear an A-B mix without it, and with it.
All I can say is...WOW!!!:thumbs up:

This is definitely one of the best pieces of gear I've had the chance to lay my ears on in the past 10 years or so. Not only that,...it doesn't come with a steep learning curve.

I am now in the process of saving up for a couple of these badboys.
I can only imagine what my 388's tracking would sound like with this...let alone my 320B & M3700.
I do own a few lower end compressors..but nothin' that sounds like this.

Just got rid of one of my 688's to add to the DISTRESSOR fund. (ironically my last post was my 688th post!);):eek::D
Just thought I'd share this here with everyone.


DISTRESSOR
 
The Distressor is certainly a nice piece....but a bit pricey when you need a pair for stereo use.

If you want to score an absolutely killer stereo comp....check out the Overstayer line.

Overstayer Recording Equipment - Home

They have three different models...I have all three. I started with the full rack Stereo VCA...and then a few months later got the two half-rack units as a combination.
The FET version will give you the same kind of "nuke" options as the Distressor, and the full rack Stereo VCA is now permanently on my stereo mix bus....just sweeeeeet.
The Dynamics Processor is very similar to the Stereo VCA...just not all the options.

The prices are great! :)
You can check out Gearslutz and some other audio sites....everyone loves these things!

They also have some other products coming out that I'm going to be checking out...like the Saturator. :cool:
 
miroslav said:
If you want to score an absolutely killer stereo comp....check out the Overstayer line.

Overstayer Recording Equipment - Home

The prices are great! :)
You can check out Gearslutz and some other audio sites....everyone loves these things!

They also have some other products coming out that I'm going to be checking out...like the Saturator. :cool:
Click to expand...

That's great! Thanks for the tip miroslav!
I'd really like to check out the Overstayer line in person before I put all my eggs in one basket.
 
HA ha,..good for you for discovering the Empirical Labs Distressor EL8!These are based on the classic Urei 1176,Gain Brain,Teletronix LA-2A and I believe some other classic compressors from back in the day.And if you think the Distressor sound great,(which indeed it does),you would absolutely cream your jeans if ever hearing the Fairchild 670 valve limiter at work.It has 20 valves and 14 transformers.This is what engineer Geoff Emerick used on the Beatles vocal tracks.Thing is they cost $50,000 - $60,000,but there are some very good plugins of this classic.I have a couple Avalon VT-737SP's and they are also killer.

Enjoy that new Distressor when you get it!
 
I have a matched stereo pair of Distressors with all the options and I agree they are fantastic, and actually a terrific bargain for what they do--I mean if you look at what other high-end 2-channel compressors cost (UAs, Manley etc) they're really not badly priced, and they're absolute workhorse compressors. I use them on every project I do, usually both in tracking and mixing. The great thing about them is how musical they are, I mean you might not have them set right of course, you have to pick the right curve and filters for a given source, but you'll rarely get them sounding "bad." You can absolutely slam them and they'll still hold up, yet you can also barely hit them at all they still do nice things, nice filters too. Super flexible in terms of the sounds and characteristics you can get out of them. Absolutely love them! We have a couple classic DBX units sitting right above the Distressors and I still like to use the DBX-inspired settings on the Distressor. The Empirical Labs stuff has its own family type of sound and I wouldn't call the Distressor an emulator, but they're not shy about the units that inspire certain settings such as the 1176 and DBX 160s. I will say that, for example, the Distressor doesn't do things that the DBX 161VU does (those are great units too especially on snares and sometimes strings), but you can get them sounding downright 160A-ish, maybe a little chunkier. The cool thing about their DBX-y settings is you have more flexibility compared to the actual DBXs because you have control over the attack and release settings plus the filters.

The Distressors rock, glad you got to check them out! Actually I would have to say, though, that they do come with a bit of a learning curve in that if you haven't used one before, you really do need to spend some time playing around with the sonic options, the nice thing about them is they break away from conventional knob markings which forces you to use your ears more, but with a unit that does so much, it's worth spending some "dicking around" time with 'em. Once you get familiar with the various settings and combinations, you can fly on 'em which, along with their musical nature, makes them GREAT for using in the heat of the session, especially in tracking, when there's no time to putz around and you need a safe bet quick.
 
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There is also a clone of the 160 available from AC sound something along the lines of $500-1000 once you put together.
 
briank said:
I have a matched stereo pair of Distressors with all the options and I agree they are fantastic, and actually a terrific bargain for what they do--I mean if you look at what other high-end 2-channel compressors cost (UAs, Manley etc) they're really not badly priced, and they're absolute workhorse compressors.
Click to expand...

Yeah...the Distressors are tops.
I was looking at them for awhile...and then also looking at the API, Manley, Smart, SSL, etc options...and that's how I happened on the Overstayer boxes. I was looking for reviews on the other brands to help me make a decision...and kept seeing people remark how the Overstayers were killer at like half the price. I mean...when I was checking like the API and SSL comments...people were saying the Overstayer sounded equal or better...so considering $2500 VS $1000 for a great stereo comp....I went for the Overstayer, and on first use was nothing but smiles. :)

Each box has some personality, so nothing bad about having more than one brand/model...
 
I meant stereo 160VU version. Thanks for calling me on it. I did double check (you caught me on that, I shouldn't post w/o checking :-) ) the kit is US$250 for two channels, US$25 for the PCB, and then you need to add a case (realistically US$50 - 150 depending on how you want the front panel to look and who does the work) and a few other parts, and of course the time and frustration involved. There are options to use various vca's the kit comes with a newer chip.
 
briank said:
I have a matched stereo pair of Distressors with all the options and I agree they are fantastic, and actually a terrific bargain for what they do--I mean if you look at what other high-end 2-channel compressors cost (UAs, Manley etc) they're really not badly priced, and they're absolute workhorse compressors. I use them on every project I do, usually both in tracking and mixing. The great thing about them is how musical they are, I mean you might not have them set right of course, you have to pick the right curve and filters for a given source, but you'll rarely get them sounding "bad." You can absolutely slam them and they'll still hold up, yet you can also barely hit them at all they still do nice things, nice filters too. Super flexible in terms of the sounds and characteristics you can get out of them. Absolutely love them! We have a couple classic DBX units sitting right above the Distressors and I still like to use the DBX-inspired settings on the Distressor. The Empirical Labs stuff has its own family type of sound and I wouldn't call the Distressor an emulator, but they're not shy about the units that inspire certain settings such as the 1176 and DBX 160s. I will say that, for example, the Distressor doesn't do things that the DBX 161VU does (those are great units too especially on snares and sometimes strings), but you can get them sounding downright 160A-ish, maybe a little chunkier. The cool thing about their DBX-y settings is you have more flexibility compared to the actual DBXs because you have control over the attack and release settings plus the filters.

The Distressors rock, glad you got to check them out! Actually I would have to say, though, that they do come with a bit of a learning curve in that if you haven't used one before, you really do need to spend some time playing around with the sonic options, the nice thing about them is they break away from conventional knob markings which forces you to use your ears more, but with a unit that does so much, it's worth spending some "dicking around" time with 'em. Once you get familiar with the various settings and combinations, you can fly on 'em which, along with their musical nature, makes them GREAT for using in the heat of the session, especially in tracking, when there's no time to putz around and you need a safe bet quick.
Click to expand...

This is great. This is the exact stuff I like to hear!
How did they fair with your M3700? I'm eager to know!
 
...although of course you have to take care going unbal to balanced as with anything else. With the Distressors it mostly just meant cranking the input up more, or you can patch the source inline on the way to the console's balanced inputs instead of inserting and stay +4bal.
 
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