Hardware compressors under $400

[StarfishMusic]

What is there that's good? I already have an ART PROVLA II. I do like it. I've tried the RNC and it sounded crappy to me. Maybe it was just a bad one. It robbed all the high frequency. I tried the eureka's compressor on the same sound source as the RNC and liked it alot more. But what dedicate compressors are out there preferrably stereo for maybe $500 tops?

[sevendaysoff]

dbx 160x/a

[TurboJets]

You could always try different voicings on your Pro VLA by rolling in different combinations of nice tubes.

For instance, one of my favorite voicings is with a pair of NOS JAN Philips 12AT7's which have a tendency to really open up the mids, making them more aggressive/hot without adding any negative qualities to the overall sound. You could describe it like exposing everything to a little more Sun. Lows remain tight, lower mids remain clear, but the high's are de-ccentuated [sp] just a bit and mids are brought up front. And JAN Philips tubes are so smooth nothing gets wooly, crunchy, or gritty.

12AU7's mellow everything out across the spectrum but I find I prefer instead to just use higher quality 12AX7/ECC83S type tubes like JJ's, NOS RCA's, and Sylvania's. Mullards are good for a little "wool" but (for me) seem more appropriate in my guitar amps.

You have a decent compressor there and remember - "Tubes are the original Plug-In's" - Aspen Pittman

[sdelsolray]

Used Drawmer DL241

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Used Drawmer DL241

+1 !! Not big bottomed but musically tasty and dead quiet because of the uncannily good expander on the end. And f***ing fast! Very precise envelopes.....great for 'behaviour'.....

Wouldn't think of it for a mix though.....separates/stereo instruments.....

[StarfishMusic]

Originally Posted by TurboJets

You could always try different voicings on your Pro VLA by rolling in different combinations of nice tubes.

For instance, one of my favorite voicings is with a pair of NOS JAN Philips 12AT7's which have a tendency to really open up the mids, making them more aggressive/hot without adding any negative qualities to the overall sound. You could describe it like exposing everything to a little more Sun. Lows remain tight, lower mids remain clear, but the high's are de-ccentuated [sp] just a bit and mids are brought up front. And JAN Philips tubes are so smooth nothing gets wooly, crunchy, or gritty.

12AU7's mellow everything out across the spectrum but I find I prefer instead to just use higher quality 12AX7/ECC83S type tubes like JJ's, NOS RCA's, and Sylvania's. Mullards are good for a little "wool" but (for me) seem more appropriate in my guitar amps.

You have a decent compressor there and remember - "Tubes are the original Plug-In's" - Aspen Pittman

funny you say that, I bought a pair of NOS 1960s i believe jan phillips at7s. I did a test where a re-ran a few tracks through with the original rubys and the jan phillips. I prefferred the rubys actually. but to be fair thw rubys were warmed up for about half an hour and the jans only 5 minutes.

[Sean Sullivan]

dbx 160X, Joe Meek SC2 (sometimes you can find them for under $500).

[Weasel9992]

DBX 160 and the RNLA. I'm not a huge fan of the RNC either unless it's in "very nice" mode and I need *really* transparent. The RNLA and the Pro VLA see a lot more use.

Frank

[StarfishMusic]

so what else exists besides the usual suspects? I've been looking around everywhere online but the only ones you'll here about outside of a channel strip are the provla, joe meek sc2 i think it's called, and RNC/RNA. So what else is there? I would go up to $500 for a stereo unit. I wouldn't mind if it had an eq on it, But I certainly don't need more preamps. I'm eventually trying to get to 24 channels of compression, so I can mix all hardware on my console live without re-runing anything. BTW the dbx 160a? whats the deal with no attack and realease settings? is it source dependant? and i don't know if i'd like that?

[Karloff70]

The 1U Toft fet comp might be worth a listen Don't know it personally. but if you can try it before you buy it.....

[Ken Walker]

Originally Posted by Karloff70

The 1U Toft fet comp might be worth a listen Don't know it personally. but if you can try it before you buy it.....

That unit is quite aggressive...definately has its place, but new it runs around $550-600. It is a two channel unit though, not a bad bang for the buck at all. I've only seen one used unit on ebay. We have one and use it on drums with much success. But it will not be a unit for everyone, that's for sure.

[Brad McGowan]

Look for an Aphex 651 or 661. They both can be had for less than $350 and are extremely transparent yet have a wide range of adjustment. I use my 661 in auto mode to track vocals.

I also like the dbx160X for more of an obvious compression sound.

The RNLA never did it for me and I sold mine pretty quickly.

Brad

[ant_chapman]

I have to say, I haven't encountered any problems like those described by the OP with my own RNC (a relatively early one).

[YRLK]

Used Summit TLA-50 is right around there. Think I got one for about 450 for a friend in Boston... he's in love with it.

Vocals and bass are its specialty. Not a full-blown TLA-100 or LA2A, but it does very well.

[DamnYankee]

Originally Posted by StarfishMusic

What is there that's good? I already have an ART PROVLA II. I do like it. I've tried the RNC and it sounded crappy to me. Maybe it was just a bad one. It robbed all the high frequency. I tried the eureka's compressor on the same sound source as the RNC and liked it alot more. But what dedicate compressors are out there preferrably stereo for maybe $500 tops?

There's a sea of used and now inexpensive, excellent gear out there from Yesteryear which is studio/broadcast quality: dbx, Orban, Symetrix, Ashly, Aphex, etc etc etc.

You have to determine what it is you're wanting to compress and how you want it to sound (colored? tubey? heavy? transparent? etc etc etc). Different compressors work differently on different sources - it sounds like you have alot of reading to do.

[Karloff70]

Originally Posted by kpaw

That unit is quite aggressive...definately has its place, but new it runs around $550-600. It is a two channel unit though, not a bad bang for the buck at all. I've only seen one used unit on ebay. We have one and use it on drums with much success. But it will not be a unit for everyone, that's for sure.

Interesting! Cheers for the info......might have to try it one day......

[bino_5150]

Originally Posted by sevendaysoff

dbx 160x/a

thumbsupthumbsup

[emdub123]

Maybe this is slightly off-topic, but if you're a "low-end" studio, wouldn't $400 be better spent on plugins like a UAD-2 (with compression and lots of other stuff) than purchasing an outboard compressor? (Let's assume you're starting from scratch)

In other words: as far as compression is concerned, is it better to start ITB or outboard and why?

[aussie_techie]

good plug-ins are a much better deal and much more valuable imo, i havnt had the time with UAD to comment on them but any of the well respected plugs like sonox or mcdsp or anything else are worthy

that said if you already have a good range of plug-ins a hardware unit can be just the ticket to achieving a certain sound. its one reason why i never understand why people love RNCs so much when you can do the same things (in most cases better) with good plug-ins. IMO the only time a hardware unit has its place in an itb based low end setup is for a particular sound or a different flavor. As always my preference behind some good plugs is a pair of dbx 160X/XT/A (the exact model is less important) as even if its not what you think you want to start with its a sound that will always have its uses in any setup. that's not to say that the other options are bad either, you have to find your own sound i just find 160a/x/xt to be more universal.

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by aussie_techie

good plug-ins are a much better deal and much more valuable imo, i havnt had the time with UAD to comment on them but any of the well respected plugs like sonox or mcdsp or anything else are worthy

that said if you already have a good range of plug-ins a hardware unit can be just the ticket to achieving a certain sound. its one reason why i never understand why people love RNCs so much when you can do the same things (in most cases better) with good plug-ins. IMO the only time a hardware unit has its place in an itb based low end setup is for a particular sound or a different flavor. As always my preference behind some good plugs is a pair of dbx 160X/XT/A (the exact model is less important) as even if its not what you think you want to start with its a sound that will always have its uses in any setup. that's not to say that the other options are bad either, you have to find your own sound i just find 160a/x/xt to be more universal.

Well put.

Frank

[StarfishMusic]

Thanks all for the input. I've been using plugins for years and as I freelance regularly I've used a huge variety of them. I've also used some high end harware compressors, like tubetech, Api, SSL bus comp, distressors, etc. I still (jointly) own a tubetech LCA2b but it spends most of it's time at my music partners studio. I had previously assumed (incorrectly imho) that it was only worth taking a trip back out of the computer for expensive compressors/eqs. However after doing it with a few cheap compressors, I've found it's just a different sound. I have to say and not to offend anyone that i think my Art ProVlaII, kills anything I've heard from the computer. I have to think there's other flavores in that price range too

[changeng]

+1 for the Aphex 651

what I've been doing for tracking vocals is putting my 651 into the insert jack on my Summit 2ba, staging it as high as 5 or 7:1 using its hi frequency pass through before the signal hits the tube (NOS Valvo - thanks, Bowie!), which levels it nicely to get a more even tube tone saturating the signal, then I'll run it into a minor amount of eq from my dbx 242, then into a symetrix 501's limiter section - total cost from ebay purchases (not including the Summit) for the three processors was about $450. They're all mono, however. All three have linking circuits if you buy two for stereo use.

both the aphex 651 and the symetrix 501 are BITCHIN compressors - another cheap option is to get a symetrix 421 levelar - auto gain levels, tho the output is a bit noisy - old skool VCA sound, adds yummy grain to your signal - that piece you can get for about $100 on ebay - the expander on that unit is kinda icky tho..

[Benmrx]

Maybe a hair over $400, but you might be able to pick up a used CL 7720 for around that. That unit really added to the variety of options for modern (read: new), cheap compressors.

Between:

DBX 160A/X/XT
ART Pro VLA
CL 7720 (and soon to be released 7802)
RNC, RNLA

There's quite a few choices out there.


Another cheapy compressor that I've had for years now, and will never sell is a CAD CGM-2 Champ compressor. It's a dual mono unit with a link function. Great crusher.