Tubalicious compressors?
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Posted on Nov 30, 2006 08:42 pm
crux
Typo Szar
Member Since: Jul 04, 2002
Alot of the articles on this site recommend compressors for recording along the lings of the Alesis 3630 and the dbx stuff, all veyr affordable units for me, but when i went down to a very respectable shop arnd here, the sales guy told me those units r great for live stuff but they wont add much in the realm of recording, since they dont have tubes to sweeten up teh sound. Now i know tubes are sweet and warm but how necessary r they? Can i still get good thick fat sounds from a unit like the Dbx or Alesis, or even a Behringer?
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Kaos62Kaos is only a form of insanityMember
Since: Feb 03, 2005
Nov 30, 2006 11:34 pm I have an Alesis 3630 and a Symetrix in the rack and I have to say that the 3630 doesnt really add to the sound, yeah it's good for live work, but for tacking i use it just to control the peaks on drums and evening out a little on the guitar but never never too heavy.
But hey what do I know I'm only a drummer :)
tazmanMember
Since: Nov 30, 2006
Nov 30, 2006 11:53 pm I really don't like the sound of the 3630--I'd call it unusable. Some dbx compressors like the 160a and 160xt and 165 are really nice for drums (especially snare), but the 166 doesn't sound so great to my ears.
Tubes in a compressor can be excellent, and they can be a gimmick, it depends on the compressor. They are certainly not _necessary_, but in the right context with the right compressor, they are very nice.
It sounds like your salesman either doesn't know what he's talking about, or is handing you a line, though. It is definitely not the case that you must have a tube compressor for recording--that's silly. My absolute favorite desert-island compressor of all time is the solid state Crane Song STC-8. www.cranesong.com/stc8.html
(It's not very affordable unfortunately.)
A really nice sounding and inexpensive compressor is the RNC: www.fmraudio.com/productspage.htm
And really, the dbx 160a is quite inexpensive and an excellent drum compressor.
Taz
Dec 01, 2006 12:27 am i second the hell outta that....
i've got a 3630 and an RNC and i've NEVER used the 3630 for tracking or mixing...mine is just plain noizy (lotsa live gigs with it)....that said, it's a great cheap-o full featured compressor/limiter/gate at $50 a channel....and you can't beat that with a stick!
the RNC is a great 'best bang for the buck' compressor...i am very comfortable tracking with it, but i've never mixed with it or used it live.
and dbx makes quite a few compressors out there, entry level to 'every studio's got one'
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Dec 01, 2006 05:51 pm The salesman just wants a bigger commission. You don't really need a tube compressor for most home or project studio's. Ya if you have that kind of money burning a whole in your pocket, then indeed it is nice to have. A compressor should not really be used to add any artifacts to the audio unless that is what youare going for. Warmth is added by the pre-amp or another gain stage. If the compressor does the pre-amp thing then that is fine.
The only advantage to a tube compressor is the way it reacts to audio input, smoother.
GeoffSM7b the Chuck Noris of Mic'sContributor
Since: Jun 20, 2002
Dec 01, 2006 09:21 pm I agree with noize, a compressor is like children ,"better seen not heard." (jk) . You know it's there and doing it's job but it shouldn't add any "sound" to the mix unless oyu're using it as an effect. Now a good tube channel strip with a compressor function on it can be cool .
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 02, 2006 05:59 pm As far as affordable tube compressors, I hear good things about the ART PRO VLA. I think the people that truly like are the ones who replace the stock tubes. But it looks like a good 2-channel tube compressor.
Also Electro-Harmonix makes the Black Finger compressor, a true 300 volt tube compressor as well. Its an oversized guitar stomp-box that I think would work well for other applications in a home studio.
