simple compressor question! connections...

[Benreturns]

I have a Tascam 488MKII and have just recived a behringher MDX2200 via ebay. At the moment i am running my mic/guitars into the input jack on the compressor then the output is wired to the channel inputs on my partastudio. This works ok, but i read somewhere that really i should be plugging the compressor into the 2 insert points at the front of my tascam and using the portastudio inputs as normal.

Which jacks on my compressor do i use? Ive fiddled aboutbut i cant seem t work it like this. Help?

Also how do i route the insert points to apply to tracks 3-8?
Cheers

 

[Chris Tondreau]

Either way you do it will net the same results, I believe. In order to run it as an insert, you will need a special "Y-cable." Plug that into the insert jack of your console, one of the two plugs at the other end of the Y-cable into the input, the other of the two plugs into the output of the compressor. What happens is this - the signal from your board is both sent from the insert jack and returned to the insert jack via the same plug - effectively "inserting" it into the chain.

Chris

 

[Benreturns]

cheers

ok il have a go at that. The reason id like to keep it as an insert is to save me chopping and changing the leads etc... when my compressor is racked up with other equipment it would be a pain in the ass. also i can keep recording in the format im familiar with and use the compressor as more of an effect rather than messing about with the input chain.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

You can run line levels into the compressor (inline) before the portastudio inputs, but not mics... mics need a mic pre, and compressors are not mic pres. Certainly that particular compressor isn't.

Using inserts to patch in compressors and other outboard devices is far more common.

 

[Benreturns]

hmmmmm well

The Y cable trick didnt work. (actually i put a splitter into the insert jack and then cables coming out of it to the input/output of the compressor)

Am i doin this right? I put my guitar into the 488's mic/line input and the compressor doesnt affect the signal at all...

Anyone?

Can anyone explain this to me like im a 5yr old? (No jokes please!)

 

[maestro_dmc]

The splitter HAS to be TRS (tip ring sleve, or "stereo") for this to work, if its 1 mono into two mono's it won't be hap'nin.

Once you've got that, try reversing the leads until a signal registers on the compressor.

 

[Chris Tondreau]

Re: hmmmmm well

The Y cable trick didnt work. (actually i put a splitter into the insert jack and then cables coming out of it to the input/output of the compressor)

Am i doin this right?

I made the same mistake two weeks ago. It won't work - even if it appears to be TRS on the plug and TRS on the two inside jacks, like a headphone y-adapter. You need a special insert cable. Your idea sounds totally reasonable, but it doesn't work.

Chris

 

[JLM]

I had a similar question and Chris and maestro's y-cable suggestion worked for me. Also Bluebear, thanks for the explaining why it's not ok to run vocals straight into the compressor first and then to the pre (using the compressor as a pre).

Anyway, my y-cable is set up like this (sorry if you already know this but I like to include it just to make myself clear)...single end is "stereo" and at the double end I have one end labeled "tip" and the other labeled "ring". Obviously the double end is the end that connects to the compressor's in and out ports since it's got two ends.

At the single end of the y-cable I have the "stereo" input which I plug into my insert on my mixer. One other detail. Make sure that the "tip" end of your y-cable goes in your input on the compressor and the "ring" goes to the output of the compressor. It doesn't work the other way around.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Make sure that the "tip" end of your y-cable goes in your input on the compressor and the "ring" goes to the output of the compressor. It doesn't work the other way around.

It depends on the mixer. My Soundcraft Ghost has the Tip Ring reversed from how most mixers are setup and it's a pain in the ass. Some compressors like the RNC let you use one TRS cable but it only works if the mixer inserts are wired the standard way.