OT: good compressor for bass and vocals

[Matt Whritenour]

so i want to get a good compressor for bass and vocals
they don't have to be the same compressor it can be 2 differnt ones

i'm thinking about getting an RNC for vocals going to PT
i only use like 1.3-3:1 ratio while tracking, just something enought
to help stop peaks. and i was wondering if anyone had suggestions for
something else or if that is good.

also the compressor i want for bass i want to record with it and also
use it with my live rig, and was thinking maybe the RNC would be good
for that also, any input would be great

thanks

matt

[bigbubbaj]

RNC is great for vox.

You have to be mindful on Bass guitar...




Why does the RNC distort my bass guitar?
At the risk of sounding too esoteric and philosophical, there are many universal laws that are, many times, inconvenient (like, say, gravity). Well, there's a mutual (and universal) exclusivity between low frequency fidelity and fast compressor release times. Stated another way: the faster a compressor's release time, the more distorted the lower frequencies will be. "Okay, okay!", you say, "I know that! But why don't I have similar problems with my other compressors?" Simply put, the RNC's normal mode release times are shorter than many compressors (some of the fastest that we've seen). This means that the RNC will induce low frequency distortion more frequently than your other compressors. "Why didn't you make the RNC so it wouldn't distort my bass notes?" Because then we'd limit (no pun intended) your creative choices for other sound sources where a really fast release time would sound really gonzo...like on kick or snare drums. Try compressing a snare drum track with the RNC set for really fast attack and release times. You'll here drum resonances that you've never heard before that can be creatively used to add spice to your mixes!

"How do I avoid or reduce the low frequency distortion?" This one's easy: increase the release time until the distortion goes away. (Doing my best Groucho Marx impression: "Does it distort when you do that? Well don't do that!")

[bb_aus]

an RNC is good for everything if used right
i use an RNC as an insert on a bass amp

[albee1952]

Ditto on the RNC but the UA1176 is tough to beat on voclas or bass. A nice compromise is the Summit TLA-50 half-rack tube. Its based on the DCL-100 but uses a cheaper meter and a smaller power supply with a toroidal tramsformer. VERY NICE!!

[Third Eye Studios]

I like the ART Pro VLA for compressing vocals and bass. I think it is really a good compressor, much better than some of ART's other gear. Right now sweetwater has demo units for $199. ART Pro VLA (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LevelarProd/). As far as a compressor for your live rig, personally I stay away from compressing bass rigs live. I leave that to the sound guy (me) to compress it in the house or monitors. I work with tons of bass players, and none of them ever use a compressor live. Rarely have I heard any benefit from adding a comressor to the bass rig itself. No offense, but almost every bass player that I have seen use a compressor live, hasn't known how to properly use it anyway, but most of them aren't engineers either.

[Matt Whritenour]

thanks for the replies,

the 1176 is a little to pricey for me at the moment when i'm ready to spend that much
on a compressor i'm just gonna go out and get a tube tech stereo compressor,
and i'll check out that ART compressor, but i'll probably just end up getting 2 or 3
RNC's for studio and bass amp

-matt