thoughts on RNLA & other 'cheap' opto-pressors....

[LUNE]

Lune.
What do you think of the RNLA?
Im thinking about geting one.

I thought I'd give this its own thread, not that I have much to say about it.... but maybe someone else does..

as for the RNLA, I still need some time with it, its new for me, I was stuck out here without a mic compressor, so I sprang for it as there's not much else in the $-range that's going for the 'LA' style opto-compression - I still think fondly of my Bellari LA120's (back in storage) which are less setting dependent (they have 2 knobs instead of 5 ...) but I think (generally speaking!) the RNLAs are going for something similar but with, um, more ways to mess it up.... (really, more different things you can do with it, I suppose...)

with more time to fiddle I think I can get it where I want it, but its gonna be another month before I have the time. if I come up with some great revelations, I'll post here... All I can say compared to the Bellari's for now is that the RNLA is a little less 'Glow-y'. I like it though, I don't need it to do too much, for what I'm doing I could have got an RNC, but I've already had one of those (in storage of course!) and so I thought I'd try this... and, maybe I like it better(?) its a little more 'fun' perhaps...

 

[CrowsofFritz]

Those red knobs really make you want to turn them!

 

[sweetbeats]

All I can say is that I've never heard anything negative about them.

My other comment is that the longer I mess with audio the more I like a lack of bells/whistles/knobs/buttons. I used to think I needed lots of options to mess with something...part of went along with that was the deluded ideation that I could actually make good use of all that stuff.

The ultimate is something that just makes stuff sound better to my ears simply by passing audio through it. My Ampex tape deck amp electronics are like that...passing stuff through tape on my Tascam halftrack is like that...i'm excited about the stepped eq controls on my MCI console when I finally get around to trying that. Options are bad for me.

Keep posting your impressions of the RNLA.

I'm not familiar with that Bellari unit you speak of...i'll have to look that up.

 

[j.harv]

Thanks for the thread Lune.
I ended up ordering through my local music shop.
Did a little browsing on the net and saw lots of good reviews and some mixed reviews too.
But im in need of another compressor to mess with and this seems like a good choice.

 

[Talldog]

I've not tried the rnlas but I've had a couple of rncs since you had to call the guys house to get them. I think they're great.

 

[moresound]

I've not tried the rnlas but I've had a couple of rncs since you had to call the guys house to get them. I think they're great.

Yes. Mark is a really cool guy and what's even cooler is that he'll take the time out of his very busy day to talk to you when you call him to answer any question you have about his products.

 

[RRuskin]

I thought I'd give this its own thread, not that I have much to say about it.... but maybe someone else does..

as for the RNLA, I still need some time with it, its new for me, I was stuck out here without a mic compressor, so I sprang for it as there's not much else in the $-range that's going for the 'LA' style opto-compression - I still think fondly of my Bellari LA120's (back in storage) which are less setting dependent (they have 2 knobs instead of 5 ...) but I think (generally speaking!) the RNLAs are going for something similar but with, um, more ways to mess it up.... (really, more different things you can do with it, I suppose...)

with more time to fiddle I think I can get it where I want it, but its gonna be another month before I have the time. if I come up with some great revelations, I'll post here... All I can say compared to the Bellari's for now is that the RNLA is a little less 'Glow-y'. I like it though, I don't need it to do too much, for what I'm doing I could have got an RNC, but I've already had one of those (in storage of course!) and so I thought I'd try this... and, maybe I like it better(?) its a little more 'fun' perhaps...

Mic compressor? The RNLA is not meant to look at mic level signals. As far as sound goes, they are very nice. I liken the sound to the old Allison Research Gain Brain but cleaner. (Full disclosure: I'm an authorized FMR Audio dealer)

 

[j.harv]

Rick.
So it wouldn't be a good Idea to plug a mic into on of these things.???Probably better to insert it into a channel????

 

[RRuskin]

Rick.
So it wouldn't be a good Idea to plug a mic into on of these things.???Probably better to insert it into a channel????

Correct. It's a line level device. It can be used in an insert loop or take the output from a preamp, direct or line outs.

 

[Poulsbo Slim]

Lune, I heard you decided to stay over there. Good for you! So it's Germany? Can't wait to hear stories and music you create there. Headed back from a long tour, up the coast now to Storage Town. Just wanted to say, go for it man. I was really happy to hear it's going well for you there. I realize this is a public place to write, so I'll make it official by saying:
First, I love FMR products. I think it's great that for you, coming from the double knobbed Bellariasaurus (I'm still looking for one of those online btw), the RNLA has a complex array of features. Sweetbeats, I couldn't agree more- the ultimate is when a piece of gear enriches sound in a particular and beautiful way, and that's just what it does- there's no endless tinkering to find something "perfect". I don't think perfection comes in the way of tinkering and I don't think options are almost ever an improvement. Not to hijack the thread, 'cause I realize it's meant to talk about the RNLA, but does anyone have a favorite super simple compressor other than the Bellari LA120?