Differences Of The 3 Classics?

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2002 3:44 pm

Hi Coldsnow, that's fine no problem!! I think we both are saying the same thing. Its up to the person, and how he/she hears things and uses it. By the way, I rarely use an 1176 when mixing vocals anymore, when I want the Urei sound I much prefer the Urei LA22. The one I have is hot rodded and I use it only for vocals. I had a Blue Stripe for a while and it worked sometimes, other times it sucked. It was just a show piece in my rig, so I got rid of it. As a mixer you have to have the tools you need at your disposal. I know I have my "one of kind"type stuff, my "noah's ark" stuff, my "this thing just does one thing well, but when its right its right"stuff, and the "felt but not heard"stuff. Plus all the other fillers. After a while it feels ridiculous, buying a piece of gear for that"one time I needed this sound", but I guess its what you are doing at the time.

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2002 3:53 pm

The Dave Martin review he is referring to was printed in issue 9 of EQ magazine 2000. WWW.EQMAG.COM It also appeared in one of the Pro Sound News issues. By the way, I've had my disagreements with Dave in the past( namely the Vintech X73) which he wrote a review for. I do respect his opinions though and he is not like some of the other product reviwers.

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2002 9:58 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by THETHRILLFACTOR:
I know I have my "one of kind"type stuff, my "noah's ark" stuff, my "this thing just does one thing well, but when its right its right"stuff, and the "felt but not heard"stuff. Plus all the other fillers. After a while it feels ridiculous, buying a piece of gear for that"one time I needed this sound", but I guess its what you are doing at the time.

I know what that feels like. Most of the things in my effects rack are like that. I wish I could sell half of em and free up the space and the patch points.

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2002 1:14 pm

Hey THETHRILLFACTOR

It didn't appear to be in the 2000 issue 9. Any other thoughts.
Thanks

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2002 1:50 pm

Hi Coldsnow,

It has to be!! I have the issue right here on my lap. It has Terry Date on the cover and the TC System 6000. 2000 volume 11 issue 9. I also saw the article in the Pro Sound News,www.prosoundnews.com. This is actually a cool issue(EQ#9), it has intterviews with Terry Date,Chuck Ainlay,Dexter Simmons and Joe Barresi. Also our old mastering friend Bob Ohlsson is interviewed. If you want I can send you the mag or I can scan the article and email it to you. You can also contact Dave if you like. I hope this helps.

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2002 2:13 pm

Hiya Thrill,

Question about your "hotrodded" LA-22. (We're talking about the same unit, right? The 2-channel, solid state, single rack space job?) I've got one of those in my rack from back in the day and actually find it quite useful, though it's normally not my "go-to" compressor for critical apps like lead vox or feature instruments etc. I'm curious about how yours is modded, and what uses you've found for it. Any details greatly appreciated!

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2002 4:29 pm

Hi EJolson,

Sure. The LA22 is one of those secret weapons that people don't know much about. I actually learned about it from Mick G. It was actually the original Distressor, before there was a Distressor. It was built as Urei's last hurrah, but it has some design flaws as you know. First of all, because of all the electronics it tends to overheat, and there are no holes on the unit. I had a series of holes drilled on the top cover(something easy, but neccessary). Also it has many options for connections, but in some studios they tend to induce a nasty ground hum. I had all of the the extra posts taken off(which improved the sound dramatically). I had some of the gain staging changed to better improve the signal to noise ratio. The one I own has a happy accident when these mods were being done, for some reason the output jumped by 2-4db. The guy asked if I wanted it changed, I told him let me try it first and I would let him know. In the studio, when I passed audio through it, it was like wow!!! The sound just jumps through the speakers, i called him back and said forget it!! This baby stays the way it is!! Like the Distressor, it sounds better when you have a nice front end before it. I usually have an EQ before it when mixing vocals(Massive Passive or GML 8200). It also works well on kicks. I never track through it though(I don't track music that much anyway anymore). Like I said, in my rack its one of my "colors" when mixing vocals. Hope this helps some.

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2002 11:06 am

Thanks Thrill!

I don't suppose you could put me in touch with the guy who did those mods? Any idea how much he would charge to give my LA22 the 'treatment'?

Smile

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2002 12:38 pm

Hey E,

The guy that did mine(2 years ago I think), I haven't seen him around. He was a russian tech(maybe the russian mob got to him?). There are guys though who could do it for you(Audio upgrades probably). By the way, I didn't mention in the earlier posts about the side chain. Its what makes it real powerful, you can determine which portion of your vocal needs compression. Sometimes I feed one side into the other(Channel 1 into Channel 2), and have one do some light compression, the other does the side stuff. Works really well. Also I think I mostly use avg. not peak as much. I usually have one setting for everybody and I never touch it. It works on almost every vocal I pop through it. If its not happening, I just switch to another combo(EQ/compressor), until I hear something that's right to my ears. Like I said earlier, the LA22 works for some vocals and not for others. But when it works, stand back.

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