In what situation is a compressor needed

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kidkage

kidkage

Bored of Canada
is it like a pre-amp or a mixer in that it's essential, or is it like a chorus pedal- it's very useful if you have it, but no one absolutely NEEDs it ?

I was looking and found this Alesis 3630 for $100. But I dont know what I would use for, I was hoping someone could help me figure out its purpose and whether I need

Thanks
 
A compressor wouldn't be as essential as say a microphone or speakers, but it's something most everybody who records uses a fair amount. I use them on every song I do.

$100 for a 3630 is way overpriced I think. Many people will say that they don't like that unit. I have one and don't think it's that bad at all. My guess is $30 - 60 would be the going rate on them.

A compressor isn't a necessity, but most people who record have one, or two, or more. The compressors that come with music programs like Cubase aren't bad at all. Truthfully I'd say they're better than the Alesis.

Where you might like something like the Alesis would be at a gig, maybe you would put it on the snare drum for instance.

Most of the time people use compressors because they like the way it alters the sound. They can really improve some tracks, and are often used on drums, vocals, bass and guitar.

What I'd do is get some music program (I don't know Reaper but I'm gonna guess that it has a decent compressor), and fool around with the compressors in that and see what happens when you twiddle the knobs. Also, I'd read up on the theory of using compressors because it's not really that hard to understand.
 
The intention of a compressor is to be an automatic volume control. Very simply, it will turn down any parts of a recorded track that are too loud.
 
Of course it's not essential.

Some people use them for volume control, some use them for character.

You can automate fader movements to keep everything at a balanced level.

The only post-recording processing I'd consider essential is EQ, but that depends on the material. Sometimes it's not essential.
 
RawDepth said:
The intention of a compressor is to be an automatic volume control. Very simply, it will turn down any parts of a recorded track that are too loud.
Click to expand...

Yep, that would be the most basic thing it does, and another aspect of it is that it changes the sound. On drums it can make it sound like you're beating the crap out of the set. You can make a guitar sustain like crazy with a compressor. All kinds of musical uses.

There is something to having a real hardware compressor though, as opposed to the ones on a computer. You can do some things you can't with a software one. There's something very good about learning things like this on an actual real thing. What a concept. :eek:
 
kidkage said:
I was looking and found this Alesis 3630 for $100. But I dont know what I would use for, I was hoping someone could help me figure out its purpose and whether I need

Thanks
Click to expand...

The price depends where you are, $100 will buy a new one in the USA, AU$100 will buy a secondhand one in OZ (where I am).

I also like the 3630, I have 3 of them, some people hate them but I don't know why? I find them great on guitar tracks, I would use one on vocal, and have done in the past, but I have better compressors for that now. Alesis still selling them new and they have been around about 20 years now so i reckon they can't be bad.

Oh and what do you use them for, read here regarding what compressors do.

Cheers
alan.
 
i had a 3630 for about a year and it worked fine. i got rid of it because it was pointless to be using an outboard compressor for recording when i could use a vst plugin that does the same thing that also allowed me to modify the settings.
 
Don't waste your money buying a product that you not only don't know how to use, but don't know why to use. You've found a solution to a problem you don't even have yet.

When you're ready for it, a decent hardware compressor is an invaluable tool to have. But even then, I'd opt for something far more musical-sounding then the Alesis. You can get a good used ART Pro VLA for just a little bit more than that Alesis and it will sound a good magnitude better on your recordings.

To read up on how compression and compressors work, click over to http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources and check out "Compression Uncompressed" for everything you need to know about compressors and how to use them.

G.
 
:) thanks for all the feedback. Ill check out the links right now.
 
Well know that I know what they do, I'm again contemplating buying one. I've got three that I'm looking @:
BBE MaxCom Dual-Channel Compressor
dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate
ART Pro VLA II Tube Compressor

Have any of you had experience with these? and do you favor any?

:o
 
Alesis makes a very subpar products IMHO.
 
the Alesis 3630 is great for dance stuff, it adds grit to tracks that would be unwanted elsewhere and is great for getting basslines to pump...again unwanted elsewhere


Id question why you want a outboard compressor, software's great and $100 is way too much...they are regularly available for around $40-50 and are probably only worth that as it can be used on such few things


not a goto compressor by any standard
 
Welll
, I'm using a tascam dp008 instead of computer so integrating software into my current setup would be a little complicated I assume. I'd need a better computer for sure. So outboard stuff that I can work into the equipment chain is what I'm focused on.
 
kidkage said:
Welll
, I'm using a tascam dp008 instead of computer so integrating software into my current setup would be a little complicated I assume. I'd need a better computer for sure. So outboard stuff that I can work into the equipment chain is what I'm focused on.
Click to expand...


OK that would make more sense...then Id consider what would be most appropriate to my style of music, not price, or you'll end up not using it
 
kidkage said:
Well know that I know what they do, I'm again contemplating buying one. I've got three that I'm looking @:
BBE MaxCom Dual-Channel Compressor
dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate
ART Pro VLA II Tube Compressor

Have any of you had experience with these? and do you favor any?
Click to expand...
Hands down, the ART. It is IMHO one of the most underrated pieces of analog gear out there, comparable in design and sound to the legendary UA LA2A at less than 1/10th the price. There's no competition between it and the other two IMHO; the dbx, like the Alesis, is fine for use as a live sound compressor, but pales in the studio next to the ART. The BBE arguably has it's place in the studio, perhaps more for mastering than anything else, but the ART still has a smoother, more musical sound for more situtions. Try it when recoding any kind of vocals and there's a real good chance you'll never go back to anything else.


BTW, just for your edification, the ART is NOT a tube compressor. It has a tube-based preamp stage, yes (which does make some difference), but it actually uses an optical compressor circuit like the LA2A.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Hands down, the ART. It is IMHO one of the most underrated pieces of analog gear out there, comparable in design and sound to the legendary UA LA2A at less than 1/10th the price. There's no competition between it and the other two IMHO; the dbx, like the Alesis, is fine for use as a live sound compressor, but pales in the studio next to the ART. The BBE arguably has it's place in the studio, perhaps more for mastering than anything else, but the ART still has a smoother, more musical sound for more situtions. Try it when recoding any kind of vocals and there's a real good chance you'll never go back to anything else.


BTW, just for your edification, the ART is NOT a tube compressor. It has a tube-based preamp stage, yes (which does make some difference), but it actually uses an optical compressor circuit like the LA2A.

G.
Click to expand...


is the LA2A a limiter amplifier? and why's it called that if it is?
 
kcearl said:
is the LA2A a limiter amplifier? and why's it called that if it is?
Click to expand...
That's an old-fashioned term, used more these days to add an air of old-style "retro class" (so to speak) to a compresser. Kind of like those companies that build brand new compressors but put meters and switches on them that make it look like the device was actually built during WWII :rolleyes:.

Every compresssor is a "limiting amplifier", technically speaking. It's like calling a standard tube-based condenser mic a "valve" mic. It's just an older, "retro-classy" name for it. The name they give the LA2A is "leveling amplifier". Same thing, slightly different name. It's a compressor.

That's not to be confused with the more modern-day usage of the term "limiter", which typically refers to a very fast-attack, very high gain-reduction (typically >8:1) type of compression.

G,
 
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SouthSIDE Glen said:
Hands down, the ART. It is IMHO one of the most underrated pieces of analog gear out there...
Click to expand...

I have heard that from so many people that I respect (Glenn included - feel the love :) ) and it's actually funny that people don't talk about that more. It seems like it should be the most popular piece of gear here but I rarely hear anyone talk about it. :confused:

kcearl said:
is the LA2A a limiter amplifier? and why's it called that if it is?
Click to expand...

My Summit tube "compressors" say "Tube Leveling Amplifier" on them. They are amplifiers that limit gain past a certain point.

When you put the ratio on a compressor to infinite, it is a limiter. Less than infinite it's a compressor, unless it's less that 1:1, then it's an expander.
 
ah yeah limiting amplifier is the name on the 1176...levelling is the LA2A...i guessed it may be something to do with an age thing or maybe just a more basic form of compression, if that can exist


good i can go ahead and buy four of each, thanks guys :)
 
+1 for the ART Pro VLA
I just got my hands on a second hand one with NOS tubes in the preamp stage and I am loving it for Vocals

Gonna try it on bass next
 
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