FCS Custom P3 Compressor

[Lucin Niega]

I have one of these coming very soon. The pictures were just released today. It's a nice (Borat voice)!

Pico Compressor Audio Design Forum • View topic - The P3 Compressor

[Realtugs]

That is a nice! Love that look!

Good looking guts, too.

Sexy Time!

[Lucin Niega]

Originally Posted by Realtugs

Sexy Time!

LOL! This is Gear Slutz after all.

[Lucin Niega]

[alyi]

Price range?

[Lucin Niega]

[Lucin Niega]

Originally Posted by alyi

Price range?

You'll probably have to talk to Fletcher about that.

[~ufo~]

that thing looks serious!

[Realtugs]

This thing gives me wood!

I love that utilitarian look...a slightly more modern era of retro. Who are these guys/girls and why do I not know them? Have I been under a rock...just lazy? Who are they? I need links!

[Lucin Niega]

Originally Posted by Realtugs

I love that utilitarian look...a slightly more modern era of retro.

My brother says it looks like something Darth Vader would have in his studio. I found the company through my search for a 500 series tracking compressor. That's a nice too.

Originally Posted by Realtugs

Who are these guys/girls and why do I not know them? Have I been under a rock...just lazy? Who are they?

Roger you wanna chime in here?

[RogerFoote]

Hey Lucin

Thanks for posting this! We will have more info on the P3 soon.
Another product in our growing lineup is the Pico 500 compressor which Lucin spoke of, and that is available from Mercenary Audio.

FCS Pico 500 Compressor


PM me for current info, but please forgive if it takes a couple of days to respond, I have been putting in 14 hour days lately.

Thanks all
Roger

FCS
Foote Control Systems

[matta]

Congrats Roger,

She looks great! Kudos to You and Wayne, been amazing to watch how FCS has grown. Here is wishing you all the best in future developments! Now lets hear this beast!

Cheers

Matt

[RogerFoote]

Thanks Matt!

Here's the feature set:
> Variable AR compression
> RMS compression
> Peak compression
> Non Linear compression (Auto)
> Non Linear plus Variable AR compression
> High pass filter in sidechain (bypassable)
> External sidechain inputs
> Dual range meter and gain control (0-20dB or 0-5dB)
> Stepped gain control in 1/2dB or 2dB steps
> Fixed threshold mode
> Ratios from 1:1 through 12:1
> Bypassable Carnhill output transformers
> Dual mono or stereo operation (stereo is true power summing for rock solid stereo image)
> All switches high quality NKK brand, no cheap switches...
>14 illuminated pushbutton switches.
> Gold plated Neutrik D series XLR connectors
> Low ripple/noise power supply (<2.2mV AC)
> Ground lift pushbutton switches on rear panel
> All pots precision mil-spec RV4N extreme long life pots (1,000,000 operations)
> Precision 31 step scales on pots for easy recall.

The comps I build are generally known for transparent, artifact free compression but it is also capable of radical overcompression with up to 56dB of gain reduction while remaining surprisingly musical.

[DRC]

Roger, are you going to still sell the pieces like the PICO yourself do they now have to be purchased through a dealer?

[RogerFoote]

Hi Michael

On the P3, right now, I am selling them myself to fund development. This is a limited edition run so they won't last long. After those are gone I will evaluate my options. The Pico 500 is only available through Mercenary Audio.

That may end up happening with the P3 as well later.

[Ruairi]

Hi all,

I am so thrilled to say that one of the two units pictured is mine and should be shipping to me next week sometime! (the unit with the Lundahl output transformers). I first got to know Roger about 3 years ago when he demonstrated extraordinary generosity during a very difficult time in my life caused by serious illness.

I watched from the sidelines with great interest as he developed his Pico compressor concept and when he offered some stereo units for sale I picked one up for my mastering work. My unit has Cinemag transformers on the output which give it a slight growl when driven hard. I have used this compressor on every mix and master I have done since, the RMS mode is simply incredible and almost impossible to wrongfoot. One of my hobbies is DIY electronics so I've done a lot of reading and research into the That chips Roger uses as the basis for his builds. IMHO His implementation of these chips strikes the perfect balance of simplicity, functionality and great sound without getting bogged down in voodoo. My Pico went on to become one of the three best pieces of gear I ever bought (my U67 and ADAM S3As being the other two!).

So, many months back I started an email conversation with Roger about the features I would like in a souped up mastering compressor. He was evolving the design slowly over this period with input from users and hours of bench testing and listening, eventually he settled on the feature set of the P3. I have bought my unit unheard because I know the family sound, I am incredibly excited. Along with my new PMC MB2 speakers this compressor will be a centre piece of my new mastering room.

I'll be back with a full report shortly

Watch this space....

Cheers,
Ruairi

[Snatchman]

Originally Posted by Ruairi

Hi all,

I am so thrilled to say that one of the two units pictured is mine and should be shipping to me next week sometime! (the unit with the Lundahl output transformers). I first got to know Roger about 3 years ago when he demonstrated extraordinary generosity during a very difficult time in my life caused by serious illness.

I watched from the sidelines with great interest as he developed his Pico compressor concept and when he offered some stereo units for sale I picked one up for my mastering work. My unit has Cinemag transformers on the output which give it a slight growl when driven hard. I have used this compressor on every mix and master I have done since, the RMS mode is simply incredible and almost impossible to wrongfoot. One of my hobbies is DIY electronics so I've done a lot of reading and research into the That chips Roger uses as the basis for his builds. IMHO His implementation of these chips strikes the perfect balance of simplicity, functionality and great sound without getting bogged down in voodoo. My Pico went on to become one of the three best pieces of gear I ever bought (my U67 and ADAM S3As being the other two!).

So, many months back I started an email conversation with Roger about the features I would like in a souped up mastering compressor. He was evolving the design slowly over this period with input from users and hours of bench testing and listening, eventually he settled on the feature set of the P3. I have bought my unit unheard because I know the family sound, I am incredibly excited. Along with my new PMC MB2 speakers this compressor will be a centre piece of my new mastering room.

I'll be back with a full report shortly

Watch this space....

Cheers,
Ruairi

Have to agree. Roger is a great, stand up guy with compassion...!..Oh yeah, his products are great too!...

[Invisible T]

@ Ruairi, How are you getting along with your P3?

Any experiences appreciated!

Cheers

[Rock Fraser]

Any left?
Price?
Second Batch? Please? Please? Please?

[Ruairi]

Originally Posted by Low.End.Theory

@ Ruairi, How are you getting along with your P3?

Any experiences appreciated!

Cheers

Hi all,

Unfortunately I have very little to report. My P3 got stuck in a customs and excise vortex for nearly 2 weeks and as soon as it arrived I had to leave home for nearly 10 days of work travel. I've probably had 20 minutes to listen to it but this is a deep unit so 20 mins is not enough to report, not by a long shot!

I will say this much the build quality inside and out is simply stunning and my respect for Roger as a great guy and a great designer just keeps on growing. I should have time this week to give the unit a full run through and will post my thoughts. I promise! Believe me I am excited to give this machine a run through.

All the best

[RogerFoote]

Originally Posted by Rock Fraser

Any left?
Price?
Second Batch? Please? Please? Please?

There are still a couple left, PM me for details.

Thanks
Roger
FCS

[TRW]

Originally Posted by Ruairi

Hi all,

Unfortunately I have very little to report. My P3 got stuck in a customs and excise vortex for nearly 2 weeks and as soon as it arrived I had to leave home for nearly 10 days of work travel. I've probably had 20 minutes to listen to it but this is a deep unit so 20 mins is not enough to report, not by a long shot!

I will say this much the build quality inside and out is simply stunning and my respect for Roger as a great guy and a great designer just keeps on growing. I should have time this week to give the unit a full run through and will post my thoughts. I promise! Believe me I am excited to give this machine a run through.

All the best

Hey Ruairi, I'd love to know how you are getting on, the peak, RMS and NLC comp modes interest me highly.

Cheers Tom

[Invisible T]

Bump for a great compressor!

[Ruairi]

Originally Posted by TRW

Hey Ruairi, I'd love to know how you are getting on, the peak, RMS and NLC comp modes interest me highly.

Cheers Tom

Hey all,

I've been meaning to get back to this thread with my longer term impressions but I've just been so busy. I'm racing out the door now but let me say this unit is absolutely phenomenal, I love it (but then again I expected that as I had aan earlier stereo edition already). My main gig is mastering and it's just fantastic across a mix.

I'll try to get back in the next few days with some more complete impressions.

Cheers,
Ruairi

[fez]

Originally Posted by RogerFoote

it is also capable of radical overcompression with up to 56dB of gain reduction while remaining surprisingly musical.

That, is cool.

[Ruairi]

Originally Posted by TRW

Hey Ruairi, I'd love to know how you are getting on, the peak, RMS and NLC comp modes interest me highly.

Cheers Tom

Hi Tom,

My apologies that it's taken so long to come back with more detailed impressions of my P3. Needless to say I've been insanely busy.

My work is almost all mastering these days but I have done a lot of tracking and mixing with my older stereo unit (which is very similar in Peak and RMS modes).

I find Peak mode really useful on acoustic instruments like guitar, mandolin and some vox. It's also really sweet on bass depending on the player. Peak mode can become a little obvious in isolation if you use too much but in the mix it's almost never an issue.

RMS mode is just fantastic for glueing things together without obvious artifacts and has worked well on almost every source I've tried it on. I love mixing into the P3 in RMS mode with about 2dB of compression. It allows me to back off on compression on individual instruments while still maintaining control and a tight mix. The end result is very alive and vibrant sounding while still controlled enough in a modern context.

I haven't had much luck with the NLC mode. I think it might benefit those into mangling sounds and overcompressing but I just haven't had time to explore, my rock tracking days seem to be behind me (I sound old...).

After all that I use my P3 for mastering 95% of the time in manual mode. At first I thought maybe the ranges for the attack and release controls were too wide but this is not the case. They allow fantastic control over the feel and tightness of a mix. I usually find what I'm looking for very quickly. I rarely go over ratios of 1.5:1 and I don't drive the output gain very hard.

I've probably mastered 25 or 30 cds since I got my P3 and it's worked fantastically well on all material. In fact regular engineer clients have commented on the sound of my work recently.

One last thing, the metering on these units is just great, with half dB steps really helping.

Mine has the Lundahl option and I have another coming shortly with the Carnhill outs - can't get much more of a recommendation than that I guess!

Feel free to hit me up with any specific questions, I feel like I've forgotten lots in my description of the unit.

Cheers,
Ruairi

[housegezeichnet]

still one available?

[RogerFoote]

Found this picture of P3 sub assemblies ready for final assembly and wiring...



There is only one left. PM me and make me an offer!

Best
Roger
FCS

[TRW]

Hey Ruairi...

Originally Posted by Ruairi

My apologies that it's taken so long to come back with more detailed impressions of my P3. Needless to say I've been insanely busy.

No no my apolgies, I completely forgot I posted in this thread, time to use the subscribe function me thinks... so thanks very much for your detailed reply. Great to read the pico is working out, looks like in the mean time a version of this is now a 1RU comp available from Mercenary?

Great description of the functions, still considering something along these lines for mix bus duty.

Thanks again and apologies for not posting back... poor form on my part! Appreciate it!

-T

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by TRW

Hey Ruairi...



No no my apolgies, I completely forgot I posted in this thread, time to use the subscribe function me thinks... so thanks very much for your detailed reply. Great to read the pico is working out, looks like in the mean time a version of this is now a 1RU comp available from Mercenary?

Great description of the functions, still considering something along these lines for mix bus duty.

Thanks again and apologies for not posting back... poor form on my part! Appreciate it!

-T

TRW,

I have not used the P3 Custom, but the words that Roger uses to describe the performance of his design is familiar to me, in regard to the P3S Rack Mount and the P3500 and P3500S 500 series modules.

Originally Posted by rogerfoote

The comps I build are generally known for transparent, artifact free compression but it is also capable of radical overcompression with up to 56dB of gain reduction while remaining surprisingly musical.

In regard to being a TOOL, his compressor is absolutely incredible. It just works, and has this wonderful grip and clamp without any detection of a musically adverse affect.