bigaudioblowhard wrote on Fri, 22 September 2006 11:10 |
ericjenson wrote on Fri, 22 September 2006 07:46 |
bigaudioblowhard wrote on Thu, 21 September 2006 14:31 |
Unless you have something else, I wouldn't go for the V-Mu as my only comp.
I'd start with more of an all arounder, perhaps an SSL.
bab
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Xlogic G Series?
looks nice, has quite a reputation.
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Yes, it is quite popular. One thing though is that it cannot be run in Dual Mono (pretty sure, best check). On the other hand the V-mu doesn't have an accesible side chain, but you can get an HP mod for that.
I understand that back in the day people used 1178's. Is this still a viable mastering comp?
And I do believe the Requisite (LM2?) is also first rate box, mono/link, unusual HP in the side chain.
bab
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I have both the Requisite (L2M MK2) & the Manley Vari-Mu and honestly don't know which I would chose if I had to ditch one. They really compliment each other.
The L2M has a mono/link switch but I'm not sure what's unusual about the HP in the side chain. Can you elaborate? To be honest, I rarely engage it as a full-bandwidth compressor but mostly use it for gain and sometimes light compression with the HP fully engaged.
As for the Vari-Mu, I finally got some mods. The HP SC is really useful and is subtly effective in allowing more bottom end through whereas the L2M is a lot heavier when engaging the full bandwidth compression. However the latter is fully variable which gives it an advantage over the Manley.
The Manley Vari-Mu T-Bar mod was a relatively huge change in performance. Suddenly the unit sounded smoother and less harsh than before but harsh is a word that never ever would have come to mind in the four plus years I've had it! I had to do a recall on a master done before the mod and was quite surprised at the difference.
Also the gain staging is totally different. You have to feed it a hotter signal to get the compression going. All in all, I'm glad had it done but when the sonics change this much b/c of a mod, it could have easily been a bummer!
Reminds me of the time (years ago) when the Drawmer 1960 and 1961 were my only outboard tube mastering pieces. I heard about a tech guy doing mods on the 1961 and thought if it's available, the mod must make it better. I had it done for $700., got the unit back and hated it. He had turned a "warm", musical sounding unit into something sounding clean and clinical. I A/B-ed it with an original unit at a local music store and it was also very obvious to everyone there. I took it back and he put it back. The lesson learned was that one shouldn't jump into mods without careful research!
Before going ahead with the Manley mods, I quizzed Paul the Whiz at Manley for a description of each and the reason for them plus noted a lot of positive webboard posts and not one negative which is why I jumped in.
Also another thought about the SSL unit recommended. I do see the odd one as well as the Alan Smart unit (apparently a sound-alike) on mastering gear lists but they are totally outnumbered by Vari-Mu's and other compressors so if just chosing one, I wouldn't be considering one at this point in time.
For several years, the Vari-Mu was my only analog compressor and I still think it was a good choice.
Andy,
Silverbirch Productions,
www.silverbirchprod.com