Alesis 3630 or Focusrite Penta

S

signman

New member
Looking to add a compressor to my home studio.

The 'Focusrite Platinum Penta Preset' does sound the most user friendly.. any advice please....

Thank you

Paul
 
signman said:
Looking to add a compressor to my home studio.

The 'Focusrite Platinum Penta Preset' does sound the most user friendly.. any advice please....

Thank you

Paul
Click to expand...

I havent used either, but I've been on the forum for years now. From what I gather, the 3630 is highly regarded as the worst sounding compressor ever made.

Look at the FMR RNC.
 
Focusrite TT Pro ?????????

I can pick up a used (as new).. TT pro for a great price.

Is the compressor any good also eq? :o

Paul
 
Look at the RNC. It's not even a fair fight.



On a side-note? I find it surprising that Focusrite put their otherwise decent name on that - stuff.
 
Rnc

Well it sure ain't no looker compared with a Focusrite Compound, Penta etc.

I'm soooo close to buying a used Compound but put the brakes on after reading this!!!!

But if it gets the job done... How do you mount them in your 19" rack :confused:

Thank you

Paul
 
The 3630 should be your last resort choice. Squashed tone, el cheapo construction inside, absolutely no out of warranty repair or parts. It's mind boggling that people still buy these things. Under no circumstances should you ever buy a used one.

Yes I owned it. Yes, I got rid of it.

Personally, I dont think the dbx comp is much better. Save your money and get the FMR the first time around, that way you wont be buying it to replace the Focusrite later.
 
Rnc/rnla

Yikes I've spent a week researching and now I'm almost done..
RNC / RNLA or both..

I play Neil Young type tunes in my home studio. I've a Tascam TSR-8
and a few old Martin's.

I use a SR-16 , Les Paul, Deluxe Tweed and my Marine Band harp.
Do I need both those babies..

I see FMR do do a rack plate too..

Paul
 
Well it sure ain't no looker compared with a Focusrite Compound, Penta etc.
Click to expand...
My Crane Song stuff has the ugliest colored knobs ever. The Manley stuff isn't much to look at either for that matter.

If it makes a difference, unless you're mixing out or using a summing buss, you're probably best off just using plugs. Don't get me wrong - I'm a hardware freak. But you don't want to use (any of) these for tracking anyway. So if you're not pretty serious on running hardware inserts, save the money for something that counts.

Otherwise - The RNC is legendary. Unbalanced - but legendary for $200.
 
I would probably go for the Focusrite, but you know what, the 3630 gets an unfair bad rap.

I believe that people that bag them just don't know how to set them up, they have good options, soft knee, hard knee, peak, RMS, etc, and some times you just have to play with them a bit. I have had 3 of these in the rack for many years and they are always being used. I don't like them on Bass or snare but would use them on Kick, Guitars, and backing Vocal in a mix down. I also used a couple of these live when they 1st came out and they worked fine. So maybe they are not my 1st choice (and I am luck enough to have a choice) but they are still ahead of a lot of other compressors out there.

Cheers

Alan.
 
Eh, I have a fairly good idea on how to operate a compressor and I think the 3630's bad rap is fairly well deserved. Just engage the thing - No GR at all - If you can't hear it on its own, A/B against a source.

That all said - There are some mods I've heard about with the 3630 that supposedly makes it 'more decent' - But with the price, simplicity and flexibility (along with the rather decent sound quality) of the RNC, it's hard to pass up.
 
I'm with John there. I still have a 3630 lying around somewhere. I used it with the live rig and in a noisy club setting it was okay....Until I took it home to the studio and plugged it in there....Nothing engaged....noisy and pinched sound just running through the circuit. My Symetrix 501's and 525's chew it up as do the DBX 160A,160X,903s, the Aphex Compellors,Expressors, and the ART VLA's.

I too, know how to set a compressor but all the tinkering in the world isnt going to turn the Alesis into a good unit. I have lots of other Alesis products so its not a rap on them as a whole...just that piece.

I keep it because someday one of my design buddies is going to mod the crap out of it and turn it into a decent piece...Kind of a Frankenstein thing...Until then, its all the others to use ...and I third or fourth the RNC as a suggestion.

Used Valley People stuff is quite good also.
 
Dbx 1066

I just bought a used dbx 1066 on ebay.

I'm already wondering if I've done the right thing.


BTW..the 1066 cost me way to much.. £ 165.00 :o
I'm reading the 1066 is very aggresive, umm...Not was I'm after really.
Vocal's and acoustic guitar.. Think I've f**ked up..


I'm reading very conflicting reviews on the
DBX 1066.....:confused:

Paul
 
ha ha ha shot down in flames again, I don't know, I have been using 3630's since they came out, never had a problem, had some good results, so I checked some reviews on the net. They are either loved or hated 50/50. People that like them love them, people that hate them do so with a passion. Each to their own.

I would never use one as a bus compressor, but love these things on electric guitars. If set to Peak hard knee can absolutely slam compress, set on soft knee rms so smooth hardly know it's there. Must be doing something right they are still making them after 15 years.

However I still prefer an RNC, ahead of the 3630.

When I started out I bought a Alesis micro-limiter, it then got used on an in house PA as a limiter to protect the system from over zealous walk in engineers. It then moved to the studio (old 8 track days) and it's still in the studio rack. Still works though not used much anymore, must be 20 years old.

Cheers

Alan.
 

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signman said:
I just bought a used dbx 1066 on ebay.

I'm already wondering if I've done the right thing.
Click to expand...
You could do worse.

Still - I feel the need to clarify "IMO" --

There's no reasonable reason (IMO) to run a signal into a compressor on the input chain during tracking - At least not for dynamics control. If you need it, you're probably way too hot. And if you're not way too hot, there's not a chance in hell you'd need it.

Most people I know who compress the input are overdriving the hell out of the preamp and don't even realize what's happening. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it seems more often than not.

Anyway - We can deduce a thing or two here:

1) If the gain staging is within reason at the head amp, there's absolutely no reason to worry about controlling dynamics after the head amp.

2) If you're getting a reasonable signal post gain reduction after the head amp without using make up gain, you're overdriving your input chain.

3) That's just silly.

4) Overdriving the input chain on top of running the signal through what most would consider a somewhat "sonically degrading" processor after the head amp - with all the options for handling that later - in the context of the mix - Do that on a few tracks and you'll quickly understand what happened when people post things like "Why does my mix sound so 'small' compared to other mixes?"

5) I'm not at all against a dynamics controller on the input chain - I'm against *most* dynamics controllers on the input chain. Some are wonderfully flavorful, smooth, silky, rough, whatever. But we're talking either *no* or very minor amounts of gain reduction in such cases, along with using hardware that's "famous" (for lack of a better term) for that flavor. Manley's Variable Mu, Teletronix's LA2A, Urei's 1176 --- You often hear things like:

"I'm looking for a little of that 1176 'grit'..."
"I want to get a bit of that LA2A silk..."
"Pour a little of that VariMu cream on it..."
"Going for a little Trakker-phat..."

You hardly ever hear things like:

"I'm trying to give it that 3630 loss of focus and clarity..."
"I'm shooting for some of that TubeComp hiss and noise..."

But if you want it that bad, you can always track it clean and then mess with it later - again, in the context of the mix where you can actually make sense of it. And at the very least, you won't have to worry about screwing up your gain staging and overdriving your input preamps. You can always compress later. You can't uncompress later.
 
Not to beat a dead horse, but I have had the displeasure of the using the 3630's on more occasions than I can remember. Honestly, I can't think of a worse compressor out there. As for any good reviews, my gut tells me that there are some unspoken things there, like complete lack of experience compressors or something. Generally speaking the 3630's destroy signal. Then you engage it, and it doesn't do much until you push it and then it gets really nasty. I could see how on rare occasions it would be useful as a decimation tool, but other than that, not so much. I would in a heartbeat prefer a behringer composer to a 3630. Yet, given my years of experience of running into them and even briefly owning some years ago, I still think to myself there has to be something I can use it on, or it has to serve some purpose. Luckily it only takes a few fleeting moments during soundcheck before I de-insert them and decide that I am much better off without any comps or semi-gating. The 1066 would not necessarily be my choice as a studio compressor, but it is certainly usable and does offer some good features at a decent price.
 
Dbx 1066

Well I went to collect the DBX this afternoon from a converted old church.

They have had the DBX for a fews years and loved it. Only used for voice
overs. I spyed a Yamaha SPX 990 and got a good deal on the pair.

I think the DBX will be a reasonable tool to learn with.
We shall see.

Thank you to everyone for your replies....the info I've learned using the search. I've been sat up for the past three evening reading up untill
3.00 am :eek:



Paul
 
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