pendulum es-8 and ocl-2 compressors

[brownmouse]

hi everyone,
i'm itching for a new compressor and am really curious about the pendulum compressors. does anyone have (or compared) both? what applications does one excell in vs. the other, etc.. i have exhausted the search function and have basically come up with that they both are most excellent. now, i'm curious if (for instance) for 2 buss i reach for 'x' or for acoustic guitar i reach for 'y', etc...
fwiw, i have a pair of trakkers and a toft atc-2 on the way from fletcher. as far of style of music i mostly do rock and some acoustic 'rock' stuff. i am also playing with a distressor and i'm trying to decide whether to go the distressor route (which is way cool... on one side of the sonic spectrum) or go the other way for more 'hi fi' side of the spectrum. i'm sure i'll end up with both, but i'm looking for pendulum user experiences for now.
thanks in advance,
joshua

[Brad Blackwood]

Funny you should ask...

I had Greg send me an OCL-2 and an ES-8 last week to try in my room. The ES-8 sounded nice, very smooth on stereo buss (which is all I use it for, obviously) but was very similar in character to the STC-8 (though I thought the STC-8 was a litttle more 'hifi' - cleaner, perhaps). The OCL-2 is a bit more snappy, just as clean, but has the ability to bring out the pep of a mix, if you know what I mean.

They really do two different things and would both be useful for stereo buss work, but the OCL-2 is now in my rack...

[brownmouse]

brad, thanks for the reply. i'll probably have to just audition both and see. from what it sounds like though, the ocl-2 may complement my trakkers a bit better, maybe? i know the stc-8 and trakkers are different beasts... but don't they share some similarities in character? i could be wrong, though.
thanks again,
joshua