poorman 660 or other?

[seavote]

i had planned on building the poorman in the near future. i posted a thread asking for some opinions on how useful,"awesome" or ****** the poorman was. it got only one reply.
i record myself and friends in a home studio(one room). i have some software comps and an Analag DAOC, which i use all the time.
any opinions as to what comps i should build next? i was thinking 1176 (would save some$$$) or VK1 type(i have enough info to put this together) instead of the poor man as ive heard no one rave about it. if i'll only haVE 2 hardware comps id like them to be 2 "must have" comps. please all opinions from members who have built and used these comps
thanks

 

[Biasrocks]

A poorman will from what I understand make you exactly that "poor" and it looks like they're still sorting through the details of getting it to sound the way it should. VK1 you could build point to point fairly easily, not too sure of the support for that one. I would call both of these character compressors, in other words they add a lot of character to what ever you push through them. Probably not the best sort of thing for someone just starting to build their outboard collection.

An 1176 would be a good match with the optical comp and you'll find yourself using it for all kinds of things. They are aggressive sounding and very fast especially compared to an optical compressor.

There's quite a bit of off board wiring and calibration required and it does trip up some. Take a look at the build thread for more details. I would stick with known entities, Mnats boards and Hairball parts to keep things simple.

Mark

 

[JoleFIN]

Yes definately 1176. Get a Rev J board from Mnats and the necessary knobs/trafos/vu (+case?) etc from Hairball. If you want more character, you can go for an OEP transformer on both input and output (I love my 1176 this way), but I think a Rev A would be a great tool aside this one too. I have a Poorman 670 set (trafos + pcbs (inc scamp)) in my closet awaiting to be built, but I'm not keen on starting it because of these exact same reasons and I think I need to build something else first, something that is more useful for the time being. The next diy dynamics unit I would like to do, would be an LA2A or 175. The GSSL with Expat Audio's turbo board is great on master bus.

 

[skipwave]

Definitely do an 1176... unless.... well, this is where it gets sticky. I hear the argument a lot lately that the plugins are close. And they are. But not the same. Then there's the matter of tracking through the hardware and how that changes your entire workflow, right from how the part is played (if the player is monitoring post compressor) up to how you build the mix.

If you use PT, I really like the Massey CT4. http://www.masseyplugins.com/?page=ct4

I can get it to sound very similar to my G1176 at times, but I used a unique output transformer in the G1176 and nothing sounds exactly like it. With my Rev.D 1176s I can sometimes use less compression or much much more compression than I would with a plugin, and the hardware behaves more musically and provides a more "finished" sound. Lame adjectives, I know, but they ring true to my experience.

Personally, I like to commit to the hardware comp in tracking, and consequently have a track that is closer to ready-for-mix. You just bring up that fader, and the track sits better in the mix. Less effort expended in balancing and dynamics processing means more time for fun for FX like layered ambience. It amazes me how long it can take to create a signal processing chain that results in subtle yet effective enhancement of the mix. Maybe I'm just a newb in this area, or addicted to creating new sounds rather than repeating old standbys.

How's that for a really long answer to a short question?

Do it. IMHO, the 1176 is a must-have piece of hardware. Or you can buy a Distressor. 

 

[simonsez]

Call uncle fester!! ;D