some vocal clips, distressor, 1176, c2, try it yourself

[Lasse Lammert]

yo, I've just received my distressor about 20 minutes ago.
unfortuately I didn't have much time really trying it out etc cause I have to set up mics for a drum recording now.
but I did run a vocal line through the distressor in 1176 mode, in opto(LA2 etc) mode as well as my own settings (which I obviously had to dial in really quickly, so they're not perfect).
For comparison I've also fed them through my 1176LN for comparison.
feel free to use the uncompressed file (well, almost uncompressed, for infos see below) to match the sound of the 1176 or distressor with your comp of choice. (I used about 10dB of compression)

uncompressed
1176LN
distressor 1176
distressor opto
distressor my quickly dialed in settings

the vocal chain was sm7 with HP and hi boost engaged-->API-->smart C2 with about 3 dB of compression on the way in-->Apogee AD-16.

so the "uncompressed" files has already a tiny bit od C2 compression on it as well.

EDIT: make sure to match the volumes before you start comparing

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Sounds good, especially the opto setting! Be sure to experiment with the distortion functions of the Distressor, they might sound pretty over the top when soloed, but sometimes work great in a mix!

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Sounds good, especially the opto setting! Be sure to experiment with the distortion functions of the Distressor, they might sound pretty over the top when soloed, but sometimes work great in a mix!

yeah, I have dist2 enabled on the settings I came up with.
it's very subtle though, wish it had a pot to increase distortion.
what a fucking great compressor though

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Yeah, it's funny how the distortion can be either really obvious or pretty subtle. It's definitely a compressor with soul.

I have a huge GAS for one, but I know I can't justify (or even afford) getting one in the near future. Gladly I've got a couple of sessions coming in a studio that has a stereo pair of them, so I'll get to play around with them a bit more

 

[MortenDK]

I like the Dist/1176 combo!

 

[kev]

The distressor 1176 is pretty aggressive, thanks for the clips.

 

[pipaguapique]

Distressor!!

 

[narcossintese]

Thanks! Specially for providing the raw track.
IMO distressor 1176 mode wins.

 

[Ermz]

Yes I'm fairly happy with mine. As you heard it can work nicely on snare.

I almost always track vocals through them. Did a session where a great vocalist was running into a U47 and then into the Distressor on LA-2 mode. Taking off like up to 10dB on the way down on the loudest bits. All it takes in the mix is another compressor, some high shelving and that's it man. No de-essing, maybe a bit of mid cut if you're so inclined (U47 is a bit fat), but it's just done. Never done so little eq on a vocal to make it sit. Shit excites me.

As Jarkko said, the Dist modes can be glorious, especially for aggressive vocalists. Dist 3 did me a world of good a while back.

Will take a listen to those clips intently sometime this weekend! So far only heard the two 1176 ones. The Distressor is a bit more aggressive if I hear it right? Might sit in line with that Dist 2 mode, whereas the 1176 is a bit more subdued and rounded sounding, as you'd expect from an FET comp vs a VCA. You know the real answer to this anyway. Both are awesome, you should use them in sequence, hehe. I hate playing favourites so I just use it all.

Btw I love how little junk there is in your vocal clip man. I got some SM7 vocals sent to me a some months back and they sounded like muddy shit, and they were tracked through a similarly impressive chain. How far back do you get the vocalist to stand? Do you do any special angling, and do you use an additional pop filter?

Also, there IS a pot to increase distortion. It's called 'Input'

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I almost always track vocals through them. Did a session where a great vocalist was running into a U47 and then into the Distressor on LA-2 mode. Taking off like up to 10dB on the way down on the loudest bits. All it takes in the mix is another compressor, some high shelving and that's it man. No de-essing, maybe a bit of mid cut if you're so inclined (U47 is a bit fat), but it's just done. Never done so little eq on a vocal to make it sit. Shit excites me.

Totally. I did a quick test session with an U87 running into an UA8110 with a Distressor, and I was amazed when I fiddled around with the EQ afterwards only to realize it didn't actually need anything else than a hi-pass.

Fffuuuck. Why can't I access euipment like that 24/7?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Also, there IS a pot to increase distortion. It's called 'Input'

yeah, but that'll increase the GR as well
I'm not using the sm7 popfilter but one of those regular (but bigger) ones.
Singer usually is really close to the mic, between touching the cage thingy and having 1 fist between it and his mouth