Compressors for a home studio (?)

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Gear_Junky

Gear_Junky

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I'm thinking of getting rid of my nanocomp and getting a good rack unit (and trying not to spend a fortune). Many people say not to get the Alesis 3630 but to get Behringer. There are two Behringer units within my reach, so what do you think about these?

Behringer MDX1400 Autocom® Pro Compressor
($149.99)
Behringer MDX4400 Multicom® Pro Quad Compressor/Limiter
($189.99 )

I really like the idea of this quad unit, great bang for the buck, too, so is it any good?

Any other recommendations? Thanks in advance.

I also have an ART Tube MP and I'm thinking of trying the Levelar. What about those units? Are their combined units, like the Dual MP or the TubePAC worth the extra money?
 
Try the RNC (Really Nice Compressor). ~ $175 for a stereo linked compressor. This was my first compressor so I can't directly compare it to any Behringer stuff or th 3630, but this thing is so transparent that many pros have it in their rack, sitting next to comps that cost > $1000!
Check out their website at http://www.fmraudio.com
I ordered two of them from http://www.mercenary.com and have had great results in taming my levels of vocals and acoustic guitar. With the Super Nice mode, it's hard to make it sound bad.
Good luck!

-Evan
 
I was considering buying a compressor soon and was leaning toward a Behringer you didn't mention. The MDX2200 Composer Pro is $179 at Musician's Friend. Note that you might be able to get it cheaper - I just checked their web site only to make sure I got the model number/name right. It came down to this and an RNC and I decided it might be nice to get two separate mono channels, which I didn't think the RNC had. However, I'm going from memory here because I haven't looked at this in a while. I ended up buying a bass last month and will have to wait a while for the compressor.

I do have a Dual MP though (as well as a Tube MP). The Dual MP is basically two Tube MPs with some nice extras - regular plug instead of a wall wart, on/off switch, better signal metering, and it's rack mountable. I got mine for $249 (might have been $259, can't rememebr now). If you like the Tube MP and can spend the extra money I'd say go for the Dual MP. An extra preamp could always come in handy.

[This message has been edited by DaveO (edited 07-25-2000).]
 
Some people dont like the Behringer but I have used quite a few compressors including the old dbx160 which I replaced with a $150 Behringer. I actually bought it because thats what the little place around the corner had when the magic smoke came out of the dbx. I absolutely love it and have never had a problem out of it. It is used in a home studio with strictly pro equipment. (Otari, Soundcraft, Orban)
 
Get the RNC. I posted a message like this to rec.pro.audio and everyone said get the RNC.
 
Yup, you guys really convinced me about the RNC, really sounds like a good unit, although I would really like the 4 channels of the Behringer Quad in one unit. For just $189. I'm still thinking.

But first of all I'm gonna take a printout of the ad from zzounds.com featuring ART Levelar for $59.99 to my local SamAsh and have them beat the price and get this lil' comp "just because" :D (hence the screen name)

BTW, RNC is not only available direct. Somebody here already mentioned one source. Sam Ash website also has them for like $179 and if I'm not mistaken musiciansfriend.com had them too.
 
Wow, Sam Ash is selling these things online!
Funny, the FMR website doesn't mention them as a dealer...I would recommend you order the RNC from Mercenary Audio. 1)It's cheaper!
2)Support is incredible. They will talk to you about your needs, and how to use the product(s) to best suit these needs. After you buy something, they are also more than happy to help you out. Case in point - I had some wiring problems w/ my Great River I purchased from them, Called them up, the main guy (Fletcher who happens to be a big-wig in the engineering world) was out of the office, but about 10 minutes later I got a call from him. He happened to be at a studio working on a project when his office called him and said that I had called and I was told that he would call me back....So he actually took time away from his session to talk to me and help me out! Try getting service like that from SamAsh.com or Musician's Friend!

Quick funny Sam Ash story...I was in my local Sam Ash picking up cables for my RNC and I was talking to the Pro-Audio guy and told him about those RNCs...He said (paraphrasing) "Oh that sounds like junk being made by some guy in his garage, you want the Alesis 3630, it's what all the pros use!" This same guy made fun of my Great River a couple of months later because it was unbalanced and he never heard of it...Oh well!

Finally - For those concerned about lack of two seperate channels on the RNC, just buy two of them and never look back!

Good luck!


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gear_Junky:

BTW, RNC is not only available direct. Somebody here already mentioned one source. Sam Ash website also has them for like $179 and if I'm not mistaken musiciansfriend.com had them too.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
If you're REALLY a Gear_Junky you'd buy the Levelar "just because", you'd buy the RNC to get the better compressor, and you'd buy the MultiComm Pro Quad to have four channels when you want them! :D

I'll probably have to decide on one of them and then live with that decision :( . That's part of the reason why I bought the bass instead - I couldn't decide.
 
You've probably seen it already, but there's a similar thread in the Rack forum, with a slightly different flavor.
 
:-) Yeah, well, I called myself "gear junky" cuz I like playing with gear, but it doesn't really suggest that I'm rich. I really always try to get things that serve me for a long time. It feels good to make good decisions.

About the SamAsh "funny guy", well you can't blame the store for him, right? I've heard horror stories about them, but my local store treats me very well. Besides, even if the salesman is a pro, still doesn't mean that his advice is right for you.

Sam Ash website and forum are cheesy, though.

Peace.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gear_Junky:
:-) Yeah, well, I called myself "gear junky" cuz I like playing with gear, but it doesn't really suggest that I'm rich. I really always try to get things that serve me for a long time. It feels good to make good decisions.

About the SamAsh "funny guy", well you can't blame the store for him, right? I've heard horror stories about them, but my local store treats me very well. Besides, even if the salesman is a pro, still doesn't mean that his advice is right for you.

Sam Ash website and forum are cheesy, though.

Peace.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

if you want to make a "good decision" and get gear that serves you for a long time, i think the general consensus would be to get the RNC... I've never dealt with Fletcher aside from a few newsgroup posts, but he seems to be a really intelligent (and nice) guy, who's opinion I'd trust.. but that's up to you.
 
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