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Conference napalm::guitar

Title:	GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:	Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	3280
Total number of notes:	61432

1603.0. "Need to compress an acoustic bass when recording" by AZUR::DOTTI (Ernesto Dotti - EIC Valbonne) Wed Dec 20 1989 07:56

    I have a double bass with a stick-on type Aria microphone which I
    record directly into a Fostex 260 multitrack tape deck.
    
    I was thinking about improving the quality of the results of this setup
    by adding a compressor/sustainer.
    
    What do you suggest as gadget in the mid-low budget range (< 100 $)?
    Are the BOSS compressor/limiter pedals any good and usable in this kind
    of application or are they good only for electric guitars (the models I
    am talking about are CE-2 and CE-3 ...or cs-2 and cs-3)?
    Can they be used as well with normal dyn-microphone for recording with
    compression for instance a soprano sax?
    
    thanks a lot, E.

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1603.1 Look At dBx and Alesis AQUA::ROST Everyone loves those dead presidents Wed Dec 20 1989 08:21 22

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1603.1	Look At dBx and Alesis	AQUA::ROST	Everyone loves those dead presidents	`Wed Dec 20 1989 08:21`	22
	Pedal compressors are looking for a guitar signal, about 250-1000 mV, while a microphone puts out only 50-100 mV. While it can work with a microphone , it may be rather noisy. Of course, a 260 has an insert loop on each input channel, so you could always patch the effect in there. The Boss CS-2/3 in particular are optimized for adding sustain to guitars. For a pedal, they are relatively quiet, but Boss now also makes a CS-2B which is optimized for bass applications. dBx makes a nice low-priced compressor (here in the U.S. about $150) that has a microphone input on the front panel. Model number is 163X. It's easy to use and will sound better than the Boss pedal. I prefer to use a limiter myself for recording bass rather than a compressor, since I try to retain most of the dynamics, but want to tame the peaks. Alesis makes a stereo limiter that sells in the U.S. for $119 that is worth a look and listen. Brian

    
    Pedal compressors are looking for a guitar signal, about 250-1000
    mV, while a microphone puts out only 50-100 mV.  While it can work with
    a microphone , it may be rather noisy.  Of course, a 260 has an insert
    loop on each input channel, so you could always patch the effect in
    there.
    
    The Boss CS-2/3 in particular are optimized for adding sustain to
    guitars.  For a pedal, they are relatively quiet, but Boss now also
    makes a CS-2B which is optimized for bass applications.
    
    dBx makes a nice low-priced compressor (here in the U.S. about $150)
    that has a microphone input on the front panel.  Model number is 163X. 
    It's easy to use and will sound better than the Boss pedal.
    
    I prefer to use a limiter myself for recording bass rather than a
    compressor, since I try to retain most of the dynamics, but want to
    tame the peaks. Alesis makes a stereo limiter that sells in the U.S.
    for $119 that is worth a look and listen.
    
    								Brian