RNC "Super Nice" Mode?

[logancircle]

I've read the manual, but wonder if someone here can add a little more clarity to the Really Nice Compressor's Super Nice mode. I gather it sends the signal through a compressor multiple times to make the compression sound less violent, but I'd like to hear what others use this mode for.

[s00p3rm4n]

I'm probably alone in this, but I rarely leave Super Nice Mode off when I'm using the RNC. Attack and release are super-duper-sensitive on the RNC, but despite this everything I've run through it has sounded better in Super Nice. Acoustic sounds absolutely wonderful in Super Nice, and I have a sneaky suspicion vocals will do pretty well too (although I'm thinking of picking up an RNLA or Art PRO VLA or something "gooey-er" for vocals).

I have run a bass track or two through the RNC in normal mode - normal mode worked better for bass simply because this was a crappy Squier bass and I was compressing the bejeezus out of it (and had it set at ridiculously quick attack and ridiculously long release)..

[andyg666]

is this computer world or compressor world?

[drumsound]

I usually ues regluar mode. I like super nice for vocals.

AndyG, this is gear talk...

[djimbe]

The "super nice mode" sounds cleaner to me. Less roll off or smear of the high end. It's what I go for when not paralleling a track (like for some light vocal or acoustic guitar control as an insert). The regular mode I use when I'm bringing a more compressed bass or a drum buss up underneath the clean stuff on a different fader(s). The main track(s) supply the high end, and you get some "heft" from the compressor.

You could do the same sort of thing as "super nice" just using several compressors, each set lightly and slightly different in a sort of cascade mode. Or think about the scenario where you compress a track lightly to tape, then you get a small amount of tape compression based on how hard you hit the machine, then you maybe do another small bit of parallel compression in the mix, then glue the 2-buss together with a final stage going to your mixdown format. Folks like Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Garges (among others of the expereinced pro crowd here) have discussed this concept before on the previous board. That's a whalin' ton o' gear to have and gain staging to manage, though. Those FMR folks made it a little easier for you to get a similar idea going on with a single box...

[HuskerDude]

I generally use the super-nice mode on less "attacky" things: vocals, acoustic guitars, synths, etc. I leave it off for drums and bass. About 50-50, as I recall, for overheads.

[mjau]

Yep, supernice is almost always on for me, too.

[joeysimms]

I use 'super nice' on everything. meaning, I have every track feeding a stereo pair on 'super nice' and just use a teensy bit in the mix.

[TapeOpLarry]

I never use "Super Nice" mode. I think I just use another compressor that is gentler I guess. I love the RNC reg mode for electric guitars and parallel drum buss stuff. Even when there's multi-thousand dollar boxes sittling around I'll use 'em.

[drumsound]

I used super nice on snare drum tonight. I was digging it. Though I'm like Larry and really like regular mode. Especially on parallell drum bus.

[AidO)))]

I think super nice can be a bit much on everything,never use it,less its on a drum-buss & even then im usually manually dialling in as things are happnin,
but maybe cos im afraid/big scaredycat even (or maybe im jus stupidad!)
Would love to get the RNLA!! Whats the log-rel (lin!?!?) like???...I should prolly jus shut up,buy it & find out for myself