Joe Meek comps vs. Art opto comp?

[changeng]

Itching to buy me a green toy (cheaply). Looking at my comps and the only opto I have is the one built into my ART Pro Channel. Otherwise I have an Aphex 651, a Micro limiter, a Symetrix 501 and 522.

Meek users - will a cheap C2 give me anything I don't already have covered? How about the MC2?

[dkelley]

art optos are MILES better than current day meek optos. leagues ahead of the competition. arts are versatile, controllable, transparent yet imparting the uniquely beautiful opto mechanics only available using a real opto comp (or excellent modelling).

the meek stuff is just bizarre. older meek stuff was bizarre too but could sound incredible on the right source with the right setting. current meek stuff is much stranger imho.

I have heard people successfully use current stuff - which is great for them, but I sure can't do it in the repeated times that I've tried. the meek pres are fine, but the comps are just strange. a STRONG effect, for sure, but not a useful compressor in most senses of the word. more like a distinct one-off effect.

[chessparov]

Get thyself a green Meek, would you "limit" yourself to only Blondes and Brunettes?

They're pretty cool to experiment with IMHO, and their coloration jives with my strange voice quite a bit-so I'm biased. Good vibe for "character" dynamic mics BTW.

Chris

[changeng]

Thanks, guys - I've been reading that the Meeks tend to roll off the high end of signals? Any input on that? I'm looking more for *effects* kinda comps than workhorse comps. Plus they're green. GREEN.

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by changeng

Thanks, guys - I've been reading that the Meeks tend to roll off the high end of signals? Any input on that? I'm looking more for *effects* kinda comps than workhorse comps. Plus they're green. GREEN.

focusrite made some green gear too... and the comp in the focusrite green products was very neutral, opto as well, very useful in many many ways, much more like the art opto comps in many ways. green is cool, but it doesn't limit you to uber strange fx boxes that are useful on one or two specific things.... just saying.

and the OLD (vintage) meek before they were bought out and redesigned are very different products. I feel they were much more interesting musically speaking, and the comp of teh old meek gear is so famous and useful on vocals that it's been modeled by focusrite in their liquid products (I own the model and it's insanely cool.... I've also owned an mc2 or whatever their current stereo comp is and it was "this" close to be useless as a stereo compressor to my ears....)

Again, there are those who have success with the current range of gear from meek.... but imho the compressors have gone downhill DRAMATICALLY in vibe and usefulness and ability to track vocals with that "meek magic". they are now just reaaly strange compressors that are exceptionally difficult to dial in.

imho and all that

I'm definitely one of those older guys who loved the old meek gear, not one of those younger guys who thinks the new gear is anything like the old gear or that the new gear is all that good.

I have no problem with the current owner and in fact they own some other excellent companies too... (toft I think, for example). but I just happen to dislike the actual everyday USE of their current compressor. The concept is great in how they intended to updated it, I just feel that they failed.

But then I happen to really like working with the cheap compressors in the art pro channel that you can buy used for $150 on craiglist.... so who am I to say, right? ;-)

Cheers :-)

imho, ymmv, yadda yadda

[daez]

I have a one q and let a friend borrow it. I would go to many plugins before going to the meek. Do you have experience with the meek have you heard great examples of what it can do. If so then feel free if not then why itch....

[daez]

Just wanted to add to me the meek stuff is good rack filler, it looks better than it souds...

[changeng]

yeah, you guyseses are talking me into paying my bills on time this month...

[chessparov]

If there's any degree of financial inconveniece, IMHO then just hold off on ANY gear getting-unless you find that U47 in a pawnshop for 50 bucks.

You already have some nice comps going in...

Chris

[PoorGlory]

I have the newer Joemeek TwinQ, and I liked it so much I bought the MC2, which is the same compression circuit as the TwinQ.

Yes, they are weird. Compared to my ART Pro VLA 2, the meek is more grabby and jumpy. But I do a lot of metal, which these days tends to be played as fast as humanly possible. This means the Joemeek compression is perfect for turning a fast, sloppy, and muddy bassline or drum performance into something with responsive and controlled dynamics.

It also works great when applied lightly on the drum buss.... not the kind of results you would want on Mark Knopfler-type drums, but to tighten up frantic sounding rock/metal/punk drums, it works great. That said, I do use the ART VLA 2 on drum buss a lot, when I want a smoother sound with a slight sheen.

The Joemeek comps do not roll off the top end (at least that I've noticed), but when pushed they do impart a subtle raunchiness to the sound... I wouldn't say "dirt", but definitely "raunch". But not in a bad way.... I do not feel that they in any way degrade the signal.... in my opinion the Joemeek and ART compressors are both high quality for the low price, but very different sounding. In fact, I use it on kick drum all the time... using the meeks natural sounding attack/release, I'm able to get fast double-kick drum drum passages to fit nicely into the mix, side-by-side with a mid tempo rock pattern. A lot of times, heavy compression on a kick will only work with one type of those rhythms, but the Joemeek naturally rides the kick drum perfectly and makes my job a lot easier.

I use the Joemeek comps on vocals a lot as well.... but they work best when I have some light compression done with plugins ITB, so the peaks are controlled. The grabbiness of the Joemeek means that if it digs in hard with a big gain reduction, the release will be pretty drastic. So sending it more dynamically controlled material will allow it to get you the bouncy sound that it excels at without having to deal with that sounds inherent drawbacks.

Get both. They both rock.

[PoorGlory]

I forgot to mention that I also have a pair of Aphex 651 Expressors modded by Jim Williams, a pair of Symetrix 501s, a Symetrix 525, and a dbx 166xl. All of them get used all the time. Although I plan on ditching the 525 and the 166xl soon to make room for a comp upgrade. The 525 is a similar sound to the 501 and the 166xl, which gets no love but is a decent workhorse (even in the studio), is still nothing special.

In general, all are different flavors and all find a spot in most of my mixes.