Do you have a good compressor/expander studio unit?

[sureno]

Originally Posted by leecovuk

PS There is apparently a known fix for the dbx 166XL clicking. Before re-posting here I heard about it from posts on the US-oriented gearslutz dot com forum. I might not be allowed to post the url here, but you could look there for the recently active topic. I would actually consider that fix if I found a UK technician who knew how to do it for a reasonable price. I've written off pursuing that idea so far on the assumption I wouldn't find anybody, but it seems it would make the 166XL a much better unit. I would likely then be happy with it.

Fellow forum member ecc83 might be the man you need to contact in regards to a UK tech, Trev seems to recomend him so im sure he is capable, try contacting him, im sure he wouldn't mind?

[leecovuk]

Originally Posted by sureno

Fellow forum member ecc83 might be the man you need to contact in regards to a UK tech, Trev seems to recomend him so im sure he is capable, try contacting him, im sure he wouldn't mind?

Thanks Sureno, I'll look into that.

In the meantime, I'm still very keen to pursue those RNC v DBX 160 questions I posed in my previous post.
Once re-assured / clarified on those points by users of those units, I should probably know enough to make a decision.


Thanks once again,
Lee

[sureno]

no prob, unfortunately all my stuff is pretty much done inside the box so cant really recomend any hardware myself but good luck

[FrankGIK]

Lee, the deal is really this: NO compressor in that price range is going to work at high GR levels without artifact. It's just not going to happen. The RNC and the 160 (A in my case) are the best of the lot in terms of clean and clean-ish compression, but you can definitely hear them working when you're compressing hard. Now, they should both work with no "clicking"...I have to admit that I've never had that problem in the nearly 25 years I've been doing this, so I'm not sure what's happening there, but they won't be invisible.

Besides, radio compression is anything *but* invisible.

Frank

[dvdan]

Hi again Lee
Something which completely slipped my mind, but is slightly over your budget, would be this baby: http://www.dv247.com/invt/56601/
A wonderful sounding compressor that will give you a very unique sonic fingerprint, and something I find myself coming back to again and again. This will get you in the 'boutique' arena at a fraction of the cost - can be fairly transparent with tons of headroom. I suggest you try it out...

Maybe try and rent a few of the pre amps that people have mentioned on here over a weekend. Set up a few blind tests with a mate and pick the one that sounds the best to you, wether its the bg6 or a behringer. I'm sure it will pay for itself in the long run...

Cheers, Dan

[FrankGIK]

Originally Posted by dvdan

Hi again Lee
Something which completely slipped my mind, but is slightly over your budget, would be this baby: http://www.dv247.com/invt/56601/
A wonderful sounding compressor that will give you a very unique sonic fingerprint, and something I find myself coming back to again and again. This will get you in the 'boutique' arena at a fraction of the cost - can be fairly transparent with tons of headroom. I suggest you try it out...

Maybe try and rent a few of the pre amps that people have mentioned on here over a weekend. Set up a few blind tests with a mate and pick the one that sounds the best to you, wether its the bg6 or a behringer. I'm sure it will pay for itself in the long run...

Cheers, Dan

Ohhhh man...I want one. Now I know how you Brits feel about getting US gear. $794 plus shipping and customs...Trev, buy one for me and bring it over. Come on, you're here all the time anyhow.

Frank

[dvdan]

Originally Posted by FrankGIK

Ohhhh man...I want one. Now I know how you Brits feel about getting US gear. $794 plus shipping and customs...Trev, buy one for me and bring it over. Come on, you're here all the time anyhow.

Frank

A little off topic, sorry, but how d'ya like the BG1 frank? You a user? I'm not sure if I'm missing something here but its one of the most incredible things I've heard in years... Used one on stereo piano and drum oh's recently. I nearly messed myself with excitement!

[FrankGIK]

Originally Posted by dvdan

A little off topic, sorry, but how d'ya like the BG1 frank? You a user? I'm not sure if I'm missing something here but its one of the most incredible things I've heard in years... Used one on stereo piano and drum oh's recently. I nearly messed myself with excitement!

The BG1 is absolutely fantastic. The last studio I worked in had several of them...beautiful, clean, audiophile quality. Almost makes me want to move to London just to get them cheaper.

Frank

[terminal3]

The BG1 is superb. Best around-£500 preamp there is, IMVHO.

Back on topic then about the BG6 - I had mentioned that one in my post earlier - it is a lovely little box indeed, but I'd be worried that for the OP's purposes it's too "limiting" (hahaha) in it's operation - compressor is fixed ratio (2:1, or 10:1 when in Limit mode), release times are fixed (but switchable, 0.3 and 3s factory, mine is customised to 0.3 and 1s) and attack time is fixed (and unknown - in designer Mick Hinton's words "just fast enough to be transparent.")

Operation limitations aside, it does "sound" great - although being able to hear it at all is a bit of a challenge sometimes as it definitely does "transparent" very very well (it is modelled on a Decca mastering design, of course, so it'd better!)

[leecovuk]

Hello again and thanks for the further replies. All noted.

So, the BG1 and BG6 enter the equation now too ... at least it seems there are _some_ decent compressors out there that don't _quite_ cost an arm and a leg!

At the risk of repeating myself, which I know I do, I'd like to make clear I'm not expecting 'true transparency' as in 'absolutely no tonal colouring' or 'zero applied noise'; what I do want though is a unit that can operate at _all_ its given settings without clicking/clipping/distorting the sound. That really is it, pretty much, along with lots of gain boosting during compression at a low threshold.

Is the general feeling that I wouldn't consider either the RNC or DBX 160 series better than what I have now?
Should I remove those units from my mind and look afresh into the BG1 and BG6 which previously I wasn't aware of?
Should I be wary of this talk of 'preamps'? I'm not sure at this stage how a preamp differs to a compressor/expander.

Thanks once again,
Lee

PS I have PM'ed the suggested member with a view to pursuing a fix for the 166XL; we'll see if anything comes of that.

[leecovuk]

Originally Posted by terminal3

I'd be worried that for the OP's purposes it's too "limiting" (hahaha) in it's operation - compressor is fixed ratio (2:1, or 10:1 when in Limit mode)

10:1 would probably be ok. I like having the output pretty much flattened, in terms of dynamic range and peaks.

[TrevCircleStudios]

Originally Posted by FrankGIK

Ohhhh man...I want one. Now I know how you Brits feel about getting US gear. $794 plus shipping and customs...Trev, buy one for me and bring it over. Come on, you're here all the time anyhow.

Frank

OOh yeah. And what with the way the excahnge rate is at the moment. PM me if you want one seriosuly and I'll bring it next time.

[ecc83]

I would just like to make a couple of points re "colour".

Any dynamic processor, unless it is a very complex and very well designed multiband device (think Dolby A but better) is bound to affect the quality of sound because the frequency response is instantaneously being controlled by the voltage level of a particular frequency (if that makes sense!).

Thus a high level kick MUST modulate to some extent the level of a od'd guitar say.

You say the colour thing is being siezed upon and being used as an excuse to build "bad" gear. The fact is you simply cannot run a signal envelope thru' a gain control device and keep the same sound AND pull up its dynamic bootstraps at the same time! Look at the variables! Just envelope sense for example: quasi rms, true rms, peak, quasi peak, average?? And attack and release time can never be right all the time for everything at every frequency.

As I said at the start, pay a lot of money for a very well engineered multiband device and you might just be "pink" but even then I doubt you will preserve magnesium dioxide!

Dave.

[leecovuk]

ok ecc83, thanks for that.

I still don't feel sufficiently armed to make a decision about my next compressor. For me, paying any more than say, UK£500 would be ridiculous and I do feel, should be unnecessary for what I'm actually in need of as described.

If anyone still has the will to help me a little further, regarding my more recent specific queries in this topic, I'd be very grateful. You don't want me coming back again in another month or so after yet another bad purchase, and starting the whole process again!

Lee

[FrankGIK]

Originally Posted by leecovuk

ok ecc83, thanks for that.

I still don't feel sufficiently armed to make a decision about my next compressor. For me, paying any more than say, UK£500 would be ridiculous and I do feel, should be unnecessary for what I'm actually in need of as described.

If anyone still has the will to help me a little further, regarding my more recent specific queries in this topic, I'd be very grateful. You don't want me coming back again in another month or so after yet another bad purchase, and starting the whole process again!

Lee

Lee, quite honestly I don't think you're going to find what you want in your price range. For the kind of performance you're looking for I'd say you're probably at less than half the reasonable budget. In your price range the RNC or the BG6 is the best you're going to get...and they're both pretty darned spectacular.

Frank