What does the FMR RNC sound best on?

  • Thread starter Thread starter thehymns
  • Start date Start date
T

thehymns

New member
I've been reading a lot about this compressor on the boards and how good it is, but I really don't know what it sounds best on. I recently purchased a Symetrix 501 for recording bass and would like something for vocals and drums. What does the RNC do so well that everyone should have one?
 
thehymns said:
I've been reading a lot about this compressor on the boards and how good it is, but I really don't know what it sounds best on. I recently purchased a Symetrix 501 for recording bass and would like something for vocals and drums. What does the RNC do so well that everyone should have one?
Click to expand...
I only use mine on vocals. Seems to do well for me on that. Easy to set up, and it does what I intended it for. Never used it on bass, or guitar.
 
Yup rox on vox, I have other comps (dbx 160's, toft, safe sound) that I use for drums, cabs and such
have used it a bit on a banger of an acoustic player with good results too
 
I'll third the vox thing. I have used it on the whole mix, but i found it softened the high freqs a bit. It's nice on snare. It's a good "recovery mission" compressor definatley a goto when you really need to save a live vocal recording or live bass that has weay to much dynamic fluctuation.
 
I don't like it very much on vox. I find it especially useful on distorted guitars and fart noises.
 
FALKEN said:
I don't like it very much on vox. I find it especially useful on distorted guitars and fart noises.
Click to expand...
Make sure you have the mic facing the right way, you must have your ends crossed
 
i think it's good good general compressor - an all rounder -though i've never dug it on bass or kick. acoustics, drums, bv's is where it gets used most at our place...(we have 4)

also i've never liked it in supernice mode on anything...but a few weeks ago i stuck it in super nice mode on a drum buss to mix back in with the original signal type thing...set the thing for around 6:1 / med attack and release...wham...the drums hung like curtains over/around the picture. tried it again for some acoustics i needed to pull out of a mix...perfect. definitely one of my fave applications i've found for it...still working on it.

Mike
 
"Perhaps you don't know what compression is supposed to sound like and think, based on your experience with shitty gear, that everything is supposed to sound "mashed" and "squashed"."

i'd like to thank whoever left me this feedback on my post.

actually the rnc is pretty transparent in that mode...i was quite surprised that a 6:1 ratio would work as well as it did without sounding slammed. the same settings in normal mode did not fare well.

if a mod could delete this feedback chip i'd appreciate it - not a huge deal if not but i'm kinda tiring of the back alley flames here.

Mike
 
Good luck with that.

I am beginning to think that this website was set up by FMR to hock their crap to unsuspecting beginners. Anybody who says anything that isn't stupendous about them ends up with this fate.
 
Bigtoe-

I've found with the RNC and bass or kick or anything with a lot of LF it needs longer release times than you would think. Otherwise it starts to distort. I confirmed this with FMR, he said the release times were very accurate and linear, leading people to assume it just couldn't handle lots of LF when they set it the same as some other pieces. That being said, I don't use it when I want some flava on those things, as it doesn't seem to have any. Worked great on an upright bass in a jazz thingie I just did, though.
 
FALKEN said:
Good luck with that.

I am beginning to think that this website was set up by FMR to hock their crap to unsuspecting beginners. Anybody who says anything that isn't stupendous about them ends up with this fate.
Click to expand...
I was one of their first customers and I happened to have the Neutrik A-2 Audio Test Station in the studio when my first RNC arrived. With 6dB of compression going in, it beat ALL of its published specs by whole orders of magnitude. The response was flat out to beyond 100kHz, the noise was around -128dB, and the distortion was around .0013%.

The test measurements from the Neutrik were almost too good to be true and I called Mark McQuilken (for the first time) to find out what I must have been doing wrong. It turned out that I wasn't doing anything wrong, and those measurements were typical of the production RNC. In short, it was the cleanest, quietest, lowest distortion compressor I've ever heard - at any price. We run 6 "paid for" RNC's in each of our two studios, and they get used constantly.

If you think the RNC is "crap", then tell me of a compressor with better specs.

Steve Albini has four of them. A lot of the major engineers I know swear by them. It's easy to call something "crap" on the Internet, without offering any proof to back it up. I've measured it; it's even better than they claim, and we've used it on several major label releases. Care to explain exactly why it's "crap" and what's 'better' at that price point?
 
Mark! That's his name, thanks Harvey. He's a RNG (really nice guy):D. Spent at least half an hour talking to me about the thing. I though there was something wrong with mine, with the release time.
 
I didn't win the Symetrix 501, it went for over $200 on eBay but I've found a few more, but I don't know if they are the toggle switch versions or not yet. I'll probably end up buying a RNC even though it gets some mixed reviews (what doesn't?). If I don't like I'm not going to loss any money reselling it.

I'm new to compression so I don't know where to begin, so if someone could give some basic settings for bass drum, bass, acoustic guitar and vocals (if you use compression on overheads some settings would be nice for that too) I'd appreciate it. Finally, why would you need it for electric guitar?
 
thehymns said:
I'm new to compression so I don't know where to begin, so if someone could give some basic settings for bass drum, bass, acoustic guitar and vocals (if you use compression on overheads some settings would be nice for that too) I'd appreciate it. Finally, why would you need it for electric guitar?
Click to expand...

There are some good articles around, I'll try to dig up one or two. Compression takes awhile to get ahold of for most people, both the concept and application. It's hard to give much more than general advice, like choose how much reduction you want or need, the shape you want the envelope to be, and adjust the threshold to hit your goal. Compression is one of those things that can fill both wants and needs. In addition to controlling dynamics, a compressor can also shape sounds. The controls are interactive, that is changing one often changes the effect another has. I'd do some reading, and get an idea of what the thing does, what the controls do, then start asking questions. It will be a lot easier to understand what to ask and also to understand the answers you get.

As far as electric guitar, compression is used just like it is for anything else. Controlling dynamics, controlling the sound envelope, everything a compressor can do.

ftp://ftp.dbxpro.com/pub/PDFs/WhitePapers/Compression%20101.pdf

http://www.rane.com/note155.html

Those will get you started. I found a great one at one point, I'll try to find it again.
 
thehymns said:
I didn't win the Symetrix 501, it went for over $200 on eBay but I've found a few more, but I don't know if they are the toggle switch versions or not yet. I'll probably end up buying a RNC even though it gets some mixed reviews (what doesn't?). If I don't like I'm not going to loss any money reselling it.

I'm new to compression so I don't know where to begin, so if someone could give some basic settings for bass drum, bass, acoustic guitar and vocals (if you use compression on overheads some settings would be nice for that too) I'd appreciate it. Finally, why would you need it for electric guitar?
Click to expand...

Did you read Harvey's post? Start there! Then get an RNC and set all the controls at twelve'o'clock, for vox engage the super nice button.
 
Harvey,

I should have worded it differently. I own one and use it, occasionally. For the price, I wouldn't sell it. And it does pass audio with very little coloration. I bet you are right about the specs. But in practice I have found, for my music (which is militant rock) it sucks on pretty much everything I have tried it on. it sounds OK on electric guitar bus. I have gotten better results with the bluemax every time. granted the bluemax has more noise and isn't built nearly as well. if you are trying to maintain some faux "golden channel" sure go with the RNC but that Idea is sort of ridiculous anyway. I choose what works the best, for me.

Maybe someone can address why nobody can hold this opinion without getting crapped on?
 
FALKEN said:
Harvey,

I should have worded it differently. I own one and use it, occasionally. For the price, I wouldn't sell it. And it does pass audio with very little coloration. I bet you are right about the specs. But in practice I have found, for my music (which is militant rock) it sucks on pretty much everything I have tried it on. it sounds OK on electric guitar bus. I have gotten better results with the bluemax every time. granted the bluemax has more noise and isn't built nearly as well. if you are trying to maintain some faux "golden channel" sure go with the RNC but that Idea is sort of ridiculous anyway. I choose what works the best, for me.

Maybe someone can address why nobody can hold this opinion without getting crapped on?
Click to expand...
If you had said that at the start, I wouldn't have had any problem with your comments. It's not a "golden channel" but it is the handiest compressor we own. If the Bluemax works better for your music, that's ok with me, but to dismiss the RNC as a piece of overhyped crap is just plain wrong, IMO.
 
There's a huge world of difference between "I have no use for it, it doesn't do what I need" and "It's a piece of crap for suckers".

As for anonymous negative reppers in any case, eat shit and die, have a nice day. :)
 
Harvey Gerst said:
If you had said that at the start, I wouldn't have had any problem with your comments. It's not a "golden channel" but it is the handiest compressor we own. If the Bluemax works better for your music, that's ok with me, but to dismiss the RNC as a piece of overhyped crap is just plain wrong, IMO.
Click to expand...


....it sort of is..... but I own 2 RNPs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top