|
|
Post by geoff738 on Sept 30, 2014 15:25:47 GMT -6
Well, I finally got my Warm 76 up and running (just a problem with the switches. Bryce sent me a couple that didn't have the problem I was experiencing, I put em in and I'm good to go. Thanks Bryce for great customer service.)
The only problem is the last time I had my mitts on an 1176 was about 1998. And I didn't really like them then - too grabby. Coulda been user error at the time though.
So, on the other site I'd be told to turn the knobs and listen. And I'm doing some of that. But I'd like to hear what applications (tracking and mixing) you tend to use an 1176 on and if there's a go to setting you tend to use. Just trying to shorten my learning curve, keeping in mind what works for you may not work for me. In other words, I'm still gonna use those flappy things on the side of my head.
I know about the Dr. Pepper setting 10, 2, 4. 10 and 2 o'clock for attack and release respectively, ratio 4:1. My understanding is that tends to be a fairly safe setting for vox (and maybe bass) - probably not going to screw things up too badly.
There's the Bones Howe vocal setting with release at its fastest, attack almost that fast (I think) and 12:1 ratio.
I know about the all buttons in for drum room.
But that's about it.
I'd like to know how hard you drive the output. I've always been pretty conservative - usually just makeup gain. What have I been missing?
Thanks guys,
Geoff
|
|
|
|
Post by yotonic on Sept 30, 2014 17:55:56 GMT -6
For tracking vocals I like an attack of somewhere around 3 and a release of around 7. Ratio usually 4:1 or 8:1 simply because the 1176 is also a "sound" and sometimes 4:1 is too subtle.
|
|
|
|
Post by winetree on Sept 30, 2014 19:36:41 GMT -6
In my experience there is no "give some number setting" that works for all different tracks.
You have to listen to the track and know what it needs to sit in the mix the way you want it to.
Yes this takes the know how of what the controls of the compressor do and how they effect the signal.
This takes time and experience. Learning and listening will get you the settings.
|
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Sept 30, 2014 19:53:49 GMT -6
The only thing I had to grip with is the attack and release knobs are "backwards." Other than that, use it like any compressor. I think it works on anything, but you have to want that sound, that crisp flat thing or however you describe it. I find myself using it on vocals and drums pretty often. I guess the other unique trick is all buttons in mode, nothing else has that.
I suppose another unique thing is the attack can go really fast, so you can use it as a limiter. I hear people talking about chaining it with an LA2A in series on vocals, set to catch peaks, in that limiter setting (fast attack high ratio), with the LA2A doing general smoothing. I haven't tried that yet.
I've only got software, I don't have a hardware unit yet! I'll be doing some Hairballs soon, I really do like the 1176 sound and function.
If I had some hardware, I bet I would try to track with it and not just use it at mix.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeromemason on Sept 30, 2014 20:10:18 GMT -6
Gosh man you know really it is a lot about just finding what works best…..
What I will say is that with an 1176 you've got some options, they will do a lot of really cool things, vibes.
I like using a high ration setting for anything I want to sound really aggressive, using like 20:1 on a bass seems taboo, but with an 1176 it'll make her growl and grow a set of balls. Usually if I'm running up that high in ratio I'll use a pretty fast attack and release too, seems to give it even more aggression. If you want to have it sort of lay back and just "be there" then you go for the low ratio's with a slow attack and fast release.
On a vocal set it to 8:1 with attack around 5 and the fastest release, that will make a female vocal really sit right on top of a mix and have that throat and chest sound. I really like the 1176 in parallel the most though, and have it set to a high ratio for that aggression and blend it in with the original, really sounds pro. It's just there are so many things you can do with that compressor you've got to do some experimenting and find what you think is cool, what makes things fluffy, what makes them badass etc. It will do them all.
I will say that the 1176's have a little grain to them, if your source is kind of soft or not quite edgy to begin with then it adds a nice grit. But, if your source is already kind of gritty, you can put an eq before it and after it in the 2-4k range, and what I usually will do is say I want to take 3db total out, I'll split that between the front and back. Always has worked in those situations.
The only thing I've used them for in tracking is on electric guitars. They can add some heft for sure, but you only want to knock about 2db max with it at 4:1 and slow attack fast release.
Those are all my opinion of course, might not work for other folks, but for me those have been how I use that compressor, which I use a lot, especially on bass an vox.
|
|
|
|
Post by geoff738 on Sept 30, 2014 20:16:54 GMT -6
I suppose another unique thing is the attack can go really fast, so you can use it as a limiter. I hear people talking about chaining it with an LA2A in series on vocals, set to catch peaks, in that limiter setting (fast attack high ratio), with the LA2A doing general smoothing. I haven't tried that yet. I was going to ask about that too, but plain forgot. I don't have a real opto (well, I have a 737, does that count?) so haven't tried that yet in hardware. Are folks doing this tracking? And how much gain reduction we talking about. I think I've read of folks doings gobs of GR on the 1176 and just tickling the opto. Is that the general method? Does the order they come in matter? Cheers, Geoff |
|
|
|
Post by geoff738 on Sept 30, 2014 20:29:44 GMT -6
In my experience there is no "give some number setting" that works for all different tracks. You have to listen to the track and know what it needs to sit in the mix the way you want it to. Yes this takes the know how of what the controls of the compressor do and how they effect the signal. This takes time and experience. Learning and listening will get you the settings. All true. My usual method to setting up a comp is use the highest ratio, the fastest attack and release and threshold so it's not in GR mode all of the time. Then dial in the attack - how much transient do I want through. Then the release - do I want it pulsing with the beat giving movement, or do I just want to lock it down. Then ratio and finally threshold. And if sounds better at the same volume as the uncompressed track, then I move on. For some reason I'm having a little harder time using that method with the 76 than with my other comps. But, I've only had a very few hours with it yet. And the Warm76 is definitely not as grabby as I remember 1176s being. Anywho, I'm just looking for some of your favorite applications. I'll try 'em, but I'm still gonna twist the knobs! Cheers, Geoff |
|
|
|
Post by tonycamphd on Sept 30, 2014 20:57:51 GMT -6
I like them on a lot of things, but drums are where these kill imo, i agree with wintree on the settings thing, it's too contingent on tempo and style of music, but imo a good way to go about finding settings on any comp is to over do the input/threshold or ratio so you can really hear the compression effects, I then set the parameters attack/release, to pump/breathe rhythmically with the music, and then back off the compression to a reasonable amount that retains as much dynamic range as possible while giving me the density and punch i'm looking for, in a nice compartmentalized way.
i hope this makes sense, and helps a little.
|
|
|
|
Post by yotonic on Sept 30, 2014 21:08:52 GMT -6
UREI 1178 on drums.... yum
|
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on Sept 30, 2014 22:17:54 GMT -6
that's a lot of votes for drums...cool
and a few for vocals
then guitar and bass
|
|
|
|
Post by kevinnyc on Oct 1, 2014 5:52:56 GMT -6
I almost always use them when cutting vocals.....in conjunction with an optical comp. 10:1 ratio fairly quick attack, slightly less quick release grabbing only the spiky peaks so as not to send the elop into too much compression on those peaks.
|
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 1, 2014 7:05:00 GMT -6
So I own 5x 1176 units. 3x G rev, 1x A rev, and 1x D rev. They do all have a little bit different vibe.
Anyway, I use them for pretty much the same as everyone else... Drums and vox.
A rev. on snare: 1-3 on attack(slowest) and 5-7 on release (fastest). Mostly 4:1, input set to around 12 o' clock with peaks around -6db of GR. This gives me more transient and smack as the slow attack allows through the beginning of the snare hit but compresses the ringing and tail to make it a bit longer and easier to handle. It works like a transient designer and compressor in one.
D rev. on kick.. Almost the same as above but more like -10db of GR.
G Rev. overheads.. 4:1 or 8:1, fairly fast attack, medium fast release with around 3dB of GR. This is just to take the swell out of the cymbals and control the snare a bit so I can bring the level of the overheads up for more cymbal clarity and a bit of room sound. Nobody likes weak and distant sounding cymbals.
G rev. Vox.. I use this in conjunction with a hardware LA2A. Yes, there is nothing else like these two together. 1176 comes first in the chain to catch transients that would clip the LA2A. Fastish attack (around 5-7), medium release (not terribly important here) with 8:1 and around 4-6dB of GR during peaks. You just want to take the peaks off and let the LA2A do the majority of the volume control. LA2A isn't good at super fast peaks, but the 1176 is. With the right settings you'll get up to 9-12dB of GR between the two compressors and it will sound pretty smooth and natural.
|
|
|
|
Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 1, 2014 7:24:22 GMT -6
So I own 5x 1176 units. 3x G rev, 1x A rev, and 1x D rev. They do all have a little bit different vibe. Anyway, I use them for pretty much the same as everyone else... Drums and vox. A rev. on snare: 1-3 on attack(slowest) and 5-7 on release (fastest). Mostly 4:1, input set to around 12 o' clock with peaks around -6db of GR. This gives me more transient and smack as the slow attack allows through the beginning of the snare hit but compresses the ringing and tail to make it a bit longer and easier to handle. It works like a transient designer and compressor in one. D rev. on kick.. Almost the same as above but more like -10db of GR. G Rev. overheads.. 4:1 or 8:1, fairly fast attack, medium fast release with around 3dB of GR. This is just to take the swell out of the cymbals and control the snare a bit so I can bring the level of the overheads up for more cymbal clarity and a bit of room sound. Nobody likes weak and distant sounding cymbals. G rev. Vox.. I use this in conjunction with a hardware LA2A. Yes, there is nothing else like these two together. 1176 comes first in the chain to catch transients that would clip the LA2A. Fastish attack (around 5-7), medium release (not terribly important here) with 8:1 and around 4-6dB of GR during peaks. You just want to take the peaks off and let the LA2A do the majority of the volume control. LA2A isn't good at super fast peaks, but the 1176 is. With the right settings you'll get up to 9-12dB of GR between the two compressors and it will sound pretty smooth and natural. This how you track or in mixing? |
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 1, 2014 7:33:57 GMT -6
So I own 5x 1176 units. 3x G rev, 1x A rev, and 1x D rev. They do all have a little bit different vibe. Anyway, I use them for pretty much the same as everyone else... Drums and vox. A rev. on snare: 1-3 on attack(slowest) and 5-7 on release (fastest). Mostly 4:1, input set to around 12 o' clock with peaks around -6db of GR. This gives me more transient and smack as the slow attack allows through the beginning of the snare hit but compresses the ringing and tail to make it a bit longer and easier to handle. It works like a transient designer and compressor in one. D rev. on kick.. Almost the same as above but more like -10db of GR. G Rev. overheads.. 4:1 or 8:1, fairly fast attack, medium fast release with around 3dB of GR. This is just to take the swell out of the cymbals and control the snare a bit so I can bring the level of the overheads up for more cymbal clarity and a bit of room sound. Nobody likes weak and distant sounding cymbals. G rev. Vox.. I use this in conjunction with a hardware LA2A. Yes, there is nothing else like these two together. 1176 comes first in the chain to catch transients that would clip the LA2A. Fastish attack (around 5-7), medium release (not terribly important here) with 8:1 and around 4-6dB of GR during peaks. You just want to take the peaks off and let the LA2A do the majority of the volume control. LA2A isn't good at super fast peaks, but the 1176 is. With the right settings you'll get up to 9-12dB of GR between the two compressors and it will sound pretty smooth and natural. This how you track or in mixing? Always mixing. I never use anything in tracking. I probably could these days because I've come to figure out how I like things, and those things stay mostly the same between projects (kinda like CLA..), but with an abundance of caution I just do it during mixing. |
|
|
|
Post by jimwilliams on Oct 1, 2014 9:34:15 GMT -6
I used them quite a bit in the early 1980's as there wasn't that many comps available like today. These are not my favorite pieces and I admit I don't own one these days.
Being said, my favorite settings on them is with the power switch in the 'off' position. YMMV.
|
|
|
|
Post by unit7 on Oct 1, 2014 9:52:26 GMT -6
my favorite settings on them is with the power switch in the 'off' position. YMMV. This in combination with your avatar... jimwilliams I love you (in the right way)!!! Can't stop laughing! |
|
|
|
Post by svart on Oct 1, 2014 9:58:17 GMT -6
Heh. I think the 1176 is just about the perfect compressor. I plan on getting more eventually.
|
|
|
|
Post by unit7 on Oct 1, 2014 10:14:05 GMT -6
Heh. I think the 1176 is just about the perfect compressor. I plan on getting more eventually. Yes, I've come to like it more and more too, despite that I don't do much rock like I believe you do. Have two Purples, one HB rev D and one rev A, and two 500 format U76s so not planning to get more. But yesterday I had all the four rack units working - Purples on female vocal and bass, rev A on snare and rev D on male voc (duet). Fairly moderate settings and as slow as possible, all on 4:1. |
|
|
|
Post by tonycamphd on Oct 1, 2014 11:00:31 GMT -6
I have 6 channels of 1176 D's and 2 A's and i primarily built them for my drum tracks. I mostly agree with JW on things, but i differ a bit with him here. In the extremes, I believe if everything is hifi, then nothing is hifi, the lowfi or dirty flat compression adds contrast, and leaves space for hifi stuff in the mix, allowing it to stand out and be really hifi. That said if everything is lowfi, then everything is indeed,.... lowfi 8)
of course, as alway YMMV
|
|
|
|
Post by jeromemason on Oct 1, 2014 12:53:59 GMT -6
Being said, my favorite settings on them is with the power switch in the 'off' position. YMMV.  |
|
|
|
Post by Ward on Oct 2, 2014 11:17:27 GMT -6
I think the Rev F on snare drum is THE BOMB. I went away for it for many years and came back to it. A fairly fast attack and medium release, 4:1 or 8:1 ratio depending on the application and we're good to go. Watch the input and output levels as they really play with compression too!
|
|
