Re: Avalon, expensive but worth it.
Sonic Misfit said:
By the way, if you own a nanocompressor, don't throw it out. I found out that it makes an acceptable, cheap guitar effect for live performances. You can plug in a guitar, put it on the floor and STOMP on it just like the other guitar effects. You will get some really interesting sounds!!
The nanocompressor also makes a very good percussion effect for your drummer!!
Well, at least when a "hitting a piece of metal" sound is needed that is....
Obviously, nobody here has tried
a Cranesong STC-8!!! I used one for vocals on a big mixdown session. I was able to squash the hell out of the voice and there were NO audible differences in tonal quality in the vocal track when using it. I was amazed because in some cases the thing was providing up to 15dB of gain reduction!!!
I also used it on bass guitar and a snare drum for certain songs (we had two channels so I had to find a use for it on something....
) Me and the producer were constantly amazed that this unit didn't color!!! We TRIED to make it color. To our ears, it just didn't.
That same CD was mastered through the Cranesong too. It was the main compressor the mastering studio was using. In this case, we didn't want the compressor adding color. But in other cases, I like to hear a little coloration from the compressor. Not much, but a little. The GML stuff is VERY suited in this kind of use. Although, it is fairly colorless too. You can just hear it add a tiny bit of darkness to the sound when it is setup right.
Manley is killer stuff too!!! You cannot talk about great compressors with very little color without naming Manley. It is very expensive too....
, but not out of league with Cranesong, GML, and Avalon.
Another that can be added to the list of no color compressors (although, it is not really considered a compressor. It is a leveling amplifier....same thing to most except those that like to argue points....
) is
the Aphex Compellor. Now, I don't really like the Compellor, but, when it squish's the hell out of the sound, you don't hear any color when it does so!!! The Dominator looks interesting, but it fits the traditional "limiter" roll.
I don't know that "colorless" compression is such a big deal. Many great sounding recordings used compressors that "color" the sound, in some cases quite a bit. To each their own, but I personally will work with whatever is there and make it work...
Hell, I have gotten great results using
a 3630 compressor on bass guitar during mixing! ( check this out....
) I used the 3630 on the bass track while mixing this. I don't hear anything wrong with the bass sound that would make me not want to use the 3630 if it was the last thing available!!! It certainly doesn't sound all that bad at all.
Just my $1 worth on the topic.
Ed