Anyone have experience using an Aphex Compellor for FOH?

[JD Bass]

I have a sound and lighting company. I recently ran into a sound engineer at a concert who uses a Aphex Compellor right in line before his mains. He says it has a way of gluing everything together and keeping things level. ...and at his show I do have to say it say everything sat pretty good in the mix and it wasn't over the top loud either... it would appear that the Compellor was doing what he said.

 

So I figured I would give it a whirl... I just bought two of the 320a models. Anyone have any experience with these units used in this way?

[Phil O'Keefe]

Sounds like he's using it as a stereo bus compressor. The basic idea is to keep the compression fairly modest (2:1 ratio) and set the threshold so you're just shaving a few dB off with it - say, 2-3dB. Start with medium attack and release times and adjust to taste from there.

 

I've never tried using a Compellor on the stereo bus - either live or in the studio. Since it has a bit less common controls and not the usual attack, release (all auto on the Compellor) and ratio knobs, I'd recommend starting with getting the Threshold dialed in and then not hitting the Drive too much - you probably won't need to go past noon at the most with that. Also, you might want to experiment with the Process Balance and see whether you prefer more limiting, or more compression.

 

 

[JD Bass]

First thanks for the reply.

The “threshold” on this unit is for the silence gate... turn the make up gain down when there is no signal for a second...

 

Would that change how you would set it up?

[Phil O'Keefe]

Yes, I'm sorry - scratch what I said about the threshold, and stick to low drive settings. It's an auto comp, so there's not a lot of user control on the Compellor - which is why it wouldn't typically be my choice for a stereo bus compressor.