View Single Post
Old 05-31-2011, 07:44 PM   #2
camerondye
Human being with feelings
 
camerondye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 1,388
Default

LA2A - vocals and decent on just about everything else, hence it's in almost all major studios. Easy to use and easy to get to sound good. I think it kind of softens the sound a touch.

1176 - It's good on everything. This is the best compressor ever IMO. It makes things just sound better hence some using it with no compression just for the sound. Vocals, bass, guitar, drums can all be done with these. I just got a real one the other day and still messing around with it. It keeps the highend intact and probably adds a touch of highend also which is super cool because most compressors rob the highend a little too much. The thing about the 1176 is it adds just a touch of attitude which is so cool almost always. The thing I would say I don't use 1176 type compressor on is acoustic, I have a Taylor and adding highend isn't necessary.

DBX 160 - When I think of any DBX unit I think bass and drums. This is going to have the effect of accenting the transient on anything and add punch...it's the only reason to use a DBX...add punch. They can clamp down a little too much but just watch it.

Fairchild - I'm not a huge fan of the Fairchild models I've used. It makes things almost too soft. If I use it its on acoustic guitar and then maybe drum buss and vocals but not often does it beat out something else.

Distressor - This is the swiss army knife compressor. Now that I have a 1176, the distressor sounds like it robs high end. If you want a compressor that can soften a touch, add punch, add grind...this is the one to get. I don't think you can use it on everything on a mix because it definitely imparts it's sound on anything you use it on but if you use it correctly...it is amazing. Works really well on my Taylor acoustic guitar...good stuff. This is also an awesome bass compressor but it's great on just about everything though.

SSL G-Comp - This is the ultimate buss compressor, the term Glue is permanently attached to the SSL Buss Comp. I use it on 2:1 and just get a couple db's of reduction and it does it's job making your music sound like a record. I also use this occasionally on drum busses on 4:1 to get a little bit of punch and glue.

LA3A - I honestly consider this the mix of a LA2A and an 1176. It keeps the high end like the 1176 but is an opto. It works on bass for me more often than an LA2A. It's not as soft as an LA2A but is pretty versatile. This is more of an invisible compressor than the other Universal Audio stuff IMO.

cam
camerondye is offline   Reply With Quote