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Reply With QuoteSorry I meant DBX 160 in the poll.
Stick with Eureka compressor
ART Pro VLA II
DBX 166
FMR RNC
FMR RNLA
FMR PCB-6a
Golden Age COMP 54
Overstayer compressor
other (please specify)
Recommend budget vocal tracking compressor - £300 Hi,
I'm currently looking at improving my vocal tracking and have been busy sorting out a vocal booth and trying out various mics.
I have been experimenting with using the compressor on my Eureka and have quite liked it on certain vocalists and tracks. To my ears the Eurekas compressor sounds pretty clean and transparent and extremeley quiet.
I would not be using the compressor to compress the vocals hard, it would be for more subtle compression to tame some peaks whilst going into the Cubase 6.
I've been doing some searches and these seem to be the most popular compressor's around £300 :-
ART Pro VLA II
dbx 160 (not sure which model)
FMR RNC
FMR RNLA
FMR PBC-6a
Golden Age Projects Comp 54
Overstayer Compressor
Which of these would you recommend as being the most suitable vocal tracking compressor?
Would any of these be a major improvement on the compressor in the Eureka?
Last edited by dickiefunk; 03-17-2011 at 02:19 AM.
Sorry I meant DBX 160 in the poll.
Stick with the Eureka. Like you said, it stays out of the way while doing its job.`
da moderAtor....proprietor of droolindoggrecords.com....everything in moderation including moderation...Pythagorean Number-Cult Acoustics Deriver #1158
Thanks for the reply. Yes I do like the Eureka compressor I'm just wondering if there's anything that would do the job even better for around £300?
I'm also quite interested in a compressor that would thicken things a little and add a little extra smoothness?
http://recording.org/pro-recording-f...mpression.html
Read this first. Your question/survey sounded legit till you "clarified" what you were trying to accomplish.
Phil
RO Vocal Booth Moderator
"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture!"
Just revisited the linked thread b/c of Phil's reply - truly a primer from Shotgun and Dwoz!Originally Posted by pmolsonmus
To focus on the OP's desired effect:
I often run drums, vocals, bass, and acoustic instruments through a compressor for that same reason.
I like to have the input just kiss the comp from time to time... little gain reduction and little ratio.
I will use a comp before A/D as a sort of "safety" limiter for truly egregious peaks at times, too.
Keep in mind - *I do this having an idea what I'm going to do to the track in the mix*
I know what I want from the track, and am just doing a little prep work to make it fit better later.
Finally, I can recommend both the RNP and dbx166 series - I use them for these purposes - but I doubt they'll match what the Eureka offers in quality.
Beyond that, read the above-linked primer.
It still teaches me, to this day.
I miss the Shotgun.
The only ones on your list that I've had any experience with are the FRM RNC and the DBX 160 and 166. I don't see either of those as a huge upgrade to what you already have, so I voted on sticking with the Eureka.
My general opinion is that the best plugins beat the cheap hardware compressors at about the same price. (A much cheaper price if you are using multiple instances of the plugin.) What you really want is something like a UA LA2A - but that is 6-7 times your budget. My favorite compressor plugins are also by UA. Unfortunately, you need a UAD card (or now the satellite) if you want to try them out. We've had a couple of threads on the UAD plugins recently, so you might want to start there if you are interested.
Last edited by BobRogers; 03-18-2011 at 03:29 AM.
Alto Dog Studios, Blacksburg, VA
Last edited by Big K; 03-18-2011 at 12:12 PM.
Since I have an older Mac, I just bought a UAD-1 and installed it. Superb is an adjective that comes to mind. They're a little more than $60 bucks not more than double in most cases. You want to be sure you're getting one that the previous owner will do their part in transferring ownership to your own UA account. Its all free but it is a process. The basic package includes the LA2-A, 1176's, Pultec, a couple of verbs and a channel-strip which has everything you might find in a 747 cockpit. Be aware that these are going to be limited with the number of tracks you can use them on, but they are incredible sounding. A lot like the real deal which I have used most of. Only no noise. I have mixed records at other facilities that have complete UAD-2 cards and several of each and this is the way to go. I have 1176's in my Pro Tools bundle and side by side its no contest. UA clearly is the better deal.
I have two more slots to fill. If you have the PCI-E slots you're ahead of the game. I'm limited to PCI and PCI-X but its still quite a load off the cpu and everything is running faster and clearer.
I'm starting to really miss the tape machine though.......
I know......crazy talk!
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