Need A Compressor for Tube Mic.

  • Thread starter Thread starter LAZI
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LAZI

LAZI

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What's up ya'll. I have a chance to have control of somebody else’s studio but he’s lacking a few items I would like to work with. He seems to be willing to upgrade with my suggestions. He owns an AKG Soilidtube mic. I prefer to compress the vocals (rap, R&B, and spoken word) on the way in but he uses an Alesis 3630 compressor. I would like to include a better compressor on a supply list I am going to give him. I'm thinking that the HHB Radius 3 Fat Man compressor will do the trick. I like the fact that it has the presets. Plus it's not my studio. I want to leave easy options for ant other users. Anybody have any better suggestions? This guy appears to be willing to spend if it'll help so I’d like to know of any options that are in the home studio range.

I'm not that confident when setting a compressor myself but have a decent idea of how. That’s why I’m looking at the presets.

I’ve heard that a 2-tube chain is not always desirable. Any opinions?

Thanks for any help.
 
Thanks for the reply Gordone. I peeped the comments on the RNC when i did my search before posting. I've seen many people saying good things about it. I'm guessing everybody agrees with you and that's why no other replys. I was hoping to get somebody to make any type of comment on the HHB Fat Man. But I guess i'll take it off my list and suggest purchase of the RNC since so many people can vouch for the quality and they are half the price of the Fat Man or anything else I could suggest. Thanks.

If anybody else has info that could help please post a reply. Thanks.
 
a Drawmer DL241 could work well for you.


more than the RNC by a long shot...while the RNC is nice I think a lot of people reccomend it without actually using it, just my perception of some things I have read.

The RNC sounds pretty nice...but it wouldn't be my "first choice" for vocals, personally.

the Drawmer costs like 700 or so.

Not familiar with the HHB.
 
wes480 said:
a Drawmer DL241 could work well for you.


more than the RNC by a long shot...while the RNC is nice I think a lot of people reccomend it without actually using it, just my perception of some things I have read.

The RNC sounds pretty nice...but it wouldn't be my "first choice" for vocals, personally.

the Drawmer costs like 700 or so.

Not familiar with the HHB.
Click to expand...

The RNC will be MUCH better than both Drawmer and the HHB, If you use the "really nice" mode when tracking, you can compress a LOT without ruining the sound.
Both the Drawmer and HHB kills a lot of treble when hitting them hard, I hate that!


Amund
 
After listening to the mic for a few days I'm thinking the RNC, if as transparent as everyone claims, might actually be the right choice. The mic sounds really nice without a compressor and crappy through the 3630. I knew the Alesis wouldn't cut it so now i'm just hoping that the whatever I do go with just won't crap up the sound. I just need to add a little punch to the vocals and still keep the vocal levels as close as possible without having to squash them when things get loud. I use a Presonus Bluemax on a 4033 in my own setup and it turned out to be just what I needed. Real punchy and bright for detailed rap vocals. Really good for overdubbing vocals. This is different because I'm looking for a much larger sound for R&B vocals but still need it to be able to handle rap. Basically trying to get a good hiphop sounding vocal mic.

Didn't mean to type that much.

Thanks for the advice ya'll. I'm still looking. I got about a week or 2 to sudmit the list. The RNC seems to be standing out the deeper into this I get. Wish I could hear it but if it really is pretty transparent then that's what i'm hearing i need.
 
Is your gain structure Pro or Consumer? If you keep your chain @ Pro, +4, you'll need Balanced thruputs. Your compressor will need to have balanced I/O to accomodate the +4 gain structure.
 
I don't want to waste your time so I gotta say I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to studio egineering. I'm self taught and just kinda do whatever I think sounds good. Gain structure is something I've never had brought to my attention. From my limited knowledge I'd have to say it's probably a -10 gain structure.

Sorry. I feel bad I can't help somebody trying to help me. But I appreciate any help you can offer. Any information you can provide will be looked into.

The DBX 160a sounds like a really good compressor. I read a few reviews but none really seemed to say anything that made me feel it was a better choice. I got a printout and will keep looking into it thanks. Thanks.
 
engineear said:
Is your gain structure Pro or Consumer? If you keep your chain @ Pro, +4, you'll need Balanced thruputs. Your compressor will need to have balanced I/O to accomodate the +4 gain structure.
Click to expand...


This is wrong, the RNC is unbalanced and +4dB.
Unbalanced doesn`t mean -10 always......


Amund
 
Assuming that you like the sound of your recording chain, a compressor has only one real function: to reduce the dynamic range of the signal to fit the recording medium. That's it's primary mission.

Normally, you get the desired coloration from the mic, preamp, or recording medium. Most of the inexpensive compressors on the market roll off the highs while compressing; the better compressors don't. The RNC is the single exception in the low end market.

Yes, there are compressors that add a desirable coloration to the sound, but those are usually very instrument specific, and not really suited for general compression.

It's damn near impossible to beat the $175 RNC as a general purpose compressor until you start looking at units in the 4 digits and a comma range.

I have a pretty fair selection of compressors to choose from at my studio, ranging from pretty cheap to VERY expensive. If I were only able to use just one compressor for an entire album, I would use the RNC.
 
Thanks ya'll. I told the doc about my findings and I think we'll try the RNC. He's talking about building a more professional studio later on so I think the RNC will do for now.
 
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