# Recommendations for used rack mount Compressor/Limiter/Gate units



## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

After listening to myself play live a few times, I have noticed that there really is quite a bit of volume and dynamic variances in my sound. Unfortunately my ears don't like it and would prefer to have a more "consistant" sound while I play live. I am more of a high gain type of player and would ultimately like something for both leads and rhythms. Could anyone on here recommend an decent affordable unit that would take care of this type of thing for me?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The specification of a rackmount unit makes it sort of a loaded question. So, why rackmount?


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## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

mhammer said:


> The specification of a rackmount unit makes it sort of a loaded question. So, why rackmount?


I am not much of a pedal guy. The ones I do have are looped into my MIDI switcher. I used to have a BOSS CS-3 back in the day, and it worked pretty good, but it will not do everything I need on the fly. I just figured it would be better to have something that is programmable for various usages i.e. dirty leads, clean rhythms, dirty rhythms etc.. Pardon my ignorance. I have never seen a floor unit that actually does all of these things and is programmable. If there is something better, please feel free to explain it. Any wisdom from other knowledgable guitarists is all I am really looking for.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Ok, clearer request now.

The notion of alternate compression settings for different purposes is something you generally *won't* find in a floor pedal. So your instincts to look for a rackmount unit are, in retrospect, spot on. What remains unclear is whether there is anything out there which provides both flexibility of adjustment AND programmability or presets.

Your previous satisfaction with a CS-3 suggests that what you are essentially looking for as something like a CS-3 but which would allow you to have a couple of different compression-amount/level settings. Am I correct?

Here's one possibility in a floorpedal format: Analog Man Compressor Pedal Page

The Orange Squeezer and Ross/Dynacomp compressors have slightly different personalities. The Squeezer is more like a limiter, providing get-in-and-out-fast peak control, and the Ross/Dynacomp side is more for folks who want notes to hang around a while. One of the Analogman units allows you to select between the two. Whether those "personalities" fill your needs is another thing entirely, but it is obviously a simple arrangement with two presets.


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## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

What I need is something that can compress/gate/limit my signal on the fly and will work with my MIDI looper/switcher. I'd like to be able to press one button on my foot controller and have a nice even lead volume or a consistant high gain rhythm sound with little noise or a full and even clean sound.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Well, now you've moved beyond the perimeter of my expertise.


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## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

TC Electronic | Nova Dynamics

This looks pretty cool. Maybe I am not sure what I am looking for.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2010)

There aren't any MIDI controllable analog compressors that I can think of. And if they exist, I'd bet good money they're very expensive. It's costly to automate analog processing and it's probably a very low demand, niche market, an all-analog, MIDI-controllable compressor.

Some nice, reasonably priced analog compressors you can look at are the Alesis 3630 and the FMR RNC. The 3630 is a dual compressor and if you're not compressing a stereo signal you can chain one compressor into the other, run them both subtle, for some very nice studio wizardry style compression. The FMR actually uses multiple compressors when you engage the "Really Nice" mode and it sounds, well, really nice.

If you really need MIDI and patch capabilities you'll need to look at digital units. The TC unit above is a nice entry model and it'll fit on y our pedal board but it does not offer any MIDI patch change capabilities. For a nice, digital, but not too expensive option you can look at the Lexicon MX200 multi-fx compressor. You'll be hard pressed to find a rack mount, digital unit that *just* does compression (at a reasonable price). You need to look multi-FX here.


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## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

I have been looking at used DBX stuff on ebay. The newer TC Electronic stuff looks quite usable too. Cheers!!


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2010)

prodigal_son said:


> I have been looking at used DBX stuff on ebay. The newer TC Electronic stuff looks quite usable too. Cheers!!


If you like the sound of the DBX units the MX200 uses their licensed compression algorithm.


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## prodigal_son (Apr 23, 2009)

Got a used dbx 266XL the other day. Will be using it tomorrow evening.


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