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Post by mike on Mar 14, 2019 5:22:40 GMT -6
I've never owned a STA-Level. I’ve only heard audio clips that intrigued me with it’s unique take of imprinting density on vocals. I’m curious from those who have owned or tried one before. Was it a piece of gear that never left your rack once it arrived or was it a passing phase piece of gear you had for a while, but moved on from later for something else ?
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Post by EmRR on Mar 14, 2019 6:46:27 GMT -6
I always bought them, restored them, re-sold them, never kept one very long. I have other vintage comps and limiters that do a very similar thing, and it's easy to modify many of them to cover the same territory. To me the biggest imprint is the sound of the transformers, and from that POV the originals versus the reissues and clones are as different (or more) from one another as a totally different vintage limiter modified to cover the same territory.
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Post by swafford on Mar 14, 2019 7:15:23 GMT -6
I've never owned a STA-Level. I’ve only heard audio clips that intrigued me with it’s unique take of imprinting density on vocals. I’m curious from those who have owned or tried one before. Was it a piece of gear that never left your rack once it arrived or was it a passing phase piece of gear you had for a while, but moved on from later for something else ?
Mine hasn't left my rack in the 4 or 5 years I have had it. Love it. Wish I had two. Lives on the vocal, but I've used it on bass, acoustic guitar and violin and loved it there also. I'm making lazy, hazy country-folk rock, so, you know, thick and slow wins the day a lot of times for me. |
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Post by jeromemason on Mar 14, 2019 14:43:02 GMT -6
STA-LEVEL'S, UA-175/176's, 1176's, Collins etc
These comps are what I'd consider not for a beginner. You really have to know how to use the attack and release to get what you want, but, they can pin a vocal in a mix while it still sounds massive if you know how to master the attack and release. Honestly, it's best to have two of these types of compressors ran in serial, one going slow/fast the other going fast/slow. The STA Level is all about gain staging too, how you hit it, how you use it's input and output amps all takes you to other euphoric sound places. For anyone beginning they should just use plugins with threshold controls and mix knobs etc. That's the best route for beginners, using these you need to know not only about compression but also about how these old boxes deliver a different palette just by how you hit it, and how you use it's attack/release. They're beautiful.
I'd say if you want they sound of one but can't afford the price tag right yet, the Retro Doublewide II is the closest I've heard to the UA-175/6 and STA-Level. I have one, I had a Retro 176 in here before it and I actually liked it better than the $3,600 Retro 176, mainly because it gives me two different attack and release styles but also makes anything I run through it instantly sound bigger and fuller. Again, these are the same, how you hit it, how you set up the attack/release it makes all the difference. The cool thing is you get two different attack/release styles with them.
Hope that helps.
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 14, 2019 15:11:42 GMT -6
STA-LEVEL'S, UA-175/176's, 1176's, Collins etc These comps are what I'd consider not for a beginner. You really have to know how to use the attack and release to get what you want, but, they can pin a vocal in a mix while it still sounds massive if you know how to master the attack and release. Honestly, it's best to have two of these types of compressors ran in serial, one going slow/fast the other going fast/slow. The STA Level is all about gain staging too, how you hit it, how you use it's input and output amps all takes you to other euphoric sound places. For anyone beginning they should just use plugins with threshold controls and mix knobs etc. That's the best route for beginners, using these you need to know not only about compression but also about how these old boxes deliver a different palette just by how you hit it, and how you use it's attack/release. They're beautiful. I'd say if you want they sound of one but can't afford the price tag right yet, the Retro Doublewide II is the closest I've heard to the UA-175/6 and STA-Level. I have one, I had a Retro 176 in here before it and I actually liked it better than the $3,600 Retro 176, mainly because it gives me two different attack and release styles but also makes anything I run through it instantly sound bigger and fuller. Again, these are the same, how you hit it, how you set up the attack/release it makes all the difference. The cool thing is you get two different attack/release styles with them. Hope that helps. I think you could say that about the 1176, but man, it was really hard to screw anything up regardless of the settings with the sta (at least the retro version). I usually stayed at the quickest release and medium attack and at double for most things...but bass could sound amazing on single attack. Only problem I found with the sta is that you could find yourself compressing too much without knowing. Ultimately, after getting better mics I found that the sta could add almost too much heft in the bottom... it I’d love to have another. I’m actually going to purchase the AudioScape a try when it comes out. Really hoping it lives up to expectations. |
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Post by jeromemason on Mar 14, 2019 15:14:28 GMT -6
STA-LEVEL'S, UA-175/176's, 1176's, Collins etc These comps are what I'd consider not for a beginner. You really have to know how to use the attack and release to get what you want, but, they can pin a vocal in a mix while it still sounds massive if you know how to master the attack and release. Honestly, it's best to have two of these types of compressors ran in serial, one going slow/fast the other going fast/slow. The STA Level is all about gain staging too, how you hit it, how you use it's input and output amps all takes you to other euphoric sound places. For anyone beginning they should just use plugins with threshold controls and mix knobs etc. That's the best route for beginners, using these you need to know not only about compression but also about how these old boxes deliver a different palette just by how you hit it, and how you use it's attack/release. They're beautiful. I'd say if you want they sound of one but can't afford the price tag right yet, the Retro Doublewide II is the closest I've heard to the UA-175/6 and STA-Level. I have one, I had a Retro 176 in here before it and I actually liked it better than the $3,600 Retro 176, mainly because it gives me two different attack and release styles but also makes anything I run through it instantly sound bigger and fuller. Again, these are the same, how you hit it, how you set up the attack/release it makes all the difference. The cool thing is you get two different attack/release styles with them. Hope that helps. I think you could say that about the 1176, but man, it was really hard to screw anything up regardless of the settings with the sta (at least the retro version). I usually stayed at the quickest release and medium attack and at double for most things...but bass could sound amazing on single attack. Only problem I found with the sta is that you could find yourself compressing too much without knowing. Ultimately, after getting better mics I found that the sta could add almost too much heft in the bottom... it I’d love to have another. I’m actually going to purchase the AudioScape a try when it comes out. Really hoping it lives up to expectations. You should try the new Retro Doublewide II before you buy the AS..... No joke about what I said about it. It's the real deal. |
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Post by mike on Mar 17, 2019 17:33:34 GMT -6
Here's the Link to the Audio-Scape V comp, their version of a Sta that has sound samples at the bottom of the page at V-COMP
looks like they are selling 5 pre release units tomorrow March 18th 8pm for sale on their web site. |
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Post by craigmorris74 on Mar 18, 2019 7:39:01 GMT -6
Here's the Link to the Audio-Scape V comp, their version of a Sta that has sound samples at the bottom of the page at V-COMP
looks like they are selling 5 pre release units tomorrow March 18th 8pm for sale on their web site. Hi Mike, Where did you see the bit about the pre-release sale? Craig |
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Post by mike on Mar 18, 2019 8:00:10 GMT -6
Here's the Link to the Audio-Scape V comp, their version of a Sta that has sound samples at the bottom of the page at V-COMP
looks like they are selling 5 pre release units tomorrow March 18th 8pm for sale on their web site. Hi Mike, Where did you see the bit about the pre-release sale? Craig
Hi Craig,
I got the info from a AS newsletter type email yesterday, however when I go to the V comp page today it say's sold out. So I don't know if the info is right or not.
Mike
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