djwaudio wrote on Wed, 10 December 2008 19:54 |
masterhse wrote on Mon, 08 December 2008 03:44 | I have one in the studio now for evaluation. Will post my observations/opinions if anyone is interested ...
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How are you liking it Tom?
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There are some very cool features with this comp.
I was initially thinking that it might replace my STC-8 mainly due to the versatility of the unit over what the STC-8 is capable of and that they are both basically transparent types of compressors, so why have two of the same? Instead I've found this comp to be very useful being used in tandem with another comp. For example using the blend feature and turning the Alta Moda into a parallel compressor (small ratio maybe 2:1 and attack/release to taste) subtly bringing up the lower level of the music while letting another comp take care of the upper transient portion.
Some other very nice features are switchable RMS/Peak modes, threshold knee control, feedforward/feedback, several built-in filters for sidechain control, and a drive feature (2nd harmonic distortion) similar to the color control of a Crane Song Ibis in purpose, though it sounds very different.
Initially I wasn't planning on using this unit for a real session because it was only on trial, but the results that I was getting made me reconsider as I'm convinced that I will be adding this unit to my collection.
The only bad thing that I can say about it so far is that the only knob which has detents is the output. I had my dealer speak to the designer about this but he is reluctant to adding them. I feel that the knobs are very wide however (unlike the variable threshold control of the STC-8 which I can't move past 1) and do not feel that it's a major issue given the benefits of the unit. Some may find the unit a bit more "tweaky" than others because it is so feature rich, but once you get used to how each function sounds it's what makes it so versatile and powerful.
I recommend that anyone looking for a new comp check it out:
http://www.altamodaaudio.com/unicomp.html