Price range between 500-1000. I'm going second hand here i should imagine so i can geta nicer unit for a lower price.

I've heard mixed reviews on the Drawmer 1960. Some people love it. Others cant stand it. Im looking for something mainly for dance music. But also for indie type stuff aswell. So its got to be punchy, but i also want it to add some coloration and "warmth" (i cringe at that word but what else does one use?!)

Are there any equivalents to the 1960? I was thinking about an avalon 747 aswell but have seen some bad reviews about them being quite muddy. True? Rubbish?

Any help greatly appreciated. And i do like to do stuff out of the box more. So suggesting waves bundle etc isnt too helpful!

Thanks

Michael

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www.myspace.com/michaeldow www.myspace.com/portasoundband

Under silly money... and I am talking 2 grand upwards the UAD Precision Master Limiter in the UAD plug-ins is about as good and transparent as they come..

My apologies if you are all hardware, but otherwise, the UAD is pretty much the canines dangly bits under daft cash levels..

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nibbled to death by an Okapi http://www.soundclick.com/tubilahdog

cheers for the reply, but as i said in the message... looking for something hardware, and not transparent! I want something with it's own nice sound to it.

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www.myspace.com/michaeldow www.myspace.com/portasoundband

Quote Michael Dow:

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I was thinking about an avalon 747 aswell but have seen some bad reviews about them being quite muddy. True? Rubbish?


Thanks

Michael

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well... mine isn't ! The valve option can sometimes be a little slow on the attack front and it isn't really a 'pump the bastard' circuit- more of a gentle-warm-everything-up option- but switch it out and use the transistor circuit and things speed up quite a bit. The onboard eq is sweet but more of a general shaping kind of thing than a true graphic or parametric.

I tend to use it across the stereo buss on gentler compression settings, since I usually want to keep most of the dynamics but add a little gorgeous valve colouration and maybe some top end, with a gentle movement on the compression rather than heavy pumping. Slapping on loads of the low end eq while trying to slam the mix probably won't get the result you may be after, on dance music, and I suppose the results could be called 'muddy'- but I don't think that's really what this unit is about. Seems to be more of a gentle, transparent, compression provider, with nice valve colouration and eq options.

A smooth operator, in other words, not a wham bam thank you ma'am merchant.

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http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk

Yeah, avoid software for this task. There are some great plug ins for controlling level, but none of them quite do the mix bus thing IME. I'm eternally holding out hope.

Well there's the Portico 5043 and the Roll Music, both of which, used, would fit the budget. But they're both very smooth and clean. What you really want is something like a Smart C2...aggressive in the way it 'shapes' the transient but with a sidechain so that you can let your low end through.

Check out the Drawmer. Get a demo. It might be perfect. I've not used it myself.

J

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www.jackruston.com

I got a Summit Audio DCL-200 in an auction for a great price a few months ago and I'm ashamed to say I haven't plugged it in yet (only to test). Jack- would you consider that a good unit for the mix bus? If not, what might be its forte in your opinion (if you're familiar...)?

Sorry...I just dont know it well enough. I've used the new Everest strip and the old pultec style mono eq's but not the DCL. I imagine from what I know of the other boxes that it will be very 'nice' sounding indeed and not agressive or imposing. I imagine it will be doing someting quite nice to the mix before it actually reduces any gain.

Nice gear.

J

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www.jackruston.com

Thanks Jack- from my brief tests, it has a kind of liquid, smoothing, big quality to it, but I really need to try it on more material...

Not very helpful given your budget but I have a Focusrite Red3 across my mix bus at all times. Love it to bits!

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Stand by for action - we are about to launch Stingray!
Cue irritating bongo music ...

I've been through a similar process myself, finding a MBC that met my needs - in my case, flexibility was the main requirement (other than being an excellent compressor, obviously!).

It seems to be that there are plenty of compressors around which will do clean and transparent MBC for relatively cheap. There are a load of compressors built around THAT chips which are mainly very good, such as the Chameleon Labs and the Klark Technik DN500+. Then of course theres the RNC which I really like in supernice mode, but for me it loses just a little bit too much fidelity.

Character compression is trickier, as some what one person finds gold dust another may well find horse manure. Generally if you want a "pumping" sound though, an SSL style compressor is a good way to go. Although the original SSL and X-Logic re-releases are probably out of your budget, (as suggested by Jack) a Smart C2 might just drop into or slightly above that range, as the C2M (Mastering version - identical but its only stereo, rather than dual mono) retails at £1800 inc VAT.

Something that would definitely fall into your budget is one of the SSL "gyraf" based clones, which seem to be popping up all the time at the moment. Theres actually some really great ones being built, and some quite innovative modifications being made to them. If you need a lead on these, send me a PM.

Incidentally, like Commander, my MBC search has (probably) ended with a Focusrite Red 3 - its hard to say as I only got it on Friday, but so far everything I've put through it has sounded awesome!

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Freelance Producer / Engineer | www.hernestudios.co.uk | FREE Listening sessions - see www.thelisteninggroup.org

Edited by Chris Poulter (07/04/09 08:43 AM)

If you can find a Thermionic Phoenix then that will sound nice and very musical but in a nice way.

No side chain though, so kick pumping might be an issue.

I had one for years and loved it on drums and keys.

Others to consider, if you don't mind selling a small organ, is the Chiswick Reach and Avalon AD2044.
Both can be driven nicely and sound really big and spacious. The Reach can get nice and dirty if you want it to.

Red 3 is big and flattering and works great on most sounds but really well on drums and vocals.

I suggest a shortlist of 4 or 5 and then try to hire them in and demo them.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

Quote Jack Ruston:

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Yeah, avoid software for this task. There are some great plug ins for controlling level, but none of them quite do the mix bus thing IME. I'm eternally holding out hope.

Well there's the Portico 5043 and the Roll Music, both of which, used, would fit the budget. But they're both very smooth and clean. What you really want is something like a Smart C2...aggressive in the way it 'shapes' the transient but with a sidechain so that you can let your low end through.

Check out the Drawmer. Get a demo. It might be perfect. I've not used it myself.

J

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Not sure I totally agree. I think something reasonable can be achieved using the Waves API 2500. Obviously not as good as hardware, however, not completely unworkable either.

Yeah I've got the waves 2500 and if I was going to use a plug in it would be that one. But it's still just 'ok'.

I think the Chiswick is too slow for the mix. For me. It also lacks control in terms of makeup gain which makes it hard to line up.

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www.jackruston.com

thanks for all the replies guys

Anywhere good that i can hire such items? Never thought of hiring studo gear before for some reason. Im in London.

thanks again and again!!

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www.myspace.com/michaeldow www.myspace.com/portasoundband

Michael,

There is FXrantals and you can also contact Nick at KMR Audio and ask if he can arrange loan units.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

You might also find some stuff at Richmond Film Services