Mic Processors, Compressors, Multi-Effects Processors

[Napoleon Solo]

Looking thru the latest MF catalog. I'm songwriting using a Yamaha MD8, an Alesis SR-16 Drum Machine, an Audio-Technica AT4033 mic, a Boss GT3 Guitar Effects Processor, a Marshall JCM 2000 TSL100 amp head, a Marshall 1960A 4x12" bottom, and a Charvel Tele.

Do I REALLY need a mic processor? They're - Meek $450, DBX $500.

Compressors - Meek $300, DBX1066 $150 or $400, Behringer MDX4400 $189. Which one should I get?

Multi-Effects Processors - Digitech Studio Quad 4 $400, Lexicon MPX500 $500, Alesis MidiVerb $250. Which one should I get?

Equalizers - Alesis M-EQ 230 Dual Channel 30 Band $229, Nady GEQ Dual 30 Band $99. The Nady any good?

Thing about MF is they have a good 4 or 6 month deferred interest thing. OR, maybe I should try to find these units used?

BTW, what mic effect was used on "American Woman" - Kravitz, at the end? Sounds like a distorted "into the red" mic.

Thanks, NS

 

[regebro]

I was going to buy a mic processor, but I wanted one with filter and de-esser and they got kinda expensive... and so the Good Guys at my music store convinced me to shell up somewhat more money then I first wanted and buy an ART Tube MP and an Octava MK-319 instead ($350 altogether). And then I got good words for my vocal sound here on Homerecording.com, so I'm happy.
So my experience is: With a good mic+preamp+comp (a dbx) you don't need a mic processor. Get a good preamp (if you don't have any already) and that should do it.

For the others I don't have much experience, I like both my cheap BOSS compressor/expander/limiter and my more clean dbx overeasy compressor. The RNC compressor seems to generally get totally rave reviews. I don't need a stereo compressor (I have a Behringer Ultramizer that sucks) except for compressing the final mix, where I use an excellent 3-band compression path in my Nord Modular, and so won't get the RNC either, but everybody else seems to love it...