So Hano, maybe there is a language barrier or something going on here. This thread IS about he quality of the 3630, and NOT about learning to use compression. Sunking and Charles wanted an opinion about the 3630, and I gave one. My intent was not to post "lessons" about compression, except the lesson that a 3630 basically sucks compared to a Behringer Composer.
Both units retail for about the same price. It is my opinion, and the opinion of many other fine engineers who have used both boxes that the Behringer unit is a much better deal then the 3630, if that is the price range you are buying in (under $300).
Did any of you know that the original Behringer Composer sold for $800 retail? Did you know that the Composer is basically, right on down to much of the circuitry, a rip off of a $1000 Drawmer compressor? Behringer decided to keep the ciruitry, and skimp a little on the material of the box, and take advantage of cheap Chinese labor to build what is basically a $1000 quality compressor, and sell it for around $250. When it was sold for $800 initially, people were not buying it because for a couple hundred more, they could have the same thing, but with the Drawmer name on it. Now remember that this was before the recent boom in the "home studio" thing that came along a couple years ago. That being considered, the compressor market was a much different place then it is now. People were far more concerned with having products with the right name on it, rather then a copy of it that was a few bucks cheaper.
It would seem that Behringer had the forethought to go after the new, and expanding "home studio" market when they slashed the price of the Composer by over 50%. Not only did that compressor start flying off the shelf (at first, to commercial project studios like mine, because it became too good of a deal, and at that price for that quality, who cares about the name....), but it started to become a standard which other lower price compressors were judged by. Alesis, true to their form, never upgraded the 3630 to try to compete. Essentially, a new 3630 is just like an old one. At no point was a 3630 ever considered to be a serious compressor. The price on it has never gone up or down drastically. It is just a box that they keep making for some reason. For better or worse.
Hano, have at it with your 3630. I said that before. If it provides adequate quality to you for what you paid for it, great. But I would never pay what they ask for one new as long as a Behringer Composer is available for the same price. Outright, the Composer is just a better piece of gear. More transparent, cleaner sounding, and better I/O options on the jacks.
Oh, buy the way, the Behringer's "lights" are every bit as helpful for visual aid in compression. If the unit is on, the Input/Output lights are showing the Output of the device. If the Bypass switch is engaged, then it is showing the Input to the device. Very cleaver if you ask me. Actually, I never really care what the input is because it really doesn't matter. When I use a compressor, I am usually looking for a certain amount of gain reduction, and the Gain Reduction lights are the most usefull thing on a compressor. Input gain is really meaningless.
Also, I still make the observation that the Behringer Composer has a very nice Peak Limiter circuit on it, which the 3630 DOES NOT have, and it is seperate from the Compressor section.
Also, while I hardly ever use it, I have found that the "Smart Gate" on the Composer works much better then the Gate on the 3630.
So, there you have it. Sorry if you bought a 3630 new. For the same money, you could have bought a Composer and got a better compressor, a True Peak Limiter, and a better "Smart Gate" all in one. The 3630 is just left in the dust compared to it.
Now, to be fair, you will hopefully be seeing an article about compression from me here really soon on the main site of this BBS. While the article will not go into "standard settings" of a compressors (whatever 'standard settings' are...), it will explain all the controls in laymens terms, and hopefully shed a little light into using a compressor.
Another thing Hano. The 3630 "colors" the sound no matter how little compression is used. I have applied as little as 3 db of gain reduction with a 3630 and heard the all too familiar "boominess" that is infamous on a 3630. On a Composer, I don't hear this same "boominess" untill I start getting into the neighborhood of about 10-12 db of gain reduction. This is significant because often on a vocal track, I am looking for around 6-8 db of gain reduction. On a 3630, the vocal becomes very muddy sounding doing this much gain reduction. On a Composer, I have to check to make sure that the unit is even on, because at 6-8 db of gain reduction, I can't usually hear any distortion artifacts from it! The only thing that really changes is the dynamics are much better controlled. The tonality of the vocal is preserved quite well on the Composer at 6-8 db of gain reduction. This is cool because I seldom want a compressor to color the sound. I want the same sound, but with less dynamics.
You also made a point about the quality of the "chip" in the Behringer, compared to the 3630, possibly suggesting that Behringer uses a "lower quality" chip. A look back at Alesis's history in electronics would show that they tend to use some of the lowest quality chips on the market. Certainly, Behringer is not using any "cheaper". If you want to compare the quality of the box material of the two units, then you could make a point that the new Composers skimp here compared to the older units they made. But then again, I haven't seen a new 3630 for over 4 years, so I cannot account for the quality of their box. I know that on the LX-20 ADAT, Alesis has one of the crappiest boxes I have ever seen for a multitrack recorder. It seems ALL lower end audio manufactures are skimping on the sturdiness of the box these days....*sigh*
One last thing. I am not trying to anyone "walk away" from this discussion. Many people read these posts BEFORE they make a purchase in buying a piece of gear. As I stated earlier, Charles asked for an opinion about the 3630, and I gave it. I used the example of the Behringer unit to illustrate that for the same money, a person can get a much better piece of gear. Looking at it that way, more people would tend to be "drawn" to this discussion because a person who has used both pieces of gear is making an honest comparison. If my "opinions" are not shared, oh well. But, I made reference earlier about "precedence". I claim that the Behringer unit provides a better product for the money. I also have posted numerous mp3's of my work so that people may hear what I do so they can evaluate whether my "opinion" is worthwhile or not. I encourage anyone using a 3630 to post some of their material for all to hear so that they may get a better idea of whether THEIR "opinion" is worth considering on the merits of purchasing one over the Composer.
Let's face it Hano, everybody is somewhat influenced by the quality of the source that is pushing the product. If you are doing work that is superior sounding using a 3630, and your work is available for all to hear, then they would just take my opinions with a grain of salt and probably go buy 3630's because they have heard your work with them, and feel that it would be a better deal. But, you seem to think that all should go on your word, with no examples to back it up. I make my work available so that people can make better decisions about how they record, and what they use to record with. If my mp3's sound like shit to you, you can think that I am just an opinionated know it all who is getting a kick back from Behringer or something. But, I don't think my mp3's sound like shit, and I am opinionated about gear choices (and trust me, a Composer is far from my first choice in compressors...try a Crainsong compressor sometime. You will