Forums - Mixing & FX
Subject: while on the subject of compressors
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Original Message 1/55 09-Aug-02 @ 10:32 PM - while on the subject of compressors
Message 2/55 09-Aug-02 @ 10:38 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 4/55 09-Aug-02 @ 10:39 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
A. most people here haven't touched an SSL.
B. fletcher goes off on people real good.
I'll stand back and watch.
Message 5/55 09-Aug-02 @ 10:49 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 6/55 11-Aug-02 @ 07:11 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 7/55 11-Aug-02 @ 07:18 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 8/55 11-Aug-02 @ 07:50 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
try it brett!
Message 11/55 14-Aug-02 @ 07:03 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
jamey
Message 12/55 14-Aug-02 @ 08:47 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
you guys got my back?
Message 13/55 14-Aug-02 @ 09:00 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 14/55 14-Aug-02 @ 09:38 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 15/55 14-Aug-02 @ 10:10 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 16/55 14-Aug-02 @ 11:22 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 17/55 15-Aug-02 @ 12:00 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 18/55 15-Aug-02 @ 12:02 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 19/55 15-Aug-02 @ 12:23 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 20/55 15-Aug-02 @ 12:46 AM Edit: 15-Aug-02 | 12:50 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 21/55 15-Aug-02 @ 01:32 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 22/55 15-Aug-02 @ 05:38 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
WEGRO!!!
i nearly wet myself in the office and had to go home....
so you gonna DIY?
couldn't you just run some samples thru an ssl desk you could go to a studio etc or you want it for all your mixes i guess.....
jamey
Message 23/55 15-Aug-02 @ 06:50 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
The compressors on the channels of an SSL (4000 and 9000 series) have rudimentary compressors (I use that term loosely... OBVIOUSLY they're of very high quality, I love em on vocals because they're so transparent. But there's limited speed controls i.e. no attack parameter. Not that great for drums). I've heard people compare them to a DBX 160, but the response is a bit different.
It's the stereo mix buss compressor that most people refer to when they talk about "that SSL sound." Dorks back at Berklee called the insert button for that compressor the "make it a record button." It is a really smooth compressor with wonderful attack and release characteristics that just add a great tubbiness to the track. It's not magic, but it sure sounds like it to most people.
Anyway, it's kinda tricky to even patch an individual track into the mix buss comp... you basically have to patch into the master fader (pre-VCA insert on the patchbay). Or you could run your samples through the mix buss. Some engineers would avoid the extra circuitry, but I personally don't think all that extra circuitry sounds all that bad in an SSL. Some engineers are freaks.
Hope this answers some questions. If you have more, ask, because I do use an SSL at work. But let me know if I become snobbish, because those people are the worst to work with...
psylichon
Message 24/55 15-Aug-02 @ 08:45 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
physlicon would it be possible or too much to ask for some a/b type things? like 909 loops dry and then thru the ssl buss compresser etc?
or is there stuff like that already out there?
i just want to *hear* what we are talking about before i start bugging my dad to help me burn circuit boards etc :-)
i am sure i have 'heard' it before but want to get some examples.
i have some software plugs that emulate vintage compressors and love them head over heels better than the 'plain' compressors so i think the ssl thing might be good to look into as a DIY project.
oh btw brett, i found a source for the vca chips you will need for it if you end up doing it.
jamey
Message 25/55 15-Aug-02 @ 09:00 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
There's also the point that I don't have webspace, and lofi samples aren't gonna show much. Any ideas?
psylichon
Message 26/55 15-Aug-02 @ 09:10 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
but yah entire mixes is good as well...
i have some web space we can use as long as its under 10 megs or so...
if we do 256kbps mp3s its just as good as wave files so that will save some room.
i have some unmastered stuff of some old bedrock tunes (at least it seems unmastered) that we could use on cd.
any other ideas? the 909 drumloops will give me an idea at a minimum.
jamey
Message 27/55 16-Aug-02 @ 02:25 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
so the original uses a dbx202 VCA, they hard to find so he changed the design to use a DBX 2150, a 2155, or even a THAT 2150 for the two VCA's. These are the same as the channel compressors on the SSL. So the sound is going to be differant even if not noticable. So you are getting a unit with less ratio settings, and you are relying on the fact that this design will hold up and your parts used are going to hold up. i certainly don't want to spend 100hours putting one of these together and have a few parts not work and spend another 100hours trying to figure out where I went wrong. I think the samrt research c2 is , sorry for the pun, a "smart" idea is this is the specific sound i want. I mean it made this progressive track my freind did with soft synths just gel together, yes , like a record should sound. The bass and kick were solid and had that low end crunch with rest of the track all smoothed out. i am not looking for open and tranparent. I want that squashed sound.
so psylicon, what do think about the new blue faced dbx160L. It's a FET design as well. It has 3db less head room than the alan smart c2,not really that far off, but does it sound anything like it? I have seen them used on ebay for $1600. I was even curious about the older dbx 162(the stereo version of the 160vu). they go for about $900. Any just asking cause so many producers love the 160 series comps, new and old.
Message 28/55 16-Aug-02 @ 05:33 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
psylichon
Message 29/55 16-Aug-02 @ 07:59 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 30/55 16-Aug-02 @ 03:10 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
"I've built the compressor with both the 202 and the 2150, and the "sound" dosent seem to be that different, only the 202 may tend to be a little more transparant - but that's not always a good thing in compressors. Btw, DBX chip production is long gone now, but "Thats" are more than decent substitutes. The "That 2155" is a lower-distortion replacement for the 2150, so it should work fine also. If you experience problems getting hold on these chips, try contacting a company that repairs music equipment or tape recorders - they're allmost sure to have them in stock, because they are known to fail in older equipment. "
the 'that' chips are just clones of the dbx...
heck i dunno what the ssl even sounds like now but it still seems like a fun project to build that doesn't involve tubes
"The DBX 202XT VCA can be very hard to get, so I designed a substitution circuit based on the DBX2150 VCA - the one that SSL also uses for their channel compressors. This substitute circuit is based on reverse-engeineering a 202XT VCA - it turned out to consist of ten paralleled 2150's with a common low-impedance buffer for the control inputs. So this is the substitute, but done with only one 2150. "
so its the same chip they use on the ssl channel comps
anyone still game for the loops a/b thingy?
if anything psych can do the real ssl, brett can do his $1500 jobbie and i can do the DIY thing... would be fun etc.
100 hours you think? its not *that* big of a circuit....
jamey
Message 31/55 16-Aug-02 @ 03:24 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
"This is the original IC VCA designed under THAT President Les Tyler's supervision while he was the chief engineer at dbx, Inc. "
you would hope the chief engineer at DBX would know if he had cloned it correctly :-)
as for the circuit workaround this DIY guy made, maybe you could email him and ask for clarification or something?
jamey
Message 32/55 16-Aug-02 @ 04:22 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
taken from the C2 page... they won't be using the original dbx202 either. probably the That chips as well
can you try one of these smarts out before you buy it?
is there a studio near you with an ssl desk? it would be cheaper to run an hours worth of mixes thru it to cd than to buy a $1500 compressor if thats your main purpose for it.
jamey
Message 33/55 16-Aug-02 @ 11:55 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
You think you can get that whole project done in less then a 100hours. First locating materials, parts, setup time for making the pcb. The actual process of making the pcb. Assembling everything, mounting in the case and cutting all the holes in the case. I can't see it being any less than that. It's probably cheaper to build than the tube stuff, but a lot more involved. The la2a kit is so simple. No pcb's to worry about.
I wonder if there is a way to change the design to incorporate more ratio and attack settings? We should e-mail keven. I would be willing to do it if it did. What do you think this project would cost?
Message 34/55 17-Aug-02 @ 03:55 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
my dad is an expert at DIY and has been doing ham radios for the better part of his life and knows the stuff inside out. i am hoping to get a bit of this knowledge transferred to me :-) if it takes 100 hours thats fine, it didn't look like that big of a project to me. he already has the jewelers drills and variable temp soldering iron etc. he can also teach me how to read schematics ha ha...
the reason i want to build it is i want a master compressor to go on the outputs of my yamaha rs7000 when playing live and also perhaps when mastering tracks it would be nice to fatten them up as well. i wouldn't see myself using it on individual tracks as those are almost always done inside the computer. no reason i couldn't put it on the outs of my nord tho! i think having limited settings for compression ratios etc is what gives it its sound. like all the old eqs and stuff would never have fully adjustable eq points, they would always be set at musically usefule points etc.
link for the LA2A please? :-)
jamey
Message 35/55 17-Aug-02 @ 07:52 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Listen, if you are going to do the ssl comp. will you do a extra set of pcb's drilled for me if I pay you, And give me a copy of the parts list after your dad goes through the drawings? I have repaired my analog synths and soldered chips on and off of boards doing rework when I worked at Compaq, but never made a pcb before adn don't have the jewelers drill for making all the holes in it.
I'll find the LA2A material.
Message 37/55 17-Aug-02 @ 10:12 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
i suppose once you get it set up its not to hard to burn off a few more :-)
keep in mind this could be a year long project of me and the dad putting back cold ones as we hang out :-)
jamey
Message 38/55 17-Aug-02 @ 10:13 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 39/55 18-Aug-02 @ 01:12 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
this company does the pcb manufacturing. for 3 prototype one off's at 4" x 7" it's $94. And they can probably do both boards on one piece for a little more, and then we just have to cut them apart. This is with a 3 day turnaround. That is pretty cool . We would probably spend that going to kinkos and getting the transparencies made correctly and the lightbulbs etc. Plus they will be done right most likley. So if we throw in we can have them made pretty cheap.
Message 40/55 18-Aug-02 @ 01:23 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 41/55 18-Aug-02 @ 04:26 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 42/55 18-Aug-02 @ 07:10 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 43/55 18-Aug-02 @ 04:29 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
And, yes, for the mix the RNC is unbelievable for the price. very transparent, though.
psylichon
Message 44/55 18-Aug-02 @ 04:43 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 45/55 18-Aug-02 @ 08:21 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
as for the RNC, i remember back when i had one i was unable to make the thing sound like a compressor pumping... i mean obviously it could pump but it was very 'transparent' as everyone else is saying. i had never heard of people using the RNC on the whole mix, just the tracks but i don't hang in the 'record a rock band' circles and thats most of the people who have them and use them.
don't underestimate the RNC tho.. its literally worth probably $800 even tho its cheap....
hey on the topic of soft comps, brett you say you didn't like the sound of the rencomp from waves on your tracks? i was using it on my drums and man it sounds great, especially while pumping.
if you don't need a hardware unit brett, make sure to try out the polish plug in dudes compressor.. $150ish i think and its supposed to be one of the nicest comps on the soft market.
you could also look into the uad / mackie card thingy it has some nice vintage emulators. the only reason i am going for hard instead of soft is for the live yamaha rs7000 thing that i still may never take out live :-)
jamey
jamey
Message 46/55 20-Aug-02 @ 04:35 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 47/55 20-Aug-02 @ 05:53 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
i spent this weekend playing with the RenC on some straight 909 loops i made. i think i like the opto warm mode best.
you know you can overdrive it and it will limit for you? try it out...
this week i will play with the renEq after reading that the gerzon shelves are modelled after pultec eqs and i think i understand them a bit better. you can drive it into limiting as well.
its amazing how long you can use something before you find out all the features...
i also think i am going to stop using the C4 for a while. i don't think it does justice to my stuff. i really like the renC over the whole track better than the C4 right now. i end up changing stuff too much on the c4 when i shouldn't be
jamey
Message 48/55 20-Aug-02 @ 10:45 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 49/55 25-Aug-02 @ 02:59 AM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 51/55 25-Aug-02 @ 07:43 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
and I meant to say the C1 is better on hats and snares compared to the RCL.
Message 52/55 25-Aug-02 @ 08:47 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
working on it still...
time keeps on slipping into the future :-)
jamey
Message 53/55 26-Aug-02 @ 07:59 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
Message 55/55 27-Aug-02 @ 10:34 PM - RE: while on the subject of compressors
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