Character Compressor

Hey all, just curious what everyone would suggest for a low-mid budget stereo character compressor. Say $300-500? Something with some warmth maybe even a little crunch. Would love to hear your guys input. Will probably use it for keys/synths to add some bite/dirt. Ultimately it comes down to taste just curious what's out there for the price.

Thanks in advance!

Oh and I'm talking strictly hardware no plugins please!

At that price you might get a pair of LA-4s? FMR RNLAs or PBC-6As? (never used the PBC-6A but their other stuff is good for the money) There was a stereo rack mount version of the MXR Dynacomp in my old place, which gave new meaning to the term 'character'. Also pretty cheap.

 

What you really want are those Thermionic Culture boxes, but they're way beyond your stated price range.

 

Best, Marcel

Waves Renaissance Compressor. Whoops, that's a plug-in

 

Seriously, at that price I'm pretty sure you'll be better off with a plug-in or some other kind of analog device that can smash up your signal.

 

$500 is a very low budget for a compressor, let alone $300. Most quality rack units start at $1,500 and something like the Culture Vulture, which could be what you're looking for, is a lot more.

Waves Renaissance Compressor. Whoops, that's a plug-in

 

Seriously, at that price I'm pretty sure you'll be better off with a plug-in or some other kind of analog device that can smash up your signal.

 

$500 is a very low budget for a compressor, let alone $300. Most quality rack units start at $1,500 and something like the Culture Vulture, which could be what you're looking for, is a lot more.

Off topic but I love your Hit Kit V3.

Thanks!

Thanks for the tips guys! I'm glad people still care about hardware. It seems the best studio's I have been to house a bit of both the classic Neve's and Chandler's and also have every WAVES plug known under the sun.The RNLA really sounds good for the price point. I was actually surprised.You may have sold me Marcel. Fact of the matter is though, it's me myself and I. 8) If my budget allowed I would have a Fatso or the Germanium here in a heartbeat buutttttttt not everyone's perfect

Lager funny you mention that, I have tried the longest to get the sound out of that thing that I want on my synths and keys and I have yet to do so. There is something just lacking for me. I mean I'm primarily in the box, but as of late I am finding the need for hardware. Maybe just reminiscing about my college days and analogue gear.

Say I was to up my budget say maybe another $500 or so?? Around the $800-$1000 price range maybe?? I mean I guess it makes sense. It wouldn't be bad to not only have something for one use but multiple uses.It would cut into some of my other gear I had budgeted for. But it is a long term investment of sorts. Now that you said it though, Lager I'm wondering if I did up my budget to that if I just go for plugs.

The distressor comes to mind.... but it's still a bit above your budget unless you can find a used one.

 

I generally agree with Lagerfeldt though: with all the hype around analog products a lot of people want to spend their hard earned money on them, without realizing that they need much more money to get an analog piece of gear the will get them ONE sound. Whereas even the plug-ins included with Logic (which is only $199 now) are incredible at emulating many of those sounds. So yes, with analog gear you can still get "THAT" sound but your checkbook balances are not going to look pretty. And typically one piece of analog gear gives you ONE sound. Don't expect it to be as versatile as something like the Logic compressor - which is a pretty amazing piece of gear when you think about it!!

amen David, that it is! I hear that, I guess when the need comes(or the money for that matter) I can get the hardware. Maybe I just need to buy the new Logic Pro 9 book(I still have the 8 version) and be done with it 8)

Hey Nick, IK Multimedia have now opened the T-Racks custom shop, so you can download T-Racks with a couple of plugs for free, then try any gear model free before you buy it. Not the hardware you wanted, but for software some of the vintage comp emulations certainly have a lot of character.

Thanks for the heads up Judas! I own majority of their "character" stuff as I bought the Deluxe pack way back in 2010 or so. Great plugins no doubt. Affordable and some of them really sound great.Personal fav's are the 670 and that multi-band is just wonderful. I am interested in the new British Channel though. Ugly as sin but some of the best plug in's are no? I was unaware you could demo them all for free though! Thanks for the info!

what is this though I see Waves has a Deal on the SSL+V Series for a cool 500!!!. Seems like a steal they would probably be over a grand or more without the deal.

If you're searching for outboard compression, definitely check out the FMR stuff. I've turned a few gear snobs onto the merits of the cheap Really Nice Compressor and they still thank me for it.

 

Unless you can spend big bucks, that's probably the only hardware compressor I'd consider. Though I do own a couple of cheaper DBX and they have their use - like priming the signal a bit when tracking guitars w/ an amp sim - they won't add anything nice or desirable to a mix - quite the opposite actually.

 

As for the rest, Logic compressor still is the biggest bang for the buck, imho.

 

IK's British Channel sounds nice - I like it on drums. But I actually prefer McDSP's Channel G, which is a lot more versatile - and doesn't look as ugly.

I think the gate is the best feature of the British channel. The EQ is really nice and smooth, but I find the plug very clean all in all, not very characterful.

 

I don't mind its fugliness, it's very clear and quick to see what's doing what, which is more important to me.

I've never minded ugly GUI's personally but people are so sensitive about how a plugin looks. It is pretty loud though(and not in terms of sounds)8) If all the knobs and switches are there and are clearly labeled who gives a you know what right? I'm dealing with some credit card fraud as of yesterday, so I missed the cutoff I believe for the discounted $100 upgrade price for the rest of the plugins from IK that I currently didn't own. Kind of a bummer. Maybe someone is telling me stick to logic plugs??

the elysia mpressor is very nice. The software emulation is meant to sound very much like the hardware unit, but I have only tried the software (which I love)

hmmm what's the price point on that though because I know the hardware elysia makes is upwards in the 3,500 to more range.I might just get the RNLA or RMC and be done with it. Just a little extra kit for some push. Honestly at David's suggestion I've been messing around with Logic's Compressor all day. You can honestly get a lot of dirt out of the FET setting if you push it really hard and side chain it. I'm actually quite amazed. Not quite as much as the IK 2A but I am honestly very impressed. I strapped it on a bass synth line and couldn't believe how pushed it sounded without distorting. Quite Impressed

The software mpressor is about $200 I think. I got it on sale so I would need to check. It has a really cool antilog feature, negative ratio and a tilt filter to emphasise the lows or highs more

 

The emulation is done by the brainworx chaps at plugin-alliance.com. They also do the spl software and some of their own stuff. I'm a purely software guy so I can't help much in the hardware realm, but in software the kush audio ubk got a great review in sound on sound and may also be worth a look

Thanks a lot alex. I actually checked the site and was very surprised the plugins were so affordable. Their hardware comp is upwards of like $4000!!! I don't own too many super high end plugs. I'm a little different I guess. I can't justify paying $500-600 for a plug that I can't even physically "touch" and doesn't come with a box and manual To each his own of course. I demoed the SSL waves though and man those sound good. I know people are 50/50 with waves but those do sound amazing. Great thread guys, thanks for all the useful information!!