Alesis 3630

  • Thread starter Thread starter Antz_Marchin
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There is nothing wrong with the Alesis 3630. It is a cheap home recording type compressor. I actually find it very usable on lo-fi sample and loop creation as well as a hiss reducer on my drum module. I wouldn't recommend it for a nice vocal compressor but it will be fine to learn conmpressor basics on. For $50 it's a good deal.
I find the gates to be far too chunky to use on anything. I always get a shitty cutting out tail if I try to use the gates.
 
You can have mine for $25 and a ham & swiss cheese sammich!
 
What? No comments on how bad those tracks I used the 3630 on sound? Come now, if this compressor is as bad as all of you claim, you should be saying "those sound like crap"!


I bet I could have posted those mixes and ask "which tracks used the 3630 on them" and not a one of you could have guessed.

I have picked the 3630 to compress stuff when I have had "technically" much better compressors available because those "better" compressor's didn't offer the type of color I was looking for and the 3630 did.

I am betting many had more problems with not having the operating level of it matched with their channel inserts or other places in the signal chain they have used it...;)

Ed
 
Ed... the times I used a 3630, I'm pretty sure I had my levels matched just fine, thank you! :p ;)

I'll agree with one thing though - ANY piece of gear can be useful... provided it gives you the color you're looking for in a given application!
 
:) I agree Bruce.

I mention the operating level thing based upon two guys experience with the 3630. In both cases, they discounted them as being crappy and not working properly.

After a little investigation, I found that they had them set to work at -10, when in fact, the inserts on their mixers were operating at +4 unbalanced. They assumed that since the inserts were unbalanced that they were -10. Wrongo!!!

Anyway, after setting the 3630's to +4, they of course starting working better, and the beef's about them went away. But, one of the units still did exibit a little bit of a problem with a weird "clicking" sound while compressing signal. The other units worked well enough.

It is too bad that the QC on those units are so poor. They really aren't that bad if you get one that works. Indeed, they are no LA2A where you can get away with 20dB of gain reduction, but I gotta tell you, I seldom have a need for that much gain reduction. If a unit can provide 6dB of gain reduction without me hearing artifacts, that will cover 95% of applications I use a compressor for while mixing.

And STILL, I need to have those mp3's explained to me!!! :) They really should sound like crap because I used the 3630 on some of the tracks. Those tracks should be useless. The use of the 3630 on the tracks I used them on did the trick, and didn't leave me wanting much more than what it did. I was happy, the client was happy, the people listening to the CD's those songs were released on were happy.

Happy happy happy 3630 user here....;)

Ed
 
I bought mine about 7 or 8 years ago, I think it was brand new at the time.

I paid around $250 for it at the GC.:p Not too bad at that time!

My problems with the unit stemmed from not knowing how to set up and use it properly. The operating level thing was definately part of it. Ignorance about proper use of compression was part of it too.

I think too many people who are new to the use of compression keep adjusting the thing until they can "hear it working", and then complain that it sounds bad. I know I did.

Since then I've read a lot of things on this board, especially from Ed that have encouraged me to give it another go( the 3630).

I've had some pretty fair results with it on kick drum.:)
 
So when did the Chineese start making the 3630? I bought one way back in the summer of 1992. Doesn't say where it's made. Just says "Alesis Corporation, Los Angeles" on the back. I thought it worked okay but haven't hardly used it in ages. Then again I used it with a Tascam 488 so maybe that's why I never noticed any artifacts. I was too busy being pissed at myself for buying a cassette 8 track to hear any probs with the 3630. :D
 
3630....Yeah I got one of those....No i would never record with it....Yes it resides in my live guitar rack....Yes it works just fine in this capacity....I play both electric and acoustic onstage...i split the signals with the 3630....the electric gets a nice 3to1 and the acoustic gets a touch more...then i have the acoustic signal run through a 31 band and then out to the p.a. The guitar signal loops back through the pedal board and then to the amp...the 3630 makes for a nice overall master level for different sized places...and you can see the levels from across the stage with the pretty lights....No i didnt like the sound with it for recording...at+4...through my ghost...or anything else...
 
I sold 2 of them for $50 and went to the mars clearance sale and bought $50 of 1/2price patch cables.

Best trade I ever made!

I did ask a question a while back about trying to modify/upgrade the parts a year or so ago...but no real responses.

The other day I ran accross a DIY upgrade for the 3630 but I can't remeber where....
 
Thanks for the link. Very interesting. I don't think it's worth the effort, though. The THAT ICs are hard to get and quite expensive in small quantities. I suspect that you'd pay about 40-50 dollars for just the THAT ICs. I don't think there's anything wrong with the ones used in the Alesis. The newer THATs are a slight improvement, but not a vast one. It might be worthwhile to exchange the opamps for Burr Browns as suggested, which wouldn't be too expensive, if your local dealer can get them for you. From looking at the pictures in the article I'd say that the board layout is pretty poor. There's lots of wire bridges. That also means it's hand soldered which is usually less reliable than machine soldering, at least when it comes to cheapo equipment. I once opened all of my Behringer Composers (non-Pro), and they look much better from the inside than what I saw on those pictures.
 
Rossi;

Twins seperated at birth?....

The one thing I did not get was that in the article he recomended the new power supply being the most important improvement but never discussed installing it in the article...unless I missed a page or something.

Sounded like it was to be continued and perhaps if he really likes the results a pre made upgrade kit could be offered at a lower price than buying everything individually....It would depend on how much the supplier would be willing to buy in bulk to drop the price.
 
Hmm, I don't own an Alesis, but I seem to remember it has a wall wart PSU. So you just buy a bigger one and plug it in. I'm not sure it'll improve the sound dramatically. It's not a power amplifier, just a compressor. I don't think it sucks that much power. Still, if you don't already own an Alesis, I wouldn't recommend to buy one and mod it. The mod will be more expensive than the actual unit. A used Composer MDX2100 will be a much better buy, IMHO.
 
3630

I have a 10 year old 3630 and I can't hear any difference between it and my Aphex Expressor. Or any of my other compressors. A DBX version of the 3630 and the Alesis Clx-440. I would like to play with a top of the line compressor to get some kind of reference.
 
Son of Mixerman said:

Id rather spend $50 at Taco Bell.
Click to expand...
thats like 10 chicken taco salads.... 7900 calories.... add 20 fire sauces.... 8200 calories... 420 grams of fat.... or

52 tacos (soft): 10920 calories 4680 grams of fat...dont even thnk about sauce........
 
Mine is fine

For the incredible low cost i paid for my 3630 the results are what i would expect for what i paid for it, which was 40 quid.

There are loads of better comps out there, so if you have more money then buy a more expensive better compressor. If this is all you have in terms of cash and you need compression then go for it, but dont pay loads. I wouldnt pay more than 40 quid.

Edd
 
I use six of them with the wireless mics at my church. Why shouldnt I record with them. What aspect of another compressor makes it better than the 3630? I thought all it did was take a signal and apply a logramithic change in dynamics as the signal crossed a given threshold.
 
You guys are too much! I bet some of you 3630 bashers can make a Manley VariMu sound bad or even a 1176.

What a funny thread you got here!
 
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