Out of those three - Scratch that - Out of every compressor I've ever used, the Manley Vari-Mu is my favorite.

The Pendulum is also pretty hot - Cranesong, Gyraf are also worth looking into.

yes it your favorite but why?Massive what style of music do you like it for

Thanks for the input, John. I am going to also include a Crane Song STC-8 and Pendulum ES-8 or 6386 (if I can find one) in the mix. I'm sure the Gyraf products are also excellent, but, I'm sticking with products made in the USA whenever I can.
Thanks again,
Alan

(addendum to last post)
The reason the 9098 is on the list is that I have one available nearby.

mikE@THECAVE wrote: yes it your favorite but why? Massive what style of music do you like it for

I think a more valid question would be what style I DON'T like it for...

Even then, there's no answer.

Well, there was this folk album I was working on a while back... Used an EL-OP instead... An Art Pro VLA to be exact. Not that the VM would've been a bad choice. The recording was just "asking" for the VLA's flavor, and it was handy, so there you go.

Even thou the AMEK is a Rupert Neve design, I don't care for it at the price I usually see it for. The Avalon is a sweet compressor but I wouldn't ever pick for 2-bus or mix bus work. I own three mono and one stereo Manley Vari-Mu's so you can guess what I like and prefer...

Others I like for 2-bus and mix bus: dbx 160SL, Focusrite Blue 230, Alan Smart C2, old Neve 2254.

I would pick the Manley Vari-Mu.
It doesn't care what type of music you are recording, it sounds great on just about all sources.

Also, it's very handy for mastering as well. I use it to "glue" a mix together.

and

It will retain it's value better then most.

My $.02

Chris