With a Cheapness (Compressors) Inexpensive Compressors for the Budget-Minded Slut

[John Suitcase]

I'm ITB most of the time, and the best VST compressor plug I've found (with Extreme Cheapness) is the MJCompressor:

Smart Electronix


I use it vocals a lot, it's a shade processor heavy, but sounds good. Oh, and it's freeware/donationware. Can't beat that price...

Hope the suggestion of a free plug-in isn't TOO cheap ;-)

[Reggie Love]

DAV BG6. Cheapness, quality and clarity in a box.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by supernova

You can't beat the RNC for the price. It may be a bit too clean for some of you tube fans but the sound quality is great and its very transparent. You could even consider this a poor man's mix bus compressor, especially if you tickle it in "super nice" mode.

The RNLA is a great device for $175.

[r1ch007]

Guys what do you think of the DBX 166 & DBX 266XL? - I hear the 166 is a classical and much sought after. Any truth in that?

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by r1ch007

Guys what do you think of the DBX 166 & DBX 266XL? - I hear the 166 is a classical and much sought after. Any truth in that?

good work horse comps live not usualy worth while in the studio. get a 160 insted

[r1ch007]

Ah ha! It's good you made that point as predominantly I would be using one for my studio.

I've been offered the 266Xl for £95 & the 166 for & £120.

[illacov]

200 USD.

Good shit on the 2 buss suprisingly since most people only use it on individual sources.

I use it after Marquis Comp set to 'Subtle Glue Limit" and Timeworks Mastering Comp set for 2 - 3 db of Gain Reduction. Then I have the mix sent out via patchmix to my Technics 631 Deck (set to Record - Pause) with the gain at a decent level (usually on the short side of HOT) going to the DDP analog in with the Compressor set for 3 db of Gain Reduction. Its got a Sidechain too, so I use a high pass filter to taste (lately I like high pass at 400 hz and up in the sidechain), I turn the limiter off and the gate and the de-esser. I use the Tape Saturation Emulation set to Bright. This thing sounds great. Finally I record it back into Cubase SX on an audio track. Then I open this beast up in Cool Edit and hit it one more time with some Ren EQ and one more splash of Timeworks Mastering Comp. Voila! Yum Yum!
My mixing style had to take an overhaul cuz now i mix thru this thing and its the best purchase Ive made this year!

Heres a sound clip!

Peace
Illumination

[Pohaku]

Originally Posted by r1ch007

Ah ha! It's good you made that point as predominantly I would be using one for my studio.

I've been offered the 266Xl for £95 & the 166 for & £120.

266s, XL or otherwise, run about $100 in the US. NOT RECOMMENDED for recording. I use one in my guitar live rack, but that's about the only place it is usable. Not DBX's best effort. Get a 160 of some variety if you want DBX for recording.

[r1ch007]

Yah I've had mixed views on the 166 & 160 some say "160 for studio" "166 for live" and vice versa.

Problem is I kind of said that I would take the 166 off the persons hand...
I regret committing myself to it now...

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by r1ch007

Problem is I kind of said that I would take the 166 off the persons hand...
I regret committing myself to it now...

i assume you mean a 166XL (black face), origional 166 and 166XL are different animals
send it this way if you dont want it
i wouldnt buy one for studio use but they work for kick and snare going to tape or if you mix in analogue when you have them around. or even to knock off 2 or 3 db to avoid digital overs but anymore than that and you will hear it on most sources but the artifacts often work on drums. you will find some uses for it, just dont over compress or expect extreamly clean compresson at high levels.

all 160s are great. i want a 160SL but i gess i cant talk about that in 'Low End Theory'

[r1ch007]

Originally Posted by aussie_techie

i assume you mean a 166XL (black face)'

Nope I mean the 166 not the XL version.

From memory it's dual channel with green output gain, blue ratio and red compression/gate coloured knobs on it.

Also there's a yellow knob on there - I can't rememebr what for though.

Although I do remember it having fixed release and attack.

[CassidyGT]

From what I understand, the 166 is the dual version of the 160? I have heard that the original 166 is good in the studio, but who the heck knows. I just got one. As soon as my MOTU comes back from Black Lion, I'll let you know how it sounds.

[r1ch007]

Yah that maybe so, but I don't like the fact that both the release and attack are fixed.

[CassidyGT]

Originally Posted by r1ch007

Yah that maybe so, but I don't like the fact that both the release and attack are fixed.

Good Point.

[evangelista]

CBS Audimax series.

The solid state ones can be had on ebay for under $150, if you're patient. IMO, they sound incredible on vox and bass.

[meteor]

Someone mentioned Behringer somewhere back there... The earliest 2 channel comp was modeled after a Drawmer piece and built in Germany (as were all of the earliest incarnations). For 50 bucks the old behringer comp is fairly decent... could probably be useful somewhere in a "with cheapness studio." Hell, the old Multicom 4 ch. auto comp can kind of do a half-ass version of a 160.

The trick with B-ringer is to never, never (and I mean "NEVER" as if it is audio Kryptonite and you, unassuming humble project recordist, have the fate of the civilized world hanging in the balance with this next little diddy you are whipping up in the spare room of the 3 bedroom suburbian apartment that you share with your "always got a beer in his hand" frat-brother from back in the glory days at State U.) use any dynamics related device from the "B" that has the word PRO in it's model name.

non-PRO = older, made in Germany, not too shabby...

PRO = newer, made in Korea or some such mass-marketing utopia, god-awful

kapisch...

...and let's all keep saving the world from our spare rooms. I'm making a livin' in the audio universe these days and I get to work in some pretty tricked out enviros, but I still do my best, most creative work in a spare room.

cheers,

[gregl]

A 166 with a few mods (better op amps, new caps) works great for many applications. If you are not into doing mods I hear Jim Williams does a great job for a reasonable price.

[Reptil]

LOL, vintage Berrigingherr.

[uncle duncan]

The Bellari RP583 is an edgy- clean sounding tube comp. I hear the earlier model was really bad. I think the model # was 2-something
I second the Safe Sound P1. It seems to work great on vocals and it doesn't mess up the sound like everything else in it's price range. (including the RNC) Plus it has a rather bland mic preamp, which makes something like a Rode NT2A sound wonderful.

[meteor]

Originally Posted by Reptil

LOL, vintage Berrigingherr.

Laughing at or with me???

Either way is fine and probably merited.



Also, Klark Teknik makes a 4 channel single rack-space comp that you can find used for 500 or so if you really look around... that's about 125 per channel. It is a fully functional piece that has attack and release controls - hard and soft knee - and an auto mode. It's mostly used live but it does sound fantastic in any situation.

cheers,

[loftrecordings]

Here's my experience with some cheap compressors (all purchased for under $200 each). I do a lot of live recording, and mix down through a summing mixer and outboard compression, and these are what I have...

"VCAs"

DBX 168A: XLR in/out, this thing is crazy, very dangerous, but sounds awesome when the job calls for it. It has a Drive knob, which functions as an input control into a soft knee compressor, and a Density knob, which controls the auto release circuit range. There is a gain hold knob, which acts as a pseudo expander, except that instead of attenuating when the signal drops below a certain level, it maintains the compression amount as the amount of compression drops... it never gates your signal, but is used more as a control on the release, to limit breathing. It has a broadband de-esser, which by itself can work on individual vocal tracks with some degree of success, but when used with the auto-eq HF control, can get really nasty really quick. There are two knobs for a High/Low equalization section, and the low does a boost at 80hz, with a corresponding cut at 250hz, and the High is touted as an auto-eq, which compares the high frequency content to the total signal and boosts as necessary... again the auto high frequency used together with the de-esser can make drum tracks develop new crazy rhythmic high frequency pump/breath artifacts (in the extremes this definitely crosses the line into rhythmic distortion, and can make drums sound really crazy). The last knob is an output control, this works together with the drive control for level matching (drive all the way down, output all the way up:unity, drive up, output down to maintain unity). The unit has meters for gain reduction and outpul levels with led indicators for gain hold, and -1,-6 de-essing,This unit works well when you want to hype an electro mix, beef/thicken up guitars, bass and keyboard busses, or for either hyping or smashing drum busses. The density control makes it ok for mix buss compression, as long as you don't use the auto high eq too much, can get harsh quickly...

Drawmer LX-20: unbalanced, has compression knob, which works a lot like the drive knob on the 168A, the manual says 3 on the knob is unity gain, and in my experience this sounds correct. I call this box my make it louder box... there is a gate, which for some reason has the off switch next to the highest threshold parameter. The gate sounds amazing for kick and snare, and just opens and closes without any stuttering around the threshold. The release of the gate is tied to the release of the compression which works very well for drums. The compression has adjustable attack and release, and there is an output control with markings around 0db (unity). I absolutely love this unit. In dual mono mode, I use this all the time for Kick and Snare gate/comp, as you can really push the comp hard, and the gate always closes just before the comp fully releases, and you get a really punchy loud kick and snare sound. The gate works better than any plugin gate I have ever used, and doesn't have the distortion I hear so often as I try to agressively gate kicks and snares. In link mode, it functions as two compressors in parallel, allowing you to set controls for each side which affects both channels equally... get this... you can set one side to a slow attack and release, and get 6db of compression out of it, and then set the other side for quick attack and release, and get 3db of compression out of it, switch to link mode, and now you have a slow compressor and a fast compressor in parallel, affecting your entire stereo mix, with the slow comp carrying most of the reduction. It is kind of like an RNC (read below) and has the capability to become almost invisible in this mode. You can even run two mono channels in link mode, and get one to compress the other (eg: vocals compress a music bed). The gates can function in the same manner, so really low level signals get attenuated very fast (noise gate), and slightly louder signals get gated at a slower pace (keep from missing ends of words/cymbal decay...). This dual gating works great for drum busses, as you can add punch, but keep cymbals from sounding too choppy. It also has a sidechain circuit (again in link mode, you could comp the lows very slow and the highs very fast or visa versa...

I would not want to use either of these last two units live, as the drive/output controls do not really allow the item to be inserted with the output at unity and the compression off, so you can cut down the peaks, and make up the gain easily, without fear of levels changing drastically as you find the appropriate compression setting.

DBX 166x/266x: Enough has been written about these units, and I use them daily in a live sound situation, and I agree that they both sound pretty bad. The 166 sounds slightly better, but the gate is too strong for successful stage vocal mic attenuation, but works well on drum mics. The expander/gate on the 266 is actually better as you can adjust ratio, which I always prefer to speed, as I feel I have more control over the amount of gain reduction, instead of an on/off style gate featured on the 166... Ironically I always want to use the 166 on vocal mics, and the 266 on drum mics, as the 166 maintains the signal quality better, so I don't get the benefits of the smoother expander for vox, and faster gate for drums... I wish the expander/gate circuits were reversed on these units... they both have sidechain circuits, and the 166's is switchable...

Symetrix 425: I have two of these, and use one live all the time, and have one in the studio. I love this unit both live and in the studio... it sounds great, and the high frequencies don't get messed with like the 166/266's... it is a straightforward unit with an "expander/gate," that is actually just an expander, it never really cuts more than -12db, and the release can be adjusted from fast to slow... the compressor is standard with a threshold, ratio and release adjustment... no attack, I think it is auto adjusting, and the compressor displays a slightly over-easy attribute because of this. There is a limiter, with threshold adjustment, that works a lot better and with quite a bit less distortion than the 166. The unit has an ouput gain control. One of the best features on this unit is the amount of metering. There is metering for the expander GR, compressor GR, limiter GR, and output level! This unit works great live, and is quite transparent in that regard, you can push -12db+ of compression reduction without really "hearing" it work, and you don't lose high frequency definition with a lot of compression. For recording/mixing I like to use this for open live stage vocal mics, as the expander is so smooth that it really helps cut down on the live mic bleed, without any noticeable singing/talking choppiness (like the dreaded 166). It is also useable on guitars/drums/etc... as it maintains a level of transparency that makes it very versatile... I would also consider this a great tracking compressor, as you can use it very slightly compress with the limiter on to help catch peaks, and your end result will sound great, without feeling like you tracked with a compressor you can't undo... it also features a sidechain circuit.

FMR RNC: I have two of these, and keep one in my bag for bringing to do live sound, and one in the studio. This thing is amazing. So small, so effective, so transparent. I pretty much use the super-nice mode 80%+ of the time. It runs two comps in parallel to give you the same amount of compression with less noticeable artifacts. Unlike the Drawmer, you cannot adjust the two circuits separately, and this is probably the only thing in do not like about it... either mono or stereo, no dual mono, but it's so small, I can't really complain. Sometimes I wish I had brought two of them, as for live use they are great on vocals (way, way, way, way, way, way better than the 166). It can be really really fast, and you have to be careful, because this amount of available speed on the wrong source can sound terrible (bass content too fast=distortion)... super nice mode sounds great and keeps the punchiness intact without allowing too much level. I have the Funk Logic rack for these, but don't use it, as I always keep one in the bag to use at whatever venue I might be at. These things work great on master busses, and pretty much any track where character is not important, but consistent levels are... also features a sidechain circuit.

Samson S-Com-4: 4 channels, great for live drum gate/comp... sounds pretty bad for vocals... has an "enhancer", that is not at all like the contour on a 166, but simply adds high frequencies, which sounds pretty bad on anything but drums for extra "attack," expander/gate can be made to sound ok all soft knee auto attack/release everything... no sidechain

Behringer ****com (pro)... I haven't used one in years, but remember them doing the job, and it being pretty transparent... til one channel would go out (happened to three that I can remember...). I can't speak to their sound quality, as again it has been years...


"Vactrols"

ART Dual Levelar/Pro VLA/Pro VLA II: I own one of each of these... they are all "Vactrol" (optical) compressors with a starved plate tube make up gain stage. I like all of them. I have decided that the dual Levelar is one of the best values I see in comps today, as they can be had for about $100. All three of these have a certain character, while maintaining a certain amount of transparency (compression wise), even with extreme compression. The Dual levelar/Pro VLA/ II is my favorite when you want a smooth even compression on a drum buss or vocal channels, and pretty much anywhere an expander/gate is not needed. All three have stereo linking. The Levelar has a threshold knob, switches for bypass, limit/comp (6:1, 2.3:1), and auto/fast release, an output gain knob, and a single meter for GR. Auto mode is the way to go, as they make these boxes do their job without ever getting in the way. You can almost get them to pump on fast, but not really, so why try... The ProVLA adds VU in/out meters, and a ratio control, as well as a fast/auto attack control (the Levelar is fixed attack at something like 6ms). Again the Auto attack/Auto release mode is amazing on the ProVla, and is consistenlty my favorite sound on the mix buss. The ProVLA II adds adjustable attack/release controls, and a dedicated output led meter, which displays both peak and rms levels, adjustments for -10/+4 operating level, a balance control in linked stereo mode and psuedo-stepped controls. Frankly I prefer the auto attack/release parameters on the original ProVLA, which are not repeatable on the VLA II, and have decided that the original two (Dual Levelar and ProVLA) are better buys than the new unit, as the average prices seem to be about $100 for the dual levelar, $150-$200 for the original ProVLA, and $200-300 for the new VLA II ($300 new MAP price). The VLA II has a slightly different sound than the other two, a more forward midrange, and perhaps better overall clarity, and it can be made to pump easier with it's faster attack/release charasteristics. There is something to the earlier ones in auto mode, that makes them get the sound you want and allows you to forget about it. The new one can overcompress easier, and it may sound great for the slower verse, and not quite right for the faster chorus, etc. The only downside to the dual levelar is that the power transformer is not toroidal, and it has a bit of mechanical hum, so would not be useful in where you're tracking in close proximity to the microphones on quiet sources (acoustic/vocals, etc...). I use these for mixing all the time.

TubePac: I own two of these, and they are great little di boxes for bass, or mic to effect splitters for stage, or crazy effected sax or vocals in the studio. The preamps are OK, not really about the clean or the color, but utilitarian, as you can use both outputs simultaneously, and get a dry and wet track recorded simultaneously through guitar pedals pretty easily and the vactrol comp is great, and the form factor is 1/2 rack. They each have some mechanical power transformer hum, so can't really be used with quieter sources... oh well, why would you want to?

My $0.02... which is about what I can afford to give...

[S-N-S]

Originally Posted by r1ch007

Nope I mean the 166 not the XL version.

From memory it's dual channel with green output gain, blue ratio and red compression/gate coloured knobs on it.

Also there's a yellow knob on there - I can't rememebr what for though.

Although I do remember it having fixed release and attack.

i got the 166(not xl)i use it on drums,and i love iti would say get the 166,you will find some use for it,but dont get the 266xl

[dannyofmarge]

sorry to get off topic, but whats with all the deleted posts on page 2 of this thread? just wondering...

[ALS]

I have to put my vote in for the ART PRO VLA II and FMR RNC

[9th Dimension Pr]

theirs a few new DBX units less than $200 rumored to sound as good as there older more expensive compressor's

check out sweetwater

[junior]

Originally Posted by S-N-S

i got the 166(not xl)i use it on drums,and i love iti would say get the 166,you will find some use for it,but dont get the 266xl

Yeah, I actually like the 166A. I've heard that the 266 and XL units are the ones to avoid, though... I haven't used them, myself.