Recommend budget vocal tracking compressor - £300

Which option for tracking vocals?

  • Stick with Eureka compressor

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • ART Pro VLA II

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • DBX 166

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • FMR RNC

    Votes: 3 33.3%

  • FMR RNLA

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • FMR PCB-6a

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Golden Age COMP 54

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Overstayer compressor

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • other (please specify)

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Total voters
    9
dickiefunk

dickiefunk

New member
Hi,

I'm currently looking at improving my vocal tracking and have been busy sorting out a vocal booth and trying out various mics.
I have been experimenting with using the compressor on my Eureka and have quite liked it on certain vocalists and tracks. To my ears the Eurekas compressor sounds pretty clean and transparent and extremeley quiet.
I would not be using the compressor to compress the vocals hard, it would be for more subtle compression to tame some peaks whilst going into the Cubase 6.

I've been doing some searches and these seem to be the most popular compressor's around £300 :-

ART Pro VLA II
dbx 160 (not sure which model)
FMR RNC
FMR RNLA
FMR PBC-6a
Golden Age Projects Comp 54
Overstayer Compressor

Which of these would you recommend as being the most suitable vocal tracking compressor?
Would any of these be a major improvement on the compressor in the Eureka?
 
Last edited:
I have three or four of the mentioned preamps in your poll.
Each of them have certain flavor for any desired out come that I may want.
 
I would like something that helps make the vocals sound bigger, thicker and smoother whilst taming peaks going into my DAW.
 
FMR RNC is a great straight forward compressor.
FMR RNLA I like ... for you an add flavor to it when you want or need!

The golden age is cool but cost a little more.


My alltime favorite is not on your list. It is the Joe Meek TwinQ .... check out that on google then drool. You can find these used!
 
I absolutely hated the Eureka's compression circuit (sorry, just MHO). That, and I do whatever I possibly can to avoid using any sort of dynamics control on the way in. "Taming peaks" isn't something for tracking (and it usually leads to overloaded preamp circuits due to improper gain staging - but that's for another thread).

But if I really felt the need, the VLA at least has sort of a LA2A-ish feel to it. Still, we're talking a dB or two for flavor -- Not for gain reduction. Have yet to hear GA's 54...
 
Let me clarify a bit -- I returned two Eurekas that I thought "must be defective" -- The third one was when I found out that they actually just "sounded like that." The preamp was "okay" --- You could take the EQ or compressor and throw them in a tire fire as far as I was concerned.
 
How would you describe the sound of the compressor?
Click to expand...
Unimpressive. Overly-sensitive. Invasive.

That said -- We're talking about a relatively cheesy preamp in a box with a cheesy compression circuit and a cheesy EQ. I shouldn't have expected it to sound that good in the first place (but I saw so many people going apesh*t about how great it was, I thought I'd try it -- Only one of so many times I was sucked in by "reviews" of sorts).

Wound up with a Toft unit at the time - which was in another world in every way - although it was still "non-stellar" (except the EQ - that was delicious).
 
moresound said:
I have three or four of the mentioned preamps in your poll.
Each of them have certain flavor for any desired out come that I may want.
Click to expand...

Which compressors do you own?

Massive Master said:
But if I really felt the need, the VLA at least has sort of a LA2A-ish feel to it. Still, we're talking a dB or two for flavor -- Not for gain reduction. Have yet to hear GA's 54...
Click to expand...

Have you had any experience with any of the other compressors on the list?

I've narrowed my list down to :-

ART Pro VLA II
FMR PCB-6a
DBX 160XT
 
There I voted! For only one though.
I like about 3 or 4 of them for what they as an individual compressor can accomplish.
 
One compressor that I've been recommended is the Aphex Expressor 651. Has anyone here compared this to any of the pres on my list?
From what I've been reading this is said to be a VERY clean/transparent compressor!?
 
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