Can I vomit, or delete this thread? Mr. Coldsnow, I humbly submit that you've either spent a tad too much time hanging 'round the old 'Guitar-Mart', or read one too many magazine articles.

None of the compressors you've mentioned will make anything "warmer". Fuzzier perhaps, but not "warmer". If I may be so bold...wait an extra month until you can put $1,250 together and get an Empirical Labs EL-8 "distressor"...or if you want to get really slick, scrape up $1,375 and get one with the "Brit Mod" added.

Seriously, it's a unit you will use for your entire career as opposed to the others which you may outgrow [or in the case of the LA-4...will most likely require maintenance] in a year or two.

The Meek 2.2 and the Art things are disposable garbage that won't make things warmer [with the possible exception of the weasel at the Guitar-Mart's girlfriend...because he'll buy her something nice with the commission money he's taken off of saps that get shit like the ART stuff...and will get a serious 'cum guzzling concubine' style blowjob due to the gift to the GF].

What about Summit Audio's compressors

Ok Fletcher, assumimg one has a maintained LA4 (Alatronics) what is your opinion of this piece and when and on what instrument would you recommend plugging it into on the signal path? I have been using my pair with a Manley Dual Mono Mic Pre and electric guitars.

Steve

Punchmo- I'm not trying to be flippant here...but plug it in where/when it sounds best. I can tell you with all certainty that you'll need a 3/4" socket to remove the risers on for my handlbars...but would never presume to tell you what piece of audio equipment will work best for you in any particular application.

I can only tell you what's worked for me in the past...in which case I've used LA-4's on vocals alot...but that was like 10 years ago before better things [or at least things that I found to be better] started hitting the market.

Originally posted by Bear's Gone Fission:
If you're working in digital, give the Empirical Labs Fatso a look for some tape-ish sound. I'm very interested in it and I already work in analog.
Bear

Yep... I'm very interested in the FATSO too. I can't find any shop around here that sells it, and I don't know people that already use it.... So.... what's it like.
Is this a good choice for tracking? (since a lot of projects I'm hired for nowadays are budget=digital=PT)....
And how is it on the mix-bus?
NE1 in this Forum with experiences with this FATSO?? Fletcher?

ThanX in advance you guys!

GRTX
GIE

Well, if you're comparing to Distressors, then, yeah, the rest of the things you listed aren't going to hold up. The ART ProVLA, while not great, really *is* the best sounding thing they've done, IMO- so much so that I tend to believe it's an accident. The SC2.2 I like a lot for certain things- it's a one trick pony, so maybe not the first or second thing to buy. I guess I'm the third guy to say 'Distressor,' but there you go. Put the extra 250 on credit and smile a lot more than you would have.

Fletcher, how would you describe the difference Trekker vs Distressor ?

/Mats

Originally posted by Fletcher:
Punchmo- I'm not trying to be flippant here...but plug it in where/when it sounds best. I can tell you with all certainty that you'll need a 3/4" socket to remove the risers on for my handlbars...but would never presume to tell you what piece of audio equipment will work best for you in any particular application.

I can only tell you what's worked for me in the past...in which case I've used LA-4's on vocals alot...but that was like 10 years ago before better things [or at least things that I found to be better] started hitting the market.

Thanks for your reply Fletcher. Did you use the LA 4 first, in between, at the end or by itself as a compressor in the vox chain? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Steve

Punchmo: At the time, as the only compressor. Things weren't quite as compressed in the old days as they are now. I was also using Alactronics modified LA-4's...not stock ones.

Gie: The way I've been applying it has been that the "warmth" settings are similar to different tape formulations and bias settings...the compression settings similar to 'levels I'd normally hit tape'. I really love slamming guitars and backing vocals into 456. It has like infinite midrange compression, and gets a little brighter. I really can't find a downside to either of those things on either of those kind of sounds.

There are times when I've been cutting to other formulations that I've locked up another reel just to record backing vocals and guitars on 456 and then bounce them over to the 'master'. Can't do that with a DAW...so for me, the 'Fatso' is the next best thing.

As far as using it in a 'mix application'...sometimes on an instrument or group, but returning it on it's own fader as opposed to having it be the sole processor for that tone.

I'm really not all that wild about it on a full 2 mix bus...it I haven't gotten the sound I wanted by the time I'm up to processing the 2 mix bus...then it's time to pull the whole thing down and start over. I generally look for 2-bus processing stuff to be pretty clear...the 'Fatso' is cool...but not for me in a 2-bus application.

I have a feeling that if you find 10 guys with Fatso's...you'll find 10 or more different ways of using them.

Originally posted by Fletcher:
[QB]Gie: The way I've been applying it has been that the "warmth" settings are similar to different tape formulations and bias settings...the compression settings similar to 'levels I'd normally hit tape'. I really love slamming guitars and backing vocals into 456. It has like infinite midrange compression, and gets a little brighter. I really can't find a downside to either of those things on either of those kind of sounds.

There are times when I've been cutting to other formulations that I've locked up another reel just to record backing vocals and guitars on 456 and then bounce them over to the 'master'. Can't do that with a DAW...so for me, the 'Fatso' is the next best thing.

I'm really not all that wild about it on a full 2 mix bus...it I haven't gotten the sound I wanted by the time I'm up to processing the 2 mix bus...then it's time to pull the whole thing down and start over. I generally look for 2-bus processing stuff to be pretty clear...the 'Fatso' is cool...but not for me in a 2-bus application.
QB]

ThanX Fletcher,

The thing is... (U probably guessed it?!)
I was looking for 1 box that could solve 2 problems... :)
Lately there seem to be a lot of BUDGET productions (U all know what that means...) DIGITAL (90% ProTools)...
And that raised the problem a lot of us seem to have: SOUND :) I kinda hoped I could solve 2 things....

But if I read you well... the Fatso is the thing that's gonna help me :cool: ) ... so i guess I'll have to put a FATSO on my shopping list now.

ThanX again!

GRTX
GIE