Recomend a Compressor

  • Thread starter Thread starter Billyo488
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Billyo488

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Hey, can someone recomend a compressor to me. I got an Alesis 16 firewire multimix.
I play the drums.
 
And what are you compressing, i.e. how many channels will you need? Are you compressing your kick, your snare, both? Or something else?
 
The dbx 160 series are always in the running for compressing drums and bass..
 
I'm not sure the PRO VLA is the best thing for drums. The big questions are how much do you want to spend, and what are you trying to do?

In other words, are you looking for a compressor to pump, or one to control dynamics less obviously? Your intended use will have a major impact on which unit you get.
 
I'm also in the market for decent compressors. I need to record vocals. So a compressor for that. And I usually only record line level synth modules (808 kicks, snares, high hats, sampled B3s, baby grands, moogs), no acoustical instruments at all. So a compressor for that too. Budget is about $400 bucks for each compressor. Any suggestions? All advice is welcome.
 
djchris73 said:
I'm also in the market for decent compressors. I need to record vocals. So a compressor for that. And I usually only record line level synth modules (808 kicks, snares, high hats, sampled B3s, baby grands, moogs), no acoustical instruments at all. So a compressor for that too. Budget is about $400 bucks for each compressor. Any suggestions? All advice is welcome.
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I'm not sure why you would need a compressor for tracking samples and synths. Just turn your levels down a little when recording. Especially if you are at 24 bits, you can always manipulate the volume of the sounds when mixing with no loss of quality.

You would be much better off, instead of spending $400 per compressor for a bunch of low budget pieces, buying something like an Empirical Labs Distressor for around $1200. Then you have a world class piece that you can use for light control of vocal tracking, and then patch into as many tracks as you want (one at a time, of course) if you want to use it while mixing.

The main drawback is it is only one channel, so if you have stereo tracks you really need to compress, you'll need two (or a stereo compressor). On the other hand, for mixdown you may be able to get by with some of the better (and cheaper) software compressor plug-ins. I happen to like the Sony Oxford Dynamics package, but there's a lot of decent stuff to choose from.

Given the choice of one $1200 compressor or three $400 ones, if you can... always go for the former. It's like in sports - you don't trade one superstar for three mediocre players, even though their salaries may add up to be the same. The value to the team is NOT equivalent in most cases.
 
ART PRO VLA is not quite the unit for drums. RNC or DBX may be better. I've got the pro vla and it's great on vox for the style I do, and some acoustic guitar as well.
 
The Dbx 160 is good on anything. For real anything. It will also be a valid choice even if you wind up with a zillion compressors to choose from. I have a lot to choose from, and I have two 160A's and and two 160X's that get used ALL the time. Totally great, and they simply work, every day. They hold their value pretty well, too. They always seem to hover around the same price. You wind up with a classic in the rack for under 275.... pretty amazing.
 
Unless we are going to consider serious money gear, DBX 160(a, x, xt) for the drums and an RNC for vocals. They are both pretty available and hold their value pretty well, especially if you buy used. Symetrix 501 is pretty useful too for an inexpensive comp. The ART Pro VLA might be cool on vocals too based on comments here, but I've never used one.
 
pohaku said:
Unless we are going to consider serious money gear, DBX 160(a, x, xt) for the drums and an RNC for vocals. They are both pretty available and hold their value pretty well, especially if you buy used. Symetrix 501 is pretty useful too for an inexpensive comp. The ART Pro VLA might be cool on vocals too based on comments here, but I've never used one.
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Sounds like I wrote that, anyway, that's my opinion too!
 
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