ADL 1000 opinions?
Torsten Matthiessen
Would I be better off with something like an 1176?
Bob
Those are really two different animals there. The ADL is similar in concept to
an LA2a or Manley ELOP. You could use either an ADL1000 or an 1176 and get good
results. If the primary use is for limiting your voice I would audition both
units. If you are going to use this on every client that comes into your studio
I'd lean towards the ADL. You really should audition the two and see which
better for your application.
<< Mainly use is vocal-lim. any opinions appreciated.
Would I be better off with something like an 1176? >>
Bob Turney
http://www.vividsonics.com
KyleSong
>an LA2a or Manley ELOP.
Not really true. I don't mean to be picky, but helpful. I have both an ADL1500
and a Manley ELOP.
The ADL is similar to an LA2, which is more of a limiter than an LA2a. I love
it for vocals, bass, guitars etc. I use my ADL 1500 all the time!
The Manley ELOP is a different beast alltogether. It sounds great too, but not
like the ADL. My ELOP (I don't know if all are like this) has an extremely fast
response, and a very different sound. The make up amp sounds "Manley" rather
than "UA".
How to compare them? They are both excellent, well built, and quality pieces. I
personally use the ADL more often. I cannot say, however that the Manley is
lacking in any way, and my preference in this is more a matter of personal
taste than quality.
I am quite fond of my Manley Pultecs, and I'm drooling over a Massive Passive,
so I am by no means anti-Manley. As always, YMMV.
Fletcher
> Mainly use is vocal-lim. any opinions appreciated.
> Would I be better off with something like an 1176?
IMHO, you'd be better off with a '3630' than an ADl...your
mileage may vary...
--
Fletcher
Mercenary Audio
TEL: 508-543-0069
FAX: 508-543-9670
http://www.mercenary.com
"this is not a problem"
Rick Powell
Putting the 3630 ahead of it seems a little extreme (although whenever
I've used the ADL, it never seemed to be doing much of anything to the
sound).
RP
Fletcher <Flet...@mercenary.com> wrote in message news:<3B36A96C...@mercenary.com>...
AT
:-))
"Rick Powell" <rpo...@ivnet.com> wrote in message
news:eac8f322.01062...@posting.google.com...
Altasrecrd
>Could you please elaborate on what you don't like about the ADL?
>Putting the 3630 ahead of it seems a little extreme
I thought it a bit hyperbolic myself.
Help us out Fletcher. What's so bad about the ADL?
Bryson
Tim
Fletcher
> Could you please elaborate on what you don't like about the ADL?
> Putting the 3630 ahead of it seems a little extreme (although whenever
> I've used the ADL, it never seemed to be doing much of anything to the
> sound).
>
I have found them exceptionally 'grainy' sounding for vocals, for my work, to the point of being
unusable for the application [the vast majority of the time]. I think they're the balls for a
'pedal steel', but really hate them for vocals. Like I said, YMMV.
Eric Medley
a bit grainy for lead vocals. However, I like them for when you going
for a heavily compressed, over-done vocal sound. I also like them
lightly on drum overheads. The graininess seems to sound good to me.
AS always, my opinion is not others and that's cool.
I disagree with Fletcher on the 3630. I can't stand the way those
things sound and act. I don't know if he's just being facecious or not,
though. I'm always the last person to get a joke...
I own one (adl 1000) and would not get rid of it. It is a great piece
of gear and worth the space in the rack. It's just not quite the right
piece of gear for lead vox, again, IMHO...
em
Fletcher
> I disagree with Fletcher on the 3630. I can't stand the way those
> things sound and act. I don't know if he's just being facecious or not,
> though. I'm always the last person to get a joke...
I was kidding about the 3630...it was an illustration of my level of disdain for the ADL box. A lot
of that level of disdain is my own damn fault...I used it on a vocal once...the performance was
excellent, but when it came time to try and fit that vocal into a mix, I could have shot myself. It
wouldn't sit in the balance right for love nor money...fuckin' shame too...excellent performance.
Druhms
over the ADL *IF* I had to choose. I really like the ADL here and there on
different things, but if I were stuck with only one good compressor, I would
choose the 1176. BUT!!...I have recently fell in love with the ADL unit for
lead vox but you need two of them. I have the 1500 (2 channels) and the other
day I was doing lead vox through the ADL and didn't quite like it, so I ran
the vox through both channels....LOVED it!! Try it if you haven't already.
Good luck!
JJ
www.BoogieTracks.com
name withheld
<barf...@mail.tele.dk> wrote:
> Mainly use is vocal-lim. any opinions appreciated.
> Would I be better off with something like an 1176?
the ADL will tend to suck all your bass on the lead vocal.. which can be
a good thing, but i generally like an la-3a a lot better... you can
absolutely hammer 3a's.. prolly the only thing that'd compete with this
would be an stc-8. the 1176 might do it. i wouldnt hammer an ADL.
where ADLs shine are on things where you want a LOT of tubey crunch, like
say drum overheads or snaredrum... and most of the time you dont even
need to compress with them, just run em thru the gain stage... mebbe a
1-3dB of squash.
ADLs definitely have a love/hate following.. chalk me up on the love side.
--
aaron
+37dB studios
san bruno, CA
irc:muf^n icq#56140852
Sonikimage
own. It has more punch than almost any other piece of gear that I've used. I
use it on almost everything just to go through the tube stage. Although, it
definately has its strength on bass. I would absolutely try one out first
though to see if you like the "flavor". By the way it is much different than
an 1176.
Neil
Brent Bodrug
like it, but ultimately didn't. I bought it off a friend who thought
it was amazing (but was getting out of the business). I had hoped
that it would make everything I put through it sound "bigger", and I
really had hoped I could hit stuff with it really hard to get that
warm, "crunchy" tube sound. I checked it out, it was more flattering
to the sound than anything I had at the time, so I bought it. I tried
it on everything - vocals, bass, gutars, drums, keyboards, etc. It
did do something to the sound, but I wouldn't exactly call what it did
"big". I noticed it mostly in the top end. Perhaps it was "grainy"
as Fletcher suggested, I would call it "unfocused". In any case, I
didn't like it and would usually reach for a different compressor. My
biggest disappointment in it though, was that I couldn't hit it hard,
at all. After 2 or 3 dB of gain reduction the sound got ugly. Not
"crunchy", not warm... blecch! Mid-rangy, smeared, dead.. not at all
what I had in mind. The one thing I did like it for was transferring
sampled drums to hard disk. And on the odd vocalist, it was alright
(so long as g.r. was VERY subtle), not spectacular, but usable.
Obviously, different people have had very different experiences with
this beast. But for my money, I'd MUCH prefer to own an 1176 over the
ADL. YMMV, hope this helps.
Brent
Dave Winslow
> I just sold an ADL1000. I owned it for 3 years, tried really hard to
> like it, but ultimately didn't.
Just my 2 cents:
I don't own an ADL, but I've worked in a few rooms that have had them,
including one room where I worked full-time for a year or so. This
particular studio had two rooms, with one ADL1000 in each. The other
staff engineers there spoke highly of them, so I, too, "tried to like
them." I found them to be sort of like an extra-grainy LA2a when not
hit too hard (i.e. can't really hear it doing much compression-wise,
but there was a nasal quality to the tone). But when I'd compress
more than a couple dB, everything sounded shitty: sluggish pumping
and nightmarish midrange thing. Utterly useless, in my experience.
It may also be worth mentioning that here in NYC, where the UA and
Summit and Tubetech (etc) compressors of the same basic style are
commonly seen in most reputable studios (and even in better smaller
"overdub rooms"), I don't generally see the ADL in the same racks.
Seems to me it's more of a "sure wish I had a TLA100, but I got a
decent deal on this ADL1000, so I'll put it between the 3630 and the
SPX90" kind of thing.
And, as far as the ADL vs 1176 thing is concerned: that's apples and
oranges, big time.
I'd say that your mileage may vary, but that's been done already.
Cheers,
Dave
View Pt 99
They have their own sound as do other compressors and as such may or may not be
right for a given application. They are warm sounding and clear to my ears with
a distinct punch w/o a doubt. To say they sound like a Alesis 3630 is absolute
non-sense. Well maybe in his case he had a guitar track recorded by some guy
who goes by the name "Slasher" which was recorded at 780 decibels and he
thought the ADL was the cause of the shitty tone he got. I'll leave you with
one final word on the matter. Engineer Mick Guzauski uses the ADLs and theres
nothing nasal in the sound of his work. He's one of the best and that should
tell you something. Dave is right about one thing his mileage does vary. Sounds
to me he needs a more fuel efficient vehicle.
VP
Dave Winslow
> I own the ADL1500 & 1000 and love them.
I'll leave you with
one final word on the matter. Engineer Mick Guzauski uses the ADLs and
theres
nothing nasal in the sound of his work. He's one of the best and that
should
tell you something. Dave is right about one thing his mileage does
vary. Sounds
to me he needs a more fuel efficient vehicle.
> VP
Well aren't we touchy? I responded to a request for *opinions* on the
ADL1000 without feeling the need to insult any engineer's "vehicle."
The fact that a top-notch engineer happens to like the ADL's is of
little use to me when I patch one in and go "echh!" So enjoy your two
ADL's, VP. I'll "settle" for the TLA100, the CL1b, and other
compressors that make me happier, without the childish need to show
disrespect for those whose tastes differ from mine.
Dave
42/gal hwy, 35/gal city
PRODT 4U2
I don't think I offended you nor did I mean to I just question your ears cause
it's no way the ADLs sound like an Alesis 3630. I just used Mick Guzauski as an
example of an Engineer who likes their sound and I know there's nothing wrong
with his hearing. But you're right in the sense that it doesn't mean you have
to like a piece cause another engineer does. For the record I love the Tube
Tech CL1B and the Summit TLA100 also their great sounding pieces of gear. Hope
my resonse doesn't cause you to make another trip to the pump.
Peace
VP
SCruz931
Steve Cruz
Cruzified Music
Dave Winslow
For the record: I didn't compare the sound of the ADL to a 3630:
that was Fletcher, who later admitted it to be an exaggerative attempt
to make a point. I acknowledge that Mick Guzauski has done brilliant
work- and, to be honest, it does make me a bit curious to hear that he
uses and likes the ADL's. Still, I've yet to find an application of
the ADL that makes me happy. Really it comes down to that. And on a
client's dime, I'm unlikely to say to myself "now's the time to figure
out why Mick Guzauski and others find this box appealing." Not when
there's a rack full of decent outboard to choose from.
It's interesting that you "question my ears" (or for that matter, my
fuel efficiency) over such a subjective thing. It's not a matter of
being able to "take the heat"- it's just fascinating that my opinions
would generate any heat to begin with. It's pretty rare that two
engineers agree about too many pieces of gear. Why, then, adopt an
attitude that only your opinion is valid? Kinda makes me go
"hmmmmmm....."
regards,
Dave
Fletcher
> No Dave it's you that's touchy. Can't stand the heat stay away from this forum.
> I don't think I offended you nor did I mean to I just question your ears cause
> it's no way the ADLs sound like an Alesis 3630. I just used Mick Guzauski as an
> example of an Engineer who likes their sound and I know there's nothing wrong
> with his hearing.
Well golly, my date this Wednesday told me we were going to be having dinner with
Mick, I'll have to ask him if he does indeed like them or not. Just because
something is 'owned' by someone 'big time', doesn't mean they're necessarily using
it.
AngelfoodBob
Do you like the Manley one or the La2a reissue?
later Toad
Dave Martin
(it seems to add a nice sparkle to signals passed through it), and the LA2A
reissue sounds like an LA2A. Not exactly like the LA2A's that I compared to,
but then the originals didn't sound much like each other... I also like the
Tube-Tech CL1B (in fact, that's been my main vocal compressor for a few
years, even over the Manley and the LA2A since it's come out), and in the
low cost category ELOP comp/limiters, I think that you could give a serious
listen to the Peavey VC/L 2.
When I had the ADL here, I couldn't find any signal that I liked better
after it went through the ADL. At any more than about a dB of gain
reduction, it sounded (to my ears) squashed. On the other hand, I would set
the others I mentioned by ear to where I liked the sound and find that I was
hitting 6,8 or even 10 dB of gain reduction without making the signal sound
bad.
--
Dave Martin
DMA, Inc.
Nashville, TN
"AngelfoodBob" <angelf...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010723092543...@ng-fw1.aol.com...
: I have the ADL and dig it,but you guys are making me feel bad about it
:
JimKollens
having dinner with
Mick, I'll have to ask him if he does indeed like them or not. >>
How about an update on Thusday?
Jim "knows enough to be dangerous" Kollens
Fletcher
> Fletcher: << Well golly, my date this Wednesday told me we were going to be
> having dinner with
> Mick, I'll have to ask him if he does indeed like them or not. >>
>
> How about an update on Thusday?
>
Well, obviously, this isn't Thursday, but I did bother to ask Mick if he was
using ADL-1000's. He [very politely, and diplomatically] said he had an
ADL-1500, but didn't think too much of it. He doesn't have an ADL-1000. He did
use several adjectives to describe the tone, many of which employed a synonym
for feces.