Should I bother with this compressor?

Mr Fruit

Mr Fruit

New member
Probably an obvious question, but if you dont ask etc....

Ive got an analogue set up,fostex R8 and a fostex 358 mixer, which i was talking about with a music friend the other day. It turns out he has an old fostex 3070 compressor/limiter, that he has now given me.


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Now, ive never used a compressor before, and im not totally sure what they do, I was under the impression that they made the signal more even, making the quiet bits as loud as the loud bits.

Anything else?

Are they really that essential? Im always hearing people mention compression, but having only recently started recording with my own set up, ive not had the opportunity to ever use one?

Are they worth using? Does it really make a noticable difference?
 
Depends upon what your recording and what kind of sound your after. A bass guitar might need compression for example in a rock band to keep it from falling out of the mix.

I too have a Fostex R8 and Fostex 350 (im assuming you meant 350 not 358), and also have considered getting the Fostex 3070. Apparently it can add some nice color to your recordings but unfortunately I also heard it can be quite a noisy compressor. Nevertheless you got it now and should definitely at least try it.

Play around with it and don't be too put off if you can't achieve the most desirable results in the beginning. Given that you have never used a compressor, there is quite a learning curve, first learning how it works and what each knob does then figuring out how to get a good sound out of it. Until you get down the basics and get some experience, you won't need a better compressor.

One last thing, i would probably incorporate the compressor during your tracking process and not mastering because the R8 already generates enough hiss so if you wish to minimize hiss, use it before you record the signal to tape.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Seeing as you have the same gear as me, ill take advantage of your knowledge.....:D

the compressor has phono and jack ins and outs on both channels.

So, lets say you were recording a bass, would you run it thrrough the effects loop on the fostex ? or in line like a guitar stomp box?
 
 
Thanks for taking the time to post those links. Ill give them a good look at and hopefully Ill be a bit clearer.:)
 
Mr Fruit said:
So, lets say you were recording a bass, would you run it thrrough the effects loop on the fostex ? or in line like a guitar stomp box?
Click to expand...

Well either would work but if you ask me, i wouldn't be putting a guitar stomp box directly through the inputs of the mixer at all... mixer was designed for microphone inputs so really you should use a DI but i always mic the guitar amp anyway because it sounds much better to me and is technically speaking more correct then plugging the guitar directly into the mixer.

For bass, i actually mic the bass amp as well but i'm not sure if that's common practice professionally but if you were to plug it into the line, i would plug the bass guitar into the input on the mixer then run the compressor through the effects loop, this is especially the case with microphones because you (I) would prefer using the preamp on the mixer to boost up the mic volume then the gain knob on the compressor because the mixer will probably give a cleaner signal.
 
Yeah, sorry I made myself sound a bit more stupid than I actually am in that post.

I didnt mean in line to the mixer, more like using it as you would any guitar effect, then using a mic or DI as normal, or using it linked to the mixer.

Ive seen the effects send return, and the individual controls on each channel for the effects level, but so far ive not had any effects to try, and a compressor is probably the worst one to try first....:D

Ill have a go, and report back.

if you have more than 1 rack mounted effect, do you just plug them in series?
 
yea, and just a note of clarity here... never plug a passive guitar or bass directly into a 1/4" input on a mixer unless the mixer specifically says it's a guitar input.

the impedance mismatch will give you an extremely dull tone from your guitar or bass and it will lose sustain and life rather dramatically.

A DI, even a cheap recent model from behringer, between your guitar/bass and your mixer will result in a quite fantastic tone by comparison I think you'll find.

and guitars/basses will also have that same impedance mismatch if plugged into that particular compressor unless you put the instrument into a DI first.

Basically the DI replaces the amp. a guitar or bass amp presents a specific load to the effects/guitars/basses in the line before it.

So if you record bass without fx, go bass->DI->compressor->mixer->recorder.

if you record bass WITH fx, go bass->fx->DI->compressor->mixer->recorder.

Or if you record bass with rack fx that can/should be better used at line levels (rather than "instrument" levels), go bass->DI->compressor->FX->mixer->recorder, or a similar setup to that. Putting the fx after the compressor improves S/N ratio, but if your FX are stomp boxes they will likely sound/work better at instrument level so should be put before the DI.

all of the above also applies to guitar or any other passive 1/4" output pickup-based instrument (including passive acoustic/electric guitars with piezo pickups).

cheers,
Don
 
and yes, more than one effect goes in series, just as more than one stomp box goes in series.

assuming you're going through the rack effects and not using send/return setups from your mixer's aux buss. A compressor needs to be inline (in series as you noted). a reverb can (but not necessarily should depending on design/use/preferences) be used in the aux bus with it's output mixed with the original output (a parallel setup).
 
I got a rackmount DBX compressor recently, as well as a graphic and parametric EQ to use with analog recordings. When I worked digital with some bands I realized had to use extensive EQ and compression to get the mix sounding good. To my surprise.. when working analog I needed very little, If any compression from the units I bought. and minimal EQ adjustments. The analog way just.. works! :) The compression helps me with vocalists unexperienced with recording. Or if keeping the signal from clipping is a priority I throw some compression pre-fader
 
I have two dbx 166xl compressors that I use very frequently. The compressor you showed looks like a two-channel compressor... if it offers a stereo strap, you could use it for mixdown to squash any weird spikes/anomalies and keep a fairly consistent operating level.
 
I would say yes, definitely bother with it. Those old Fostex rackmount units are very cool. I have the 3050 digital delay, and I love it. It's not at all like the new, pristine digital delays of today. It's older and quirkier sounding -- more like analog. And the great thing is, those old Fostex rack units can be had very cheaply. :)
 
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