| you have an mpc 60 so you make beats too. i'm at a point where i've got money to burn on equipment that i have deliberated long and hard to the brink of obsession. i think the money spent buying a distressor would be better spent on creative tools rather than processing tools. check out battery from NI, get an analog synthesizer, juno-106, dave smith mopho, buy some serious sample libraries. in my experience, outboard compression on an emcee can be your worst enemy. the session starts out rather calm with the rapper getting into their comfort zone. you spend some takes setting levels and off the session goes. ten takes later everyones excited it sounds great the energy is tremendous and the takes are perfect. now its time to mix, what youdidnt realize is the last takes had som much energy they got louder and you forgot to turn the gain on your mic pre down, the levels looked the same in the DAW but the compression you had origionaly set to a cool -3db is has now begun peaking at -7db. the ratio attack and release times were not set for that amount of compression and the takes wont sit well no matter how you mix the track. that $1500 compressor you lusted after has now worked against you and you wish you had bypassed it completely. I never could have imagined the day i wished the LA-2A wasn't in my vocal chain, but that day inevitably arrived. equally surprised i was the day i recieved my novation bass station and realized that an old $250 rackmount synthesizer had helped the quality of my production, in turn feeding the appetite of my emcees, beyond what i could have imagined. Besides if you've recorded good takes cleanly with good mic techniques, spend that money mixing in a big studio with all of the great pieces of gear and you will have a serious record. |