Optical Compressors

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tmix

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I was in the market for an optical compressor, mainly for Bass guitar and possibly kick.
I was wondering if anyone knew of a list of what is out there. So many compressors dont state if they are opto type.


Thanks,
Tom
 
This was a good question and I was waiting for some response, I too looking for same thing
 
Well,
Just a heads up.
I got one of each. I bought a ART Pro VLA and a Joe Meek MQ3.(Thanks Chessrock).These were some I had been eyeballing for while anyway.
I am starting to record an albums worth this weekend, and (hopefully) get a chance to put each through their paces.

Tom
 
TUbe tech CL1b, La2a, Buzz Soc 1.1, 1176ln, dbx 160xt, distressor...

the last 3 aren't optical but still kick ass as a bass compressor
 
Tom,

Awesome sir! Let us know what you find between those two units, if you wouldn't mind. (When you get the chance)

I for one would love yo hear your expereinces. Good things, good things.
 
Teacher said:
Buzz Soc 1.1
Click to expand...
Mmmmmmmm, this is No.1 on my comp wish list...... I wish I could afford it :(

I have their SSA1.1 preamp and it's da bomb!
 
Well , my first impressions as such.

The Joe Meek did an admirable job on Bass guitar, albeit a bit noisy when I added quite a bit of high EQ which is only to be expected. The Pro VLA (inserted from a RNP) did a stellar job on kick and snare. Quiet as a mouse, and was very easy to use, just setting it by ear. No pumping or weird artifacts, just squashed it just enough to smooth out my sometimes erratic playing. I'll try to post finished samples.

The Meek did a pretty good job with a SM57 on a scratch vocal. If I had spent some time with it (I left it on the Bass Guitar settinigs) it would been a keeper track. It sounded much fuller than putting the SM57 through the Mackie Board. a happy with both. It is bound to get better with some experiance and experimenting.


Happy so far!

Tom
 
Teacher said:
TUbe tech CL1b, La2a, Buzz Soc 1.1, 1176ln, dbx 160xt, distressor...

the last 3 aren't optical but still kick ass as a bass compressor
Click to expand...

Just for the record, the Distressor has an optical compressor in it. The ratio is set to 10:1 only, but it is a real optical compressor circuit. The rest of the compression ratios are not optical. I love the sound of the opto ratio on the Distressor.
 
SonicAlbert said:
Just for the record, the Distressor has an optical compressor in it. The ratio is set to 10:1 only, but it is a real optical compressor circuit.
Click to expand...

No, it isn't. The 10:1 mode is a separate circuit, yes, but there is no photocell in the Distressor. It is indeed emulated electro-optical compression.

Even though this thread is sort of dead, I figured I'd add the Langevin El-Op and Manley El-Op to the list. Haven't tried the latter, but the Langevin is relatively cheap for an optical compressor, and sounds surprisingly aggressive on kick.

Cheers,

Johann
 
Right, just checked the Distressor manual on the opto circuit. It is indeed described as an emulation. Sounds good to me though!
 
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Me too! :D

(EDIT: although I looooove "Nuke" on drum overheads... but that's a bit off-topic. :))
 
To further the off topic theme:

I love parallel compression using the Distressors. Taking the drum buss and nuking it into distortion and then laying it up against the original tracks sounds *great*! Really, really punchy.
 
Great... Now I'm going to spend my whole work day staring off into space and wishing I could try that right now! :D

Thanks for the tip SonicAlbert, I'm looking forward to an adventure in the parallel compression universe.

- Johann
 
my joemeek vc8 is nice,
opto compressor, but i don't have much CONTROLL

just presets and "compression" which is ratio and treshold together i assume

sounds nice on lots of things cause i like the "dark, warm" meeksound,
but sometimes it just lacks...controll

i used a focusrite preamp this week, with opto compressor,
once again with a bunch of presets

yeah, nice sounds, but,
do opto compressors with treshold, attack, release, ratio exist?
 
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