Hardware - vocal compressor pedal?

[JD01]

There's probably a simple answer to this but I don't know what to look for. Is there some sort of, preferably cheap compressor, that has the minimum number of knobs on it, that has XLR input/outputs rather than jacks?

Sorry, wrong forum - WJ, can you move this when you get minute.

Been doing a bit of googling, but this is the thing that keeps coming up. https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/9960030XX ... -stomp-box

Not quite what I was after - I was just expecting a normal "4 knob" compressor but with XLRs... does such a thing even exist?

[ido1957]

It looks like a well built vocal processor.

Studio? It's an entry level unit but at today's price point, this thing probably sounds ok. Technology/solid state can do wonders.
And it XLR in/out which I like.

For 131 Canadian, it's a no brainer. They tout it pretty well and the features look impressive.

I would like to hear about the "automatic" vocal settings described if you oick this up, sort of A.I. meets Robert Plant.

[JD01]

It looks like a well built vocal processor.

Studio? It's an entry level unit but at today's price point, this thing probably sounds ok. Technology/solid state can do wonders.
And it XLR in/out which I like.

For 131 Canadian, it's a no brainer. They tout it pretty well and the features look impressive.

I would like to hear about the "automatic" vocal settings described if you oick this up, sort of A.I. meets Robert Plant.

Cheers, I haven't got a clue what any of them controls do so I may just take a punt on it. Would be handy to get away from the amp-sim compressor that I currently use on the way in as its pretty shit and makes my laptop run really badly.

[Greg_L]

So you want compression before you hit your interface?

[JD01]

So you want compression before you hit your interface?

Yeah

[Greg_L]

Yeah

Okay, why?

I ask because you can't undo that. Say for example you get a lot of room in your vocal track. A compressor will make it more evident. If computer processing power is an issue, just try different software compressors. There's a trillion of them out there.

If you had a tried-and-true mic, pre, and good room, then sure, some type of hardware compressor going in can be a very good thing if you really know your tracking situation very well.

[JD01]

Yeah

Okay, why?

I ask because you can't undo that. Say for example you get a lot of room in your vocal track. A compressor will make it more evident. If computer processing power is an issue, just try different software compressors. There's a trillion of them out there.

If you had a tried-and-true mic, pre, and good room, then sure, some type of hardware compressor going in can be a very good thing if you really know your tracking situation very well.

Mainly 'cos I tend to move between singing at a relatively normal bloke strumming and acoustic level (not that I do this) and screaming very loudly indeed. In a lot of cases I can do the screamed and verse sections separately and just adjust my input gain accordingly and adjust the levels in my DAW. In other cases I can't do this so I thought that it might help balance my input levels while also crushing the fuck out of screamed bits which I like the sound of.

I don't mind that I won't be able to undo stuff - if I decide its wrong at a later date I'll just re-do stuff. I don't mind redoing things at all if it will get me a better result, I fucking hate spending ages polishing a turd when re-doing stuff is just better (hence all the redone tracks I posted up a couple of weeks ago)

[Greg_L]

Mainly 'cos I tend to move between singing at a relatively normal bloke strumming and acoustic level (not that I do this) and screaming very loudly indeed. In a lot of cases I can do the screamed and verse sections separately and just adjust my input gain accordingly and adjust the levels in my DAW. In other cases I can't do this so I thought that it might help balance my input levels while also crushing the fuck out of screamed bits which I like the sound of.

I don't mind that I won't be able to undo stuff - if I decide its wrong at a later date I'll just re-do stuff. I don't mind redoing things at all if it will get me a better result, I fucking hate spending ages polishing a turd when re-doing stuff is just better (hence all the redone tracks I posted up a couple of weeks ago)

Okay, I get all that. Going from quiet to loud and having it all level going in will require some pretty heavy compression. I do a live singer kind of thing where I just back off the mic more for louder parts...but my room isn't too offensive for vocals. If you watch a good live singer, they'll sort of self-compress by getting off the mic when they're belting out some shit. It works...but the room has to be right for it. Anyway, I don't know. I suppose the stompbox looking compressor wouldn't be the worst thing to try if you really want to. A rack mounted dedicated compressor would probably be better, but more pricey maybe. Ask Tad or Miro. I think they use hardware compressors.

[Greg_L]

Actually, come to think of it, I do it backwards. I mostly track vocals about a foot off the mic and will inch in a little closer for the less-often quieter parts.

[Farview]

You are probably better off just backing off the gain on the way in and just editing the levels of the quieter stuff in the daw. (Or cutting up the track into two tracks, a loud and quiet one)

I assume you want something like this because your preamp is in your interface, so it needs to be Mic level. If you have the money to spare, there is no harm in getting it to see if it does what you need, but it doesn't look like you have much control. It will either be perfect or useless.

Try to find a used one, so if you hate it, you will be able to get your money back out of it.

[JD01]

Okay, I get all that. Going from quiet to loud and having it all level going in will require some pretty heavy compression. I do a live singer kind of thing where I just back off the mic more for louder parts...but my room isn't too offensive for vocals. If you watch a good live singer, they'll sort of self-compress by getting off the mic when they're belting out some shit.

Yeah, as you know, my recording room isn't very good so I tend to try and keep pretty close to the mic when I sing (I also only close mic my amp)... I'll see what Tad and Miro have to say and see if they come up with any recommendations too.

This one is only 80 quid so its not a problem to just buy it and try it. If I get on with it and find it useful I can look at a better one in future if I think its a technique that has some mileage in it for me.

[JD01]

You are probably better off just backing off the gain on the way in and just editing the levels of the quieter stuff in the daw. (Or cutting up the track into two tracks, a loud and quiet one)

I assume you want something like this because your preamp is in your interface, so it needs to be Mic level. If you have the money to spare, there is no harm in getting it to see if it does what you need, but it doesn't look like you have much control. It will either be perfect or useless.

Try to find a used one, so if you hate it, you will be able to get your money back out of it.

That does work, but the problem I have with using really low gain and chopping up the track is that you end up introducing a fuck load of noise to the quieter track... which is exactly the opposite of what you want in the quieter sections - don't know if you've heard my music, but the quieter sections tend to be just singing along with the bassline and drums - when I've tried this, listening carefully, I can actually hear the hiss come in before I start singing.

[Greg_L]

Where is the hiss coming from? You shouldn't be getting a lot of hiss with an all digital chain.

[JD01]

Where is the hiss coming from? You shouldn't be getting a lot of hiss with an all digital chain.

Just if I record the quiet bits a low gain levels on the AI (to allow for the loud bits) and then turn the volume of them right up in the DAW. It might be a bit of signal chain hiss (Cheap mic, crap amp-sim), combined with random noise of things like wind/rain against the windows and other noises from the house that wouldn't otherwise be noticable.

[Greg_L]

Just if I record the quiet bits a low gain levels on the AI (to allow for the loud bits) and then turn the volume of them right up in the DAW. It might be a bit of signal chain hiss (Cheap mic, crap amp-sim), combined with random noise of things like wind/rain against the windows and other noises from the house that wouldn't otherwise be noticable.

Okay but all that signal and ambient noise will still be there with a hardware compressor. It might even get worse because you're clamping the loud and bringing up the quiet with no way to control it after the fact. Have you ever heard a radio or TV broadcast that gets really loud and hissy when the speaker stops talking? That's compression at work. The compression levels out the voice, but when the talking stops the compressor releases and all that make up gain brings up tons of uncontrolled signal and ambient noise.

I'm not saying don't try it if you want to. I'm just saying that permanent vocal compression on the way in really needs everything else to be just about perfect before it hits the compressor.

[JD01]

Just if I record the quiet bits a low gain levels on the AI (to allow for the loud bits) and then turn the volume of them right up in the DAW. It might be a bit of signal chain hiss (Cheap mic, crap amp-sim), combined with random noise of things like wind/rain against the windows and other noises from the house that wouldn't otherwise be noticable.

Okay but all that signal and ambient noise will still be there with a hardware compressor. It might even get worse because you're clamping the loud and bringing up the quiet with no way to control it after the fact. Have you ever heard a radio or TV broadcast that gets really loud and hissy when the speaker stops talking? That's compression at work. The compression levels out the voice, but when the talking stops the compressor releases and all that make up gain brings up tons of uncontrolled signal and ambient noise.

I'm not saying don't try it if you want to. I'm just saying that permanent vocal compression on the way in really needs everything else to be just about perfect before it hits the compressor.

Yeah - I understand what you're saying. I'll have a think about it.

Come to think of it - I'm already usually using a compressor on the way in, but its embedded in the Line6 GearBox amp-sim that I use.

My current signal is Mic>TonePort UX2>GearBox>Reaper, I want to retire the TonePort UX2 so was going to change to Mic>Compressor>Focusrite2i2>Reaper.

GearBox is a fancy mic-preamp sim with a load of EQ knobs on it and a slight compression included - not much, just enough to take the spikes off! Basically - I just set it to the "modern vocal" preset then make a few small adjustments.

[Greg_L]

Ahhhh, I see what you're doing. My own personal experience with the Toneport/Gearbox has not been good. A friend of mine has that setup from like 2007 and his is noisy too. I think it's that Gearbox shit. I would suggest you get rid of the Toneport and Gearbox and just use the Focusrite for the preamp and interface. Do your compression in-the-box. There is no shortage of good free compressor plugins out there.

[JD01]

Ahhhh, I see what you're doing. My own personal experience with the Toneport/Gearbox has not been good. A friend of mine has that setup from like 2007 and his is noisy too. I think it's that Gearbox shit. I would suggest you get rid of the Toneport and Gearbox and just use the Focusrite for the preamp and interface. Do your compression in-the-box. There is no shortage of good free compressor plugins out there.

I've got those Antares compressors that you pointed me in the direction of a few months ago but I couldn't quite get my head around them... I got a bit of option paralysis - had no idea what one to choose and they all seemed to have options and buttons on them that I didn't understand.

In the DAW I just use a few Focusrite compressors that come with the purchase of the 2i2. I use the Scarlett which is a simple "4 knob" compressor and also sometimes use the "Red 3" which is a slightly different interface but is probably very similar really - bubba rates this one.

I mainly use the GearBox compressor/sim for just taking the spikes off on the way in and giving my voice a slightly nicer tone I still compress it and mess about with it more later. I'm pretty new to vocal processing though - I've only really been able to sing to a level I'm happy with and can repeat take after take in the last few months.

[JD01]

This is the one I use:

This is the one Bubba likes:

I imagine that they're pretty similar really.

[Greg_L]

I've got those Antares compressors that you pointed me in the direction of a few months ago but I couldn't quite get my head around them... I got a bit of option paralysis - had no idea what one to choose and they all seemed to have options and buttons on them that I didn't understand.

In the DAW I just use a few Focusrite compressors that come with the purchase of the 2i2. I use the Scarlett which is a simple "4 knob" compressor and also sometimes use the "Red 3" which is a slightly different interface but is probably very similar really - bubba rates this one.

I mainly use the GearBox compressor/sim for just taking the spikes off on the way in and giving my voice a slightly nicer tone I still compress it and mess about with it more later. I'm pretty new to vocal processing though - I've only really been able to sing to a level I'm happy with and can repeat take after take in the last few months.

That's all fine, but whatever you're doing is not working for you, right? You're looking for solutions. If you wanna keep doing all that, then you'll probably be better off doing separate quiet/loud takes. IMO I'm not seeing anything in your process that would be made better with a hardware compressor going in. But it certainly doesn't hurt to try it if you want.

Having heard your vocals on bunches of your mixes, if I were you, I'd try to get the cleanest clearest take I can. That would start with finding a spot in your room that isn't jamming a bunch of ambient noise and reflective crap back into the mic. Maybe even make some sort of home-brew vocal booth. Make a fucking pillow fort out of couch cushions or something. Lol. With a clean take, you can compress the snot out of vocals with software compression and it'll still sound clean and clear...but leveled out.