Just a quick question here: I've been considering getting a compressor for recording and some live sound situations. Nothing too fancy, just something that doesn't add noise and sounds good. I've heard good things about Alesis and am looking into their NanoCompressor, which seems to fit the bill well. Anyone here have one of these? Any general comments? Thanks.

Originally posted by White_Knight
I've heard good things about Alesis and am looking into their NanoCompressor, which seems to fit the bill well. Anyone here have one of these? Any general comments?

I have one, but never used it for bass, instead it was used to compress kick drum.

Pros: cheap, has full set of controls, sounds OK

Cons: ganged stereo only (no dual mono operation possible), proprietary wall wart (AC not DC), needs optional tray to be racked

For not a whole lot more money you can get the Behringer Autocom which allows mono operation (2 channels) or ganged stereo and has a real AC cord.I think they're around $129 these days,I paid $139 for mine.It's a good unit for not too much money.

From what I've read about the NanoComp on the Alesis website, I can run it single mono, correct? All that I'm really ever going to use it for is my bass. Perhaps someday in stereo mode, but single mono is ok for me. The wall wart isn't a problem for me either as well as the rack tray (I don't plan to buy any more than the single unit).

Other than that, how's it sound? Is it pretty clean and quiet? Does it do what it's supposed to?

Thanks for all the help so far. I'll look into the Autocom.

I tried one... It pumps even at low settings.

For not much more money you can get the FMR Audio Really Nice Compressor ("RNC") - it sounds fantastic! It's really transparent. FMR sells them direct for $199, I think... I love mine. Highly recommended!!

<a href="http://www.fmraudio.com">http://www.fmraudio.com</a>

Originally posted by oddentity
For not much more money you can get the FMR Audio Really Nice Compressor ("RNC") - it sounds fantastic! It's really transparent. FMR sells them direct for $199, I think... I love mine. Highly recommended!!

<a href="http://www.fmraudio.com">http://www.fmraudio.com</a>

Although I don't own one of these, I've done a bunch of research and this seems to be the consensus choice for best compressor for under $1000.00 in all the home recording forums. I've never seen anything but rave reviews for it and will be buying one as soon as my budget permits.
Seriously, the praise this thing has gotten across the board is astounding.

Actually, after writing the previous post, I couldn't figure out why I didn't own one, so I went to the site, called FMR and ordered one. It actually costs only $180.00 direct from them plus $8.00 for shipping via second day air. It also comes with a 30 day money back guaruntee. Not bad.

Now, could I interest anyone in a used ART MDC2001 compressor/limiter/gate/exciter/enhancer?

[Edited by Saint on 12-16-2000 at 02:36 PM]

Well a quick update here:

I decided to go ahead and try out the Nano, so I ordered one from Musician's Friend. It arrived 2 days later (by normal shipping - that's a first!) and I tried it out. While I think that it worked exactly as it was supposed to, it just didn't sound all that good to my ears. It either had to be compressed so much that it took away from my
"open" sound to get any reaction out of the thing; otherwise it was set so low that it really didn't to much at all. It was dead quiet, to it's credit. It also was pretty well built. It just didn't seem to be that precision as far as bass is concerned.

Overall, I believe that for recording or for stuff like keyboards or whatnot that the Nano would be perfect. I just don't like the way it makes my bass sound. Thus, I mailed it back today. The people at Musician's Friend were very courteous and helpful (though I was on hold for about 10-15 min. before getting to speak to someone). I don't know: I think that I'm going to go ahead and not get another compressor. I just don't like what they do to my sound. And yes, I know that a nicer one would probably work out a little better - but I don't have as much use for one as I first thought anyway. Thanks everyone for your replies.