What We learned about Compressors!

[Electricide]

I'm surpirsed none of the other guys jumped on this first.

Some of us in Chicago TapeOp land got together on Tuesday to compare some compressors. Just to hear the differences, and what each box's strengths and weaknesses were, and then how they compared at a similar setting as well. Source was a mono mixed 4 mic'd drum kit.

I'll just summarize, and if the discussion takes off, we can get into lots of detail.

(We had an Alesis 3630 w/black lion mod, a Joe Meek SC2.2, Art Levelar, Distressor, LA-4, Summit DCL-200, custom built La-2 clone, RNC, a drawmer, some Orban stuff, and maybe something else.)

You get what you pay for. And everything is usable.

Drawmer stuff is great because of the super fast attack times it can provide. Had maybe the best sound on Kick drum. RNC was more aggressive, although needed some super nice help.
Randy's LA-2 clone was distinctive and brilliant on a source not typically put through an LA-2.

Then the Distressor and LA-4 came in, and made the other stuff sound kinda dull. The LA-4 rocked the snare, and the Distressor proved so versatile it could mimic every other compressor there, except do it better.

Early on Nick commented that he doesn't much like the sound of a compressed drum kit. Later, right on cue, he says "maybe that's because my compressors suck!"

The whole thing proved, to me, two ideas seemingly at odds with each other on this board. You CAN hear a difference in quality, and it makes things sound better, more easily. BUT, every unit had a sweet spot, where it would be just the right sound for a certain part. They're all usuable, and it's up to the user to pull the best from the box.

Fun times! Someone else jump in here.......

[Slider]

What's funny about compressors to me is I tend to find a setting I love and just let it sit on all kinds of stuff on the same setting.

My 7110 hasn't had anything changed but the threshold in about a year.

I find that with 1176's too. what works on drums kind of sounds cool on other stuff too.

If It doesn't work, I'll usually just try another compressor, rather than endlessly tweak the thing.

It's like a 160A, it has this sound that can work on bass or vocals or snare drum with one basic attack/release setting.

I have never sat there trying to perfectly match release to a song tempo like I've heard other engineers will do.

Mabey I'm Lazy.

I haven't found a plugin that will do the same thing yet.
But I'm sure one will come at some point.

It's amazing how different all my compressors sound, when a lot of people just kind of think of them as something to just control dynamics.

They do so much more than that.

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

Sorry I missed it. Any chance of hearing recordings?

-Giahni

[djimbe]

thanks for starting this E'cide! I've been pretty darn busy since Tues. night. I'm glad you got something out of the evening; I know I sure did. I'm with Nick, it was eye opening to hear how the compressors I have underperform in some aspects. I know that knowledge will help my mixes come out better. For me, the distinctinve thing to hear was how each different box colored the EQ of program material. The LA4 was super nice sounding, much better than I had hoped, and the Distressor sure lived up to the praise it gets here. That Alesis/Black Lion thing though...so little money, and such a good sound. Came real close to the Drawmer (the 241? I don't remember now...it's dwlb's box, maybe he'll chime in...) in terms of the way it handled low end, but it did have one of the slowest initial attack times. And I have to confess that I've lost some of my feelings toward the RNC. Some of that is due to hearing it on a dum buss, not a use I normally put it to. I left the evening with a much better appreciation for why the experienced guys here reach for particular devices when dealing with particular programs now. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to join us, and especially to those that brought gear to hear! Definitley a good time and valuable time...

[Electricide]

sad to say, we weren't tracking the results lie we did with the pre amp party.

you should join this group.

I will state for the record that the Chicago contingent of TapeOp is kicking the crap out of all you other cities.

[puffpastry]

That Alesis/Black Lion thing though...so little money, and such a good sound.

Hey, thanks for the nice comments about the 3630 modification! The slow attack time is something that I intentionally designed into this modification because I wanted the 3630's VCA to simulate something more like an opto type compressor--if you don't like it, it's easily adapted to a faster time. Also, in case anyone was wondering, the modded 3630 used for this test is a Rev 1 Version 1. There is a new revision out that adds user-switchable feed-forward/feed-back detection (like the API 255L), and extra filtration on the power supply.

[djimbe]

So that's yours, huh Puff? That 3630 mod? Nice work! Seriously interested in this for myself in the near future. Really sounded good to me...

[EasyGo]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised that the 3630 sounded so good with puffpastry's Black Lion mod. On the drum submix, it sounded meatier and more substantial than I would have imagined.

Also dug Randy's DIY LA-2A, Jef's Orban Limiter (tons of personality), and especially the LA-4A, which I thought killed on drums.

[rhythm ranch]

I posted this before, but it's worth repeating.

If you have a 3630 languishing in the bottom of a rack or in the back of a closet, do yourself a favor and get the Black Lion mod.

I bought two 3630s when they first came out and soon abandoned them. A few months ago I got the mods done (One got ver.1, one got ver.2) and they are back in heavy rotation. They sound like real compressors now.

[Electricide]

The Orban stuff, at least what we had, seemed geared for radio use or somehting, because we kept pushing and pushing the input gain and threshold, and it didn't seem to change tone or sound all that much.

One of those boxes that they make it impossible to really screw up the sound by misuse.

[Shabbadoo]

thanks for the thread guys, useful info...

I will state for the record that the Chicago contingent of TapeOp is kicking the crap out of all you other cities.

I just joined the board here, are there any other Memphians out there?

[Slider]

sad to say, we weren't tracking the results lie we did with the pre amp party.

you should join this group.

I will state for the record that the Chicago contingent of TapeOp is kicking the crap out of all you other cities.

That's it I'm moving to Chicago.

[antilog]

I posted this before, but it's worth repeating.

If you have a 3630 languishing in the bottom of a rack or in the back of a closet, do yourself a favor and get the Black Lion mod.

I bought two 3630s when they first came out and soon abandoned them. A few months ago I got the mods done (One got ver.1, one got ver.2) and they are back in heavy rotation. They sound like real compressors now.

i couldn't find an explanation for ver 1 and ver 2, as both are still avail...

[puffpastry]

The difference between Version 1 and Version 2 is largely that the V1 uses metal film resistors in the signal chain and a symmetrical VCA setting, and V2 uses carbon comp resistors in the signal chain and an asymmetrical VCA trim setting. In layman's terms, the V1 is fairly clean, and the V2 is a bit grittier sounding.

[rhythm ranch]

Ver.1 is great, but I'm in love with ver.2!

But then I also like chunky peanut butter.