3630 compressor

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J Train

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i have a 3630 compressor at church and it is not beiing used. should i be using it? will it help or hurt me. i am using a mackie cfx 20 mixer.

i also have a Art 351 Equalizer.....unused do i need it? i have eq on the board
 
Depends on what you think you might need a compressor for.....??? If you use it correclty it can help you, over use it and it will make the sound worse. Why would you need it?
 
i really do not know how to use the compresssor..... i would like to understand it, and how to use it.

how can it help with overall sound?


what about the equalizer? i have the cfx 20 mixer. so do i need the equalizer?
 
In my ever so controversial opinion, the 3630 is a perfect compressor to use for learning how they work. It has the right controls, and they work the way they are supposed to, and the manual is simple and plain. Your mixer has plenty of inserts and sub groups, so you could make use of either the compressor or the EQ on that mixer. I would think your built in DFX would be plenty for the stereo bus. If you use an insert for the eq to correct a problem child (I use EQ on my bass tracks), and use the compressor on inserts to tame a couple of mics/singers who lack mic technique, for example, you could improve your control of the sound. A compressor used correctly will not be heard. But it will control spikey signal levels for you without tainting the sound.

I would certainly start putting both units to use. But start small so you dont skew the sound, learn how they work, then slowly use them a little more each time until your mix improves.
 
compressor 3630

thanks for th info. very helpful.....

i have a dumb question now.....how do i hook them up to the cfx 20?

i am pretty sure they go right into the main insert, but i can only go into the right or left speaker. its all quarter jacks. do i need to buy a banana cord?

i have the equalizer into the compressor, which goes into the main insert....right?

i have only been doing this for about a year, so i am still learning. i want to know all i can. thanks for all your help.
 
J Train said:
i am pretty sure they go right into the main insert, but i can only go into the right or left speaker. its all quarter jacks. do i need to buy a banana cord?

i have the equalizer into the compressor, which goes into the main insert....right?
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean here, you can only go into the speaker? You can only run a mono mix? The 3630 is dual channel, Main left insert into channel 1, main right insert into channel 2. (make sure the switch is pushed for linking the two channels together, where the A channel controls both compressors.....if you want both channels compressed the same way) Not sure about your EQ unit, is it dual channel also?? Are you wanting to EQ the entire main mix??
 
i would like to eq the whole mix... is that what you would do?

in the mackie hook-up guide it tells me to hook the eq into the compresor, and the compressor into the main inserts. but when i hook it up like that i get sound out of one speaker only.

it shows a banana cord at the end that plugs into the compressor, but there is only quarter jacks on the compressor. thats why i only get the sound in one speaker.

i know what i am trying to say. i hope i make sense.
 
If you leave the EQ+compressor out of it, then you get sound in both left and right speakers? If so, then you know the mixer is ok.

Are you sure you are using a "Insert" cable? A real "send & return" cable? Stereo TRS plug on one end, and two mono TS plugs on the other end??

Are they identical insert cables? Some brands of insert cables have the send plug reversed. For example, Hosa insert cables have the send on the orange plug, return on the grey plug. Tascam inserts have the send on the grey plug. If you mistakenly assume they are the the same, then one channel will not work. You will not hurt anything if you reverse the plugs on one and try it. Or use an ohm meter to see which plug has 0 resistance with the tip of the TRS end, that will be the send.

If your insert cables are correct, then maybe one channel of the compressor is not working? Or one channel of the EQ? (You did not say what the EQ unit is....rack mount?)

You can test the inserts on the Mackie if you have a passive patch bay. just use a short cable to patch the send jack back to the return jack, like an old style telephone operator would do (complete the loop without inserting any effects). Any interruption in the send-return "loop" will cause that channel to quit working until you fix the interruption or remove the insert cable from the insert jack.
 
i do not have the correct cord yet....
am i making a good decision to hook both together into the main inserts, or do you think i should keep them seperate.

the hook up guide told me to hook them together.
 
Given the gear you are working with, and the position you are in for mixing, I think I would probably try it your way first. If you want to EQ the whole mix, then yes I would run the EQ before the compressor, but you wont hurt anything if you try it both ways. Only reason I run the eq first is - no matter what you might hear elsewhere - the eq will boost the level of the overall signal if you start boosting freq notches. (That's why that eq knob is called "Cut/Boost"!) If you boost some of the lower freqs, it can potentially drive your overall output levels up to the point of clipping. Small boosts to the higher freqs may not effect your overall signal level at all, even tho you can hear the difference.

By running the compressor second, I can change the eq and hear the changes in tone and still tame the signal levels I might create by boosting the eq. But this works for me because in my basement studio I eq and compress individual channels/instruments.

Just be careful not to boost things so much that you start pumping the compressor, thereby "squashing" your entire output. If you have a hard boost/peak at some low mid or low freq notch that makes your output signal spike, for example a kick drum or certain bass notes, the compressor (if it's compressing the entire output mix) will drive down the level of the entire mix just to tame that one spiking freq.

Hope this helps.....
 
thanks for all the info.. it was very helpful. i am going to get a cord and get it going. thank you
 
ok i am sorry, but i lost it again. this is what i am doing and it is not working...


i am using a 351 31 balanced ART equalizer
Alesis 3630 Compressor

i am hooking the equalizer into the compressor using a 1/4cable

EQ output to compressor channel A input



then i am hooking the compressor into the mixer using 2 1/4 cables

compressor output channel A,B into mixer main insert L,R insert

i am getting nothing. i have tried hooking the EQ into a seperate channel all by itself and i still get nothing. i fell really stupid.
 
ok ok i think i finally got it. i have to have 2 send/return Y cables to get anywhere.
 
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