Joemeek 3Q comp/eq.....

G

goodbyebluesky

New member
How usuable is the compressor and eq section of the 3Q? I have heard its quite a capable pre for the price but the comp doesn't allow much fine tuning and colors it very much. All owners (or previous owners) please advise me.
If I bought one, it would be a step up pre-amp wise, and would give me a compressor which I don't have yet. If I didn't buy one, I'd make due with my bellari pre and probably buy a dbx 266XL cus its about all I can afford. Reccomendations?
Btw, this is for acoustic/clean guitars and bass only.
 
If you're just after compression there are better options ... the ThreeQ's comp sounds GREAT and needn't be trashy or smashmouth (though obviously it does that in a Joemeek way too) but it's not very flexible as there are only three controls for it! If you want something with more threshold and ratio controls, you can go for something higher in the Meek channel strip range, or go for the standalone compressor unit. Obvious but very different competitors include the RNC.
 
I purchased the 3Q about two months ago and have got to use it on electric guitars and female vocals.

it did outstanding on both, although the useable range for vocals is pretty small, but MAN!, I tracked with the compression, and I hardly needed to touch the vocals at all after-wards, and I couldn't hear the compressor working at all, although I do think it gave the sound a nice coloration. I'm very pleased so far.
 
I see the word "colored" and "coloration" quite a bit when reading about the ThreeQ... what do you mean?
 
The 3q's compression changes the sound thats what coloring means, it's a pretty broad statement and can apply to many various sonic differences. I personally own the mic but do not like the color the compressor gives a track. I use it to mainly track kick drums and usually used the compressor, last night, I decided not to and honestly loved the sound much more. I think they should've either done away with the compressor and focused on the eq or just dropped the bells and whistles and given us just the pre at much cheaper.
 
I've used mine as a DI for bass and was fairly impressed....
Also use it for vox all day long, as it's very clean sounding.
 
I use the threeQ to track guitar, bass, and female vocals.

The pre is good. The compressor is great for bass (MUCH better than an RNC in my opinion). I also like it for rock guitar. Very aggressive sounding. I haven't tried it for vocals, but I'm sure it would work. It has a nice sound, but it's not a sound I would want on every single track. The EQ only gets used on guitar sometimes (when DI'ing). I prefer to move a mic than play with the EQ. It can be rather noisy.

There are better options for a pre, compressor, and EQ, but all in all it's a pretty nice package for the price.
 
noisedude said:
If you're just after compression there are better options ... the ThreeQ's comp sounds GREAT and needn't be trashy or smashmouth (though obviously it does that in a Joemeek way too) but it's not very flexible as there are only three controls for it! If you want something with more threshold and ratio controls, you can go for something higher in the Meek channel strip range, or go for the standalone compressor unit. Obvious but very different competitors include the RNC.
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Noisedude is correct about the threeQ. The ratio is at a fixed point, so a bit more limited, but that was intentionally. So it is not as flexible as other models we or other manufacturers make.

The idea behind the threeQ was to hit a $200.00 price point and offer as much features that we could on a complete channel strip, but still have it be a quality unit. Based on that, the eq offers only a mid sweep, and the compressor had to do without the ratio control. The other restriction was space, but we did get very usable controls on the unit for the money...IOHO

Yes, the Meek is colored but that is the optical compressor generating the 2nd order harmonic...again, done intentionally. This is more controllable on the sixQ as it offers full ratio control, more metering, more EQ, more mic amp features and digital outputs for about $150.00 more. So you can ease up the color with low ratios.

There are other units out there worth considering, so do the homework.
 
I really like the ThreeQ. I've used it on bass, guitar and vocals and if you don't hit the compressor too hard, it's not an obvious effect. I like all the Joe Meek stuff though. It just suits my work very well. Take a chance with it for $200. It's well worth it. Very solid build too.
 
OK - I'm convinced!

Jeeze - I shouldn't have looked at this thread... I went ahead and ordered one :cool:

Damn these G.A.S. pains! :D
 
kid klash said:
Jeeze - I shouldn't have looked at this thread... I went ahead and ordered one :cool:

Damn these G.A.S. pains! :D
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Hahaha ... and then when you put it on a shelf in your rack it'll look silly and you'll start looking at other half-rack units to fill the gap! :D
 
hhmm... i've just looked at a picture of the 3q - i don't get it... why put the phantom power button on the back? :s that's a button that people are going to be using all the time, surely - so it should be easily accesible... its alright if its just sat there on a desk or whatever, but if it was in a rack holder that had wooden or metal sides, its going to be a right bugger to switch on and off... its not a huge deal, and if i was ever thinking about buying it, it wouldn't put me off massively... but it'd go into the cons list, definetly :p

Andy
 
noisedude said:
Hahaha ... and then when you put it on a shelf in your rack it'll look silly and you'll start looking at other half-rack units to fill the gap! :D
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Yeah... DARN!!! :D
 
andydeedpoll said:
hhmm... i've just looked at a picture of the 3q - i don't get it... why put the phantom power button on the back? :s that's a button that people are going to be using all the time, surely - so it should be easily accesible... its alright if its just sat there on a desk or whatever, but if it was in a rack holder that had wooden or metal sides, its going to be a right bugger to switch on and off... its not a huge deal, and if i was ever thinking about buying it, it wouldn't put me off massively... but it'd go into the cons list, definetly :p

Andy
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There's very little room to put a switch on the front. It's a marginal box at best and geared for someone who has not used a higher pre. You're not missing anything.
 
CCS said:
There's very little room to put a switch on the front. It's a marginal box at best and geared for someone who has not used a higher pre. You're not missing anything.
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At least for me, the phantom switch being on the back isn't an issue. As far as this unit in general is concerned, it's just another color in my ol' "paint box", which, by the way, contains lots of different types of "paint". ;)
 

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CCS said:
There's very little room to put a switch on the front. It's a marginal box at best and geared for someone who has not used a higher pre. You're not missing anything.
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Haha ... I took mine to a record label today and it beat out various TL Audio (not Ivory series) and old TF Meek boxes, plus the main Amek desk with Neve-designed EQ for use with my bass. I ended up using it on some keys too. It's not a magic box by any means but there is no reason to disagree with the Proaudioreview claims that it can hang with channels of significantly higher price. :)
 
noisedude said:
Haha ... I took mine to a record label today and it beat out various TL Audio (not Ivory series) and old TF Meek boxes, plus the main Amek desk with Neve-designed EQ for use with my bass. I ended up using it on some keys too. It's not a magic box by any means but there is no reason to disagree with the Proaudioreview claims that it can hang with channels of significantly higher price. :)
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The Three Q is limited to cutting and boosting in the 80hz and 12Khz frequencies. The midrange offers somewhat more control, but there is no control over Q. The neve designed EQ on an Amek desk is a parametric EQ offering a greater range of control over a broad spectrum of frequencies, unlike the Three Q.

Regards.
 
I know what they are. I'm telling you what sounded best on this occasion. I'm not telling you that I'd take a desk full of new Meek over a desk full of Amek ............ but a desk full of Amek isn't an option for me, so I guess I'll have to do with something that sometimes sounds better. :)
 
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