I just bought a MXL Blizzard 4000 mic, pre-amp and compressor talk too......

[Yamaha Man]

Here's some basic chords recorded with the ART with the Telefunken tubes....


D-35 > Left channel MXL Blizzard 4000 > Right channel Neumann TLM 102 > ART > Focusrite 18i8> Sonar Platinum > MP3

http://www.soundclick.com/html5/v3/p...&q=hi&newref=1

[Yamaha Man]

Well I like the ART pre-amp so much, I decided to buy their ....

ART Pro VLA II 2-Channel Leveling Amp & Tube Compressor

to go along with it.

I found a new one in a damaged box for $236. A stereo tube compressor for under $300 ????? That's an incredible buy...Just look what the big guys are paying for the top of the line tube compressors.....here again many people are saying to upgrade the tubes to a better quality tube.

I used to know a guy who swore by tube compressors on vocals, would also work well on acoustic guitars.

[Yamaha Man]

I ended up buying Mullard tubes to replace the stock tubes...

[Yamaha Man]

Update, the tubes and new patch cords will be here Tuesday, the compressor should ship Monday or Tuesday at the latest. The guy holds his products for two business days after the payment clears before shipping, which sucks. If I'm lucky I'll get it Thursday or Friday, maybe not till next Monday.


Anyhow I've been looking at high end stereo compressors and I'm seeing prices from $1,700-$2,800-$10,499....All way out of my budget...


$1,700- http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1724751...&ul_noapp=true

$2,800- https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...JldRoCg1fw_wcB

$10,499- https://www.gbase.com/gear/elysia-audio-alpha

[Doug Young]

For home recording, I've never found hardware compressors to be very useful (and I have tried :-). Because they compress on the way in, you have to have all your settings correct, even while you're being both performer and audio engineer. I'm sure there's a place for them in a "real" studio, but for those of us recording in more modest environments, it seems better to me to record with modest levels to be sure you don't overdrive anything, and leave all operations, including compression, EQ, etc, for the mixing stage, where you can hear what you're doing, and most importantly, everything is reversible. It also has the advantage that there are fantastic compression plugins that don't cost anything close to their hardware counterparts.

[Yamaha Man]

I get what you're saying, but what I was taught was in order to get a good mix, you strive to get the very best sounding recording you can to start out with. So my thinking is if I can eliminate some of the peaks and valleys up front, I'll have a smooth recording to work with when I get to the mixing stage. Even A.R.T. recommends this chain...mic > pre-amp > compressor > DAW.

In my case, my studio is just for me so I can set it and forget it as the settings should remain constant for me between songs. If I was working with multiple players or singers then yes adding compression later would make sense. Or if I was going to change my mic positions between recordings then yes, compress later....but what I'm trying to set up is a basic layout of mics and settings on the pre-amp and compressor, and just leave it. Just come in, turn it on, and let it roll.

I have plenty of software compressor plugins available that I can add later if need be.

Now when it comes to EQ that's a different story, I'd be inclined to do that later in the mix, if at all.

Thanks much for your input !!!!

[Yamaha Man]

I pretty much have to do it this way because I am my own sound engineer, and I have to travel back and forth between rooms to make level adjustments, recordings etc....so if I can get all the settings set right once and for all, this saves me numerous steps back and forth, and tons of aggravation. I don't have another artist here to help me do sound checks. I have to have two rooms, one for my computer and a quiet room.

[Yamaha Man]

For a simple demonstration on how compressors work, I found a video on You Tube that explains the basics in about 15 minutes....there's three videos which covers the whole unit in detail....let the video's roll to see the second and third video's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehq9esUQm54

In this video he's using the ART VLA which is an older model than mine, I'm getting the VLA II which has attack and release knobs on it.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

For home recording, I've never found hardware compressors to be very useful (and I have tried :-). Because they compress on the way in, you have to have all your settings correct, even while you're being both performer and audio engineer. I'm sure there's a place for them in a "real" studio, but for those of us recording in more modest environments, it seems better to me to record with modest levels to be sure you don't overdrive anything, and leave all operations, including compression, EQ, etc, for the mixing stage, where you can hear what you're doing, and most importantly, everything is reversible. It also has the advantage that there are fantastic compression plugins that don't cost anything close to their hardware counterparts.

I don't wanna get too far off the track here but I'd submit if you have a hardware compressor that has sufficient enough sonic character and or any other sonic trait that software can't provide you can always "insert" it. I think most all DAW's these days have a fairly latency controlled insert path. I have a Charter Oak compressor (hardware) that behaves and sounds like no other compressor I've ever encountered. Probably my single most vital audio tool I have. Admittedly you have limited channels as opposed to virtually endless software instantiations but for acoustic guitar I've never heard a better compressor!

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I don't wanna get too far off the track here but I'd submit if you have a hardware compressor that has sufficient enough sonic character and or any other sonic trait that software can't provide you can always "insert" it. I think most all DAW's these days have a fairly latency controlled insert path. I have a Charter Oak compressor (hardware) that behaves and sounds like no other compressor I've ever encountered. Probably my single most vital audio tool I have. Admittedly you have limited channels as opposed to virtually endless software instantiations but for acoustic guitar I've never heard a better compressor!

I would tend to agree . Question are you tracking or just mixing and or using it on the. 2 Bus ? So far with my hardware comp an IGS Tubecore 3 U Mastering Edition 2 channel ....I have not actually tracked with it yet. But I agree on my 2 bus as an insert it is pretty nice. As soon as I get my tracks rough balanced, I start mixing with it engaged

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I don't wanna get too far off the track here but I'd submit if you have a hardware compressor that has sufficient enough sonic character and or any other sonic trait that software can't provide you can always "insert" it. I think most all DAW's these days have a fairly latency controlled insert path. I have a Charter Oak compressor (hardware) that behaves and sounds like no other compressor I've ever encountered. Probably my single most vital audio tool I have. Admittedly you have limited channels as opposed to virtually endless software instantiations but for acoustic guitar I've never heard a better compressor!

Totally agree, my comment was really about workflow, not hardware vs software. I should have been more clear. I just assumed Martin was intending to compress on the way in (which it sounds like he is). If your setup has support for hardware inserts, adding some real iron to the tool set is great. I do my Bricasti that way, of course, and have thought about adding some other hardware boxes.

My intended advice here was not to lock yourself in by recording compressed to start with - save it for mix-down, especially when you're a 1-man performer/engineer, and can't sit back in the control room listening to the incoming sound. I don't want to finally get that one perfect take, only to discover I messed up the settings and over-compressed. I used to have a STC-8, and actually managed to do that to myself a few times. But using something like the Carter Oak on mix-down sounds great, that's one that's been tempting :-)

[Yamaha Man]

At this time I am only planning to compress on the way in. I have plenty of software compressors to work with in the box, so I doubt I'll use the ART as an insert. However I do have that option.

My plan is to get the compression set with my microphones in the computer room, then move them to the quiet room for tracking. The only difference will be lack of computer fan noise.

I'm loving the idea of having a hardware tube compressor at my disposal, albeit a inexpensive one...it'll be good practice.

There's got to be a reason that there are so many high end hardware tube compressors on the market, hopefully I'll get good results. People don't buy them just to use as paperweights.

[Yamaha Man]

I'm planning to test my settings with my monitors before recording so my chain will look like this....mic > pre-amp > compressor > Focusrite 18i8 > Yamaha HS8's. I may even run it thru the headphones as well.

I'll know when I have it set right. Compressors always make my sloppy guitar playing sound better. So this should be cool.

The Mullard tubes for the upgrade arrived today !!

[Yamaha Man]

Good news !! The compressor has shipped and is scheduled for delivery this Wednesday !! I'm getting excited now....

[rockabilly69]

Here's a song I just recorded live with a channel of ART DUAL LEVELAR VLA comp and a Focusrite ISA One preamp on each mic. The VLA kept the channels in check as Nationals are very dynamic instruments.



Your VLA will probably sound better than my old Dual Levelar. Mine is the cheap but made in USA model without the meters, 2 knobs for threshold and output, and three switches. I have a few of these because they are pretty great for light compression and limiting!

Here's an old sound on sound review of the Dual Levelar VLA https://web.archive.org/web/20150608...rtlevelar.html