The best compressor...

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Skipster

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You record a lot of rock and pop music, both male and female vox. You have $2000 to buy a compressor.

Which one(s?) would you buy??

Cheers,
Skipster
 
I'd go here and see if anything strikes you as being interesting.

Then I'd get in touch with them, tell them your situation and see if they have any suggestions.
 
yeah mercenary are great...I got my Avalon 737 from Fletcher there.

But they don't sell all of the compressors I'd be considering LA2A, Urei, etc).

I'm really looking for wide and varied opinions. I'm expecting some people to say "spend $2k grand on an Avalon compressor" and other people to say "buy a bunh of RNCs, plus a whatever with the rest of the cash...".

I really want to hear peoples'personal POV, rather than just a link to a webstore.

Cheers,
Skipster
 
Skipster said:
I really want to hear peoples'personal POV, rather than just a link to a webstore.
Click to expand...


I don't think any of us knows what you're looking for in a compressor any more than you can tell me what kind of shoes I should wear with my new outfit. Try it, Skipster. :D I'm asking you right now . . . What kind of shoes should I wear with my new outfit, Skip?

C'mon, Skippy. Details. We need more than just "I record stuff and I have 2 G's for a comp." I know you can do it.
 
OK, some details...

How 'bout this:

Skipster said:
I record a lot of rock and pop music, both male and female vox. I have $2000 to buy a compressor.

Which one(s?) would you buy??

Cheers,
Skipster
Click to expand...

?
 
Alright Skippy, I'm getting the feeling this is going to be tougher than I expected.


Here's a question that would be most helpful: What do you already have?

You see, it helps to tell people what's already in your arsenal so that we don't recommend something you already have. :D Duplication of effort, there, Skippy. It also might help us if we knew what kind of compression you like or prefer. Are you going for a moreless transparent sound, or are you looking for something with a little spunk / attitude?

Also, Skippy, it might be helpful if we knew What you're planning to use it on. You say you record male/female pop vocals, but do you also record drums? Do you record guitars or bass? These can be helpful details, Skippy.

Will this compression be used just on instruments or vocals, or will it also be used accross the mix bus? Do you even have a mix bus?

Come on, Skippy. You're losing me.
 
I'd buy an RNC and a Joemeek, and buy shaawklaat cake for the rest. Mmmmm....
 
Uhm, btw, does it show that I don't really think the guy has 2000 bucks for a compressor? Because people who has 2000 bucks for a compressor has a pro studio, and would know a bit more of what they want? Is that noticeable?


Just wondering.

I still would buy an RNC and a Joemeek, though. :) Oh, and maybe a nice stereo dbx too, the 163X I have now is very transparent, but mono. It depends on how well the RNC fills the 163X's shoes.
 
Thanks to those who gave thier opinion. I'm actually considering a pre-loved LA2A, or an Avalon 747...I'm not so impressed with the Joe Meek or dbx gear.

Hey chessrock, I just saw your post count....WOW your have spent a LOT of time here. In fact, by my calculations you've been registered for around 900 days! And that means you post on average around 7 posts per day....EVERY DAY....rain, hail or shine, monday thru sunday....

7 times a day for 900 odd consecutive days!!! WOW!!!

Do you actually work full time in a studio? 'Cause if you don't, I'm amazed how you find the time to actually record something...

You certainly have committed a huge part of your life to a bulletin board...which is nice if that's one's goal. I've personally commited my life to recording, which leaves me precious little time to practically live on a message board for amateur home recording enthusiasts. I'm a bit strange in that way....oh, well....each to thier own, I guess. Have fun :)

Gotta get back to the studio ;)
Cheers,
Skippy
 
Skipster said:
Hey chessrock, I just saw your post count....WOW your have spent a LOT of time here.

7 times a day for 900 odd consecutive days!!! WOW!!!
Click to expand...

:D LOL

That does seem to be an awfully large commitment. Maybe chessrock simply enjoys helping people out. He seems friendly enough. Certainly no patronizing, smartass attitude answers from chessrock ;) lol

7 posts a day for 900 days in a row is maybe not as bad as it sounds. It only gets difficult if he misses a day or two, and has to post 14 or 21 times a day to keep his average up!

Ho-hum,
Adzzz :D
 
Skipster said:
Thanks to those who gave thier opinion. I'm actually considering a pre-loved LA2A, or an Avalon 747...I'm not so impressed with the Joe Meek or dbx gear.

Hey chessrock, I just saw your post count....WOW your have spent a LOT of time here. In fact, by my calculations you've been registered for around 900 days! And that means you post on average around 7 posts per day....EVERY DAY....rain, hail or shine, monday thru sunday....

7 times a day for 900 odd consecutive days!!! WOW!!!

Do you actually work full time in a studio? 'Cause if you don't, I'm amazed how you find the time to actually record something...

You certainly have committed a huge part of your life to a bulletin board...which is nice if that's one's goal. I've personally commited my life to recording, which leaves me precious little time to practically live on a message board for amateur home recording enthusiasts. I'm a bit strange in that way....oh, well....each to thier own, I guess. Have fun :)

Gotta get back to the studio ;)
Cheers,
Skippy
Click to expand...

Alright... this kinda' thing pisses me off severely.

this is a rather thinly veiled attempt at an insult. An insult aimed at someone who is taking time out of their day to try and assist you. You're a newbie here. He's not. He has fielded this question a freakin' bajillion times already, and he knows what info he needs to be able to HELP YOU. if he didn't care to help you he'd say "go buy an avalon it'll make you sell a thousand records" and be done with it.

Next time you make an attempt at belittling a forumer here, it might be wise to not choose one of the helpful ones. It's all nice that you've devoted "your life to recording". Really, that's awesome. But seeing as you don't even know what kind of compressor you're thinking about dumping two Gs into, it's a damned good thing that there are people around here who have the knowledge and experience to offer useful advice, and whom are giving enough of their time to want to help out people like you and me who are still learning all this crap.

I'm not coming down on you, not trying to talk shit, I'm just saying... Think next time you come off with this kinda' thing.
 
tf5_bassist, no offense dude, but are you chessrock's mommy? I'm sure whenever chessrock wakes up this afternoon he'll be more than capable of making his own response for himself. With 6000 posts, I'm sure he doesn't need anyone wiping his ass for him. Your being pissed off about it seems to be a little oversensitive dude. In the big scheme of things, this is only an internet message board after all. I myself tend to get more pissed off about children starving in China and things like that. Call me crazy :rolleyes:

Secondly, I didn't read Skipster asking for anyone's help at all, rather, he initially asked what you i.e. WE would do, if we recorded predominantly rock/pop male & female vocals, and we had 2 grand to invest in a compressor or compressors. Sounds to me like the dude already uses high end gear and has basically decided on either a LA2A or a 747, but would find it interesting to hear what people among the "home recording" branch would do with the cash.

Skippy, IMNSHO, either of the 2 compressors would be more than fine for the stuff you're doing. Maybe check out the Urei as well.

Dingo
 
For versatility and quality, I would buy a Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor w/british mod.

But I would more likely settle for a little more quantity over quality, since the EL8 is mono only. For $2000, I would prolly get a bunch of stereo drawmer, dbx and joemeek.

Not as freaking good as a EL8, but in no ways bad either.
 
one killer compressor for 2000 for vocal strip?

Cranesong trakker! would be my first choice second would be a distressor both are versatile distressor is more lo-fi/dirty while the trakker clean and hi fi...with a touch a dirt if you flip the fat switch on...
 
bgavin,

Not sure of your question, but as you know, I've an ACP-8 (essentially the same thing) and I appreciate it more and more every day. I love mine and will never get rid of it; so as long as it doesn't break on me (so far so good). Even if it were to, I'd probably send it to someone like Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades to be fixed and modded at the same time. Anyway, it's one of those pieces that most people don't seem to give any credit to, but the few people I have met who actually own one, love them as well.
 
Sir Dingo said:
Maybe check out the Urei as well.
Click to expand...

Good idea... I'm in love with my LA-3A on vox... Instant WOW!!! factor. bgavin can atest to this.

Of course, as with all older gear, send it to a tech to get it up to spec. before using it.
 
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