Putting in a good word for the Symetrix 501 . . .

[chessrock]

Don't know if anyone cares or not, but I've had this Symetrix 501 compressor for some time now, and have been using it almost exclusively on bass, and have found it indespensable for that purpose.

Just for a session this afternoon, I pulled it out to use on vocals, just as a change-of-pace kind of thing.

I was letting the singer hit it pretty hard. I saw the red lights hit 8 dbs of reduction and more with alarming regularity. My initial instinct was to quickly turn the damn thing down. Then, remembering all the good advice I get from my fine colleagues on this board (the ones that say "use your ears, not your eyes" and such), I fought the urge and left it alone.

Just thought I'd pass along word to anyone who might be interested in a very inexpensive comp (you can get them for $100 and less on ebay for two channels) -- perhaps an alternative to the RNC . . . this thing is just great.

I wouldn't call it transparent, but I would call it smooth. It's one slick, smooth cat. If you see one with a toggle power switch going on ebay, just get it.

 

[Mustafa Salaam]

Yo' chess, MISTERQCUE here!

One of my fave techniques on the bass is using the percussive, thumb-slap where I use my thumb and index fingers to produce a sycopated & rhythmic flow.
One of my MAJOR probs is when plucking the G-string or any octave note higher from the key with my index finger, it produces
a higher gain level which I have difficulty in capping the signal via my processors which are either the DMP,AutoCom,Composer,DBX
or the RNC.
Prev'ly I adj'd my technique so that any note produced by my index finger is on the same level that the thumb produces, but I
realized that it diminishes the rhythmic quality of the bass part.
I have tried to adjust the limiters on certain processors to cap my index finger's level yet it decreases the gain on thumb-produced notes.

Blah,Blah,Blah!!!
My question is I need a processor that can catch peaks quickly
w/o affecting the overall material while keeping the attack consistent.
Can the symetrix provide what I think I might need? Or do you have anutha' suggestion?

Peace
Q.rM

 

[chessrock]

Mustafa? WTF? ?


I think what you'd be looking for is something with more of a multiband element to it.

You want to be able to set a limiter that will act only on the higher frequencies produced by Mr. G (String, that is) whilst leaving the lower freq's otherwise unmolested. Or at least something that can act on each band separately in order to give Mr. Q's thumb and index a chance to do their own thing without being severely effected by what the other is doing.

To my knowlege, the best on the market for that sort of thing is the Aphex dominator, but it is also to my knowlege that it doesn't come cheap.

A viable alternative is within financial reach of Mr. Q's blistered digits, by way of the Rane DC-24, which at least offers separate comp/limiting of the highs and lows :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2551794889&category=23793

 

[MISTERQCUE]

Mustafa? WTF? ?


I think what you'd be looking for is something with more of a multiband element to it.

You want to be able to set a limiter that will act only on the higher frequencies produced by Mr. G (String, that is) whilst leaving the lower freq's otherwise unmolested. Or at least something that can act on each band separately in order to give Mr. Q's thumb and index a chance to do their own thing without being severely effected by what the other is doing.

To my knowlege, the best on the market for that sort of thing is the Aphex dominator, but it is also to my knowlege that it doesn't come cheap.

A viable alternative is within financial reach of Mr. Q's blistered digits, by way of the Rane DC-24, which at least offers separate comp/limiting of the highs and lows :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2551794889&category=23793

I graciously thankyou!!!
I'll prob'ly sell off some of my gear and steal some money from daughter's colledge fund and look at the Aphex and the Rane.

 

[HangDawg]

I just bought a Symetrix CL-100 off Ebay. I haven't had alot of time to mess with it yet, just made sure it worked. It claims to have attack times down in the micro seconds. And it has a ratio as high as 50:1. Seems to me it should work really well for limiting with attack times like that.

 

[chessrock]

I graciously thankyou!!!
I'll prob'ly sell off some of my gear and steal some money from daughter's colledge fund and look at the Aphex and the Rane.

You can usually get the Rane for less than $100, so don't go robbing any banks just yet.