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SITUATION - im a skint student and i want a compressor to play with, hardware, i appreciate illd probably get something better software for the money but i want some nobs to twiddle to get hands on with.

Budget about 2/300 quid.... Cheap i know but im not looking for world class quality just good practice

SAFE

voxengo elephant or rack unit by dbx or art
that budget you may be able to haggle via email abbey road plugins

the knobs arent different then on the plugins

oh and we had this same thread last week

Voxengo crunchessor is nice (quite characterful for a plugin) try the demo.

Focusrite compounder, pretty decent hardware, get one for GB150.00 second hand.

Kjaerhus GCO-1 software, very flexible.

You could get a lot of mileage out of those 3 and learn a hell of a lot too.

cheers

if u want budget hardware comp's to play with, NEVER buy samson or behringer cos theyre dirt. the cheapest decent comp ive used is the alesis 3630. it works and sounds ok plus its got a simple but effective gate on it and a stereo link. check it bruv.

but there's always joemeek stuff. he's a legend plus the unit are cheap and green too.

safe

Behringer are audio aids.

google " very nice compressor"

seen lots of good reviews

1 other thing, im fully ITB and feel stupid about how little i know about outboard mixing and stuff hence why im doing this. Ive got hold of one of them yamaha mixers 8 channels, whats the basic signal flow thats easiest for me to send individual tracks say a Kickdrum on an audio channel in ableton. Ive got a emu 0404 and a edirol fa-66 to choose between so any tips on connections cables and flow would be appreciated....you wouldnt believe ive been producing 7 years with my lack of outboard knowledge

Dynamat wrote:1 other thing, im fully ITB and feel stupid about how little i know about outboard mixing and stuff hence why im doing this. Ive got hold of one of them yamaha mixers 8 channels, whats the basic signal flow thats easiest for me to send individual tracks say a Kickdrum on an audio channel in ableton. Ive got a emu 0404 and a edirol fa-66 to choose between so any tips on connections cables and flow would be appreciated....you wouldnt believe ive been producing 7 years with my lack of outboard knowledge

you'll need an 8 in/out sound card to fully utilize that mixer if you have no hardware

Yeah, for now i just wanna get 1 rack at a time on the go in the next couple of months. surely i can do that with the fa66

Dynamat wrote:Yeah, for now i just wanna get 1 rack at a time on the go in the next couple of months. surely i can do that with the fa66

outboard gets expensive real quick with cables and all the one cost everyone forgets

You're right that for that budget you probably would be stuck with software... but there is one hardware solution, and it is the only one in that price range hardcore gearheads all agree on...

http://www.fmraudio.com/RNC1773.HTM

FMR's RNC (Really Nice Compressor). It is about as transparent as you are gonna get without spending over a grand.

(it is an American company, but they are sold locally in the UK as well)

Ive got a box load of cables hopefully ill be fine my old mans a dj of 30 years and ive got through a elektribe and a virus so ive got a good load of cables, in dieing need of some outboard mixing experiance though, had a momment of clarity

yea fuck fmr thats all i'll say bout them
word bout box of cables have one myself but whenever reworking or moving shit never the one i need in the heap
yamaha mixers are pretty solid for some analog gain/clipping as well so def use it

Been fishing around ebay, think i might save up a bit extra and try find a cheap old drawmer, looks like i might find a bargain there

Dynamat wrote:Been fishing around ebay, think i might save up a bit extra and try find a cheap old drawmer, looks like i might find a bargain there

thats more like it

the fmr rnc is fun, responsible, sounds good, returns the keys ontime and is about the least bend-me-over-a-chair-you-dirty-boy compressor you'll ever come across.

if that's what you're looking for-- mostly very clean compression, even at high ratios and fast releases, then perfect.

i'm a big fan of the dbx163x. besides being about $40 used, it's the opposite of the FMR-- weird, obvious, and not always musical.

otherwise, i honestly can't think of anything in that price range that's worth owning. maybe grab an alesis 3630 to learn exactly what you DON'T want out of compression (or use it to mangle drum loops and add life back via eq).

TeReKeTe wrote:the fmr rnc is fun, responsible, sounds good, returns the keys ontime and is about the least bend-me-over-a-chair-you-dirty-boy compressor you'll ever come across..

Fucking LOL.


True though, too.


I agree with you Dave that a coloring compressor is not necessarily a bad thing (ie- our agreement on Rough Rider)... I just figured the OP looking for a clean (if not vanilla) compressor to learn & practice with.