Compellor type of plug in?

[TheMAXX7]

I am working with a church that is thinking of buying an SC48. The wireless handheld mic that the preacher uses goes thru an Aphex Compellor and then into the split to the sound for video room and then into their house console. I was wondering if there is a plug in that comes with the SC48 package of plug ins, that does what the Compellor does? Now don’t ask me exactly what the compellor is doing because I have never had enough time to play with it and really figure that out. I have played with it a little bit but with my voice I don’t really hear a big difference.

[Greg C]

The Aphex Compellor is a "leveling amplifier"/limiter which is a form of compressor. You can probably mimic similar behavior with the standard channel strip compressor. There's also the Smack! plugin which does a good job of limiting when set to a high ratio. And there are a plethora of plugins you can purchase to mimic various leveling amplifiers/compressors/limiters for not a lot of money. However, if you think you might want to stick with the Compellor, by all means purchase the IO16 option card which will allow you to insert up to 8 analog devices which can be patched any way you want on the console. It also has 8 AES digital Insert/IO points. I'd recommend getting it anyway as it adds the ability to connect more inputs & outputs in general.

[Nicolas Lowman]

If the compellor is a concern in the way that you describe it, I am guessing that it may be a political issue. You can definitely accomplish what you are looking for with dynamics processing in the desk. I encourage you to try some different thing to figure out what works for you. As for the compellor, if there are certain people in your organization that would feel better if they continued seeing it in the rack, then leave it in there. I would even encourage you to take an extra analog out, that is patched to the direct out of the channel strip of your wireless hand held. This way that signal is going into and being processed. You will even see the lights blinking. I wouldn't bring that signal back into the desk, just let it be there so that the people that want to see it lighting up will be content. You won't miss it and the people concerned about it will be none the wiser.

[Greg C]

Originally Posted by Nicolas Lowman

I would even encourage you to take an extra analog out, that is patched to the direct out of the channel strip of your wireless hand held. This way that signal is going into and being processed. You will even see the lights blinking. I wouldn't bring that signal back into the desk, just let it be there so that the people that want to see it lighting up will be content. You won't miss it and the people concerned about it will be none the wiser.

I don't know if I agree with being deceptive. The Compellor is a great piece of gear & has a distinct and often sought after sound. If you're going to go through the trouble of patching it half way, you may as well go all the way and just use it. Otherwise why bother?