another thought:

cranesong stc8 is a GREAT buss compresser (my fav) and is also a wicked tracking compresser.

as it's stereo w/ this great varible knee control (wonderful on bus to get the drums to kick), you could phatten up samples on the way in, track vocals, it's amazing for tracking synth and synth or real bass, and then use the damn thing on the bus in mixdown.

find a deal on a used one (built to last) and you'll be laughing!

transparent (i know, nothing reall is!!heh ) and you can get vintage type stuff with the KI switch.

it could just be your desert island ginger or maryanne!!!

Thanks, Jim! That does help to explain what's going on. I've found it does work better with some other box before the converter providing additional gain, such as the Mercury 66, another awesome compressor btw. thumbsup

ripper and cap,ect, thanks for the help.


ripper,,cap, Jim vanBergen, how would you describe the sound of those 2 audio demo's i posted?


ripper,so the Crane Song STC8 is phat and it can produce tight, knockin, pumping drums? Does it saturate and colour nicely? Those demo's i posted, they sound saturated and colured right?


How much do used ones usualy go for, the stereo?


Thx!

This is why you have to listen for yourself.

Take everyone's opinions with a grain of salt and get the gear in your studio and listen for yourself.

One man's fat is another man's bland.

One man's punchy is another man's piercing.

And lastly why do people think that tracking through a comp will fatten up sounds.

Where did this idea start from?

If you want fat sounds...start with fat sources.

Track to tape with the right colored DI's/mic pre's with a bit of Pultec/Neve EQ to taste.

Run your keys/bass through an amp and mic that going to tape.

If you need a little punch than yeah the right comp can help.

But not every sound needs it.

This will 'fatten" up your sounds more than any comp would(including a Fairchild).

My 2 cents.

ummmm... because you get more average level which at a similar level for the peaks sounds "fatter"?

just a guess.

sure, i like my tape machines, my HEDD, etc., more right mic for the job, etc.... but my EAR 660 definitely makes things sound fatter.. maybe thicker is a better word anyways.

same w/ the conceprt of introducing pleasing harmonic distortion with a compresser: it makes things sound thicker warmer : fatter.

the 660 is nice for this, as is the KI switch on the STC8 and the harmonic generators on the distressors. they ain't placebo buttons on my units!

so to me, that's where the idea of "fattening" sources with a compressor comes from.

example: recently did a band whose keyboardist had some modern thing of good quality... but definitely "thinner" in sound than my moogs and arps.

we used the moogs and arps for a lot, but on some of the tracks he was using more complex patches with, we ran his synth through the TG1 and 2 660's linked.

mate, the sound got twice as fat, warm, pleasing. the clients were REALLY happy with the result.

but as ever, YMMV.

Then you must have a unique an original STC-8 and pair of Distressors because i would never consider either fat or thick even with their harmonic generators on.

Now stick a pair of marinair trannies in front and you will have a tad more color.




You are talking about ARP's and Moogs which on their own have tons of character compared to a plug in or rompler.

To me the fattest keyboard sounds were from the 70's and early 80's and that to me means tape somewhere with a micd source or an overdriven Neve/Langevin mic pre with a little 1176 or La2a.


This statement says it best.

The guy should listen for himself and decide.

Thanks guys, i appreciate the help, but a BIG problem is that i cant demo the old Urei 1176, or the TG1. I can demo the Distressors, and possible the Crane Song, i can find out on Tuesday, but i forsure cant demo the TG1 or Urei 1176. There are no dealers for them in my country and they dont make the Urei anymore.


It would be really helpfull if somebody with this gear could post some audio examples of the dry, then processed samples using the TG1, Distressor, Urei 1176, STC-8 ,ect. I could pay you or something for your troubles to do this. I can send you a drum kit or two to procces.


I got the Pre's down, im most likely going to pick up the new chandler tone control EQ's when they come out, but im just lost on which compressor to buy.


Did any of you guys listen to those audio demo's? Do you have an idea what would be best for me as a compressor?



Something that would sound good on MPC drums, synths, keyboard sounds, and bass. A similar sound to whatever compression sound that was used on those audio demo's. I want this unit to have a noticable difference in the sound, ie: colour and saturation, aswell as being to give me pumping, phat, knocking drums. I want it to sound good on keyboards, bass, ans synths aswell.


basically its a choice between the Distressors, Chandler TG-1, Crane Song STC-8, and Urei 1176. I want a jaw dropping unit, something that is really going to make a difference, and keep the sounds clear and not muddy them up. Im not sure i like how the distressors sound, from listening to tracks where i think the distressors were used. I need something with an amazing sonic signature that always works on everything, for hip-hop. Big and phat, bumping, and rich. I am using this for tracking, i want bumpin drums, but a big goal is to saturate and colour the sounds with analog saturation. A saturation and colour that always works for hip-hop, and makes a big before and after difference.


I think i made the right choice for a solid state pre/DI ie: GTQ-mkIII, and hopefully the Tube Tech pre in the future for a tube DI.


If i could try or hear the units i would have a better idea. This was a good review i liked on the TG-1. Id love to hear it. http://www.frontendaudio.com.au/chan...ndler_TG-1.pdf


Thanks for the help.

just pushing it up.

There is no silver bullet piece of gear.

Hours, days, months, years of practice and *listening* will get you further...

i disagree with the guy who said the tg1 was bad for bass. i recently used it while tracking a jazz trio where i couldn't get enough articulation from the upright using an e47 into a 1066. i knew i needed a bit of compression anyway and the tg1 not only evened out the playing and brought the bass into the mix better, but more importantly, it made the bass sound so much better in terms of definition and overall tone. great box.
david

FWIW you can stick me in the camp that was fairly underwhelmed with the Distressor.

It's good + versatile, sure. But does it have the mojo of some of the other pieces- no way (to my ears).

Get a couple 1176's or better yet Purples.

TG1 kills on drums though.

Don't get me wrong- I don't mind Distressors but... ehhh.

YM bloody well MV though.

robot gigante, thanks for the reply. What kind of music do you do? Are you saying the Distressors dont really colour the sound? What did you like better in the Purple Audio, and TG1 compressors, that you didnt like as much in the Distressors?


Im looking for peices that are going to colour and add a nice deal of sonic signature, something where you turn knobs and really notice a great difference. I also want my stuff to be as clear as possible and not muddy at all.


Do the Purple Audio MC77's and TG1 do this? Do they sound great on everything ( drums, synths, ect)?


Do you think picking up a pair of both the MC77's and TG1 would be better than a stereo pair of Distressors in terms of colouring the sound, and flexibility?

I mix a lot of dance stuff, but also rock, folk and the occasional hip hop tune. Whatever floats my way.

Well...


Well, if you use them properly I don't think that any of these comps will muddy up your sound. Sonic signature, they all have them too- but color wise the Distressors don't knock me out. Also I feel like I can hit things hard with the Purples (TG1 too for that matter) and get more over the top sounds, which is what I like.


Nothing sounds great on EVERYTHING... Well, the Purples sound great w/ almost everything Except on the master bus of course.

Coloring the sound, absolutely. Flexibilty... depends on what you mean. The Distressor is a great utility workhorse kind of compressor, which is why I think people like them. I would also suggest in addition to what you get maybe picking up a couple dbx 160x or xt's (inexpensive, and very useful) and a couple cheapo's that can mangle the sound in horrible ways (do a search, there are a couple good threads about what to get).

Hey robot gigante, thanks for the help.


I did some digging, and im able to demo the Distressors, TG1, and UA 1176 tomorrow, so im happy about that. This is really the best way to decide, though if i like the 1176, i'll pick up the Purple Audio MC77 instead as ive heard its alot better than the UA reissue.


Thx a lot for the help!

FWI most hip hop and r&b producers and mixers that i know don't use 3/4 of the stuff that is on your list and most of the studios here in LA have neve and distressors but none of the other stuff that you've mentioned... furthermore with the exception of maybe the neves none of the other stuff is their go to shot for making stuff phatt. as someone previously stated...there is no one way to do things or a magic piece of gear. i think i understand what you are after but i'm not sure if the pieces that you are looking at althought great would not be my first choice to get you there.

ej

get some ssl stuff and some dbx 160's if you want to make stuff hit so hard that people blink. amybe some neves and api eq's and a manley massive passive for your stereo bus with a 384 or c2 and i think you'll be good.

Hi guys, okay today i went to demo the Distressors and UA 1167 reissue. There was supposed to be a Chandler TG1 there, but some dude just had to rent it before i came, so i didnt get a chance to hear it.


The engineers there really didnt know too many cool tricks, and im not an expert yet, but i was just using my ears and tweaking knobs. I had about 2 hours playing time.


I found that i got phatter kick and snare with the 1176, but i could get the kick to hit harder with the Distressors. The 1176 seemed to colour the sound a bit more than the distressors, but again i could have been doing something wrong, and i didnt have too much time to play around. I know the Purple Audio MC77 are supposed to sound better than the UA reissue right?


The guy there said that the TG-1 was even more beefier than the 1176. He said it focused more on the mid-low end.


I read in a thread here that a couple of people were saying that the old Urei 1176 D or E model sounded more smooth, thicker, and round, and the Purple Audio MC77 sounded more bright and thinner. Is this true? Im looking for the compressor that wont eat my kick and snare,ect and make it smaller, but enhance it with phatness, punch, and lots of analog saturation/colour.



What about using 2 chains of compresion? For example using the vintage urei 1776 or MC77 for the saturation/colour/phatness/loudness, and then the Distressors for shaping the sound, making stuff snap or whatever, and some more light colour or saturation?



If using 2 chains of compression would be a good idea, which 2 of these 3 compressors should i get? I would get a stereo pair of each. I posted another sound example of the type of "direction" and sound i like.


Distressors
Vintage Urei 1176 or Purple Audio MC77
Chandler Limited TG-1


Which 2 would be best for the type of sound im after?

Thx!

You should see when the TG-1 will be in so you compare it side by side with the others. Sometimes going back and in and listening to things a seperate time (with your first impression in mind) can really straighten things out, in terms of what compressor you prefer over the others.

I would be very interested in what you think of the TG-1 compared to the Purple MC77. Let us know if you try it out. If the Distressors didn't impress you, you should really demo the TG-1, sounds like a winner, might not be as versatile, but sounds like your looking for impact over versatility, which would be the TG-1.

Just curious why people recommend the STC8 and not the Trakker The Trakker has more color and faster and slower attacks and releases. It does not have the dual sidechain (using compression and limiting, because only STC8 has limiting).

RIZ, you mentioned you're looking for a compressor that will have "colour and saturation, aswell as being to give me pumping, phat, knocking drums". Hopefully you'll have a chance to try out the TG-1 and report back which compressor you feel fits your description best. I'd be interested to her which one saturates and pumps the most. It think they all have their own color which will probably be defined by preference, when comparing these compressors.

As i remember it, i think they sold the TG1, and are waiting to get a new one.


I decided to get a pair of Destressors with Brit mod, and just purchased some. I was tweaking one of my phat kicks and claps through the distressors, and i made it sound nice. I made the kick really bang and thump, but i wouldnt call the distressors really thick and pillowy. But thats why im getting a different compressor to go along with it.


I decided not to go the TG1 route because ive read its pretty damn noisy, and it only really has "one" sound that you either like or hate. Plus the fact that i dont see a lot of commercial hip-hop dudes using them. Id rather use a MC77 or Tube Tech CL1B for more colour as those are standard peices that you really cant go wrong with. The only reason im not looking into anything SSL-ish right now is because i plan to have my tracks mixed on a SSL board. I want to have things sounding really good on the way in though, and lots of added saturation/character. For me, now its a choice between either the MC77, or the Tube Tech CL1B ( changing the tubes ). When i get more money i'll look into seeing if that store has another TG1 in i can demo, and possibly add it as my 3rd compressor.