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Post by Shadowk on Apr 18, 2024 13:36:17 GMT -6
Really good 500 series comp, not cheap but really does add the right amount of fat saturation to sources. Ironically despite it's basis as an LA-2A "clone" I use every other option, I've just recorded a demo and had it stuck in medium mode the whole time. The Acme can sort of do anything between a 2A to a 1176, just with more "mojo" and It's good at what it does but again it's not the best at the 2A thing which I'm actually not all that sad about. Yes, it can get pretty dark but it loves some EQ as well..
Not all opto's are equal, that's for sure.
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basspro
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Post by basspro on Apr 18, 2024 13:42:58 GMT -6
I really like mine, but I was pretty surprised at the lack of headroom. I initially got it thinking it would mainly get used for bass and vocals, but if I'm tracking a bass player with a heavy right hand attack (myself included), it gets pretty crunchy. After buying it, I saw that Acme had some YouTube Demos of it and it was reacting the same way in those.I ended up really liking it on vocals though - lots of character and faster sounding than I imagined, even in the slower 2 modes.
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Post by Shadowk on Apr 18, 2024 13:59:49 GMT -6
I really like mine, but I was pretty surprised at the lack of headroom. I initially got it thinking it would mainly get used for bass and vocals, but if I'm tracking a bass player with a heavy right hand attack (myself included), it gets pretty crunchy. After buying it, I saw that Acme had some YouTube Demos of it and it was reacting the same way in those.I ended up really liking it on vocals though - lots of character and faster sounding than I imagined, even in the slower 2 modes. I've got a VCA SSL comp behind it and it's not doing more than 5 dB but it just slams down in the right places. Not something I'd push for sure but if you can afford a HW chain it does slot in quite nicely as an extra polishing touch. |
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Post by knucklehead89 on Apr 18, 2024 17:52:55 GMT -6
This thing rocks. But has limitations I don’t think the full rack unit has. This compressor doing up to maybe 5db of compression on a vocal or bass it fantastic. It might be the best 500 series compressor I’ve heard for this. And I’ve heard a ton of them. It has a nice sheen on top on a vocal that sounds like a 176. And that’s what I reach for it most. Gives it a little hug and a nice sheen. Also when tracking bass I like to use it on the DI sometimes to track to just knock off a couple db before going in. It doesn’t do the pin down and hold it in place thing. I agree once you get more than 5db of compression on most things the life gets totally sucked out and I don’t think is very usable. It is pretty cool on fast mode on kick and snare in parallel too. Very 1176 on that setting.
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Post by ironinthepath on Apr 19, 2024 9:01:34 GMT -6
I have been eyeing the rack mount version for a while, would love to hear from anyone comparing the 500 series version to the rack mount, first hand, about the differences.
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Post by thehightenor on Apr 19, 2024 13:08:44 GMT -6
I have been eyeing the rack mount version for a while, would love to hear from anyone comparing the 500 series version to the rack mount, first hand, about the differences. Rack versions of tube compressors always sound better to my ears - same as tube pre-amps. I'm not an electronics expert - but I've always put it down to the large dedicated power supplies, larger capacitors, larger transformers, larger more stable tube current/voltage giving increased headroom and dynamic stability. I guess all these small increases in specifications add up to a sonic improvement. Maybe the design of the Acme Opto mitigates the differences? |
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Post by ironinthepath on Apr 19, 2024 13:11:39 GMT -6
Rack versions of tube compressors always sound better to my ears - same as tube pre-amps. I'm not an electronics expert - but I've always put it down to the large dedicated power supplies, larger capacitors, larger transformers, larger more stable tube current/voltage giving increased headroom and dynamic stability. I guess all these small increases in specifications add up to a sonic improvement. We're generally in agreement on this, but still figured it couldn't hurt to ask about the Opticom :-) |
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Post by ironinthepath on Apr 19, 2024 16:20:02 GMT -6
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Post by Shadowk on Apr 20, 2024 3:21:06 GMT -6
I have been eyeing the rack mount version for a while, would love to hear from anyone comparing the 500 series version to the rack mount, first hand, about the differences. Rack versions of tube compressors always sound better to my ears - same as tube pre-amps. I'm not an electronics expert - but I've always put it down to the large dedicated power supplies, larger capacitors, larger transformers, larger more stable tube current/voltage giving increased headroom and dynamic stability. I guess all these small increases in specifications add up to a sonic improvement. Maybe the design of the Acme Opto mitigates the differences? That's not necessarily true nowadays, the IGS Tubecore 500 for example is 400 mA's per slot at 250V which is a full powered device. Issue with that is it completely ignores the original API spec and without a rack that can support it you'll hit issues quickly. I went for the Heritage OST 10 because it supports 1.8A / 400 milli per slot and full phantom power. There's plenty of spare grunt in a rack like that for most units. As for the Acme 500 I sort of prefer it to the Stam 2A in terms of sound, it's an LA-2A style but not exactly the same. More forgiving in terms of sweetspot and I did try it with 10dB's worth of GR, mine doesn't get crunchy unless you use the all buttons in "FET" mode (or fast) which 1176's tend to in a similar setup anyway. On the plus side it's a lot more flexible than than a standard 2A opto, although if you want an actual 1176 they can do much more. |
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Post by Shadowk on Apr 20, 2024 3:22:48 GMT -6
I started looking a bit more into the Opticom (mainly the rack version) and found an SOS review --> www.soundonsound.com/reviews/acme-opticom-xla-3It says in one of the paragraphs "Unusually for a valve device, the signal path is entirely transformerless and appears to be balanced throughout, with the input feeding a 12AX7 via the ganged input‑gain potentiometer, and the 12BH7 actively driving both sides of the balanced output." (which is intriguing from electronics standpoint). Not sure what to think at this moment....wondering what would show up if I actually bought a brand new unit today. -Chris You'd get transformers, the 500 series definitely has them. |
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Post by iamasound on Apr 20, 2024 5:36:36 GMT -6
Someone in my little country has the rack version up for sale for 2500 bucks but I won't bite though that seems a really good price. The Audioscape Opto is working out for me nicely.
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