FMR Audio PBC-6A Mono Compressor

[domo peace]

First off - I'm new to the forum and want to say hi before I get into my question here. I'm not a pro when it comes to recording but really love writing and recording. I have an 18 month old at home (great kid) so my time and cash are limited with this kind of stuff. In other words - if I don't need a piece of gear I need to swap it for something that will work better as a tool.

I'm using an old Mac G4 with a Digi 001 setup and ancient version of ProTools LE (I refuse to blow cash on computers and software that will lose their value in 3 seconds. That's a whole other rap I can go on - BUY GOOD MICS OR PRES....NOT PCS).

I'm currently working on my first album and am using the Great River single channel preamp to lay down 1 track at a time. I received the FMR Audio PBC-6A Mono Compressor recently and am not finding it as usable as I thought I would. I am laying down rock tracks (comparable to stuff like ACDC or Yer Blues by the Beatles) and ran the bass straight into the Great River. I then went into the FMR Audio PBC-6A Mono Compressor and into the interface to lay down the track. I'm having much better results without the compressor going in and just using the plug-in compression.

Unfortunately, my system does not have delay compensation to be able to run the PBC as an insert while mixing and it may be rather time consuming to find a workaround.

Does anybody have any advice on the best way to use this? I may have to just exchange it another piece of gear that will be more useful in my arsenal - a mic or a RNP.

(With the Preamp - I'm actually getting amazing results in a controlled space without compression so I may not even need it as much as I had originally thought).:cool:

[Tomasz]

what is it exactly that you were looking for the compressor to do? smooth the signal, limit the peaks?... why not track the bass straight and then try inserting the comp, as you might find it easier to achieve the results you are looking for when not concerned about performance, levels, and lovely latency...

[domo peace]

what is it exactly that you were looking for the compressor to do? smooth the signal, limit the peaks?... why not track the bass straight and then try inserting the comp, as you might find it easier to achieve the results you are looking for when not concerned about performance, levels, and lovely latency...


On the digi 001 there is no way to use the PBC as an insert. In other words - I would have to run out of an aux for every track after adjusting the compression out of sync.

I'm getting great results inserting the comp plug-in b/c I don't have to deal with tracking to an outboard box and back into the digi.

[Tomasz]

I'm getting great results inserting the comp plug-in b/c I don't have to deal with tracking to an outboard box and back into the digi.

Loud and clear on the 001...... sooo, why not mimic the "settings" of the plug-in on your hardware and see if you get some decent results..

[domo peace]

Loud and clear on the 001...... sooo, why not mimic the "settings" of the plug-in on your hardware and see if you get some decent results..

The settings on the PBC-6A are different in alot of ways. Plus with the circuitry of the hardware - I would have to imaging that making adjustments while listening would be the way to go.

Check out the unit and you'll see what I mean. I'm thinking of returning it for an RNP (so I can do stereo recordings of guitar cabs etc...) but wanted to get opinions here in case there is a way for me to work with this unit effectively.

[seaneldon]

What don't you like about the compressed signal, exactly? What's wrong with it?

[domo peace]

What don't you like about the compressed signal, exactly? What's wrong with it?

I guess I'm finding it odd that I'm having less luck with the PBC than with the internal compressor. The sound with the internal is more round and seems to be working better for my mixes. I expected the PBC to do a better job than the plugin I guess.

Maybe I need to explore the settings more (when monitoring and setting up bass for recording in).

[seaneldon]

I would certainly experiment with the detector-highpass filter in the PBC. Hit the Thick and Bypass button at the same time to enter "special mode", then use the Thick switch to toggle through the HPF frequencies (it goes from 30Hz to 330Hz right to left, if I remember correctly). Getting some of the sub-lows out of the sidechain will yield a better bass sound more often than not.

I'd say to start somewhere around 12'o'clock on the attack and release knobs, and then the relationship of "Drive" and "Knee" is where you'll dial in the sound.

I've not found a plugin compressor that sounds as good as the PBC. I know that "good" is subjective...but I've also tried a helluva lot of plugins.

[domo peace]

I would certainly experiment with the detector-highpass filter in the PBC. Hit the Thick and Bypass button at the same time to enter "special mode", then use the Thick switch to toggle through the HPF frequencies (it goes from 30Hz to 330Hz right to left, if I remember correctly). Getting some of the sub-lows out of the sidechain will yield a better bass sound more often than not.

I'd say to start somewhere around 12'o'clock on the attack and release knobs, and then the relationship of "Drive" and "Knee" is where you'll dial in the sound.

I've not found a plugin compressor that sounds as good as the PBC. I know that "good" is subjective...but I've also tried a helluva lot of plugins.

I have alot of expierimenting with this unit. I have not even tried special mode or thick (total NOOB Operating Error). Thanks, Sean. I'll give all of this a shot.:eek:

You can give me the :finger: now.

I have to admit - I have to respect a forum that has that option.

[Sandyrb]

Unfortunately, my system does not have delay compensation to be able to run the PBC as an insert while mixing and it may be rather time consuming to find a workaround.

You could simply print your compressed signal to a track. If there's a latency issue you can stick a really short burst of 10K tone at the start of the track to be processed; this'll give you a visual reference point to line it up in your software once you've recorded it.

Hope this helps. :)

Cheers,

[domo peace]

You could simply print your compressed signal to a track. If there's a latency issue you can stick a really short burst of 10K tone at the start of the track to be processed; this'll give you a visual reference point to line it up in your software once you've recorded it.

Hope this helps. :)

Cheers,

Thanks for everybody's help!

[domo peace]

Thanks for the advice, everybody. Thick mode is much better for tracking bass.

I still have to get into special mode and experiment with the frequency adjustments. Really digging this thing now.