I've been asking questions about compressors alot and thought you might want to mention what you have and what are you using them for. Here's my list....
SSL G series.....mix buss mixdown
ADL 1500....Vocal mix buss
2-1176.....Bass tracking/ vocal tracking
Manley Vari-mu....Drum mix Buss
Presonus 8.....drum tracking
(2) DBX 266....guitar tracking
Manley E-Lop....guitar mix buss
Waves L2.....mixdown to Masterlink
I'm wondering what you mad scientists have and where they end up....everybody has their own vibe so lets see whats going where!

Pendulum Audio OCL-2 - mastering/mixbuss/vocals/bass/acoustic instruments
2 Distressors w/brit mod - guitars/vocals/drums/drum bus/anything for bite
RMS 755 super compressor - mixbuss/overheads/tracking
2 VT737's - nothing lol!




JAson

After selling some off...I'm down to:

Nicer stuff:
SSL 4000 series Stereo Buss Comp (2-mix)
Purple MC76 (vox)
2x Distressors (vox, bass, gtrs, whatever)
Langevin El-Op Dual (vox, gtr, piano, peak limiting)

Low end stuff:
2x Drawmer DL241 Dual Comp (drums)
12x Drawmer DL441 Quad Comp (drums)
4x dbx 160 (2xAs, 2 XT's) bass, gtrs, everything
2x ART VLA Pro (vox, bass, drum group)
2x FMR RNC (utility comp)
2x FMR RNLA (utility and subgroup comp)
2x TC Electronics Triple C Multiband Comps (utility, synths, keys)

LA-2A: vocals, bass, woodwinds, sometimes guitars
1178: guitars, overheads, sometimes background vocals
DBX 160SL: tracking, mix buss
FATSO: horn section, drum buss
Dyna-Mite: room mics

probably the next one will be a pendulum ocl-2 or a chandler tg 1 or a manley vari-mu...

Other than plugs I only have a fatso at this point. So as you can imagine I use it where I can. heh

Alan Smart C1 - lately dual mono for K and S
Thermonic Phoenix - lately for drum buss, also for bass and voc, mix bus soon.
Skibbe Red Stripe - voc or bass
1176 - voc, bass, drum smash
GSSL (X2) - drum bus, el gtr or el gtr bus., any bus for that matter
Valley Audio 610 - keys, bgs, acst gtrs

Portico sure looks interesting lately, don't it?

RNC
Art Pro VLA
Plugs (UAD-1 1176, Fairchild, LA2A)

Considering a Drawmer 1968 for the mix buss...considering.

What do you think about this piece? I've been curious about it for a while but no one ever really talks about it...

Over here we have:

API 525 - vox mostly
dbx 160xt - bass, drums
Distressor - whatever
RMS 755 Super Stereo - Buss compressor
Various plugs (URS, UAD, Vintage Warmer, etc)

More hardware to come later this year...

This is what I've kept in the rack @ the studio, I'm sure it will look somewhat different in a years time. Number is based on channels, not just units. I'll probably be adding a Drawmer 1968 soon.

(2) Crane Song Trakker
(2) Chandler TG-1 EMI
(2) Purple Audio MC77
(1) Buzz Audio ARC 1.1 Comp/Limiter (Channel)
(2) Buzz Audio SOC1.1 Dual Channel Opto
(2) Millennia Media STT-1
(1) Roll Music SuperStereo Comp
(2) Empirical Labs EL-8 DISTRESSOR
(2) Empirical Labs EL-8X with mods
(1) dbx 160 VU
(2) Urei Silver Face 1176LN
(2) Urei LA-4
(1) Chandler LTD-2 Compressor
(2) Vintech 609CA

Red Stripe is great. Not as "furry" as others (incl the 2a's) i've used. Very Smooth.
Not as "affordable" as once were, mind you

Crane Song Trakker
Pendulum Audio ES8
Purple Audio MC76
Tube Tech LCA2B
Waves L2
TcSystem 6000 Multiband compressor


James

We seem to have stopped listing specific apps for specific boxes as per original post...

1176 - bass, vocals
TF PRO P10 - overheads, vocals, drum buss, mix buss
Distressor - guitars, vocals, room mics
Ashley SC-50 - guitars, dirty bass guitars, bass synths
3x FMR RNLA's - any kind of sub mixes, overall handy utility comps
Focusrite Compounder - Bass, kicks, horns
Drawmer DL241 - synths, strings, ac. guitar, gates are real good for close mic'd drums too.

i have access to various, depending on the studio. but what i bought so i wouldn't have to walk into a studio without them are:

Smart C2 - vox, mix
Distressor - anything
Yamaha GC2020 - go ahead and laugh, but i love them!
LA2A - anything
Portico 5043 - drum buss

I don't dedicate my comps for specific things because every session is different. I am also trying hard to not get in a rut (a grave with the ends kicked out). But, here's my list.

16 channels of Euphonix 108s (good on most things)
5 channels 160xt
1 Thermionic Phoenix (vocals, bass, mix buss, the real deal)
1 C2 (someone please tell me why I bought this thing?)
2 channels LA-4 (coming back w/Alcatronics mods) bass, vocals
2 737sp (I know, but I like it!)
1 tc electronic 6000 (great Brickwall limiters)
1Fatso, jr. (everyone should have one of these)
2 channels Orban 424 (old school, anyone?)
1 TFPro Edward (a cool box, indeed, m/s comp)
1 Symetrix 522 (I really should get rid of this)

David Brown

2 - Telefunken U73b - Consecutive Serials!!!! - Vox, Bass, Drum Bus, Gui
2 - API 525's - Guitar, Vox, Kick, Snare, Room
1 - Amek 9098 - Snare, Vox, Bass, Kick, Guitars, Drum Bus, basically everything.


Bobby Peru
Milwaukee, WI

DBX 160vu(2): Kick, Bass, Rooms
DBX 165(2): Snare, Bass, Guitars, Vocals
Focusrite Red3: Vocals, Bass, Kick, Guitars
Summit DCL200(2): Mix Buss, Vocals, Drums and Bass on 2 ch, guitars
Avalon 737(2): Everything
Distressor: Everything
1176: Everything
Joe Meek SC2: Snare, Percussion
Drawmer 221: Keyboards
DBX 160x: Kick, Snare
DBX 166x(1): Anything
DBX 166A(2): Anything
DBX 163(2): Anything (cool ass little compressors!)

2x Federal AM864/U -- BASS Gtr, Vocals, GTR.
1x MAXSON Ca-1589a Dept. Of Commerce -- Vocals and anything for a psecific character.
2x DBX 160vu -- E. gtr., Room mics
1x Altec 436b -- Vocals
1 Empirical Labs FATSO -- Drum Overheads

The most terriblest shit you ever saw.

I shouldn't even be allowed to read this forum.

Don't hit me.

chandler tg-1- drums, piano, certain vocals
chandler ltd-2 (2)- drums, bass, ac guitar
1176 (2)- pretty much anything i can
la-3a- vox, bass
altec 436C (2)-anything that needs to be distorted haha
drawmer 1968-mix buss

i'm looking to buy a pair of pye's and a 660 copy in the next year or so.

2 EAR 660's mix buss
Audio Technologies Tubelink's works well everywhere, great as a drum sqausher
Smart C-2 Kick and Sn OH's
2 Distressers Vocs,Bass you name it
Joe Meek sc-2 BG's
STC-8 Mix Buss Bass vox sky's the limit
OLD school neve 33609 great with the outputs cranked hitting the limiter hard on drums
Jim Williams modded 163's great for addind 2nd comp to vocal track
old ashley mono box great for lead guitar sc-40 I think
The Transient Designer is sort of a compresser I think right? cool box
got a couple other I dont want to mention
I'm drooling over the chandler EMI which I want to get and by the looks of the Shadow Hills I may sell a Kidney soon
Steve D
Sound Spa

To make us all feel less guilty... and less professional... JJG has 165 compressors AND COUNTING.

Little old me has:

5 Portico 5043'a
3 Distressors with the Brit mod
2 Chandler Abbey Road Edition TG-1's
2 Daking's
1 Alan Smart C2
1 silverface 1176
1 Gates Sta-Level
1 Gates something er other... solid state
1 Federal, modded with faster attack and release switches
1 Avalon 747
1 RNC
1 Drawmer dual comp.

I think that's it.

Vintage vari-mu's, forever.

2 distressor
2 daking fet
4 rnc
1 pendulum elop
2 160x
1 aphec 661
2 api 525
1 drawmer 1968

1176 blue stripe (bass, kick, rhodes, clav)
altec 436b (bass) ->love it.
distressor (acoustic guitar, bass, edgier percussion)
la-2a (vox, accordion, melodica)
thermionic phoenix (drums, piano, anything really)
smart c2 (buss, organ/leslie)
dbx 160 xt (wurlitzer elec piano, cool tambourine stuff,)
altec 1612 (smash, don't use it that often but will when i want the crrrrrush)
6176 reissue (mostly goto for guide stuff- i mean i got the real deal!)
api 525x2 (just bought - haven't used them yet but will for elec git)

-J

Mindprint T-Comp--BD, SD, Vox, hip-hop 'beat' parallel
ART VLA--GTR sub (mix) bass, vox
Joe Meek SC2.2-- GTR sub(mix), room, drum sub (mix) vox
3x RNC-- BD, SD, vox, drum sub, utility
Ashley SC-50-- bass parallel (mix) BD, SD
Behringer (actually made in Germany)-- BD mult once in a blue moon, the rare times I need a gate, scratch vox so I can leave the real gear for real tracks
Drawmer 1969-- bass, vox room (tracking), Mix buss (with Big switch ) on every mix I ever do!

2- daking - snare, ohds, sometimes vox, occasionally mix bus, sometimes mono room mic
2- La3a - mix it up, elec guits, kick, toms, sometimes vox (usually backing?? whatever)
2- La2a - bass, elec guitars, ac guit, horns, toms, sometimes vox
2- Distressors - room mics... occasionally snare
1- MC77 - vox, mono room mic crusher, ac guit, horns, certainly vox
1- BA6A - bass, snare mult or mix, tom, ac guit, low mid thickener (thlip)
2- EMT 261 - ohds! mini fairchilds....shhhh, you only need one pair.
1- 609CA - mix bus, snare, elec guit, vox, drum sub,
4- U73b's - Mix bus, drum sub, vox, guits, whatever...
1 GML 8900 - Stereo pairs, (less on the mix bus now that I have the 609), Drum sub, Kick, whatever, very versatile. Good envelope shaper for drums, or mix buss, but not much color. you know when its right, its right.
2- DBX 160 - Kick, ac guit, toms, whatever.

Think I use stuff differently all the time.

2 Cranesong Trakkers - Vox/ 2bus/and Everything
2 Distressors - Drums / Bass/ Vox /Guitars
Manley Elop - Bass / Vox
2 LA2A's (not Reissues)- Vox/ Bass
Summit DCL-200- Guitars
Drawmer 1968- 2 Bus/ Elec Guitar/ Vox
Pendulum Quartet 2- Everything
Focusrite 220- Vox and Bass
2 LA4's Guitar / Vox/ Bass
Avalon 73 (Yea!)
Amek 9098 dual comp/lim
Transient Designer 4- Kicks Major Butt on Drums

I was just thinking the same thing!...lol

Go ahead and read....you'll be fine!