ok start again, drum comp, and good combination

studiomood · 25th September 2011

This is driving me nuts. I seriously need some help here. I'm about to step into the realm of analogue compression and I am going to be spending a huge amount of money. I'm sure for many of you in the high end, £5000 or whatever that is in american isn't too much, but for me it's a serious amount, and I really want to get this right. I'm very nervous about this, so I've come to you guys and I would really be interested in some quality advice.

I'm looking for two compressors. One will be used mainly for drums and bass. I produce electronic music, so getting a tight, punchy loud bottom end is paramount. So far I've looked at getting a distressor pair, a ubk fatso, or maybe and api 2500.

The next comp I want to be using on the 2buss, for gentle mix compression. I was thinking a SSL G series comp for this work.

If you could recommend a nice combo that will be great for getting a lot of jobs done, but keeping in mind my priority resides around getting the bottom end as tight, clear and punchy as possible.

Thank you SO much for helping me. Im stressing out about this as it's a lot of money for me and I don't want it to go to waste.

Regards,

sm

AllAboutTone · 25th September 2011

Rolls RMS755
API 2500
Smart C2

superama · 25th September 2011

A pair of Distressors w/ Brit mod for drums is fantastic and they can (and should) be used for tracking vox, etc. I have 4 and use mine for mixing vox and bass in addition to the drum buss. SSL buss comp works great on the mix buss.

Bassmankr · 25th September 2011

Auditioning comps before you buy anything will keep the stress level down. For your style of music and in particular drums and bass, you don't have to throw a lot of money down to get great results. Many comps work good with bass, all you have to do is search threads here on that purpose and you'll find every comp ever made listed in those threads. As for drums, if your purpose is to smash the hell out of them one of the top contenders is the lowly cheap Valley Dynamite. Why not pick up a few cheap comps that will be keepers in any rack and add the more expensive stuff as your skill and listening levels go up with experience. Remember by buying smartly used when and if you outgrow one of the cheap comps you can resell it with minimal loss if any. Here is a simple list of cheap keepers you can grab used: For Bass - DBX 160X, Symetrix 501. For Drums - Smashed: Valley Dynamite, Enhanced: Overstayer FET, Transparent: Aphex Expressor 651. For 2 Buss - Transparent: Aphex Compellor 320, Soft: Art Pro VLA, Glue: SSL Clone. Pick up a patchbay to go with them. Each of the comps listed can be easily found used for a rough total price US (with a patchbay) UNDER $2k. So for about 20% of your budget you can cover a lot of sonic ground and then approach buying some higher end stuff down the road with a good frame of reference, experience, and confidence. Even when you have the high end stuff in the rack along with the above listed gear, the good cheapies will win out a fair share of the time depending on source and song, that's why you see the big boys with so many comps in their racks (each box brings something different to the table).

4blades · 25th September 2011

I would suggest the Variable Gm.
It works nice on the drum buss, and it's stellar on the mixbus.
Check some drumbus samples here.

dandeurloo · 25th September 2011

Really there are so many great comps you don't need to stress about it. Chances are if it sounds good on vocals it will work great on a few other things. All the standard favorites are that for a reason. They sound great.

If you want to stretch your budget there are a number of very high end sounding comps that can be DIY'd or purchase used! The APHEX 661 and 651 should not be over looked. Maybe pick up a pair of something like that and then spend the rest on something with some mojo like a vari mu or a LA 2A or something.

The APHEX is very nice sounding stock and very flexible. I almost prefer the stock version of the 661 over the modded distressor sonically. And the flexibility of it is close to that of the distressor.

I would also consider a compressor that has a blend feature built into it. That will help you a lot with flexibility for drums and mix buss.

But again for your budget you don't need to blow it all on one comp. You can get a number of very nice sounding comps and maybe have some budget left over if you are willing to be resourceful.

AllAboutTone · 26th September 2011

I failed to see that you produce electronic music, the 2500 is not gonna be good enough, the C2 is the best for that and the RMS755 will surely get the job done as well.

C2 has tight ass bottom for electronic.......killer

25th September 2011	#1
studiomood Gear nut Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 135 Thread Starter	ok start again, drum comp, and good combination This is driving me nuts. I seriously need some help here. I'm about to step into the realm of analogue compression and I am going to be spending a huge amount of money. I'm sure for many of you in the high end, £5000 or whatever that is in american isn't too much, but for me it's a serious amount, and I really want to get this right. I'm very nervous about this, so I've come to you guys and I would really be interested in some quality advice. I'm looking for two compressors. One will be used mainly for drums and bass. I produce electronic music, so getting a tight, punchy loud bottom end is paramount. So far I've looked at getting a distressor pair, a ubk fatso, or maybe and api 2500. The next comp I want to be using on the 2buss, for gentle mix compression. I was thinking a SSL G series comp for this work. If you could recommend a nice combo that will be great for getting a lot of jobs done, but keeping in mind my priority resides around getting the bottom end as tight, clear and punchy as possible. Thank you SO much for helping me. Im stressing out about this as it's a lot of money for me and I don't want it to go to waste. Regards, sm

25th September 2011	#3
superama Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 182	A pair of Distressors w/ Brit mod for drums is fantastic and they can (and should) be used for tracking vox, etc. I have 4 and use mine for mixing vox and bass in addition to the drum buss. SSL buss comp works great on the mix buss. __________________ "He lives vicariously, through himself."

25th September 2011	#6
dandeurloo Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 924	Really there are so many great comps you don't need to stress about it. Chances are if it sounds good on vocals it will work great on a few other things. All the standard favorites are that for a reason. They sound great. If you want to stretch your budget there are a number of very high end sounding comps that can be DIY'd or purchase used! The APHEX 661 and 651 should not be over looked. Maybe pick up a pair of something like that and then spend the rest on something with some mojo like a vari mu or a LA 2A or something. The APHEX is very nice sounding stock and very flexible. I almost prefer the stock version of the 661 over the modded distressor sonically. And the flexibility of it is close to that of the distressor. I would also consider a compressor that has a blend feature built into it. That will help you a lot with flexibility for drums and mix buss. But again for your budget you don't need to blow it all on one comp. You can get a number of very nice sounding comps and maybe have some budget left over if you are willing to be resourceful. __________________ Dan Deurloo Credits Some of the music I have been part of. Risen Drums Custom drum company I co-own. I wont pimp our drums here unless you ask.

26th September 2011	#7
AllAboutTone Gear Guru Joined: Nov 2005 Location: S.Carolina Posts: 11,471	I failed to see that you produce electronic music, the 2500 is not gonna be good enough, the C2 is the best for that and the RMS755 will surely get the job done as well. C2 has tight ass bottom for electronic.......killer __________________ *Don't Fuk with my Tone !!!. I need a spell check app Harrison~ API~ Dan Alexander~ Fuchs~ John Hardy~ JLM~ Urei/UA Fuchs Amps = Amazing Tone !!**

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25th September 2011	#4
Bassmankr Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,908	Auditioning comps before you buy anything will keep the stress level down. For your style of music and in particular drums and bass, you don't have to throw a lot of money down to get great results. Many comps work good with bass, all you have to do is search threads here on that purpose and you'll find every comp ever made listed in those threads. As for drums, if your purpose is to smash the hell out of them one of the top contenders is the lowly cheap Valley Dynamite. Why not pick up a few cheap comps that will be keepers in any rack and add the more expensive stuff as your skill and listening levels go up with experience. Remember by buying smartly used when and if you outgrow one of the cheap comps you can resell it with minimal loss if any. Here is a simple list of cheap keepers you can grab used: For Bass - DBX 160X, Symetrix 501. For Drums - Smashed: Valley Dynamite, Enhanced: Overstayer FET, Transparent: Aphex Expressor 651. For 2 Buss - Transparent: Aphex Compellor 320, Soft: Art Pro VLA, Glue: SSL Clone. Pick up a patchbay to go with them. Each of the comps listed can be easily found used for a rough total price US (with a patchbay) UNDER $2k. So for about 20% of your budget you can cover a lot of sonic ground and then approach buying some higher end stuff down the road with a good frame of reference, experience, and confidence. Even when you have the high end stuff in the rack along with the above listed gear, the good cheapies will win out a fair share of the time depending on source and song, that's why you see the big boys with so many comps in their racks (each box brings something different to the table).

25th September 2011	#5
4blades Gear maniac Joined: Dec 2008 Posts: 252	I would suggest the Variable Gm. It works nice on the drum buss, and it's stellar on the mixbus. Check some drumbus samples here.