We really need more information to make recommendations. What are you using them for (vocals, drums, fife, etc.) and how much do you want to spend?

Wes

well i'll spend up to the 1000$ mark..

i am using them for guitars.. vocals.. and or drums.. (if i need a few.. then let me know which ones are best for each purpose.)

get a Distressor.

thanks.. that helped.. (sarcastic)

webtroy wrote: thanks.. that helped.. (sarcastic)

:shock:
well you asked the question

and you just got a good quality answer

A compressor that works on everything and mimics many of the favourite compressors is the
Distressor

that's what made it so popular amongst producers and engineers
it was something they could carry to the studio in their personal Producers Pack and apply as required

A Jack of all trades

ok.. well.. is there anything else that you guys might recommend? ..

and how much about is a distressor in USD or Canadian $$$$

thanks

Do some research for yourself! You've given very little information and responded with sarcasm. This isn't a hand-holding session.

Tell you what, let me know where you live and I'll fly out to your hometown, take a cab to your house, inspect all your gear and prepare a report with charts and graphs recommending the exact compressor to cater to your every whim.

i've done my research... all i know is specs.. but i would like to know what does the job best for given circumstances..

what is a good compressor for distorted guitars...

what is a good compressor for synths or bass etc...

what kind of eq's have an amazing transparent sound..

i goto all the sites.. and they all say they have the best hardware.. you can't believe the press packs etc that you read.. that is why i came to a forum where i read and see people giving positive and useful advice..

i ask a simple question and a get a one line answer and attitude left right and center (no pun intended) :)

>what is a good compressor for distorted guitars...<

most people don't compress distorted guitars but if you insist,

ART Pro VLA or a Distressor .... ok just kidding. UREI La4s are my go to comps for guitars.

>what is a good compressor for synths or bass etc...<

ART Pro VLA or a Distressor or an RNC. OK kidding again ... I like the Manley EL OP for this job. The Sebatron THORAX worked wonders on a bass track for me the other day.

>what kind of eq's have an amazing transparent sound.. <

Speck ASC, Amek / Neve System 9098 / Millennia ORIGIN.

thanks.. this is a start.

well since Kurt chimed in with stuff over your budget... get a GML Model 8200!

really though, a vague question ussually results in a vague answer, :) and there aren't really many choices for under a grand. The distressor is a little bit over your limit, but IMO the best you could do (why the sarcasm?) The RNCs are much less expensive but are decent for the money, you could afford a couple of them.

If you need more channels of comps/EQs, then you are very limited in your choices, all of which most people here would not recommend. I'm talking about stuff from Behringer, Samson, probably a few other manufacturers I don't know the names of (ART ?) They will give you results nonetheless, but not so sure which is best out of this group!

What is in your rack btw?

There are lots of 'meat and potato' choices out there. VCA, Opto, 'Swiss Army knife' types (like the Trakker and Distressor), FET, and Delta/Vari Mu types.

Distressors are pretty flexible, but I think sometimes the tone can be a little heavy handed for everything. The stuff that sits in my rack permanently are Purple Audio MC77's (which are a better version of the UA 1176 IME), Distressors, Crane Song Trakkers, Buzz Audio SOC1.1 Opto, and Chandler TG-1. These are all very different, and all achieve different functions. Since we are a commercial facility that has to record a lot of different kinds of music; from metal to rock to jazz to vocal only, we need all of these for the variety.

The Optos (like the Buzz Audio) are going to be more natural, they work best for bass, vocals, overheads, acoustic guitar, and two bus. This is where you don't want to hear a heavy sonic imprint on the signal and you want to level the dynamics without obvious smash.

The Distressors, Purple, and Chandler are in the more aggressive camp, able to squash the signal more easily, but even these all do it differently. Kicks, snares, sometimes bass, sometimes vocals, not usually two bus. The Purple is the most 'natural' of the three in TONE specifically, the Distressor the most flexible, not in tone, but in it's choice of envelope curves. The Chandler is more of a specialty piece.

Trakkers are like a hi-fi version of Distressors. The Trakker is never able to get as aggressive or distorted as the Distressor, but it can emulate the envelope curves quite well of all of the above. But it always stays mostly clean. But for basic tracking it's great, I often like to put more coloration on during mixing (from compression), but everyone works differently. Hope this helps a bit.

For EQ's, the best deal going right now on a truly pro EQ is the Buzz Audio MPE 1.1. For the transformerless version it's just over a grand and holds it's own with anything. Other than that some very professional pieces made these days are the Empirical Labs Lil Freq, the Great River EQ-2NV (or EQ-1NV) all of which are made by great technicians who make some of best gear in the industry IMHO.

jamiey wrote: well since Kurt chimed in with stuff over your budget... get a GML Model 8200!

I didn't see any budget restrictions mentioned .... :roll:

Kurt Foster wrote:
I didn't see any budget restrictions mentioned .... :roll:

webtroy wrote: well i'll spend up to the 1000$ mark..

well OK! i see that now ... anyhooo the LA4s go for under a grand on Ebay all the time and the Speck ASC can be had for less than a thou as well ...