considering selling portico comp for a more versatile buss comp/tracking comp

[joninc]

hey all -- i have been living with my portico 5043 for about 6 months trying to learn it and i am finding at this point that it doesn't get a ton of use other than a drum buss comp - which is great except i would rather have something that i use on a more regular basic. it feels a little too clean/subtle/invisible for me - especially for recording digital and wanting more MOJO - something that imparts a lot more character and is great for tracking. i lean towards vintage and signiture pieces - transformers and tubes - more than the really pristing transformerless stuff. (examples of my gear - vintech 1272, great river 1mv, chandler tg2 - lawson L47 - coles 4038 - sm7 - 441 - purple mc76 - adl 1000 - distressor)

if i am crazy and not seeing the magic of the unit please give me some ideas to get the most out of it. i don't hate it - i just don't get a lot of interestering sounds out of it and therefore it usually sits unused until mix time (maybe 25% of my work). BUT different compressors always take me a while to learn what they are really doing and how to best use them so i am definitely open to the idea that i could use it better.

right now i am considering selling it and buying a drawmer 1968. do you think that is a more colored/character sound than the portico?

i don't really have cash to put into it so i can't consider stepping to much more expensive unit for a while - BUT i had dreamed about a chandler tg1 or a fatso. if i would use these twice as much it would be worth waiting and saving up for a while.

*** i know it all about using my ears and what sounds good to me - please no lectures. i have given a general idea of the sounds/gear i like and use so just looking for thougths on a piece that YOU use a lot for tracking and as a buss comp.

and lovers of the 5043 stake your case - obvioiusly from a money point of view it would be great to keep it rather than lost a few hundred on selling it and getting something else;

the tape emulation fatso thing i find very appealing but not sure how it compares compressor wise with a 1968 etc...

thoughts?

[joninc]

wow. silence on the topic of "which gear to buy".

unBELIEVABLE

[mixerguy]

I own a FATSO

it does not sound like tape, but it is FANTASTIC and flexible, and useful.