Pendulum ES8/6386 vs DW Fearn VT7

[S75]

Hello,
I'd like to know your opinions about these three machines.

Differences, best applications etc

Above all for rock music

Thank you

[Dirty Halo]

The main (if not only) difference in the Pendulum ES8 and te Pendulum 6386 is that the Pendulum 6386 uses the rarer 6386 tubes, which are the exact same tubes used in the Fairchild 660 & Fairchild 670.

I believe (and again you must ask him for yourself, he's great and will answer any questions), he designed the Pendulum to be the closest thing to the Fairchilds and the 6386 is the closer tuned of the two (also a bit more expensive).

I own the Pendulum 6386 and it is AMAZING!

The DW Fearn is a diferent animal altogether. I don't own one so in the nterest of giving accurate information, I won't comment other than to say, in my research for a Fairchild-like compressor that led to the Pendulum 6386, the DW Fearn was not in the same realm, that is not to say it is not also a great piece of gear, just a different objective (I don't believe it is going after the Fairchild sound)

Hope that begns to help.

Regards,

Andrews

DIRTY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

[S75]

hi,
thank you for info

Could you explain to me the characteristics of Pendulum 6386. It should be quite transparent and clear, isn't it? And about the sound what's the difference respect ES8? Is it more colourfull or 'aggressive' for a tube comp?

And about DW Fearn?

Thanks

[AB3]

If you would like to save some money and have some nice clean compression, go with the Pendulum OCL-2. I had the Pendulum 6386 at one time. Personally, I like the OCL-2 better. It is an opto, but it can be fast when desired. You should call Gregg at Pendulum with your questions. He is very helpful.

[pramrod]

LOVE my 6386- never used the fern, but the 6386 is the BOMB. clean or evil, you choose- many colors but really clean too. gorgeous. love it. want another. pram

[thenoiseflower]

Originally Posted by pramrod

LOVE my 6386- never used the fern, but the 6386 is the BOMB. clean or evil, you choose- many colors but really clean too. gorgeous. love it. want another. pram

I hear they are hard to find, if anyone really wants one, there is one at banjo mart in boston, they hve ****ed it up in the rack all scratched and shit, not plugged in, I think there is a damaged pot on the left side, aweful. but hey its there.


I dont know if that was against gs rules or not?

[Tom VDH]

Ok, I'm in the opposite situation, I haven't heard the Pendulum, but I've tested the Fearn VT-7...

First of all the VT-7 is not intended to be a recreation of the Fairchild 670, it is a very different animal.
It's a highly musical and transparent compressor, not meant to add grunge to the sound, even if you could get some by playing with extreme attack/release settings.
What really amazed me is its compression behaviour...it really has to be heard, I was floored...
I first tested the unit with bass, and went from fingers to slap to really appreciate its potential: It tamed the dynamics of the slap part without changing anything in the tone, eq, or punch of it, even when compressing it hard. Both parts now sounded really even level-wise, without feeling that one of them was being compromised.
Its tube audio circuitry (the control section is solid-state) added a discrete richness that I really enjoyed.

Same thing on the 2-buss, I was compressing, harder and harder, the dynamic range got increasingly smaller, but you couldn't hear any compression artefacts!

Why I didn't buy it....well, I don't have the money right now, but it's on the top of my list...

If you want to use it in a rock context, don't count on it to mojofy the tone of your recordings in a dirty way, it's a Hi-Fi unit, made for larger than life tones. If your after a sound ala A perfect circle or NIN for instance, go for it, if your towards something trashier, say Franz Ferdinand or Muse, you may wanna try something else, or get the right dirt pre-compression.

Peace

[S75]

I record rock and metal (all the types - from classic to extreme) and for the harder stuff I`m going to buy an AS C2 but I'd like to add a copressor for a little bit more richness, glue and bigness in sound if I need and good also for the mix...

[Lectra]

Originally Posted by thenoiseflower

I hear they are hard to find, if anyone really wants one, there is one at banjo mart in boston, they hve ****ed it up in the rack all scratched and shit, not plugged in, I think there is a damaged pot on the left side, aweful. but hey its there.

How much ?
Have they got a website ?
Thks

[S75]

I record rock and metal (all the types - from classic to extreme) and for the harder stuff I`m going to buy an AS C2 but I'd like to add a copressor for a little bit more richness, glue and bigness in sound if I need and good also for the mix...

[Tom VDH]

Here you are for more info gents:

http://dwfearn.com

http://pendulumaudio.com/6386.html

[84K]

I have been a long time fan/supporter of Pendulum Audio. Greg, the mind behind the madness at Pendulum, is brilliant. He look over my old bosses Fairchild 670 when he purchased it. Greg made sure it was in great shape. Then, he designed an input transformer for his 6386 and made a few more tweaks to compensate the difference in the two boxes. He got it so they tracked in perfect stereo!!! I shit you not. Left side was the 670 Right side was his 6386!!! If you want a 670, he can make his 6386 with that mod and it is exactly like my old bosses. His was one from Abbey Road. It was mint and beautiful. I cannot comment on Doug's compressor, I am sure it is great, so please do not take this as a comparison favoring Pendulum. Since I have no experience with the Fearn, I am in no place to pass judgment. BUT, if you want the Fairchild thing at a fraction of the cost of the real thing, call Greg. Although, still it isn't cheap.

[bobmix]

I'm not familiar with the Fearn, but I own and use an ES8 and 6386 regularly. I call the 6386 my rock n' roll machine. VERY happening midrange - and I often use it on rock records as a drum bus comp. Sonically, more akin to a Fairchild in the midrange aspect.

The ES8 is more what I call hi-fi. A beautiful, extended high end. You get that cool-hard-to-describe "I know it sounds like a compressor and I love it" sound, but it does something really beautiful to the top end, unpwards of 12k. (Or that's how it is perceived by me).

Both are fabulous for tracking - anything I've ever thrown at it sounds great (gtr, bs, kik, sn, vox). And it is a permanent fixture across my mix buss.

Greg's pieces are the king that will stay with you forever, and do something in a very unique and most pleasant way. And he's a mensch.

[Tube World]

Any users of the VT-7? The only interesting comparrision with the Pend comp I found was here. DW Fearn VT-7 Tube Compressor reviewed by Glenn Bucci

Seems like the Fearn is a great piece but just so expensive that most can't afford it.

[Doc Mixwell]

The FEARN machine has great sex appeal to me personally. This might be Doug's most popular box. He is always back ordered on them when I ask him for lead times. I don't think this thing sounds anything like Pendulum's Blue Machines, nor anything like a member of the fair-children squad. To me, this thing has similar compression action/behavior to a Crane Song STC-8, [but way simpler to use in the real world] along with old school style amplifiers that are overbuilt to a modern standard and thus reaches enormous clarity and alive sonics. All of Doug's circuits are inspired by old RCA equipment that he used to use himself as a location engineer. However, his line is not a rip off of such designs and doesn't aim to sound exactly like them, but rather is a continuation on the quality found there and in Doug's view, improved quite a bit. He is obsessive over quality and it certainly shows well through his product.

This VT7 uses the same point to point twin triode fully transformer coupled [custom Jensen] amplifier that the rest of the line up offers, thus has the same musically simonizing tone and organic size that is certainly exceptional, should your preference dictate. When I turn the output knob to the right on this thing, I feel closer to god. However, it is clean sounding and does not add adverse thick weight, or bog down things. It is utterly polished and super Hi-Fidelity, very clear but also warm and inviting with its rich lively character. The compressor cell is a solid state circuit, that is PWM [Pulse width modulation] and uses no tubes at all there. It has a very clear, smoothing effect that seems fit for a king with regard to tracking, mixing, and sometimes mastering. The action does not sound bad at all, on anything - and if you get the thing breathing it is set extremely.

[GYang]

The best description for VT7 in terms of sonics is elegant and classy.
This is one of reasons why it still didn't reach star status it totally deserves.
It is one of gears that keep or improve integrity of material without any artificiality added and it is almost ideal universal compressor for variety of applications with exclusions of situations when dirtiness and mud is must for particular task.
It excels on vocals, piano, violin, acoustic guitars, OH, submixes, 2-buss and as mastering compressor. Important thing is that VT7 doesn't compromise on anything and does all with grace of aristocrat. More complex the task, more capabilities of VT7 become evident.
For 2-buss tasks I use Phoenix for many years, but have no problem to put VT7 instead (yes they are different, but both provide own shades of excellent sonics) if slightly different overall feel is needed.
I tried Tube Tech CL2a, couple of Pendulums, Gyraf comp, Retro, Atomic Squeezebox and in this fine company I would still put VT7 in class of its own and choose it in the first line.
The best use of VT7 IMO is 2-buss and mastering, for 2-buss I'm still very much in love with combo Elysia Alpha-Phoenix, but tried it several times coupled to Smart C2 with immediate smile.
There are things that no tube compressor can make better than their solid state counterparts, but VT7 is only tube compressor (or better to say hybrid comp) that is close to the best qualities of solid state designs without compromising on sonic smoothness and integrity.
From all compressors I've ever tried, incl. some ultra expensive vintage and modern stuff, I would put VT7 in that special class of gears that practically never disappoint and almost always do the job better than anything else you try to put in chain instead. Among compressors so far in my book only Elysia Alpha and VT7 hold this status.

[bcgood]

I remember the first time that I used the VT7 I was very impressed. I spent some time talking about it with Doug and I think one of the reasons it sounds so good is that it is the fruit of two very smart and thoughtful, (The other designer being Dave Hill of course) designers that come from different backgrounds and have different taste.

The whole is better than the sum of it's parts.