Decent 2 channel Tube compressors around $500 to $600?

T

thedogmixer

New member
hi there, can someone reccomend me a decent 2 channel(stereo) Tube compressor for around £300 to £400?
I dont mind buying second hand or new, something with a bit of character to warm and dirty up my digital electronic music, most of my source sound is coming from from vsti's and plugs.

Many thanks

Matt
 
mshilarious said:
ART Pro VLA comes to mind.
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As a VLA owner myself, I'll second that as a great recommendation. However, at today's conversion rates, you could buy two VLAs for the price range he's looking at, an still have enough left over for a cheap condenser. :)

On the other hand, there's not a whole lot in the way of compressors in that price range either. Once one goes above about $300 (~£149) there's not a lot to choose from until one gets to somehwere around $1200 bucks or more (~£579 or more)

Also, just for the sake of technical accuracy, the VLA is not technically a "tube compressor". It is actually an optical compressor with a tube preamp stage.

That said, though, I say "who cares?". The VLA is what it is and it has a very organic "sound" (or lack thereof) to it.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
On the other hand, there's not a whole lot in the way of compressors in that price range either. Once one goes above about $300 (~£149) there's not a lot to choose from until one gets to somehwere around $1200 bucks or more (~£579 or more)
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Yeah you're right. One thing that popped into my head was the PRR vari-mu compressor which is a DIY project, that can be done for around $150 I think. I don't think there's a kit available, but there is a PCB design published.
 
There's the Peavy/AMR one for just a few bucks over your budget (used). I have the preamp, and it is pretty good - incredible for the price.
 
Either Summit or Drawmer might have something you could get used. Or perhaps you could find an old Altec off Ebay and refurb it or something. Good luck.

.
 
Will the ART Pro VLA sound considerably better than the Motu 828mkII preamps? There's one unit going for cheap at my local shop for $129 CDN.
 
thedogmixer said:
hi there, can someone reccomend me a decent 2 channel(stereo) Tube compressor for around £300 to £400?
I dont mind buying second hand or new, something with a bit of character to warm and dirty up my digital electronic music, most of my source sound is coming from from vsti's and plugs.

Many thanks

Matt
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Have you looked at TLA? The Fat 1 compressor is about £258 retail including VAT.
 

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studiomaster said:
Will the ART Pro VLA sound considerably better than the Motu 828mkII preamps? There's one unit going for cheap at my local shop for $129 CDN.
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I think you might be mistaking the Pro VLA for another model. The Pro VLA is not a mic preamp, it's a compressor. When I was referring to the tube preamp section, that was referring to the input circuitry, not microphone preamplifiers.

If they're selling a Pro VLA for that price and it's in very good condition, I'd snap it up.

G.
 
Another Vote here for the RNP (Really Nice Preamp). Not a tube, but has excellent sound and character for the money.
 
I wake up yesterday and all of a sudden nobody can tell the differnce between a compressor and a preamp anymore.

G.
 
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