Hi Pounamu here
Mamm7215
I see you have the Buzz Audio DBC 20
I am an enthusiastic musoo and desire to place a good
stereo compressor on the buss and learn how to master better.
I mainly write blues type music to rock/fusion type tunes.
I think the generes are in the ball park.

Do you think that the Buzz could fit the bill or should I go for the Manley Nu Mu you have regardless of ...!

Best Regardshttps://static.gearslutz.com/board/images/smilies/wink.gif

Pounamu

Hi, I own the P3EX, I would LIKE to own the Buzz DBC-20. That said, yes the DBC would fit your styles, I believe.

Many thanks Mamm7215

Grinder

Is the dbc 20 good for bass compression? Also looking at the splice ll rack unit.

I am biased, since I am the one offering these units, but check out the MS4K to cover your VCA comp needs

https://pcbgrinder.com/index.php?rou...tegory&path=72

Gustav

Personally I'd do this:

• Louder Than Liftoff Silver Bullet - all your colour and saturation needs, plus a pair of handy high quality preamps and a basic but useful eq.
• A versatile comp that can handle stereo tracking of most sources - Foote P4 (S or DMS), Thermionic Phoenix.
• then either a great stereo eq, or a character mono compressor like 1176 depending on what floats your boat.

Hi Gustav, different angle, but do you have any audio comparisons to any Urei or other popular high end clone 1176 compressors against your 2 channel unit?

Hi Paul.

The MS4K I mentioned is a VCA comp.

Since you mention the 1176, I think the relevant unit in my shop for comparison,would be the MS76, which is a FET comp (two channels) with MS link capability.

I dont really have a clip of a direct comparison, but I think there are a few clips of the unit in action on youtube made by users.

I also have feedback from Dylan Dresden, who is a great engineer with an amazing list of credits.

He used it on this low key project, and is using it still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q97gAIYcqdk

"“Cairo Knife Fight is a duo that has an unbelievable stage power for 2 guys. It was really important that the guitar sound on the record represented that. They had some killer Freidman amp guitar tones, but I was concerned that things wouldn't have the right space and soundstage, so I turned to the MS76 in MS mode, which gave me the perfect control to slap on the guitar bus"

Dylan Dresdow – PaperVU (US)"

Feel free to mail me if you have any questions - [email protected]

Gustav

Thanks, that's obviously the unit I was referring too. Not the VCA. I'll check out YT. Cheers, Paul

I was going to cast a lot for the Zener as well. I have two of them and will put anything through them, including master bus.

1176
la2a
amtec 852

I was at VKLA and was asking about the Blackbox HG2 and they recommended the Overstayer SFE instead. They said it was way more consistently usable. Basically they said you wouldn't want the color of the HG2 on everything. What do you think about that?

I use all 3.they're all completely different things.
the BG gets used a lot for tracking/mixing as well as 1176's/distressors in various combo's.slower tubes and faster fet.
also another great vibey vari mu:Rs124.
SFE/HG used 70/30% mixing/tracking.
the HG doesnt compare in any way to the SFE..isn't a compressor at all.

Oooops my bad. It was the SVC they recommended.

Are you sure?stereo voltage control [svc] unit is also a compressor.
imo the unit you want to compare directly to the HG is the Overstayer MAS [Master and Servant].
its a similar type of effect but solid state.great unit.

I did this, except I bought a Smart C2 for the bus.

Another vote here for the Zener. You can use it for recording to add some weight to drums, bass, anything and then at mix time you can use it in dual or stereo mode, or even in THD mode. Its also perfectly recallable with its switched pots.

All in all a very versatile tool. No recording or mix gets done by me without the Zener somewhere

The Phoenix with side chain filter and bypass is an excellent choice. Tighter / clearer lows than the Manley Vari Mu, which to me at least always made it the better choice for mix buss. Provides great distortion when pushed too. Slow attack can be secret weapon in giving some bass or drums more thump, with a solid, fat low end.

nicely said.

The Phoenix is that expensive warm sound without being too much.

I'm curious to know what the o.p. ended up buying.

It sounds like whoever you were talking to may not have had much experience with the HG-2 or wasn't comfortable enough with it to know how to use it properly. It's not a compressor and doesn't have much in common with those pieces of gear so comparing it to them doesn't make a lot of sense. I say that not as a slight to that sales person in any way because it's our job to help make sure everyone is trained on how to set the gear up and use it but it's good to know where we have to do better! It's particularly important with something like the HG-2 because it doesn't operate like any other piece of gear and it sounds like we could do a better job of it.

I'm not chiming in because I think you should buy one over something from Overstayer (Jeff makes AWESOME gear and I absolutely think you can't go wrong with one of his pieces!) but because what the sales guy was describing is very much contrary to the point of the HG-2 and the alternatives they suggested are entirely different types of tools.

The HG-2 is specifically designed to have a very wide range of tonal possibilities ranging from extremely subtle (enough to be slapped across the tracks for mastering) to full on with a whole lot in between and many variations of each. It's not a "fuzz box" and it it has many "colors" so it's quite versatile. It also offers the ability to reduce dynamics, increase RMS and even go into limiting but it is not a compressor so if you are looking for a compressor, it's not the right tool. On the other hand, if you're looking for something that does what the HG-2 does, a compressor isn't the right tool.

All that said, there is no one piece of gear that is right for everyone so find what works for you and if it's not an HG-2, thats perfectly ok! If you do want to demo one, you are more than welcome to come by my place and we can run some sounds through it. It's really easy to get around once you understand the thinking behind it and you will probably know pretty quickly if it's what you are after.

Either way, good luck finding what you're looking for.

Perhaps you meant the Highland Dynamics BG2.

I'm 100%. It was the Overstayer SVC that was recommended as opposed to the HG2. They said that the SVC would be more usable. The reason was because they thought th HG2 added too much of a color that you wouldn't necessarily want all the time. Whereas the SVC can give you a similar effect as the HG2 but just not quite as much and colored.

Just saying what I heard. I can't vouch for this info as being legit. I've never heard an HG2 in person. The SVC sounded really nice though but didn't seem to do what I've heard demos of the HG2 doing.