my first compressor (germ vs distressor)

charlie banger · Post by **charlie banger** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:10 pm

hey all,

getting ready to purchase my very first compressor and like a few folks out there i'm having trouble deciding between the chandler germanium and distressor. don't have a lot of cash to spend, so buying one of each is not an option and since it's my first compressor i obvs want it to be extremely versatile.

i play a mixture of rock and folk with the heavier side sounding a bit like modest mouse circa '96 and the lighter side sounding a bit like neil young a la harvest. i'm currently running all gtrs, vox and bass through a hamptone HVPT2 into a digi 02 and the drms end up being a mix of the hamptone and digi pres. i love warm analog tones with a bit of grit, which is why i'm leaning toward the germanium. from what i gather the distressor has a clean sound and since my hamptone pre is already pretty clean, i thought it'd be nice to spice things up a bit. from what i've read the germ isn't the easiest to work with, but i'm willing to spend a little extra time dialing in the sound i'm looking for provided i actually find it in the end. i guess the only reason i'm hesitating is because most folks speak highly of the distressor, which seems to have become an industry standard. any way, if you have any thoughts or opinions on the compressors and/or the purchase i'd love to hear from you.

thx much.

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:59 pm

i had the same conundrum about a year ago, couldn't try before buying, but ended up with the germ comp (and recently bought a second one), and am very happy. however if you do a search this question has come up numerous times, and i think you'll find most people recommending the distressor for versatility.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 5:43 am

first and only compressor?
Get the distressor.
clean? the name means "distort-er/compressor", hence "distressor."
Kind of like the equal, but inverse of the TC "comptortion."
Get the distressor.
I have a pair of germs and a pair of distressors, and the germs do something for me that is very specific, and amazing, and I love them a LOT. BUT....
The distressor will be better for tracking AND mixing. Kind of good on anything. Like a dbx 160a, but with the tone of something slightly nicer.
Personally, if I did not have a compressor at ALL, I would go buy a dbx160a or X off craigslist for 200 dollars and make my record. Seriously. take a friend out to dinner with the money you save, or pay rent and take off from work to work on your music.

capnreverb · Post by **capnreverb** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:55 am

how do these compare with the RNC, especially DBX 160's?

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:33 pm

Don't own/never used the Germ Compressor, but I do have a Distressor and a 160x.

If it's literally your first compressor purchase, I'd say get a 160x/a/xt for $200. It's difficult to make them sound shitty. Very simple to use and they have a nice character (definately not 'gritty').

Then when you understand how to use a compressor and what compression characteristics you like/don't like, you can spend the loot on a Distressor, or something else that compliments your recording aesthetic.

If you're dead set on spending all your money on a compressor, I can say that the Distressor is pretty fucking awesome. Extremely versitile and sounds great. I love just running tracks through the distortion modes w/ no compression. Good for a little 'grit'.

If you really want to dirty things up a little, feed the un-padded input of your Hamptone a hot signal, or for even more, daisy chain the 2 channels, and use the pads/gain controls to dial in the desired amount of saturation.

charlie banger · Post by **charlie banger** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:27 pm

thanks for the replies. i'm all about saving cash, but i also like to get it right the first time and have roughly 2K set aside for the studio. that being said, after doing research on the dbx 160's it looks like they're solid compressors that i probably won't want to part with. i'm actually considering the dbx 160xt. the benefit of going this route is that if i like the sound i can pick up a 2nd and still have cash left over to scratch a few more items off the list. i'm also still considering picking up a couple distressor's if i can find them on the cheap, but it looks like the germ will have to wait.

any thoughts on mono vs. stereo compression since i'm now stuck on getting two? maybe unstick me? i originally intended to record everything clean, then run tracks out through a single comp and then back into the digi. after doing a bit of reading it sounds like i might be better off compressing before i make the conversion. i'm not afraid to lay down my fx direct, but who doesn't appreciate the ability to play around after the fact. if i went with stereo compression it would be happening mostly with drm overheads, acoustic gtrs and amps. anything i'm missing here?

last but not least, if i go with the dbx 160's i'll be looking for a reverb unit between $500 and $800. another first for me, so it needs to be versatile. i wanted to keep it vintage, but it sounds like plates are bulky and expensive and springs aren't great for recording drms. not sure what what my options are aside from either a Lexicon or TC unit. Any recos aside from my living room and bathroom?

thx again!

weatherbox · Post by **weatherbox** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:57 pm

Between those I'd go with the Distressor just because it'll do so much so well. Since you're in PT, you should also get the Massey plugin CT4, which is the only plugin compressor I am always super glad to have. And it's under $100.

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 5:49 pm

for the price of a distressor or germ, i would get 2 dbx 160a's and a symmetrix 501. with the left over money from that i would hopefully be able to afford a Gates Solidstatesman or some other fun old broadcast destructo comp... maybe a Aphex Dominator or something like that... maybe even an RNC for stereo fun.

the fun of compression, for me, is variety...

but i am like a broken record with my '160a and 501' advice... but i stand by it!

john

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:57 am

weatherbox wrote:Since you're in PT, you should also get the Massey plugin CT4, which is the only plugin compressor I am always super glad to have. And it's under $100.

That's a good idea. The CT4 is seriously awesome. Its the only plugin comp. that I use, and I use it very often.

Getting a 160x (or 2) for tracking and the CT4 for mixing ITB would be pretty damn sweet if you ask me.

Ryan Silva · Post by **Ryan Silva** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:13 pm

Way to start!

My first compessor was that little red light on my Porta02.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:50 pm

Also, since you will be saving money from your original budget, you owe it to yourself to spring for a VST --> RTAS wrapper and test drive the Stillwell "The Rocket" compressor. The great thing is that you can download and test drive a fully-functional version of the Stillwell plug-ins and pay for what you want to use. The Rocket is $50 and is f'ing awesome. So, $150 for a compressor that you can insert on every channel. I know that it's a plug-in, but listen to the love around here for Massey stuff and realize that the Stillwell stuff is getting the same kind of love from the folks who don't use Pro Tools.

I agree with the dBx/RNC love around here, but The Rocket does more for less and sounds fantastic. Hardware is great, though, so why not have both?

Jeff

Sean Sullivan · Post by **Sean Sullivan** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:18 pm

Err...nevermind deal feel through...

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:36 pm

that is a WICKED deal.

john

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:56 pm

Recycled_Brains wrote:
weatherbox wrote:Since you're in PT, you should also get the Massey plugin CT4, which is the only plugin compressor I am always super glad to have. And it's under $100.
That's a good idea. The CT4 is seriously awesome. Its the only plugin comp. that I use, and I use it very often.

Getting a 160x (or 2) for tracking and the CT4 for mixing ITB would be pretty damn sweet if you ask me.

couple of things.. what Recycled here and John Toaster said above, the dbx 160a,x,xt and symetrix 501 are great "firsts" and will remain to be great "haves" as you buy/get more crap. I've been saving, wishing for that elusive stereo brit mod distressor, a couple of 1176's, and whatever for years, but the two 160xt's, symetrix 501, art VLA, and ashly cl52E are still my only outboard comps and all get used regularly. Love them, would'nt get rid of them, even if the fantasy from above comes true.

and,
damn,
I just got onto the Massey stuff a couple of months ago, after using the CT4 and tape head on the last mix project, yet in demo mode, i was totally down for them and purchased both the other day. I love both of them, and just demo'd the tape delay tonight and LOVE IT!!.. client liked it where I was using it, explained it was a demo and blah blah, she said, "i'll buy it for you, you just download it right..I'll bring the card " YETH!

great stuff, granted they're plug ins and not hardware, but great stuff and great prices. support that guy.

asmara · Post by **asmara** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:01 am

my first compressor was the Alesis 3060 (I think thats the correct number). That box looked so cool next to my Alesis LX20 and Alesis Mixer..... did it help with anything??...
now to your specific question about EL8 vs Germ. I would agree 100 per cent with those that recommend the distressor. Especially as a first compressor. You actually can hear what it is supposed to do and its wonderful. The germ is cool but a much steeper learning curve. The EL8 would be my desert island compressor...and I just watched Cast Away... kind of a cool movie that one.

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my first compressor (germ vs distressor)

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