Compressors

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MrBassMan

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I am looking at buying a compressor and the Alesis 3630 has caught my eye. It says it has two independent compressors in one unit, does this mean that I can use compression on two inputs at the same time? For example on Vocals and bass as they are recorded.

I have never used a compressor before, is the Alesis a good one for the price? Anyone with better suggestions?

Thanks.
 
Behringer Autocom @ $79 is about the cheapest youll get off with for a decent compressor....and its dual channel....
 
MrBassMan said:
...is the Alesis a good one for the price?
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The Alesis unit is wouldn't be worth it even if Alesis PAID YOU to but it from them!


Anyone with better suggestions?
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FMR Audio's RNC is an excellent choice....

I also have a couple of DBX 166XL's I use that are quite reasonable (and not that expensive)....
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I have heard of the Behringer unit but not the ones you mentioned Blue Bear....Oh well...must waste time researching this stuff rather than doing some work....what a shame.
 
Crap!

it seems that the general consensus of the members of this board/forum is that the 3630 is worthless. i know this may get no replies because it is off subject for this thread, but i would like to know what specifically is wrong with the 3630.
i'm not trying to start anything, i've just used one for awhile, alongside several other compressor in the same range and a little more expensive, (dbx 1066, tc triple-c, etc...) and i've never noticed anything horrid about the results obtained from the 3630.

this is not a flame, i really am interested in learning what it is that people hate about the 3630.
 
I don't think there is anything technically wrong with the 3630. While they are not the best compressor in the world, they are nowhere as bad as some around here claim them to be. I have used them in a few different studios, and on some instruments they are the best sounding compressor for it. But, I don't think it would be the first compressor I would try on anything, except maybe bass guitar, which it seems to work quite well on.

The Behringer Composer is a more versatile compressor for less money. I don't think the Composer works very well on most bass tracks compared to the 3630, but it does work much better on most other things.

Blue Bear owns a Mackie console. That in itself should make you suspect his opinion on the 3630! :D

Creepy
 
Behringer Tube Composer

I use the tube composer (cos it was cheap (£139)). I dont have vast experience with other types but I've always had good results with it. I've used it mainly for overall mix and vocals. I have used it on bass and it was fine but now I tend to use the J-station. I found that the guitar could sound a bit 'crispy' but thats most likely due to my EQ settings more than the unit
 
Creepy said:
Blue Bear owns a Mackie console. That in itself should make you suspect his opinion on the 3630! :D

Creepy
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Hah! :D :D

Trust me -- I can make that Mackie work for me.........

And it sounds a helluva lot better than mixing within Cubase!!!!!!!!!
 
Whats you opinion on the dbx stuff ? Im still puttering arround with my old dbx 163.
 
Creepy said:
I don't think there is anything technically wrong with the 3630. While they are not the best compressor in the world, they are nowhere as bad as some around here claim them to be. I have used them in a few different studios,and on some instruments they are the best sounding compressor for it.
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Bagpipes?
 
I don't know if it's the same in the States, but in Germany (and probably all over Europe) the Behinger Composer is on sale right now for EUR 89 incl. VAT, about USD 85. So there's really no need to buy the even-cheaper Autocom.

The RNC is probably a better compressor (judging from what people say, I can't get one here), but you can't use it as a dual mono compressor as it has only one set of controls.
 
Rossi said:
I don't know if it's the same in the States, but in Germany (and probably all over Europe) the Behinger Composer is on sale right now for EUR 89 incl. VAT, about USD 85. So there's really no need to buy the even-cheaper Autocom.

The RNC is probably a better compressor (judging from what people say, I can't get one here), but you can't use it as a dual mono compressor as it has only one set of controls.
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You can buy the RNC direct from www.fmraudio.com , no problem.
It is , believe it or not, a world class compressor!
It KILLS Behringer and don`t even think about the Alesis!
I have two, and use them every day!

Amund
 
Neve said:


You can buy the RNC direct from www.fmraudio.com , no problem.
It is , believe it or not, a world class compressor!
It KILLS Behringer and don`t even think about the Alesis!
I have two, and use them every day!

Amund
Click to expand...

The RNC is unfortunately hard to find in Europe. Any idea what the additional cost is (tax, shipping) when ordering it from the USA?
 
That's just the point. When you order stuff from the States you have to mess with such a host of variables such as shipping costs, customs, import taxes--I just don't do it. Plus you can't test the stuff you're buying, and if you happen to grab a lemon, you're pretty much fucked.

About the RNC, once in a while there's a dealer who carries them, but they usually charge more than twice the US price. That's almost half the price of a plane ticket to NY. Buy two and you get a free ride ;)

Personally, I'm happy with my "vintage" Composers 2100. They're dirt cheap on the used market, are rock solid and can be used as dual mono units, which is what I need most and why I rarely consider buying an RNC. I also have a strong dislike for everything that's not 19". I'm not a lover of wall warts either. Oh, and I also like the hard bypass feature--one of the reasons why I wouldn't want an Autocom is that it doesn't have hard bypass. I don't know if the RNC has that feature, but I suspect not.
 
Hehehe....no one explains why the 3630 is inferior....anyone???
I am planning to get a compressor soon....
 
Because it sounds bad. :-)

Typically with low end compressors it's very hard to get compression without it sounding overly compressed. Sometimes you want too much compression as a sound effect, but that you can get from any compressor. It's getting compression to be transparent that is the problem.
 
Just running a signal trough it will ruin the sound, without even using the compressing......

Amund
 
christiaan said:


The RNC is unfortunately hard to find in Europe. Any idea what the additional cost is (tax, shipping) when ordering it from the USA?
Click to expand...

Shipping would app. $35-40
On taxes I don`t know, shouldn`t be as bad is here in Norway (24%!!!!)

I buy stuff from the US all the time, saves me a lot of money.....

Amund
 
The Behringer composer or composer pro will blow the doors off of the 3630. I will also echo that the 3630 is good for bass, though. I'm very picky about comps and the behringers are actually pretty damn good. I'm not pro or anti behringer... I'm pro good sound and anti bad sound.

What's bad about the 3630? I don't think I can use words to describe it. Dull, lifeless, tone robbing, whatever.... of course any compressor can sound bad if you don't use it right... but the 3630 just sounds bad period.
 
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