Compressor to record bass and vocals?

diegocasmo

Member
May 29, 2012
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Hey guys, I'm a newbie in this topic. I'm looking for a compressor that I can use to record vocals and bass. My budget is about 500 USD.
 
Double your budget and get a distressor. If you're lucky you can find em just in the high side of 1k.

I second this, that compressor will do literally everything good, not just vocals and bass. Grab a second one later down the road and you can link them to have a stereo pair of amazing compressors.

Another good option would be to give PRIME Analog an email and grab a 1176 Rev D clone. If your good with a soldering iron you could make one yourself. I prefer leaving that stuff to those that have more experience, but that's just me.
 
With your budget I would get the dbx 160a. Nick Raskulinecz who did the last couple Rush albums and the last Deftones record is all about using the older variants of this comp like the 160 with the vu and the 160xt. This one is supposedly dbx's answer to the demand for the older units. While im sure its not as sweet as the old VU type which go for a good chunk on the used market, I bet it gets you in the ball park. If you dont like it you can probably unload it for atleast half of what you paid too.
 
even though i have one listed in the classifieds here, i'd say no-go on the RNC for bass. even the manufacturer doesn't recommend it for bass use. +1 to the DBX for probably the best performance in that price range...i've also heard good shit about the art pro vla's, but have never actually used one.
 
I quite enjoy an LA2A/LA2A style comp/limiter for tracking vocals and bass. Just kissing the compressor brings a lot of life to the parts.

Build an 1176. Hairballaudio.com

Man, I think I might do a Rev D for a late summer project.
 
A later-revision 1176 could work, but I'd feel odd printing something like my Rev A or D to an incoming signal. Would just color it way too much IMO, and not always in the desired way.

As mentioned earlier, Distressor is the go here.
 
I really love 160/160X but I wouldn't use it for tracking anything.
A 165/165A is a more powerful tool for that purpose...