Alesis 3630 or DBX 166xl?

[Lucasl7d]

My 3630 isn't noisy at all, but I bought it from a studio that had it modded. I like it. It works great.

EDIT: Here's a link to the mod: Philly Spot Community: News, Music, and Tech for Philadelphia

Hi, I can't see the link, maybe it has been removed?
Anyway, if anyone knows about the mod that needs to get done, I'm interested, I'm looking into buying a 3630 because of price and availability

 

[DirkP]

The Alesis is so trashy that it has become something special, some techno guys love the 3630 for a reason. The DBX is just a mediocre budget product from a company that has produced good and very good compressors BEFORE the 166XL. You get something better for less today. But nothing as bad as the 3630.

 

[ofajen]

Is there a reason you aren’t getting an RNC? It seems an obvious choice here.

Otto

 

[Ronzo]

Had both. Used both. dbx 166 was better, IMO.

 

[Lucasl7d]

The Alesis is so trashy that it has become something special, some techno guys love the 3630 for a reason. The DBX is just a mediocre budget product from a company that has produced good and very good compressors BEFORE the 166XL. You get something better for less today. But nothing as bad as the 3630.

Danke für Deine Reaktion! Maybe the reson techno people love the Alesis is the fact it's hard to dial in and can easily lead to "unexpected and colourful" results!
Where I live there aren't many choices; I'm looking for a cheap, cheap, stereo compressor with gate. But it's gong to be bad, better live without it!

Is there a reason you aren’t getting an RNC? It seems an obvious choice here.

Otto

Yes, I need a stereo one, and lack of budget

Thanks you for your comments

 

[ofajen]

Yes, I need a stereo one, and lack of budget

Thanks you for your comments

The RNC is stereo. It has one set of controls and two audio channels, so you can do mono or stereo processing, but not dual mono. Your avatar shows Chapman Sticks, so maybe you are needing dual mono?

Otto

 

[And I]

Wow, crazy old thread. Neither of these is the compressor anyone wants. Avoid both. Seriously whatever amount of money you have to spend there is a better option for something to improve your recording studio or bass rig for that money than either of these. It was true in 2010 and it's true now.

 

[Lucasl7d]

The RNC is stereo. It has one set of controls and two audio channels, so you can do mono or stereo processing, but not dual mono. Your avatar shows Chapman Sticks, so maybe you are needing dual mono?

Otto

Yes, two mono signals with independent settings, that would be what I need

 

[EastCoastThump]

Hi, I can't see the link, maybe it has been removed?

That user (long since banned) posted in 2010, and he was last on TalkBass in 2012.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with a 3630 mod. Yes, you could make it sound and work better, but that's such a dog of a compressor to start with that it's almost a perverse experiment to mod it. It's like asking if there are mods that'll make a Prius a better platform for street racing.

[BTW, a quick search turns up some still active walk-throughs, like this one. But again, unless your curiosity is unbearable, I wouldn't bother.]

 

[Lucasl7d]

I've been reading the long thread on Helix Stomp. I'm relatively new to effects and some things are a bit difficult to understand, But I think I read somewhere there that you can have 2 parallel stereo paths? So path A is stereo, path B can be stereo also...plus 2 fx loops, one with a trs send/return...I will keep looking and reading.
I have also asked in a facebook group and the general consensus is that pedal compressors work better for instruments that rack units, so...
BTW, I have another doubt Korg SDD-3000(the pedal). Does anyone know this? Again, I have read the manual and I have the same question about running dual mono with this piece of gear...Even though it's very guitar-oriented, maybe someone has data...
Thank you