Compressors...

Tifstorey

Tifstorey

Guinea Pig
Hi,

Im on the lookout for a decent compressor unit which ive been needing for some time. Im on a tight budget unfortunately, so if anyone has any suggestions which are nice and low in price, i would appreciate it!

Cheers,

Chris
 
The only drawback of the RNC is that you can't use it in dual mono mode as I understand it! Just be aware. Audio Agency Europe are the UK distributors for it (they also carry MoreMe headphones and Auralex foam amongst others), so you should be able to track down with much difficulty.

I bought a couple of budget compressors recently and was frankly pretty disappointed with them. Both went back onto ebay. Up until that point the only hardware compressor I'd used was a Drawmer one at uni, which sat next to an Alesis 3630 in the rack (I got to find out how bad that unit was too!). I basically concluded that until I could afford to get Drawmers or something else that good, I wouldn't bother with cheap ones again because software comp plugins are so good.

Whether the RNC is an exception to that rule, I can't tell you. Chances are it is, because it has universally good reviews. But I'd still make sure you need one before you get it.

Incidentally, there is one cheaper compressor I would buy (and am buying) but they're a bit more 'specialised' sound-wise, so I won't recommend them til you have something more neutral! ;)
 
noisedude said:
The only drawback of the RNC is that you can't use it in dual mono mode as I understand it!
Click to expand...

I used to think of that as a drawback, until I started to think of it as a mono unit that happens to do stereo compression as well. :D

Even for a single channel, it's worth it, I think.
 
Good thinking, batman. If it's as good as people say, you're absolutely right. :D

Another case of big mark-ups for the Brits, though, although it's mostly our own government's fault!
 
yeah the RNC is a nice neutral comp. does the trick,great for starters-the knobs really do what you set them to.
Though I really loath the wall wart.

T
 
I never noticed there are 2 RNC's with different voltages until I clicked on that Mercenary link.
 
All this talk of the RNC is nice, and I think its a great compressor, but Tifstorey didn't say what kind of sound he was looking to get out the compressor he purchases or what he wants to compress. Plus how low is his budget?
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for all the responses! I dont really have a budget, but ive just spent £3000 on studio equipment and im coming up to the end of paying all that off so i can start looking at some new equipment. I have 3 months until University, so 3 months wages will be around £3k, minus beer money = £1000 - bit of other equipment, i would say roughly around £300ish at the tops.

I dont really have a specific sound i need, i do alot of electronic ambient music (Massive Attack, Zero 7, Air etc), So something which would give me a nice overall sound.

Ill definately check out the RNC, Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Well, the one I was going to recommend is probably a bit more of an aggressive sound and less of the airy sound you are going for, so let's stick on the RNC.

I haven't fully checked around but Dolphin Music is almost certainly the cheapest UK price, and the good news is that in comes in under £200! (just)

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/3040

What's all this other gear you got? We may have to 'collaborate' when you move to Leeds ...
 
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Most of it was a Mac G5 which i bought. I wanted to kind of get all the equipment before i went to Uni so i could do all my coursework within my own time instead of having to book out studios. Apart from the computer which cost me short of £2000 i got some mics, monitors, keyboard, mixer, soundcard, cables and a nice big comfy chair! :)

Now i just need sound modules, compressor, a decent pair of headphones and another keyboard with weighted keys.

May have to work some overtime at work! :(
 
I really like the presonus bluemax.

It has presets, so you can get around your studio fast.

just throw it on the bass setting and record bass.

it has 3 vocal settings for different singing styles (loudness).

and a bunch of other settings for drums, guitars, keyboards, etc. etc.

plus you can use the manual settings which are also really nice.

overall it is a very good compressor.
 
the WORST compressors i ever used are the behringer composers,

ehm, is it normal that you have to set the treshold at MINUS THIRTY to even see ONE DB of gain reduction? ! (yes, i'm shouting those words in capitals...REAL LOUD)

all the buttons start cracking if u use the unit alot and ehm,,,,the overal sound isn't amazing and these units barely work in my eyes, or ears,

one step up is a samson scom, looks better, works better, but i hate to use lots of compression cause it kinda sounds like "THIN plastic" to me,
and i don't want plastic drums on my cds...
they're OK to try avoid clipping, but use the compression in moderation,

besides that i got a dbx 166a which has a darker sound i think, i'd call this unit a little better than the samson,
then i got a dbx166XL which works alot better and cleaner,
i constantly use this one on kick and snare, you can really hear the compression but it doesn't sound that ugly, so i'd recommend this unit as a first compressor
dual channel or stereo, balanced ins and outs, its got a gate and sidechain, enough to play with it for hours,days and weeks :D

another budget thing i got is the TC electronic triple c,
stereo multiband compressor, cool toy, sounds clean, its got spdif out, did some nice tests with it, its a bit weird to use since its a digital compressor, with presets and all, its real easy to get "different" sounds with this unit,
its got a lovely BASS and TREBLE controll which makes you adjust things real quick... only thing i don't like about it is that it can sound a bit .... clean...without real character, you can make it PUMP music, but it doesn't pump hard... i think you can tell that its a digital compressor,
its not dirty enough for me...

then there is this Joemeek vc8 i bought for pretty little money,
its a preamp, not just a compressor, its got EQ, phantom power and even opto distortion...
opto compressor, vintage kinda compression, one button for presets and "how much compression", which is treshold and ratio together (if i'm correct), this machine has its own sound, i like that, its got a soul, a little spirit, i've used it on vocals, drums , bass and definately guitar,
it doesn't offer lots of controll since you're using 5 presets, and the EQ is a bit weird, specially made for guitars, lowest frequency you can tweak is 150 hz !! but i like this machine, its one of the only units i'm not gonna try to sell this year... i think you can find vc6 machines for 'cheap' on ebay, allmost the same thing i think.

my conclusion, stay away from the cheapest stuff,
cause once you know how to work with it, you might start to hate it and sell it for little money...
its REALLY worth waiting a few more weeks or months so u can save up some money to get yourself a "decent" low budget compressor, something with character, like an old dbx160 or 160x, a joemeek, at least you can be a bit proud if u own these units,

behringer compressors digust me, since i know they will stop working after a while, and while they do work....HOW?????!!!!

my two cents... ;)
 
My problem with the cheap comps I tried (Behringer and XIX, both having received good reviews here and elsewhere) was that they weren't transparent enough. I could hear the noise and the crap they were adding to the signal chain, so they both had to go.
 
thats my problem with the 166a , it does add some sort of dirty darkness to the sound, no warmth, i guess everyone would describe it differently... just something that doesn't flatter the ear...might be the age of the unit though...
when i first started using compressors i wanted to hear them,
now i'm becoming more familiar with them and i know what they're supposed to do, so i don't want machines that add noise, hiss, or plasticness :)

every few months i do an upgrade, sell one of my cheaper things, save some extra money and i get me something that is One step Up,

one day i'll have a distressor, an urei and a maid that cleans my house
 
Some good avice here as always. BUDGET...didn't see a price, but assuming in the $200-$300 range? Anyway, budget is a subjective term, but here goes.
RNC seems to get rave reviews, and is definitely "budget" in price, in the <$200 range. Never owned one, but may be good for tracking??? (need some help here, ladies and gentlemen). The A.R.T. Pro VLA is a great compressor I bought (still a great deal for a little more than 2 bills) at MF or other. I used this from the two buss to tweak what I haven't done in tracking from my Joe Meek MQ3, but I imagine it would sound just as good or better in other apps as well. My experience and vote for budget compressors is Pro VLA for two buss overall comp, Joe Meek is not bad for tracking. Little bit of noise in the comp, but I LOVE that Joe Meek tone. There may be better tracking comps out there, though, so please listen to the wise words of the posters here.
 
The RNC's are as great as everyone says and offers performance that rivals the compressors like the crane song trakker which costs almost $2000

If you could squeeze it, I would grab the RNC and a JBL/Urei 7110 for about $350 total.

The 7110 is a cool semi colored compressor that is cheap and can be compared to the Empirical Labs Distressor.

Somebody mentioned the DBX 160X /XT but its not nearly as versatile as the RNC and 7110. However, its a great compressor on kicks and snares and its used in mega budget recording studios. Its a good deal for the $200 they sell for, but not as you're only compressor.
 
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