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Post by gouge on Apr 22, 2015 3:49:01 GMT -6
next up for me. the box is sitting in front of me. hopefully start Friday and get some photos online.
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LA500a
May 3, 2015 15:19:25 GMT -6
Post by Randge on May 3, 2015 15:19:25 GMT -6
How did it go?
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LA500a
May 3, 2015 16:30:48 GMT -6
Post by gouge on May 3, 2015 16:30:48 GMT -6
we've had 2 weeks of massive swell so I've been photographing surfing in my spare time. normality has returned so it's on the table this week.
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LA500a
May 18, 2015 8:55:22 GMT -6
wiz likes this
Post by gouge on May 18, 2015 8:55:22 GMT -6
I finished building my la500a tonight. I have not tested it yet. I need to grab a power supply cable to go from the jig to the variable dc unit.
I'm starting to get a good list of gear I've built myself. fingers crossed this one works first up. been lucky so far. I did find the la500a the most difficult build so far. the pads are very close together in a few spots and I had to take a lot of care. this one tested my soldering skills.
will grab some photos tomorrow and post. can't wait to plug it in.
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Post by gouge on May 21, 2015 6:11:28 GMT -6
I did a power up test today. the led lights are working and there was no smoke so that seems promising......
next will be to calibrate the circuits. joemalone excellent instructions for the build.
am thinking of offloading some gear to get another one happening. makes it easier when I can drive there to pick up the kits.  |
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Post by Randge on May 31, 2015 19:58:47 GMT -6
Can you post something uncompressed and the same track compressed in varying degrees to give an idea how it sounds?
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LA500a
May 31, 2015 20:20:31 GMT -6
Post by Randge on May 31, 2015 20:20:31 GMT -6
Looks like a piece of cake to build!
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LA500a
May 31, 2015 23:22:53 GMT -6
Post by wiz on May 31, 2015 23:22:53 GMT -6
Hey RandgeI have one of these, its really easy to build... would be a bargain at the exchange rate atm. If you want to put something up, i will download it and process it for you if you want. cheers Wiz |
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LA500a
Jun 1, 2015 18:34:33 GMT -6
Post by Randge on Jun 1, 2015 18:34:33 GMT -6
Wiz already did for me! It isn't what I am looking for for acoustic instruments, but it will be nice for drums and things. It took too much top end off of my reso to really suit me. I really like transparent compression. I can see how they would be nice at taming bright vocals or cymbals though.
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LA500a
Jun 2, 2015 18:35:59 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by gouge on Jun 2, 2015 18:35:59 GMT -6
I'm still going to do a few ab things for my own purposes so will make available. Will take a few weeks.
Only having 1 unit at this stage will be mono sources only.
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Post by wiz on Jun 2, 2015 19:13:51 GMT -6
Wiz already did for me! It isn't what I am looking for for acoustic instruments, but it will be nice for drums and things. It took too much top end off of my reso to really suit me. I really like transparent compression. I can see how they would be nice at taming bright vocals or cymbals though. Yeah, I get that. I was talking to tonycamphd about this in the last couple of weeks, compressing acoustic guitar. Its something I have yet to hear any device, not mess up the harmonic complexity in a way that makes me happy... gee could I have worded that worse...ha ha.. cheers Wiz |
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LA500a
Jun 2, 2015 21:48:22 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by gouge on Jun 2, 2015 21:48:22 GMT -6
I agree. I've not heard an acoustic yet I liked better with comp.
Kinda shits me really.
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LA500a
Jun 3, 2015 8:29:38 GMT -6
Post by ngallio on Jun 3, 2015 8:29:38 GMT -6
Wiz already did for me! It isn't what I am looking for for acoustic instruments, but it will be nice for drums and things. It took too much top end off of my reso to really suit me. I really like transparent compression. I can see how they would be nice at taming bright vocals or cymbals though. Yeah, I get that. I was talking to tonycamphd about this in the last couple of weeks, compressing acoustic guitar. Its something I have yet to hear any device, not mess up the harmonic complexity in a way that makes me happy... gee could I have worded that worse...ha ha.. cheers Wiz Hi, I have built an LA2A clone (drip) years ago and it doesn't suck on ac guit, I mean I use it when I get a particular player that has some dynamics issues but I'd rather not use it, as I find the same problems you describe. Maybe jsteiger 's FC526 could be more useful for that purpose? I hear it can be pretty damn transparent if one wishes so.. (by the way, how do you "tag" a user?) best nicco |
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Post by wiz on Jun 3, 2015 17:27:44 GMT -6
Hey ngallio (done by putting @ before the persons username.) I actually have a a DRIP La2a 8) The FC526 could be good, look forward to trying it soon. cheers Wiz |
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LA500a
Jun 3, 2015 21:43:22 GMT -6
Post by ngallio on Jun 3, 2015 21:43:22 GMT -6
Hey ngallio (done by putting @ before the persons username.) I actually have a a DRIP La2a 8) The FC526 could be good, look forward to trying it soon. cheers Wiz Hey Wiz, Do you think the LA500 and the Drip opto are comparable? In a distant future I'd like to add an opto comp to my 51x rack and the LA500 could be a good choice.. I mainly favor my Opto for vocals and bass, I had good results with some synths as well. |
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LA500a
Jun 3, 2015 21:49:29 GMT -6
Post by wiz on Jun 3, 2015 21:49:29 GMT -6
Hi ngallioInteresting question. I use predominantly the Drip La2a on bass. If I were to use it on vocals, most likely I would put a FET comp (warm 76) in front of it. The LA500 is really good for vocals at mix time, its what I use ( I track through a Drip STA, and mix through the LA500 for vocals) Its also what I use for mixing electric guitars at the price point, the LA500 is a steal, its also very easy to build and Joe Malone gives excellent service and help cheers Wiz |
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LA500a
Jun 3, 2015 23:24:39 GMT -6
Post by ngallio on Jun 3, 2015 23:24:39 GMT -6
Hi ngallioInteresting question. I use predominantly the Drip La2a on bass. If I were to use it on vocals, most likely I would put a FET comp (warm 76) in front of it. Do I understand correctly: you would put two compressors in series? That's very interesting. I remember reading something similar in this book where the author - if I remember correctly - advocates the use of a limiter before the compressor to tame the occasional peak that would otherwise make the compressor behave in an unexpected (unmusical?) way. Is this your approach? It seems very interesting and I'd be grateful if you could share your vision. thanks nicco |
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Post by wiz on Jun 3, 2015 23:45:12 GMT -6
Its really nothing more than a Fet is faster than an opto.
I used the WA76 (1176 type) comp to catch the peaks a little, and then the opto after it to control dynamics a little.. by juggling the two you can get a far better sound (to me) than using either on their own.
Depends,as always on the material, but can be effective.
cheers
Wiz
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Post by gouge on Aug 3, 2015 1:45:11 GMT -6
after a long time between drinks I've had a chance to give the la500a a good run so wanted to sing it's praises here.
first up was acoustic guitar. i'll say straight out I am not a fan of compression on acoustic guitar. until now. 200hz on the side chain, slow attack, 3:1 ratio and 2-3db of compression sounded fantastic. just a bit more body to the sound and no loss of top end.
then I patched in a kick drum. - whoa! kick drum. 5:1 ratio, normal attack, 100hz sc and 5 or so db of compression and some good output gain and the kick drum just sounds massive. the output gain adds some weight to the bottom end, the attack gets smoothed and the release brings up the sustain to make the kick sound bigger.
bass guitar up next. 5:1 again, 100hz sc, 5-7db of compression some healthy make up gain and away it goes. really nice on bass guitar. at 10:1 you need to tread a little lighter. when heading towards a pinned meter the unit starts to distort. in a good way.
then I ran vocals into it. by this stage I'd gotten to understand the key with this compressor is to start off lightly, flick the sc around and then slowly up the ratio and adjust the threshold until you like what you hear. if you start to hear the compressor then the side chain is your friend. by this stage I can't really tell you what the settings were. I just kept flicking things around, bypassing reinserting etc. after about 20 seconds I was liking the vocal and looked at the meter to see I was at around 10db of reduction. I couldn't really hear the compressor either.
so I figured I'd pin the meters. I set it up so the needle was being pinned during the peaks. that added some nice sounding distortion to the vocal.
I really gotta build the second one now. just to put them onto kick and bass alone is a must have. with a bit more time i'll patch an 1176 in before hand and see how that goes on bass guitar and vocals.
by the end of the session I'd really started to loose track of what setting I had where. I just tweaked each new source for 10 seconds or so and sat back and enjoyed what it did. the side chain gives it so much flexibility and the slow attack switch just makes it really become transparent. |
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LA500a
Aug 3, 2015 18:05:21 GMT -6
Post by gouge on Aug 3, 2015 18:05:21 GMT -6
found this online
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LA500a
Aug 19, 2015 14:32:17 GMT -6
wiz likes this
Post by jfoc on Aug 19, 2015 14:32:17 GMT -6
Store got restocked today, 5 still available, 2 headed to NH
Currently at $330+ shipping
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LA500a
Aug 19, 2015 15:38:16 GMT -6
Post by wiz on Aug 19, 2015 15:38:16 GMT -6
If one of you yanks.. or others, I was thinking of the strength of the US dollar ...wants to buy two and get them shipped to me I will build both and send you one...
cheers
Wiz
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LA500a
Aug 20, 2015 1:04:31 GMT -6
Post by porkyman on Aug 20, 2015 1:04:31 GMT -6
that looks completely redesigned (judging from the pics) from what i built a year or two ago... i wonder how different it sounds.
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LA500a
Aug 20, 2015 6:09:11 GMT -6
Post by jfoc on Aug 20, 2015 6:09:11 GMT -6
I think its identical with the addition of a few new features.. www.jlmaudio.com/shop/la500a-opto-comp.htmlNEW Pull threshold pot for slow attack with orange led on front panel NEW Pull Makeup pot for stereo linking of compressors with blue led on front panel Also Joe got it to the post in under 12 hours. Rad. **edit** ...& arrived on the 25th! Australia to USA in under a week |
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