My Distressor EL-8X....after 60 minutes

[.tom]

congratulations brandon. the distressor is about the biggest piece of the technical puzzle in creating today's rok, as you are finding you way with it. the concept of distortion is broad but within the "usable" window of the concept you will discover manipulating "harmonic distortion" is what it's all about. the distressor will open your ears to a whole new world and you'll be putting "that sound" to trak very soon.

[brandondrury]

the distressor will open your ears to a whole new world and you'll be putting "that sound" to trak very soon.

That appears to be the case! I'm excited. It appears that this thing has solved problems I've heard in my recordings since day 1.

I know you've spoken highly of various hardware compressors and EQs (the next step is to get a hardware EQ as well) and I'm glad that at least SOMEONE has emphasized this in a way beyond the usual Gearslutz style mentality (which is "it's expensive, therefor it must sound good". It was a part of the reason I decided to give it hell. Thanks!

There is nothing subtle about the character added to the signal (which I actually get it right). The difference is far and away an objective improvement from what I've seen so far. Just to clarify, it's not the kind of improvement that that will replace proper mic placement and a great source to begin with, but it adds a "process" to the tone which gives it that final "polish" and solves a few problems that typically require EQ and such (with relatively minor success). The track just "sits" differently.

I'm convinced that the right hardware compressor (whatever that may be) is a requirement for every track recorded. If I had my way, every single track I would record would benefit from this chracter being added (if only in moderation).

It's a shame that I have not heard a plugin that can do this. Maybe they are out there, but I've yet to encounter them. Are there any other hardware units (maybe less expensive ones) that add harmonics and control the boxiness in the way more or less similar to the Distressor?

Brandon

[.tom]

rnc1773 is good to have along side the distressor. the two together can make alot of different vocal sounds. you'd go pre out to 1773 to distressor. the rnc does alot of the compression while the distressor puts a light edge on it to get the punch back.. if you were traking a female R/B artist or say, a bon jovi style for example. take some time to really "know" what sounds you'd like to create and do some traking for post work using the distressor. once you get a "pallet" in your mind's ear of what this gear paints you need to take the next step with it -get it dialed in on the fly during a recording session. that's where you'll really get the results you want. it's got to come into the digital domain as a source that sounds spectrally and dynamically they way it was "engineered" to sound. by the word "spectrally" I mean not just eq but also harmonic treatment. these things -the distressor and even stepping up to the big focusrite liquid channel, this gear is simulating "that sound" we like whether it's the "white album", shania's vox, metallica rythm guitars or those wicked vocal trax guys like rob zombie or marilyn manson put together on their albums. the distressor, as i'm sure you've noted, uses analog xlr in/out so it's really meant to do the job in our analog domain before it goes digital. once you get used to it, you'll use it like tp...

[brandondrury]

rnc1773 is good to have along side the distressor.

I'll have to snag one of those soon, for sure.

Do you have any recommendations as far as hardware EQs are concerned? I'm considering selling my Vintech 1272 and snagging a Vintech X73 or some 1073 equivalent. I've only played with hardware EQs a few times, but I was very impressed by the what I heard. The hardware EQs seem to change the fundamental character of the tone somehow while plugins just add crap on top (not a great description, but this stuff isn't the easiest to write about).

Brandon

[EKAIMR]

I haven't had the chance to work with the distressor, but have seriously considered getting one.

The biggest wow factor I've had for getting air in a mix is with Izotope Ozone 3 (10k-20k) harmonic exciter section. I love the clock radio comment. Commercial mixes sound professional on any system, mine did not. I have come the closest to having the top end air (like commercial mixes) using the Ozone plug. I'm not saying the Ozone for me is the same as the distressor, I'm just saying that it added air to my mixes (in the form of harmonics I assume).

I heard that UA was working on a FATSO plug. I wonder if it will possibly bring results similar to the wow factor of the hardware distressor?

Anyway, now my only problem is... I really want to try out the distressor.

[.tom]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I'll have to snag one of those soon, for sure.

Do you have any recommendations as far as hardware EQs are concerned? I'm considering selling my Vintech 1272 and snagging a Vintech X73 or some 1073 equivalent. I've only played with hardware EQs a few times, but I was very impressed by the what I heard. The hardware EQs seem to change the fundamental character of the tone somehow while plugins just add crap on top (not a great description, but this stuff isn't the easiest to write about).

Brandon

the x73 is very nice. i use a variable HPF most of the time and rarely notch or boost -i use my mic choice for those aspects. I like this unit alot because it sounds really good like the older pultecs and its approach is just right for my taste. its actually cheap for the quality you get... broad strokes when traking, or i've chosen the wrong mic. of course the pultec and drawmer eq's are great but they're alot more expensive!

a good cheapee unit is the 3q but that's also a cmp/pre with the eq section built in. I also like the focusrite channel strips cuz they do sound really good -the eq's are sweet! the isa430 is golden but it's also $2,500...